Ideology
Rep. John Lewis’ Speech at March on Washington 1963
Play videoA speech given by Rep. John Lewis at the March on Washington in 1963.
Philadelphian Accent - Indexing and Ideologies (PhillyTawk: Da Accent inna Media)
Play video
Philadelphian and self-proclaimed “accent nerd” Sean Monahan makes Youtube videos about the accents in the Mid-Atlantic region. In this video he talks about representations of the Philadelphian accent in movies and TV (or lack thereof), then it cuts to a montage of Philadelphians speaking to hear the difference between actors and native speakers. This video is a great example of indexicality and language ideologies at play. Sean is very proud of the accent that indexes him as a Philadelphian but aware that the lack of accurate representations of the dialect makes it hard for outsiders to recognize it. In the beginning of the video he even mentions people on the west coast though he had a speech impediment – this reveals a language ideology they have about how English “should” sound.
US Language Attitudes
Play videoLinguist on a train asks people about their language attitudes and what regions they think speak more correctly.
The Significance of Linguistic Profiling
Play video"What is Linguistic Profiling and why is it so prominent in our society? Dr. Baugh explores the field and explains dialects, accents, and our linguistic heritages."
Black American Sign Language Gains New Interest Thanks to TikTok App
This article (and corresponding video) underscore the recent resurgence of Black American Sign Language. One part that stood out to me was Hill's note on code switching, and the historical context that contributed to some Black deaf people's preference of only using BASL in private settings. [Published on 02-25-2021]
Standard Language Ideology: The TikTok
This is a link to a tweet containing a TikTok video. In the video, a man sits in a chair and says words in "Basic English," and then "Advanced English." Some pairs include, "helpful," & "advantageous," and, "many," & "numerous." By labeling certain English words as "advanced" and others as "basic,"when in reality the words have nuances of difference in their meaning, this TikTok-er peddles the ideology that there is a hierarchy of words and ways of communicating.
This video was tweeted out by The Layman's Linguist with the caption, "I hate this." [Published on 02-27-2021]
Jimmy Kimmel guesses New York Borough Accents
The boroughs quiz!!
Malayalam and Linguistic Identity
An article about how Malayalam as a language is constantly put in the position of asserting its distinct linguistic identity compared to the other literary Dravidian languages (Tamil, Telegu, and Kannada). Linguistic pride is common throughout India considering its concentrated linguistic diversity. This can be a good thing (in terms of cultural preservation and practice) and a bad thing (in terms of linguistic nationalism). [Published on 04-20-2019]
Disney Dialects
Play videoshort video including comparative examples of the speaking styles of good and evil Disney characters.
'Deplorable' Québécois accent has royal roots, linguist asserts
The French typically have an unfavorable opinion of the accents spoken by the denizens of Québec, Canada. But like Martha's Vineyard, many of the linguistic forms used by this community may predate those in France. [Published on 10-09-2008]
Accent Expert Breaks Down 6 Fictional Languages From Film & TV | WIRED
Play videoThis has a lot of cool stuff in it (and this dialect coach does other really interesting breakdowns), but what I thought was relevant in this video, and what he touched on a little bit, is how a lot of fake languages are invented in terms of which phonemes apparently sound "powerful" or "scary," although these ideas are obviously not entirely true and euro-centric. My roommate even defended the idea, saying that some sounds are inherently powerful sounding, like the voiceless velar fricative. Hm.
Trump: We speak English here, not Spanish
Play videoIn this video, Donald Trump briefly discusses his stance on speaking English, speaking Spanish, and assimilation in the United States. This video is an example of the monoglot ideology.
Vocal Fry
Play videoThis video over emphasizes the difference of women with and without vocal fry. Vocal fry is becoming more and more common in young women, this small clip just explains the difference of vocal fry.
Culture Surrounding the Use of American Sign Language (ASL)
Play videoAmerican Sign Language (ASL) is often regarded as a language that is “less than” when compared to English, or more mainstream languages but the Deaf culture continues to express their pride on their unique visual language. Deaf children are socialized into using the language in ways that fit with the cultural norms of the Deaf community ensuring that the language will be used for years to come.
Ideology from Friends
Play videoAn excerpt from a Friends episode where Phoebe attempts a "posh" British accent.
Revolutionary War - SNL
Play videoSNL skit about the differences in the ideologies of Philadelphians and New Englanders and it also shows the differences in their accents.
Mock Spanish
This poster is an example of mock Spanish with the phrase Cinco de Drinko.
White man speaking Nigerian pidgin English
Play videoThis artifact present a white men in Nigeria bounding with Nigerian people and using a language easy for them to understand.
Masculinity and Femininity in Disney's Mulan
Play videoThe song “I’ll Make A Man Out of You” from the 1998 classic Mulan shows gender stereotypes and battling them. Mulan is a Disney classic that confronts battling feminine stereotypes head on and throughout the movie the protagonist Mulan shows that she can do anything a man can do. In this song specifically, the gender stereotypes of being a man in the war and what a man should be able to do and be is explained to a very catchy rhythm. Along with this throughout the song, Mulan shows how she is strong and she can fight just the same as them, but because of the laws, she must do this all while dressed as a man to blend in.
Disney Rejection Letter, 1938
Photo of a rejection letter sent by Disney in 1938, stating that: "women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed entirely by young men. For this reason girls are not considered for the training school." This aligns with Lippi-Green's (2012) findings that Disney presents a clear, firm division between genders in lifestyle and life choices, and is a salient example of this ideology of division found in the real world.
Portuguese Words Spanish Speakers Can't Pronounce
Play videoThis video is a good example of how difficult boundaries can be to draw around "language" or "dialect," especially when you're using mutual intelligibility. It shows the similarity and differences between Portuguese and Spanish as Spanish speakers try to pronounce written Portuguese words, evidenced by the commentary of the Spanish speakers, especially "I understand what you're saying, I don't know how you say it." This distinction is especially hard to draw when you take into account the ideology held between and of cultures, and the political investment that may exist in making nations distinct, and this ideology of difference is also demonstrated in the views expressed by the speakers.
Cantonese v Mandarin: When Hong Kong languages get political
This article is about the language battle between Cantonese and Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese). Even though Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, the social rejection of Putonghua still takes place in Hong Kong. In this case, it illustrates the effect of language ideologies. People in Hong Kong reject to speak Putonghua because they question their Chinese identity. Their interpretation of language is that speaking Putonghua makes people lost the identity but speaking Cantonese could protect their culture and history. Importantly, this is the way to clarify the identity. People in Hong Kong believe that Hong Kong is not a part of China, and Cantonese is not one of the dialects of Chinese. Also, they argue Cantonese is the standard "Chinese."
[Published on 06-29-2017]
Fox News clip sampled on DAMN.
Play videoThis clip is a really clearly delineated example of "language as proxy" for racism. It's really clear in the tone of the broadcasters when reading Kendrick's lyrics that their issue is not only with the content but with the stigmatized aspects of AAVE. I also wanted to bring up this clip/the album DAMN. because it's a great example of a lot of the themes talked about in the film Talking Black in America, particularly regarding hip-hop. The way Kendrick puts his music, which deals with issues of race and is basically the way he was able to survive violence in dialogue with white people saying "hip hop is doing more damage than racism" is really masterful and gives me chills.
Spanish phrases Gringos need to stop abusing!
Play videoThe women in this video describe all the ways non-Spanish speakers use Mock Spanish. They describe it as sometimes being a way to connect with others. However, the overuse of Mock Spanish can become disrespectful and insulting.
Women Aren't Ruining Food
This article by Jaya Saxena talks about the gender encoded words used to describe foods associated with either men or women, and how that affects perception of the foods in society. [Published on 10-30-2017]
Empowering Identity with Language
Play videoA YouTube blogger named Finn talks about how language can power and disempower identities. Specifically he talks about how trans individuals need to use confident language when talking about their identity. He points out the faults of expressions and phrases commonly used by the Transgender community that feed into the disempowered dialogue used by non-trans individuals. The way that we talk about ourselves not only influences the way we feel about ourselves but also how we allow others to talk about us.
Zoella's Controversial Tweets from 2010
Gender stereotypes and sexuality appear to cross over in a few aspects, including negative connotations. This quote seems to suggest that spitting is associated with "macho" heterosexual men according to gender stereotypes; whereas gay men are not "macho" enough to be taken seriously when exhibiting the same actions.
Comedian Darren Knight aka Southern Momma and the big snow storm
Play videoComedian Darren Knight's rendition of how southern mothers react to a snow storm in the south.
10 Things You Should Never Say To A British Person
The website shows the type of languages better to avoid using to British people. It also illustrate the reasons to avoid by explaining their cultural background and thoughts. By a negative approach, it shows some shared beliefs on the community. [Published on 12-13-2017]
Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don't belong to everyone
Play videoThis clip specifically looks at uses of language and the contexts and ideologies surrounding them that create speech communities. Ta-Nehisi Coates implies certain terms from particular speech communities and cultures cannot be used by outsiders appropriately.
Talking While Female
Play videoThis video shows how there are different ideologies according to women's voices. There is the not-so popular vocal fry, which in this video, says is considered less trustworthy. There are also other examples, like; the uptalk, the high voice, the low voice, etc. It is unbelievable that women have to consider changing their voices, so they don't fall into the ideology of their original voice.
Welcome to Hell SNL Skit
The SNL skit in this article goes into the topic of how dangerous the world is for women and how men have not been aware of it until now in line with the sexual harassment cases. The title of the song is called "Welcome to Hell." It tries to break language/gender ideologies by describing the how females see the world as "Hell", but in the light cheerful way that women are "supposed" to speak due to current social linguistic ideology now. [Published on 12-03-2017]
Jacqueline Kennedy's political speech Nov. 21, 1963
Play videoThis film clip showed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy speaking to a Texas Latino audience on November 21, 1963. Three years earlier in the 1960 Presidential campaign, a young Jack Kennedy and his political team recognized the potential of the Latino voters in the Republican held state of Texas. They decided to utilize Jacqueline Kennedy’s fluency in Spanish and a few months before the vote, she spoke to a Texas Latino crowd, persuading them to support her husband. It worked and Kennedy won the race by carrying Texas. Returning to Texas in 1963, President Kennedy allowed his wife to once again take the stage and speak Spanish, the first time a sitting United States President had honored a Hispanic group. The next day, JFK was assassinated in Dallas Texas.
Mandana Seyfeddinipur's TED Talk on Endangered Languages
Play videoThis is a TED Talk video of Mandana Seyfeddinipur, a linguist and the director of the
Endangered Lanuages Documentation Programme at SOAS University of London, sharing her
perspective on endangered languages. Seyfeddinipur shares how globalization, climate change,
urbanization and political unrest are causing the extinction of languages at a rate equivalent to
the loss of biological diversity during the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. She also emphasizes
how such change can negatively impacts cultural diversity and decreases social resilience.
I GET THE BAG Gucci Mane ft. Migos
Play videoThis is a new Hip-Hop video with Gucci Mane and rap group the Migos called I Get The "Bag". When people are talking about getting a "Bag" now of days it's just another way of saying getting money or bossing up that's just your "bag". Bag can be used in many different ways it's a new thing that has been used frequently. It's an African american slang word coming from rap culture.
Broad City
Play videoFor my sociolinguistic artifact I've chosen a brief clip from the popular show, Broad City. This clip is relevant to the course because it references language ideologies and addresses the issue of "Standardized English," or language. The clip shows how different pronunciation and ways of saying words can index cultural and social values.
Maori words for mental health revised and added onto
New Zealand wanted to expand the mental health language to not have ‘sometimes condescending’ English terms and to use more nonjudgmental terms to better describe people with mental health problems.
So You Like Dags?
Play videoIn this video, the assumptions the narrator reaches about the use of the Romani language comes from his beliefs about Romani as a group. The narrator assumes that gypsies are untrustworthy, and that this is why they speak in a manner that is difficult for him to understand.
Asterisk*
Play audioAsterisk* is a spoken word poem written and performed by Oliver Renee Schminkey. This piece first appeared as the closing act of The Naked I: Insides Out produced by 20% Theater Company in Minneapolis, MN. The artist, who identifies as gender queer, eloquently and powerfully describes what it is like to live in a world that neither affirms nor denies their gender identity. It exemplifies how prescriptive language that is set in ideology can be limiting and discriminatory.
Racial Slurs- Clerks 2
Play videoWarning- strong language and frequent use of racial slurs. In this scene from the movie "Clerks 2", in which the characters discuss the use of racial slurs, specifically the term "porch monkey", reflects some of the different attitudes towards racist language in society. Randal (played by Jeff Anderson) plays the ignorant white man in the scene, and his attitude towards the other, outraged characters in the scene represents opposing ideologies that are present throughout society. Just like society as a whole, Randal is stubborn in his defense of the term "porch monkey", claiming that it's not racist, and that he can "take it back." At one point Randal describes his grandmothers racist remarks as "cute" and says "that's the way people talked back then", excusing racism as a social norm. Randal's friend and co-worker Dante (played by Brian O'Halloran) at one point says, "And even if it could be saved, you can't save it because you're not black." This statement is interesting because white people are notorious for being entitled when it comes to other races or cultures, whether it be Cinco de Mayo, or white people's use of African American Vernacular English. This scene sheds an interesting perspective on the issue of racism in the US and how some still view racism as an objective subject matter.
ASL Interpretation of Music
Play videoThe video starts by explaining some basics of ASL. It goes on to discuss the complexities of interpreting music in ASL and the language ideologies associated with ASL and deafness. I think this video also addresses issues of language and power when it discusses how ASL is subordinate to spoken language at things like music events, which limits access for those who are part of the ASL speech community.
Family Guy - Stewie Griffin & Eliza Pinchley.
Play videoSome popular TV shows that are based on more offensive humor are great places to find examples of problems with language such as hegemony and accents. This example shows how the american baby is upset with the thick British accent of the girl and demands that she learns the proper accent and pronunciation of English. It is a bit ironic that he too has a bit of a British accent but continues to throw insults about her language ideologies and the accent associated with the way she speaks the same language he is speaking. This example shows how even when groups use hegemony to get others to conform to their ideals that they are a bit ignorant to the flaws of their own ideals and would rather focus on others "wrong doings".
Differenze Linguistiche Meme
This meme features the translation of the same word in many different languages. All but one of the translations are usually the same. By comparing the words that sound similar with one that sounds different, the meme promotes the language ideology that the language with the different translation is incorrect. The faces beside the translations are also indexical to ideologies that already exist about the languages in the meme. In the linked image, all of the faces are calm except the one beside the German translation, which is angry. This indexes the common ideology that German is a harsh, angry language.
Grief Bacon
Play videoIn this video, it depicts a German named Flula who teaches German colloquialisms. This illustrates the differences between cultures. The German culture has many words that cannot necessarily translate equivocally to English. The Germans combine words that are meaningless when translated directly to English. In this video, Flula talks about Kummerspeck, which directly translates to Grief Bacon, or the weight one gains during a period of grief.
British English vs. American English
Play videoThis video depicts a great example of how language ideology plays a role in how you learn to speak and what sounds “natural” to you whether it be “correct” or not. I think this simple example with two different styles of the same language proves the bigger issue of trying to understand how words can or cannot directly translate in two different languages and how some things that are normal in one language can be offensive in other languages, I think it all has to do with ideology and how your society molds the way that you speak and what is viewed as correct in your community.
Vanderbilt's Football Team does Srat Better than a Real Sorority
This is a video made by the Vanderbilt football team mocking how sororities use videos that follow the same format for recruitment purposes. They run and frolic in matching shirts and talk about how their “sisterhood” brings them together. This is stereotypical sorority behavior, in almost every recruitment on the internet girls do the same actions in a different order during the videos. The football team on the other hand is thought of as hyper masculine, the men who play are buff and tough and would NEVER be caught acting feminine. In the video when the football players talk they have a pronounced “female” way of talking by using filler words, like when the “president” is talking about how the anchor is their symbol he says, “how…how like great friends we are, we’re just anchored together”.
This video was posted to a website Total Sorority Move, a satirical site about Greek life. The video demonstrates different ideologies about Greek life such as everyone partying all the time and students involved in Greek life having zero non-greek friends. This video stays true to these stereotypical ideologies only showing the football team (as sorority girls) and zero people outside of the team. They all wear matching outfits and talk in the same mocking accent. Overall this video is used as a satire of sorority recruitment videos through the gendered “sorority girl” stereotype and language.
[Published on 04-20-2017]
"Why Explaining 'The N-Word' To Non-Black People Is So Damn Exhausting"
Article on Cultural Perceptions of the N-Word. Deals with which groups have responsibility or control over a word (and if they can have this control). This also shows lay-person perspective on key socio-linguistic issues. [Published on 05-09-2017]
British Villains -Tom Hiddleston en Jaguar F-Type Coupé
Play videoThis Jaguar car commercial adds to an ideology that an English accent sounds villainous. Indexically and through performativity the actor, Tom Hiddleston, describing how to successfully sound "villainous". This commercial is a part of a series featuring other British actors describing how to sound "villainous".
“Do You Understand the Words That Are Coming Out of My Mouth? - Rush Hour (1/5) Movie CLIP
Play videoThis is a clip from the movie Rush Hour where Agent Carter misunderstood that Jackie Chan (Lee) cannot understand English; therefore he got frustrated and started to change his tone and volume while talking to him. This clip touches on the issue of performativity, racial and linguistic ideologies, Standard Language Ideology and Language socialization.
Chris Tucker in the movie was expecting Jackie Chan to be able to speak English, and he also used forms like “speaka” and said “Mr. Rice-a-Roni don’t even speak American”. Based on this example and also the rising tone and increasing volume, it shows how Tucker had the linguistic ideologies of if he speaks louder and slower then the other person is going to understand him. He also used terms that shows his own identity such as “speaka”, and he also said, “speak American” to show his ideology of American equals English only.
Press One for English
Play videoThis music video features a clearly Anglo couple singing in thick Southern U.S. accents about the need to speak English in the United States. It clearly showcases many examples of languages ideologies and subtle racism. The video indexes a strong relationship between an American identity and English ability by using many flags, referencing the U.S. military, and blatantly saying "English is the language of the land." They also support the dominance of English, associating it with the opportunities of America, even ironically saying that "We share this land of liberties, so please speak English". Language is closely tied to one's identity, and it is a great abuse to force language upon another person. It's also very difficult to learn another language, especially to full proficiency, once one has passed puberty. Despite these facts, the lyric "You chose to come, now choose to speak English", insists that to be accepted as an American, you must alter a fundamental aspect of your being. The song goes on to associate different languages with "others", saying " I don't live in China, Mexico, no foreign place," and frequently implying that to speak another language is to be lesser, especially in the U.S. These attitudes surrounding English are what create the English hegemony in the U.S., but just because it is the norm doesn't mean it is positive. Many nations are multilingual and there are massive benefits, but this song maintains that it is absurd to have "subtitles in 5 languages" and that as an American, "why should I have to press one for English?". English is massively dominant in the U.S., despite the present of many other varieties over time. The dominance of English is closely tied to the systematic oppression of various ethnic groups in the U.S. over time.
"10 Reasons Lifting is a Religion".
Play videoDom Mazzetti is an iconic Youtuber for the lifting community in general. Some categories of lifters who watch these videos for enjoyment are: Powerlifters, Bodybuilders, Weightlifters, Powerbuilders, and more. Dom has created a series of satire Youtube videos for the lifting community that he calls "Broscience". These videos show heavy use of stereotypical "male gym speak" and every video shows a new satirical example of how to be the most "alpha", or the most "manly man", in your gym. These videos show language ideology in the weight room and free weight area in a gym and how to become a normality within this society by the words that you use when with fellow weight lifting members. Dom plays along gender and sex language ideology by performatively using (thus showing) differences in language use between the stereotypical “muscle head” male compared to the normality of speech in society.
John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!
This is a TED talk by John McWhorter in which he is explaining that writing is just a representation in the way we talk. He explains that there is an emergent complexity in fingered speech (texting). There is a new kind of "language" that is being created now that speech is in continuous change and therefore a new structure is created. [Published on 02-01-2013]
Key and Peele Loco Gangsters
Play videoThis is a video from the TV show Key and Peele called Loco Gangsters. Key and Peele act out a skit as perceived Latino males. They use a variety of linguistic techniques ranging from the ideologies believed to be associated with Spanish to mock Spanish.
Political Speech Comparison
Play videoIn this clip from "The Daily Show" Trevor Noah compares the speech of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. He comments on the surprise of hearing a politician "speak in full sentences", but also comments on how after listening to Donald Trump for so long a fruitful and complex political discussion is difficult to continue paying attention to.
Shameless: Mickey and Gender Expectations
These photos are from multiple scenes found in the TV series Shameless. The photos involve a character named Mickey Milkovich, a troubled, poor teenager who radiates the “tough guy” and delinquent persona but also happens to be gay. The quotes on the left demonstrate Mickey’s attempt in hiding his sexuality through harsh, derogatory language that is often associated with men. Girls are expected to show polite, clean language while boys can often get away with obscene language due to the ideologies involving expectations of how women and men should speak. These ideologies are socially constructed based on gender stereotypes and are reinforced through socialization. Boys are socialized to assert dominance and stray away from emotion that is typically associated with women, which is what is being displayed in these images. Mickey initially hides behind these language ideologies that are rooted in a largely heteronormative and male hegemonic society due to the fear of intolerance within society and of challenging these ideologies to ultimately lose the masculine, “tough guy” persona he is expected to portray. However, the photos on the right show, although at times still obscene in language use, a changed Mickey that eventually speaks out against these ideologies through publicly coming out as gay with his boyfriend, Ian.
The 100 Language Ideology
Play videoIn the episode series, The 100, there are three groups of people, the mountainmen, the ark, and the grounders. The mountainmen and the Ark have both been living in conditions with a school system and a more systematic type of life in general. They both speak Standard English and after 97 years apart come back together and can communicate. The grounders, who live on the ground in a less "civilized" way in the modern worlds eyes, speak a language called “Trigedasleng”, which is supposed to be a descendant of modern English. The grounders have to speak English in order to communicate with the mountainmen and the ark. There is a language ideology within the show that seems similar to the English-only ideology around today. This idea that English is the best language and should be the language to communicate with others as well as the most civilized language (Crawford, 2000). I have attached a video of the language spoken by the grounders and one can also see how they are depicted within the show in accordance to the ideology that they are “less civilized”.
English = civilized language
Play videoIn the episode series, The 100, there are three groups of people, the mountainmen, the ark, and the grounders. The mountainmen and the Ark have both been living in conditions with a school system and a more systematic type of life in general. They both speak Standard English and after 97 years apart come back together and can communicate. The grounders, who live on the ground in a less "civilized" way in the modern worlds eyes, speak a language called “Trigedasleng”, which is supposed to be a descendant of modern English. The grounders have to speak English in order to communicate with the mountainmen and the ark. There is a language ideology within the show that seems similar to the English-only ideology around today. This idea that English is the best language and should be the language to communicate with others as well as the most civilized language (Crawford, 2000). I have attached a video of the language spoken by the grounders and one can also see how they are depicted within the show in accordance to the ideology that they are “less civilized”.
Modern Family Accent Mocking
Play videoPhil Dunphy, the fun loving dad in Modern Family, demonstrates accent mocking for the sake of entertainment within the newest episode of the show. Having been invited to a "roaring 20s" themed wedding, Dunphy slides into is "gangster Chicago accent" to fit the period. Completely unlike his natural accent, this Chicago accent is highly theatrical and contains language he feels to be appropriate for that time period. Using a Chicago accent to portray and old-timey gangster demonstrates an ideology held about this accent and this region.
Boys' keypads Versus Girls' keypads
This image of “boys’ keypads versus girls’ keypads” shows ideologies about gender and texting. Apparently on a woman’s keypad, there are only three not-so-much-informative words: hm, ok, and oh, while boys seem to text normally, at least in words or sentences. It also shows a phonological feature of women’s texting habits like “hmmmmm, okkkkkk, ohhhhhh” which seems unnecessary when conveying information. In the place of the punctuation button, women apparently use two emojis: smile and wink. This may indicate two things: women’s talk is more cooperative, emotional and encouraging; or women’s talk is mostly not genuine, since whatever others text, women only reply with a happy emoji. Compared to the ideologies that women talk more than men, this keyboard image seems to show women scarcely text anything more than three non-informative words and emojis. However, they both portray a negative image of women’s talk: not too much content. The anecdote also portrays a binary distinction between girls’ talk and boys’ talk, and ignores the varieties of how women/men actually talk in real life.
Mitchell on Manners
Play videoThis is the first of a four part series exploring linguistic interactions surrounding manners and their culturally-defined meanings. The program describes how cultural norms determine what is considered polite or rude, such as what questions you can ask another person and how you should address people who are older or younger than you. Manners in Western Europe are explained to be standards set by the ruling and higher class members of society who sought to further establish their superiority over the lower classes, who couldn't afford eight different knives for a singular meal. The discussants also speak about a possible delineation between "etiquette" and "manners." The later portions of the program discuss expectations of social interaction, such as not constantly looking at one's phone while accompanied by another person and to ensure that there are no awkward pauses during a conversation.
"That's Not How Gay Men Talk!"
Play videoThis clip of the television series, "New Girl", indexes language ideologies regarding perceptions of how gay men should speak. At the end of the clip, Jess informs Nick, who is pretending to be gay, that his speech was incongruent with how gay men speak. This indexes the language ideology that there are a believed set of speech qualities that all gay men possess.
"Fancy-speak"
A box for a chocolate lava cake from Domino's Pizza which refers to French as "fancy-speak" which relates to our discussion of language ideologies. [Published on 03-15-2017]
Fry & Laurie comedy sketch
Play videoStephen Fry & Hugh Laurie perform a comedy sketch satirizing attitudes about language change.
Russian Aristocracy Spoke French
Prior to the Decembrist revolt, the Russian aristocracy's principal language was French, not Russian, even within family and personal relationships. Children of aristocrats were forbidden and even punished, for speaking Russian. After the revolt, the aristocracy started speaking Russian, or risk punishment. French continued to be spoken by the aristocracy, but the social situation determined which language, Russian or French, was appropriate. However, the addition of Russian, did result in one set of language rules for men and another to women. [Published on 12-04-2008]
Mock Spanish in 'The Mexican' Trailer
Play videoThis trailer for the 2001 movie “The Mexican” starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, demonstrates Brad Pitt’s character utilizing mock Spanish saying words like “el trucko” and “towno” in an interaction with Hispanic men. He also attempts Spanglish in another interaction saying a phone call is “muy muy important.”
Teen Slang: What's, like, so wrong with like?
This article is about the use of 'like' and other fillers and the way it is deemed inappropriate. It is commonly used among teens as a way of 'belonging', and is used in certain contexts. The article also goes on to say that someone might not like the use of fillers because they are not part of the speech community it's used in. [Published on 09-28-2010]
The Great Language Game Assumptions
Play videoPeople impose their own attitudes of what a culture is like onto their language. For example, many Americans assume that British people are sophisticated, and as a result, the 'a' as in father is viewed as a more posh pronunciation in other words. In this video, someone plays The Great Language Game; as he guesses what language the sound sample is, he makes some assumptions, such as that he feels that Chinese sounds 'harsher' than Japanese, and that's how he separates them. He uses his concept of standards of how each language sounds to guess which it is. Here's a link to the game itself: https://greatlanguagegame.com/
The new Standard Swedish - sound experiment showing how Sweden sounds today
A Swedish linguistics professor has helped design a new kind of Riksvenska, or Standard Swedish, which more closely reflects the way people speak in 2017. [Published on 01-31-2017]
Woman kicked out of Quebec hospital for speaking english
Play videoTwo reporters from the Sun News discuss the Quebec French language ideologies that have begun spurring discrimination towards other linguistic communities within the region.
Watch the second presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton
Play videoCertain ideologies have been established without actually speaking, such as handshaking. In the recent debate it was apparent as the candidates met on the debate stage there was no such exchange. Throughout the debate Mr. Trump displayed numerous was to establish power, both through gestures and verbal exchange. Mr. Trump stood throughout and when Senator Clinton was speaking he often stood behind her. This could be interpreted as a stand of power. Mr. Trump interrupted and made comments while Senator Clinton was talking that could have been an attempt to establish power. Mr. Trump’s continued reference to “locker room talk” could appear to be gender based.
Do You Speak American?
Scholar and author, John G. Fought, focuses on how different dialect uses around the country affect the pronunciation of words and formation of speech patterns. Fought explains how the history of the United States has shaped language and has helped develop speech communities into what they are today. The media's role in what is considered "American" in regard to language is also described by Fought, touching on its key part in influencing specific dialect in different regions.
"Token Black Woman" -Issa Rae
This gif comes from an episode of the show "Insecure" that aired recently on HBO. The show is based on Issa Rae, an African American woman, trying to navigate her way through her 20's. Rae works for a non profit called "We Got Ya'll," which helps children of color from low income communities to be successful in school. The non-profit was created by a white woman and Rae is the only black woman working there. Rae refers to herself as the "token black woman." This gif shows a white co-worker asking Rae the meaning of "on fleek." Her co-worker is assuming that because Rae is black, that she is familiar with this language. This is an example of her co-worker's language ideologies. Unfortunately for her co-worker, due to indirect indexicality, making this assumption actually makes her appear racist.
Rae spoke about the show, saying that the series will examine "the complexities of 'blackness' and the reality that you can’t escape being black." Rae also said, in regards to the potential mainstream reaction to the series: "We’re just trying to convey that people of color are relatable. This is not a hood story. This is about regular people living life."
Japanese Gendered Language: How to Talk Like a Girl or Boy
This article discusses gendered language in Japanese, which includes the origin of "feminine language" (which started off as a form of "vulgar" language that schoolgirls were using) and how gendered language can be used as a form of self-identity or as a way to rebel against the strict standards of Japanese language. In the language ideology of Japanese, there have historically been opinions on who can use what type of language and how, but this article demonstrates that these ideologies are changing today. [Published on 02-05-2014]
Who is really “American”?
Play videoPeople from North, South and Central America discuss the use of the term “American” as an identifier by people from the United States. "Americans" have a linguistic ideology about what it means to be one and seem to ignore the fact that it excludes people from all other regions in the Americas.
Use of AAE in Marketing: Jet Blue Example
Jet Blue utilized the term "fleek" in their marketing, which arose from "Black twitter" and is typically considered African American English. It backfires and is deemed as inauthentic, and lots call into question whether it is "professional". This relates to language ideologies; we have certain expectations of who should be speaking in what way, as well as shared ideologies within a particular community of practice. [Published on 02-23-2015]
Hillary Clinton: Blaspandering?
Do we need a new term for black pandering, like hispandering has? In this clip, fox news sounds off on Hilary's speech regarding white privilege. Although her intent is good, like examples of hispandering, her language of "we" and "our" vs. "you" helps to reflect and reinforce ideologies of otherness. [Published on 04-13-2016]
Melania Trump Echoes Michelle Obama in Convention Speech
As the title suggests, presidential hopeful, Donald Trump's wife Melania Trump gave her first major political speech last night. Many found striking similarities between her speech last night and that of First Lady Michelle Obama's earlier DNC speech. These similarities bring up the question of "shared values" or plagiarism. Also notable are factors such as Melania's native language not being English: how did this affect the speech and the way it was received? [Published on 07-18-2016]
Unapologetically Southern
Play videoIn this video, Chad Prather, a man who identifies himself as a Southern Gentleman. "Rants" in defense of his southern "accent" or dialect. Here we can see a man defending his own way of communication against attacks (in the form of social media messages and comments) from people who hold the language ideology that his accent proves that he is not intelligent.
Should Holocaust Denial be Criminalized?
Play videoFascinating example of rhetorical devices and traditions at the Oxford Union...Question is whether holocaust denial should be criminalized. Proponents narrow the scope of the debate, opponents broaden the issue well beyond holocaust denial. Also, I love the fact that at the Oxford Union, the speakers are introduced by their opposition in the debate...great device that illustrates the philosophy of this great institution.
Mahogany performing CultureAppropriation
Play videoPowerful performance and poem from Mahogany. CultureAppropriation. Turns the appropriation of African American culture, using emotional references, provocative stereotypes, music...
International Body Language
The article shows how body language is an important expression of language. It identifies how important it is when studying cultural languages to understand how body language is used. [Published on 05-14-2013]
What is Hispandering?
The article explains what Hispandering is and how politicians are exposing it. It provides evidence to the strong relationship that culture and language have. It also shows how culture identification is a large factor to how language is interpreted. [Published on 03-10-2016]
Gender Has/Has Not Been Hijacked by White MiddleClass
Play videoPortion of a very interesting debate at the Oxford Union regarding whether feminism has been hijacked by "white middle class" women. Engages so many topics,including race, poverty, feminism/gender politics.
Why the f*** shouldn't women swear?
This article talks about sexism in the fact that there is an idea that women should not curse. For example, it mentions that people tell female rapper, Nicki Minaj that she should not cuss, but the same is not said to male rappers, like Eminem or Lil Wayne [Published on 11-04-2014]
Does language shape how we think? Linguistic relativity & linguistic determinism
Play videoThis video explains and simplifies what linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism is.
Gay Men React to Lesbian Slang
Play videoThis video shows a bunch of different gay men trying to decipher what different types of lesbian slang mean. They also go in to what their own gay slang is as well while trying to understand lesbian slang.
Pardon my Spanglish
Play videoA comedian joins Spanish CNN to talk about his new book about Spanglish. The comedian and the anchor switch between English and Spanish throughout the video, talking in Spanglish. While there's a good deal more Spanish being spoken in the video, there's also English, just not as much as Spanish. The intro of the video is a great example of Spanglish, as is the whole interview for the most part.
Friends: Joey acting nineteen
Play videoIn this clip from the TV show FRIENDS, the character Joey is pretending to be a teenager to prove he can land an acting gig as a younger guy. He uses a bunch of what he thinks is teenager slang while trying to convince Chandler that he can do it. This is a good example of slang, especially in regards to youth and the area in which the show is set (NYC).
The 5 Big Advantages to Learning Multiple Languages
This website gives you the 5 biggest reasons why learning a another language besides your own is definitely in your best interest. From the brain power to, the language structure of each language, all reasons are perfectly applicable.
The Philippine Language?
Play videoThe Philippine language? This video is a very interesting and extremely helpful. Although there is no such thing as the Philippine language, linguistic experts call it a "invented language." The Philippine's is diverse country made up of many ethnicity's and linguistic groups.
"I'm sorry, Pope Francis, this America and we speak English!"
Discussion of Pope Franics's use of language prior to his visit to the United States. The Pope chose to use Spanish for the majority of his visit, which some say was his taking on a political stance on the US policy on immigration and an 'English only' country. [Published on 09-18-2015]
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
Play videoA humorous look at the interpretation of AAVE from the movie Airplane! ca. 1980. Beyond this being an example of linguistic ideologies at work it also serves as social commentary on how AAVE was perceived in the time the movie was made.
CNN Election Center
Play videoIn this video there are many different types of sociolinguistic artifacts, and in any kind of SNL skit they have to make it more dramatic to bring out the commentary. Yet, within this clip you see many types of tags used within the first few minutes. For example, Donald Trump is the first person to be impersonated, but within the short clip that he is in he shows tags of "Race/Ethnicity, Sexism, Gender, Politics and Policy". And for Hillary Clinton she is showing many of the same character traits as well. Within all of these impersonators they are all trying to benefit themselves in some way that looks appealing to the audience.
How to understand the differences between British and American English
Play videoThe video does a great job at comparing words and the differences in meanings they can portray whether being interpreted from someone from the U.S OR U.K. It shows the power of the interpretation of language and how it can cause an interaction to be positive or negative. It shows the importance of linguistic relativity and the social context individuals are a part of.
If Asians said the Stuff White People Say
Play videoThe video is a complete spoof but it does a great job of identifying how the Asian population can be categorized into one giant category. It illustrated linguistic discrimination and shows how the social context you live in can influence a culture's way of thought.
17 Reasons Americans Should Be Embarrassed They Only Speak English
This article gives insight onto why only being able to speak English, as is common to a majority of American's, is not a good thing. This article expresses how, as American's we should strive to learn other languages instead of expecting others to know ours. [Published on 03-19-2014]
The Evolution of Dude
Play videoHow the meaning of the word dude has radically changed over 130 years.
Ricky argues Wittgenstein with Karl (The Ricky Gervais Show)
Play videoRicky Gervais and Karl Pilkington discuss Ludwig Wittgenstein's famous quote "if a lion could speak, we could not understand him." They discuss how experience is an important part of shaping meaning.
who talks more men or women
Play videoEllen takes a poke at women talking more than men 20K vs 7K whereas a recent study shows it is about even at 16K a piece but a good piece showing the first points of men not talking as much as women.
"The Day Beyonce Turned Black"
Play videoWithin this SNL skit, there are many different forms of language used. For this skit, it is explaining how caucasian people tend to look at the world in a over dramatic way. Throughout the skit, there are race, gender, & sexualities between white people and Black people. This skit has a comical view on different political problems that we have in this country today, and what the children of our culture are growing up in.
Judith Butler on Performativity
Philosopher and feminist theorist Judith Butler describes performativity as “that reiterative power of discourse to produce the phenomena that it regulates and constrains.” She has largely used this concept in her analysis of gender development. Working in the fields of feminist, queer, and literary studies.
Carlton
Play videoThis particular clip shows the comparisons of what some specific groups might think of how someone should be because of color and class when it is society who defines these boundaries.
india vs mexico
Play videoThis clip shows how different countries or races think or talk about other countries. The same thing he says here Americans typically say about Mexico.
Key & Peele - Negrotown
Play videoIn this Key and Peele video, the stigmas attached to African Americans are shown. A white police officer begins to arrest a black man walking in an alley who is doing nothing wrong. When they enter 'Negrotown' he begins singing a song in which he says "here you can walk the streets without being stopped, harassed or beat." This brings in race and ideology about how African Americans are still being treated unfairly.
effects of english hegemony on education
blog post by john fotheringham discussing his view on english hegemony and education; the globally skewed view that if you don't speak english you're not well educated
Key & Peele - White-Sounding Black Guys
Play video
Key and Peele talk about their very intentional use of AAE features in both real life and comedy. This ties in perfect for language ideology because it turns out to be much more than just language. It's the cultural system of ideas about social and linguistic relationships.
Cultural Hegemony
Play videoA wonderfully concise description of hegemony, with real world examples of things we see in our everyday life that we may overlook. This idea relates to language in how our society favors standard English and those who utilize it.
We Can Do IT
This sign was an empowerment for women to join the workforce and was widely re-popularized in the 80's Women's Movement promoting equality in the workplace. [Published on 09-22-2014]
3 Ways To Speak English
This TedTalk features Jamila Lyiscott, who describes the "three Englishes" she speaks on a daily basis, which is determined by her surrounding environment and who she is with. Her detailed breakdown of the different "tongues" she speaks shows the correlation between language, culture, and race, as well as how society and culture effect language acquisition/usage as a reflection of widely held language ideologies. [Published on 02-01-2014]
Do Women REALLY Talk More Than Men?
Play videoThis video is a great example of ideology and how it can be generally accepted; even with evidence to the contrary.
"Like Totally Whatever"
A poem detailing the ideologies related to some features of young women's language, and the effect this sort of policing can have on young women.
G'day mate: 'Lazy' Australian accent caused by "alcoholic slur' of heavy-drinking early settlers
A newspaper article reporting on an opinion piece written by a communications professor at Melbourne's Victoria University suggesting that the Australian accent resulted from the slurring of speech of early (drunk) settlers. [Published on 10-27-2015]
Debate about who gets to use a word
cw: discussion of racial slur
This is a CNN interview between a white commentator and a black rapper named Trinidad. They're debating about use of the n-word.
I find the controversy about who gets to use certain words fascinating. I hear a power & privilege conversation most often, as well as an "in-group" vs "out-group" conversation. [Published on 03-17-2015]
America's Ugliest Accents: Something's Ugly Alright
Sociolinguistic Josef Fruehwald responds to the Gawker "Ugliest Accent" tournament, highlighting the use of language as a proxy for discrimination against speakers from various social and geographic groups. [Published on 10-01-2014]
More Language Imitation
Play videoThis has much less to do with English specifically, but I thought it was really cool. This woman imitates what a number of languages sound like to foreigners, and she does it really well! Again, there are sometimes actual words involved (like 'bonsoir' in the French one) but it's almost all nonsense.
Val Systems: Pretentious /ae/ hole
The blog post provides a clip from the popular NPR show "Car Talk, with two native Bostonians as hosts. In the clip, one hosts relates being teased by his daughter for his trap-bath split, saying it sounds pretentious.
Dude: Stanford Linguists Probe California Accent
Penelope Eckert and fellow researchers in California examine how English is spoken and perceived in different cities around the state in efforts to refute the stereotype that California English is accentless and homogenous.