Standard Language Ideology
Semantle! Word/Language Game
Game Description: Each guess must be a word (or short phrase like San Juan or id est). Semantle will tell you how semantically similar it thinks your word is to the secret word. Unlike that other word game, it's not about the spelling; it's about the meaning. The similarity value comes from Word2vec. The highest possible similarity is 100 (indicating that the words are identical and you have won). The lowest in theory is -100, but in practice it's around -34. By "semantically similar", I mean, roughly "used in the context of similar words, in a database of news articles."
FAQ addresses UK spellings of words (thinking about Standard Language Ideology here): The data seems to be normalized to US spelling. Semantle tries to automatically Americanize your spelling (in the cases where only the American version is in the data set). Of course, they probably couldn't normalize some words, like 'biscuit', 'lift', or 'pants', so for those you're on your own.
Lawyer Dog
Tweet describing a Black man being assigned a Lawyer Dog, due to his request for a "lawyer, dog" being transcribed without the comma. The comments of the tweet offer many similar scenarios
In the yard, not too far from the car
A favorite scene from Jaws. I feel like this is a really interesting example of indexicality. Brody and Ellen are clearly aware of (r)-0 in coda position, though they probably wouldn't call it that, and they seem to have some idea of what it indexes and joke about that with each other.
A Zine Piece Written in Hawaiian Pidgin
Pages 12-13. Written by a native Hawaiian in [Published on 03-01-2022]
American pop culture LOVES these 10 accents
Play videovideo explaining how different accents are used to portray personae in American pop culture media
African-American English in North Carolina
Play videoAfrican American North Carolinians discuss their use of language, touching on style-shifting, communities of practice, phonology, history of language, etc. Lots of metalinguistic commentary and great speakers.
"Segment on African American English and its role in the lives and identities of African Americans in North Carolina. Excerpt from from the documentary "Voices of North Carolina""
Chaoju Tang, Vincent J. van Heuven, 2009: Mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects experimentally tested
a study on mutual intelligibility of 15 Chinese varieties, which the graph shown in the tiktok video is based on
Mutual Intelligibility between Chinese Dialects
@lisatalk_ talking about intelligibility between Chinese dialects on TikTok [Published on 02-28-2022]
Why some speakers can't understand speakers who understand them - Asymmetric Intelligibility
Play videoThis video explains the phenomenon of asymmetric intelligibility.
Life of Brian - Latin Lesson - Romans Go Home!
Play video1979's "Life of Brian" comedically depicts the titular main character, played by Graham Chapman, defacing, in Latin, a Roman monument. A Roman centurion, played by John Cleese, stops him and punishes him for his "bad" grammar. The scene is largely a parody of the relationship between English schoolchildren and their teachers. Linguistically, it's interesting as a demonstration of prescriptive norms as well as the representation of different dialects. Cleese's dialect is meant to sound more elevated while Graham Chapman's, who is from Melton Mowbray, north of London, is meant to sound less elevated, which is supposed to add to the comedy. Funnily enough, I think some of Brian's usages correlate with changes that would end up occurring in Latin before it changed into the various Romance languages.
Indians React to Apu Controversy
Play videoThis video interviews Indian people in a casual, street setting (in Mumbai) to understand their perceptions of Apu, a stereotyped Indian character in 'The Simpsons'.
President Obama's Anger Translator
Play videoPresident Obama gets an anger translator. This video is comedic twist to a typical presidential speech.
US Language Attitudes
Play videoLinguist on a train asks people about their language attitudes and what regions they think speak more correctly.
"I ATE TOO MANY DRUGS": ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Warning: Discusses George Floyd's death and trial
The defense in trial of police officer Derek Chauvin are misinterpreting utterances of George Floyd before his death in an attempt to justify this murder. This blog post explains these misconceptions and the dangers of misunderstanding AAE (African-American English) as a society with many language variations. [Published on 04-11-2021]
Oprah on Black and Standard English
This is the episode where Oprah talks about her views on Black English, famously referring to this type of speech as the 'ebonic plague,'while speaking with features of Black English, as referenced in "Oprah and /ay/: lexical frequency, referee design, and style" (Hay, 1999).
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]
An Appeal to Everyone: Please Stop Pronouncing “Pokémon” Wrong
A HowToGeek contributor's plea: Neither Japanese nor Americans "pronounce it po-KEE-mon. The true pronunciation is po-KAY-mon, or po-KAH-mon, both propagated by the cartoon, which is available on Netflix just in case you need a refresher."
How Automated Tools Discriminate Against Black Language
CW for racism, linguistic discrimination, & (to a lesser extent) sexism & ableism. An article about how the comment moderation software Perspective deems AAL and other "non-standard" language more toxic or rude, resulting in the censorship of marginalized voices. It addresses the larger problem of white people not understanding AAL, which results in racist software like this being common as long as people (especially women) of color are prevented access to the computer science field. [Published on 03-05-2019]
article on something similar to Contrastive Analysis
An article about problems faced by AAE-speaking students and a similar educational strategy to that discussed in the Rickford article; I do think the same concerns voiced about Contrastive Analysis in general, and definitely the older applications of it Rickford criticizes, apply to this form. [Published on 07-16-2014]
Regional Accents debate on the BBC
Play videoIn a BBC news interview two white women talk about "polishing" or "smoothing" accents in order to be taken more seriously (particularly in work/business situations). I find the opinions of both these women problematic especially the idea that "accents should fit in with the people you are with" which immediately brings up issues of class and "prestige" not to mention the fact that opportunities to change ones accent are not available to everyone and instead perpetuates this idea of an accent-based hierarchy of what counts as "proper" English.
Taylor Mali Totally like whatever, you know
Play videoAn older white man thinks he is the only one that sounds like he knows what he's talking about but misses the irony in that he's talking about how younger people speak . . .
Language Bias Among Generations
Play videoHow the way you speak can show what kind of person you are. Vera Regan, a sociolinguists discusses this topic and how language is always changing. This can vary from word order, to the ways things are said differently and can mean the same thing, to the ways that different generations speak. Dependent on what generation you are from, you might have different rules for the way to speak and understand languages. This can lead to language ideologies and how one generation believes how everyone that speaks that language should speak.
Dialects of the English Language
Play videoThis video is an example of the various dialects of the english language, based on speech communities and certain language ideologies. Jamila Lyiscott is a "tri-tongued orator". Race/ethncity have a lot to do with the way in which people speak, as well as where same one was raised. Jamila is an example of these language ideologies, and how perceptions made of the way one speaks may not always be informative to who they are.
Resistance to Borrowing: Léo Ferré's "La Langue Française"
Play videoLéo Ferré's "La Langue Française" (1962) exemplifies standard language ideologies that consider foreign loanwords a threat to a language's 'purity' or even its very existence, the joke of the song centering on the irony of the singer declaring that he loves to speak French as he crams borrowings from English into everything he says.
What Makes a Dialect a Dialect: The Roots of Upper Peninsula English
Play videoHistory and development of English in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a regional dialect also known as Yooper.
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.
American Accent Immitations
Play videoThis video depicts 70 non-Americans doing their best impression of an American "accent". I find this video interesting because there are so many different dialects of English and numerous other languages spoken in America, but the impressions all tend to be pretty similar, depicting Americans as ditzy, uneducated, improper, etc. This relates to language ideologies and how people outside of America perceive and have certain opinions about how all Americans tend to speak.
NPR Linguistic Profiling
NPR's Tovia Smith reports on linguistic discrimination in relation to the Fair Housing Act. The interviewee was repeatedly denied housing because of linguistic profiling, and Smith talks about legality and the lawsuit that ensued. The segment addresses many of the concerns in Baugh's "Linguistic profiling" paper. (CW: N-word is used by AAE speaker) [Published on 09-05-2001]
Professor suspected of being a terrorist because of a math equation
A woman thinks that an Ivy League professor is a terrorist due to her inability to understand what he's writing (among other things). Her standard language ideology influenced her to believe that because he didn't seem to be writing in English, this could only be an indication that he was foreign and, ultimately in her eyes, a terrorist. [Published on 05-07-2016]
The Cost of Code Switching
Play videoThis is a 10 minute TedX video addressing the complexities of style shifting/code switching in America, specifically AAE speakers being expected to conform to "standard forms" to survive in America. This talk addresses issues of police brutality, racism, and expectations of who is expected to style shift/code switch and why.
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.
Sh*t People From Hawaii Say
Play videoPopular Youtuber and Hawaii local, Ryan Higa, exemplifies what Hawaiian Creole (known more commonly in Hawaii as 'pidgin') sounds like. Rosina Lippi-Green briefly discusses Hawaiian creole in her article, "Accent, standard language ideology, and discriminatory pretext in the courts," and Ryan demonstrates what locals sound like (albeit in a slightly dramatized manner) when speaking the language.
Implementation of Hebrew as a Standard Language in pre-1948 Palestine
This article discusses the revernacularization of Hebrew into a standard language in Palestine, and then gives examples of how political and interest groups carried out this implementation at a local level through an examination of the 1930s and 1940s city documents of a small Jewish settlement, Raanana. [Published on 01-01-2008]
Philosophize This! episode 115
Play videothis is a podcast about the origins of Structuralist philosophy, it takes a look at the contribution Ferdinand de Saussure made to philosophical thought through his work in linguistics and semiology.
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.
The trouble with Trump's word choices
This is an opinion article on the interruption of President Trump's word choices. During the Presidential race, Trump used trouble words when referring to a community, based on their race or language. This article points out the various examples of Trump using trouble wording then explains how offensive he was being. [Published on 10-20-2016]
Nigerian Pidgin Speakers Struggle to Translate a Phrase Into "Proper English"
Play videoThis video shows speakers of Nigerian Pidgin English struggling to translate the phrase “This Ogbono soup too draw” into “proper English.” The video itself is a good example of how pidgin languages can have a majority of lexical features from one language, but cannot be directly translated due to the uniqueness of the created pidgin. The use of the phrase “proper English” in the title also shows the prescriptive ideology of language that the creator of the video possesses by labeling one way of speaking English as the “proper” way.
Ideologies and stereotypes of southern english
Play videoMusician performs song explaining ideologies and stereotypes associated with the southern accent and the feelings some speakers have about it.
Grammer Nazi
Play videoCW// Violence, blood. A satirical scene from the show That Mitchell and Webb Look—season 4, episode 1—depicting those who force their language ideology with regard to "correct English grammar" on others in an oppressive way. It comments on hegemony and the difficulty of conforming to the myriad of proposed rules by some, as well as the impossibility to conform perfectly even for those imposing such rules, since English borrows words from languages with different grammatical structures. Furthermore, it is entitled, "Grammer Nazi," indexing a notion of domination and violent imposition of rules by those who hold such views of "correct English."
Usain Bolt Final Race Interview
Play videoThis is an interview with Usain Bolt, a Jamaican sprinter, after his final race. He is speaking in Jamaican Standard English, as opposed to Jamaican Patois.
Relationship between linguistic fragmentation and social capital
This article analyzes the experiment that finds the relationship between linguistic fragmentation and social capital. Researchers found that the number of language spoken in a country is significantly negatively correlated with social capital. They have concluded that multilingual countries tend to be poorer than those dominated by a single big language. They also concluded that countries with high levels of social capital tends to be richer and tend to proper. They have examined some countries have many languages and relatively high social capital which include America and Canada as immigration destinations that also host to many indigenous languages. The article created a relationship between the results from the experiment and the immigration in which immigrants and their children must master the language of their new countries whether or not they keep their old languages.
The term “Ching Chong” as the representation of mocking Asian community in the U.S.
This audio surrounds the concept of “Ching Chong” which is one of many well-known examples that have been used as an insult to Asians in the United States. The concept of “Ching Chong” was initially formed from an anti- Chinese sentiment and were often brought up as a taunt back in the 19th Century. Mimicry, particularly for mocking Asian accents, is the default pejorative mode. The article mentioned that this form of mockery identifies Asians as decidedly, unequivocally foreign, and that Asians and Asian Americans are the “other” and excluded from the American community.
Linguist Jennifer Scalfani’s analysis on Trump’s “unique” use of language
Play videoThis video is about Jennifer Scalfani, a linguist at Georgetown University, who analyzed Donald Trump’s “unique” use of language that he uses as the President of the United States. His language is unique in a way that it is different than the language that other Presidents spoke in the past. He uses much more simple vocabulary and grammar, jumps from one topic to another, involves a variety of hand gestures, and uses an expression at the end of the phrase to emphasize his message. Scalfani analyzed how Trump’s unique use of language is a representation of how language can create a brand, construct an identity that is recognizable, and create an authentic persona.
Difference Between Men and Women
Play videoA short clip from the TV show, “Friends” posted in June of 2017. The video explains the generalizations society has for the way men and women speak. The women in the video tend to over exaggerate the situation, in which they grab glasses and a bottle of wine to discuss the kiss. Whereas, the men in the latter part of the video are eating pizza casually talking about the kiss in a matter of five seconds with a few words each. The actions in the video describe the generalizations society gives men and women’s communication styles.
AAVE (African American Vernacular English) Ebonics Is Not “Improper” English
Play videoA video from May of 2016 explaining why AAVE Ebonics is a proper form of English because everyone has their own dialect that is valid. The video goes on to suggest that white supremacy is the cause of all this uproar and if roles were switched then AAVE would be the official language of the United States.
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.
School of Rock First Day
Play videoThis is a clip from the movie School of Rock when Jack Black who plays Newy Finn has his first day as a substitute teacher. The language that he uses and the way he communicates is very out of role than what a student would expect from a teacher. Teachers are expected to all be in one speech community and Jack Black shows that he is not part of that speech community that most teachers are in.
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.
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.
English Motherf*****
Play videoAn interrogation scene from the HBO series The Wire. Through their use of mock language two detectives index a language ideology that places the immigrant's language as substandard to English. This language ideology restricts the agency of the immigrant by reinforcing language inequality through the positioning of English as the only tool that can serve the communicative function in this discourse.
"Spanish Radio" - Gabriel Iglesias
Play videoComedian Gabriel Iglesias "Spanish Radio" skit relates to language ideologies regarding the Spanish language. Iglesias, who speaks Spanish and English, creates a humorous effect on how people from the "motherland" of Mexico speak rather fast, even for himself. Iglesias has the ability to speak two different languages (bilingualism) and codeswitches between the two languages in a lot of his skits. The skit can relate to our standard language ideology in that the Spanish speaking language is fast and hard to understand and he presents that concept through mock Spanish.
Foreign Accents: Louis C.K's Skit on Saturday Night Live
Play videoIn this video clip from a recent Saturday Night Live, the skit seems to have been written to specifically mock both Louis C.K's inability to reproduce a foreign accent, while also mocking the foreign accents of early immigrants. It is difficult to understand their motivations for the skit, but it seems to me that their depictions of 20th century immigrants relate to our Standard Language Ideology that immigrant language is difficult to understand and is something to be mocked. It is also an interesting example of linguistic crossing, as Louis C.K's appearance in this skit depends on his ability to imitate a foreign accent which he is unable to do.
The Crows in Dumbo
Play videoChildhood is an extremely critical time for socialization into a given culture. Children learn from parents, teachers, and friends about the norms and beliefs of their community. Language is an important category to be socialized into as language and ideologies surrounding language are intertwined with race, class, and status. Although there is no official language of America, English is pushed as the official language so much so that historically non-English speakers were forced by violence to shed their culture’s identity and language and subscribe to the “English-only” agenda. While the use of corporal punishment is not prevalent in modern society as a means of restricting non-English languages, the general attitude towards anyone who speaks something other than Standardized American English is unfavorable. The crows in Disney’s Dumbo show the ways in which language is used to stereotype a group of people which also acts to socialize young children to stigmatize people either directly or indirectly. In Jane Hill’s study on the use of Mock Spanish, she concluded that mock Spanish is directly linked to ideas of racism by saying, “racism is largely produced in and through everyday talk, not through the obvious racist slurs that most people today condemn but through unintentional, indirect uses of language that reinforce racist stereotypes” (Hill, 2008). Furthermore, Rankin and Karn’s study on Ebonics led them to the conclusion that “anti-Ebonics ideology is transmitted by a simple set of strategies which suggest one can ‘speak’ Ebonics by simply pejorating standard English” which then “produces a racialized language stereotype of a subordinate group” (Rankin & Karn, 1999). Disney’s portrayal of an animal who is colored black and speaking in a stereotypical manner of African Americans would further push the ideology that this is how all African Americans speak. This portrayal would then be normalized and viewed as acceptable based on the influence and power of media especially on children.
“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.
Gendered Language in "Beauty and the Beast"
The character LeFou in "Beauty and the Beast" recently caused some discussion about sexuality especially in a children's movie. LeFou is Gaston's sidekick and is portrayed as gay in the movie. Although there are no major changes in the character from the original movie, people are unhappy with Disney for having a gay character in the movie. Children watching the movie won't even notice the comments, language, or actions that are made or think twice about seeing two men dancing together. The image of the Beast and Gaston as manly and tough using so called man speech is seen as appropriate but LeFou dancing with another man or saying which team he prefers is seen as not okay for a man and has roots in socialization. Disney and other companies are trying to erase these and other stereotypes about gender and sexuality. But there will always be those who are upset and protest something that goes against the "standard norm" as they see it. [Published on 03-20-2017]
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.
Chelsea Handler Criticizes First Lady For Having An Accent
This news article/video is about how comedian Chelsea Handler put down First Lady Melania Trump for having an accent. Chelsea Handler stated that she would never have Melania Trump on her show because "she barley speaks English." However, the article quickly points out that the First Lady actually speaks at least five languages, including French, Slovene, Italian, German, and English. This portrays how language ideologies are used in everyday life and how it influences individuals' attitudes, beliefs, opinions and knowledge about language. In linguistic anthropology language ideologies are a set of shared beliefs, such as the appropriate language use or how language should be used by particular groups. Chelsea Handler has a negative attitude towards Melania Trump's accent because in the U.S., there is the idea or belief that powerful leaders in politics should not possess "foreign accents." Chelsea Handler's comment about not wanting Melania Trump on her show portrays the idea that English is the dominant language. In the United States the popular ideology in regards to the English-only Movement is very prevalent in today's society. [Published on 01-24-2017]
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”.
Troy and Abed Being Normal Scene from Community
Play videoIn this scene Troy and Abed, who typically behave far from socially acceptable, try to be "normal" so they do not embarrass their friend Shirley at her wedding. They each change their voice to diminish any distinctive characteristics and accents as well choosing words and using grammar that supports what might be considered a "standard" form of English. They do their best not to be sarcastic and to talk to others in a way that follows social norms.
My Fair Lady - Why Can't The English?
Play videoThis song called "Why can't the English?" from the movie My Fair Lady. In this song Henry Higgins starts the song off by singing: "Look at her, a prisoner of the gutter, Condemned by every syllable she utters By right she should be taken out and hung, For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue." referring to Hepburn. With this, followed by a lot of remarks that are similar in nature, he is implying very strongly that there is a Standard English language that should be spoken by all English people, and if anyone doesn't, "by right" they could be hung. He says most people are never "taught" and instead learn other stigmatized varieties of English and refers to these as murderers of the English tongue. He is in this way implying that there is a legitimate use of proper English language, and that is the standard variety that he speaks. therefore considering himself as a "better Englishman", and more educated, in this way making a social class distinction between him and the others. He is also implying that there should be unity of the nation as mentioned by Bourdieu in "The Production and Reproduction of Legitimate Language". Higgins refers to the English speaking people of England as Englishmen, but also mentions that non-standard speaking varieties are "painful to your ears" and is afraid they will never be able to get "one common language".
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]
African Children Punished for Speaking Vernacular (Luganda in Uganda)
This brief web article exposes punishment of children for speaking their native languages in Africa and debunks the myths for why English is "needed." [Published on 12-31-1969]
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.
Karen from Will and Grace speaks in Mock Spanish
Play videoIn this clip from the sitcom Will and Grace, Karen speaks to her Hispanic maid/nanny in pseudo- Spanish on the phone. She uses terms like “store-o” in order to seem like she is speaking with Spanish endings. Karen then goes on to ask her friend will how to pronounce something in Spanish, and then continues to just say the English words. She even goes so far as to use Spanish words for “thank you” and “goodbye” but in the wrong context. She uses Spanish not as an actual way to communicate with a native Spanish speaker, but rather to as a way to completely disregard the syntax and morphology of another language.
The Importance of Code Switching
Play videoEdward Moore explains the importance of Code Switching for success. He emphasizes that people of color need to know how to function in different environments. From "the block" to the board room.
Why I keep speaking up, even when people mock my accent
Animator and Narrator, Safwat Saleem, reflects on his experience with the "pre-existing notion of normal" at a young age and how he is still challenged by that notion today. Throughout his life Saleem has faced criticism due to society's idea of what is "normal" and what is "good" and has let it negatively affect his career and esteem. Saleem explains how he has overcome those challenges and now chooses to use his accent and work to help shape and transform a more accepting society. [Published on 02-01-2016]
Could your language affect your ability to save money?
Amazing Ted Talk by Keith Chen illustrating how "language" can help a person's ability to save money! EVERYONE should see this. It also gives a really good illustration on how different languages force you to say different things. [Published on 06-01-2012]
Code-Switching: Obama's N-Word Moment Makes Civil Rights History
The article includes the quote from President Obama, in which he says the n-word, which ended the President's final White House Correspondents Dinner. The importance of this is the switch between what could be considered formal English and AAVE. The article also addresses the question of language ideologies by responding to the idea that it was inappropriate for the term to be included in the speech. Furthermore, that language ideology is rooted in racist ideologies, so the utterance is also a response to power structures. [Published on 05-02-2016]
There's nothing controversial about code-switching
The article, on face, is only about code-switching, but the article goes on to address the standard language ideology which contends that it only happens and/or is negative when African American speakers engage in code-switching. Thus, the article also addresses, although somewhat shallowly, the issues of power and/or racism. [Published on 05-04-2016]
Linguist Says You Can Use ‘Like’ More. He’s, Like, Wrong.
This article demonstrates the, potentially discriminatory, language ideology contending that the word "like" is overused in society today. [Published on 11-01-2013]
Chelsea's grammar on not to use the word irregardless.
Play videoIn the video, Chelsea explains how using the word "irregardless" and double negatives is improper. As speaker's of English, most would understand what someone means when they say this word. She is viewing the use of "irregardless" through the monoglot ideology by applying the hegemony of the "standard" English.
Global Business Speaks English
A Harvard Business Review study from 2012 that revealed English is fast becoming the language of the business world through mandated corporate language initiatives meant to foster ease of communication amongst employees worldwide. [Published on 05-01-2012]
People obsessed with grammar aren't as nice as everybody else, study says
A report on a study that relates personality to prescriptivism, finding among other things that more "agreeable" readers are less harsh towards grammatical and typographical errors. [Published on 04-22-2016]
The Brain Doubts Accent
Follows along with Matsuda, Mari J. 1991. Most of the info related to accent bias has already been covered in class, but the article points out that difficult-to-process language can sometimes lead to more attention in the listener. [Published on 09-21-2010]
Does language shape how we think? Linguistic relativity & linguistic determinism
Play videoThis video explains and simplifies what linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism is.
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.
Ernestine Johnson Performs 'The Average Black Girl' on Arsenio Hall Show
Play videoErnestine Johnson's performance of "The Average Black Girl" shows the stereotype of talking white vs talking black. Here is a good example of the relationship between race and language.
English or Ebonics
Play videoThis is a video that show the code-switching involved between "Standard English" and African American Language.
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.
"English Only" chants at Nevada Democratic caucuses
At the 2016 Nevada Democratic caucus, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta was heckled and booed off stage by a group of alleged Bernie Sanders supporters, who chanted "english only" when she attempted to translate the ballot for the Spanish-speaking caucus participants.
Link to tweet from Ms. Huerta: https://twitter.com/DoloresHuerta/status/701184235315400705 [Published on 02-20-2016]
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.
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]
Study: At 'Rate My Professors,' A Foreign Accent Can Hurt A Teacher's Score
A study done on Rate My Professor shows that students rate teachers with accents lower than those without. [Published on 03-15-2015]
Do Pacific Northwesterners have an Accent?
A local NPR story (audio and text) on the Pacific Northwest Accent, profiling the research of Alicia Wassink and colleagues at the University of Washington. [Published on 12-11-2014]
Using the Vernacular to Teach the Standard
Text from a 1998 talk by linguist John Rickford, which presents data on the failure of schools to teach SAE when they ignore AAL, and demonstrates how a knowledge of the grammar of AAL is important for teaching speakers of it. Factors in class. [Published on 03-25-1998]
Pidgin: The Voice of Hawaii
Play videoAn excerpt from the documentary Voices of Hawaii, profiling the accent discrimination case of James Kahakua et al. in the late 1980s, where speakers of accented English were denied jobs as broadcasters for the National Weather Service.
"Ask" versus "Ax"
This article examines the social stigma of using "ax" instead of "axe". NPR labels "Ax" as a distinguishable feature of AAE that many associate with being "poor, black, and uneducated".
Garrard McClendon of Chicago State University stated that his parents were "well aware" of the stigma, and taught him that "there's a time and place to use it", encouraging purposeful code switching. Comedians Key and Peele joke that being half black and half white causes them to use both depending on whether they are with friends ("ax") or being pulled over ("ask").
This feature, however, dates back over 1000 years. Jesse Sheidlower, president of the American Dialect Society, says it is in the first English translation of the bible as "axe". Professor John Rickford of Stanford remarks, "so at that point it wasn't a mark of people who weren't highly educated", and that we can't be sure where the popularity of "ax" stopped yet stayed put in the American South and Caribbean. He says it could be "the empire striking back: taking language that has been imposed and making it our own".
Rickford also notes, "I don't think any linguist is recommending that you get rid of your vernacular, because you need it - in a sense - for your soul".
This article highlights the significance of linguistic versatility; the use of "ax" is only as "right" or "wrong" as a person labels it - and there are multiple opinions! [Published on 12-03-2013]
Talking white: Black people's disdain for proper English and academic achievement is a myth
A Slate article challenging the notion that black Americans stigmatize both academic achievement and the use of standard English as 'acting white." The author argues that black speakers who bristle at being accused of 'talking white" are perhaps being accused of failing to code- or style-shift appropriately. [Published on 10-02-2014]
What's Wrong with "America's Ugliest Accent" Tournament
Slate.com's version of Joe Fruehwald's objections to the Gawker tournament where voters select "America's Ugliest Accent." [Published on 10-02-2014]
Nefertiti Menoe: Speaking White
Play videoA video by artist Nefertiti Menoe on the criticism of minority speakers as 'speaking white.' She disagrees with this characterization, saying "having proper diction doesn't belong to the Caucasian race." The video sparked the long-time debate over accusations of speaking 'white' in the U.S.
Queen's English changing!
We talked in class about apparent-time vs. real-time studies, and I thought this was a very interesting example of the latter, focused entirely on one person--the Queen of England. Because of her televised christmas broadcasts, recordings of her have been public consistently since the 1950s. If you compare the Queen's accent in her 1957 christmas broadcast (http://youtu.be/mBRP-o6Q85s) to the one from 2013 (http://youtu.be/6E4v4Dw5Ags), you can here an enormous difference. This short article says that her accent is moving closer to the standard speech of the area, and that "It demonstrates that the monarchy, at least as far as the spoken accent is concerned, isn't isolated from the rest of the community." It would be very interesting to look at recordings from between then and now, and see how quickly these changes happened.
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.
American Tongues: Linguistic Insecurity
Play videoA clip from the documentary American Tongues profiling speakers with linguistic insecurity, including a speaker from Brooklyn who takes accent reduction classes to reduce her New York City accent.
Word Crimes - Weird Al Yankovic
Play videoWeird Al Yankovic promotes prescriptivism online in his cover of the pop song Blurred Lines.
The Language of Maya Angelou
Sociolinguist Anne H. Charity Hudley discusses the linguistic legacy of Dr. Maya Angelou. Although Angelou spoke out against the legitimacy of African American English during the Ebonics Controversy in the late 1990s, Charity Hudley points out her use of many features of AAE, from morphosyntax to discourse. [Published on 05-29-2014]
Hagar the Horrible: I don't get no respect
A blog page that contains a comic strip from Hagar the Horrible where Hagar's negative concord is stigmatized.
XKCD: National Language
An XKCD comic spoofing contemporary notions of a national language in the United States.
Language on Trial: Rachel Jeantel
A 2013 interview on NPR's Here and Now with sociolinguist John Rickford about the testimony of Rachel Jeantel, a speaker of Haitian Creole, Spanish, and African American English, during the George Zimmerman trial.
Dark-skinned and plus-sized: the real Rachel Jeantel story
Report on how the defence lawyer in trial of Trayvon Martin's killer tried to make Martin's girlfriend's testimony sound less convincing by discrediting her and her non-standard English.
Stephen Fry on language
Play videoHumorist Stephen Fry rants against language mavens and prods us all to enjoy linguistic innovation.
Gingrich links bilingual education and "ghetto"
An NBC news article covering the 2007 remarks made by Newt Gingrich that bilingual speakers in the U.S. need to learn standard English and not the language of the "ghetto."
Saying no to "gizit" is plain prejudice
A 2013 contribution to The Independent by sociolinguist Julia Snell, arguing against the sentiments in a letter by a teacher in a primary school in Teesside, U.K. that students should remove features of Teesside dialect from their spoken speech in order to succeed in school.
Engrish Test
Play videoKlik.Tv interviews speakers of Singapore English on the street to test their "correct" pronunciation.
BBC English
Play videoA BBC Two segment on BBC English, which may be another term for Received Pronunciation, and its impact on other varieties of English
NewsHour: English as an Official Language
Play videoA 2007 segment from NewsHour with Carmen Fought and someone from U.S English debating the proposal to make English the official language of the United States.
The Dialectizer
This website "translates" any web page into a variety of "dialects:" Redneck, Jive, Cockney, Elmer Fudd, Swedish Chef, Moron, Pig Latin, and Hacker.
A Short Class in Manglish: 88, 3Q
Mandarin Chinese written internet-slang is becoming more popular; however, there is also growing opposition to the inclusion of English words and phrases into the Chinese language. By Patti Waldmeir.
How to speak with an American Accent
Play videoA commercial advertising accent reduction services designed to enhance speakers' American accents.
Ebonics Cartoon
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