Globalization
Why British Singers Sound American
Play videoThis video explains, why British (or non-American) singers sound American, when they sing.
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'.
Barack Obama: Your Children Should Learn To Speak Spanish
Play videoThis is a short clip of a speech by Obama in which he talks about the importance of raising children that speak multiple languages.
9 Languages
Play videoMatthew tells his story about the languages he speaks. He speaks several different languages throughout the clip.
How to learn any language in six months
Play videoThis video tells viewers how to learn a new language in six months. There are five steps to learn a new language. You need to focus on language content that is relevant to you. Then you need to use new language as a tool to communicate with others on the first day. Furthermore, your language learning environment should be a happy and relaxing place. In the end, he provides seven actions to help you learn the new language.
Code-switching in the song "Exotic"
Play videoThis artifact is the song “Exotic” by Priyanka Chopra ft. Pitbull, and this is an example of code-switching because they sing in Hindi and English, which is because of Priyanka Chopra and her Indian roots and her attempt to add some of her culture and language to this song. The song also mentions various cities/countries around the world. Thus, the song’s use of Hindi and English expresses code-switching and shows her reaching out to a larger and more diverse audience.
How to bring a language to the future
This is a really interesting article about a group of people working to make it easier to type on a computer or phone in Urdu! [Published on 02-09-2021]
Joe Wong: Building A Wall Didn't Work For China
Play videoThis video describes a linguistic practice from a Chinese comedian called Joe Wong. I think it is very impressive since he does comedy in his second language. This could be categorized into Hong Kong English since his first language is Chinese.
Encounter between two polyglots in 21 languages
Play videoJust a fun video where two people spontaneously meet on the street and discover that they can fluently communicate with each other in 21 languages.
Don Omar - Danza Kuduro ft. Lucenzo
Play videoThe song Danza Kuduro is an example of the effect globalization has had on language. It is sung in both Portuguese and Spanish, with the music video also utilizing English, by Don Omar, a Latin American pop star, and Lucenzo, a French-Portuguese artist. Borrowing from African culture, the kuduro itself is a type of dance that originated in Africa becoming popular in Angola, a Portuguese colony. The song was number one on the charts in Argentina, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, showcasing how the song transcended language barriers and how globalization has impacted language use.
Japanese/English Code Switching / Borrowing
Play videoNihonglish Gairaigo -- English words sprinkled throughout the speech... although this is was created mostly as a showcase of intonation, it seems to be a bit of a social commentary on language use and foreigners.
Tant Que J'ai Soleil (Staring at the Sun - French Version) - MIKA
Play videoA song by French-speaking British artist MIKA, who is known for releasing songs in English, French, and occasionally both, as this example demonstrates. It features examples of inter- and intra-sentential codeswitching and has an all-English counterpart against which it can be compared.
Irish Woman Refuses to Say Yes or No
Play videoThis video clip is a good example of the preservation of traits from older languages. Many Irish people "refuse" to say yes or no, like in the video, instead simply affirming or denying the verb. This stems from Gaelic, where the words "yes" and "no" are newer words that aren't seen as grammatical. Although many Irish people are beginning to speak only in English, characteristics from Gaelic still live on.
Tokyo Bon 東京盆踊り2020 (Makudonarudo) Namewee 黃明志 ft. Meu Ninomiya 二宮芽生 @亞洲通吃2018專輯 All Eat Asia
Play videoThis is a song about how Japanese people speak English. In this song, many of the English words are put in the lyrics. People might find that there is a huge differences between Japanese and English pronunciation. And this video can also help people understand more about Japanese accent in speaking English.
Diglossia- How Pope Francis Relates
Play videoPope Francis’ native language is Spanish; however, he primarily speaks Italian when he is around other members of the Vatican and in smaller public appearances. The Pope uses High Code of Diglossia while speaking to the public during mass announcements and church mass service; he does this by speaking traditional Latin (as well as Hebrew and Greek) as did those before him. This diglossia of language will remain until further notice, as this has been stated as a stable tradition of the Vatican and Catholic Church. Diversity of language allows Pope Francis the ability to be broadened with those of whom he is addressing at the moment of speaking publicly and in private.
Language Death- How do languages die?
Play videoThis in an informational video about language death and language extinction. This video gives several examples of languages that have become extinct, and how languages become dead and/or extinct. He also goes into detail about the different kinds of language death which include, gradual, bottom-to-top, sudden, and radical. To offer a more clear understanding, the video also describes case studies of language death.
Hinglish - Code Switched Hindi + English
Play videoThe Portsmouth College, UK has started a course for Hinglish language. Hinglish is the mixed/code switched version of Hindi and English, and is the popular street language in India.
Can Facebook save endangered languages?
This article shows Facebook's attempts of saving endangered languages. Facebook is adding the option of many endangered languages, such as Corsican, to make the world more connected. Many endangered languages are not available digitally. With these efforts, users have the option of selecting their language as opposed to a more "mainstream" language. This allows endangered languages to cross the digital divide and allow it to be more available.
Hey Ma
Play videoPitbull, J Balvin, and Camila Cabello made a bilingual version of the song Hey Ma. This song is an example of code-switching with them switching between Spanish and English throughout the song. They do this to bring in a larger audience and be more inclusive and show off their heritage.
Foreign Word Pronounciation
Play videoCollege Humor showing how trying to fit in with the culture is not always a positive thing.
Google translate Despacito
Play videoLanguage ideology; it was thought Spanish can be a sexy/scandalous language but do non Spanish speakers really know what's being said. The lyrics does sound sexy and perfect with the melody. Code-switching; the translation is not what the music (song) portrays. The lyrics translation is not sexy, or 'catchy' it's not even what us non Spanish speakers feel the music should be. The fella said Despacito meant slowly, but the song indicates it means quickly.
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.
Why don't Chinese students speak English
Play videoThe video Why don't Chinese students speak English statements the reasons why Chinese students don’t speak English from the youtubers’ perspective. The video starts with a daily scenario of a few Chinese students speaking Chinese in the elevator. It makes the three American guys feeling awkward because what the Chinese people are talking about. I agree with the claim that that it is easier to solve problems in native language. It ends with a scenario that two Americans try to speak Chinese in an elevator when some Chinese people is present but they finally give up and speak their native language English. This video is related with code-switching and language globalization.
John Oliver interviews the Dalai Lama
Play video“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver interviewed the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace laureate and Tibet’s spiritual and political exiled leader. With a hint of investigative journalism, Oliver used his gift of humor to engage the Dalai Lama in broad discussions from conflicts with the Chinese Government to claims that drinking horse milk will cure alcoholism. The interview demonstrated a self-reflective Dalai Lama laughing at labels from the Chinese Government. This televised comedy show provoked the Chinese government so much that they proclaimed the interview to be politically motivated and propaganda for an anti-China separatist movement.
Moana - How Far I'll Go
Play videoThis version of the song “How Far I’ll Go” in the 2016 Disney movie, Moana, features a combination of 24 various languages. The clip details code-switching which can be described as the practice of alternating between two or more languages. Typically, code-switching is done in conversation but this example offers a better understanding for monolingual persons as adaptations of this song can be found in nearly any language.
Meet The British Woman Who Sings In Yoruba (Nigerian Language)
Play videoA British woman sings in Yoruba, a language that might shock or surprise other people.
Why Don't We All Speak the Same Language?
A part of Freakonomics' radio series "Earth 2.0" in which they discuss why humans have language and the costs and benefits of people speaking different languages. They also discuss what we should change if we were to "create" Earth again. [Published on 09-13-2017]
Philippine English vs. Australian English
Play video"Philippine English vs. Australian English" is a funny YouTube video by a Filipino husband and his Australian wife illustrating the differences between the two different dialects of English. By comparing different words and terms between the two dialects, the differences are sometimes profound, incomprehensible, and often very funny!
Mark Zuckerberg speaks fluent Mandarin during Q&A in Beijing
Play videoMark Zuckerberg, the creator and owner of Facebook, speaking fluent Mandarin in a Question and Answer forum. This clip shows how the ability to communicate with people from other parts of the world, in their native tongue can go along way and make a powerful connection.
4 Reasons to Learn A New Language
There is a video which linguist and Columbia professor John McWhorter shares four reasons to learn a new language. Nowadays, increasingly people focus on learning English, the diversity of languages is slowly disappearing. The first reason is culture which language is always associated with it. Also, multilingual people less likely to have dementia than people who only use one language. Moreover, it is interesting for us to learn diverse language. The last but not least, we live such a convenient age which it is easier to learn any languages than before.
Die Antwoord's Evil Boy: A Dynamic Crossroad of Language, Culture, and Rap in South Africa
Play videoDie Antwoord is a controversial rap group from Cape Town, South Africa fronted by Ninja Yolandi Vi$$er. Speaking from a post-apartheid perspective, this group offers an underrepresented view of young, lower-middle class, white Afrikaans - a subculture known as "Zef." Historically, Zef has been considered a derogatory term describing someone who was white, poor, and "trashy." However, Die Antwoord and others have looked to transform this into a self-reflective, somewhat satirical, parody that Ninja described as being "apocalyptic debris that we’ve stuck together." In this music video, they display their unique code-switching between Afrikaans and English, as well as Xhosa - the Bantu language of the Xhosa people. Adding to their mixed-bag controversial nature, is the relationship of the Afrikaans languages’ association with apartheid.
Through dynamic language and visual use, this video reflects the complex sociocultural and sociolinguistic interactions that occur in this region. The lyrical narrative told is a statement on the clash between traditional tribal circumcision rituals, and the modern subcultures that seem to offer an alternative path to "manhood." This can be heard in the verse by the guest rapper Wanga, sung in his native tongue:
"Mamelapa umnqunduwakho! (listen here, you fucking asshole)
Andifuni ukuyaehlatini! (I don't want to go to the bush with you)
Sukubammba incanca yam! (don't touch my penis)
Andi so stabani! (I’m not a gay)
Incanca yam yeyamantobi! (this penis is for the girls)
Incanca yam iclean! (my penis is clean)
Incanca yam inamandla! (my penis is strong)
Ndiyinkwekwe enkulu! (I am a big boy)
Angi funi ukuba yeendota! (don't want to be a man)
Evil boy 4 life! yebo! (yes)
Evil boy 4 life!"
Through the use of polyglossic code-switching, performativity, sociocultural and racial integration, and a revamping of contextual meanings, Die Antwoord is doing its part to redefine what it means to be young and Zef in South Africa, and what a socioculturally- and sociolinguistically-complex rebellion sounds like.
Disney's Frozen: Let It Go - 25 Languages
Play videoOne special version of the Song “Let it go”, featured in Disney’s Frozen, is the multilingual version, which incorporates 25 languages. Different language versions show the song gains global popularity. This song in 25 languages embodies the linguistic concept of “code switching”. But it doesn’t mean the stratification of language. Instead, such a successful fusion of 25 languages in one song reflects communication among different language. Different languages are mutual related and inclusive, because this fusion is so harmonious with 25 languages cooperating to achieve one theme of the song. The original version is English, but the song is widely adapted in different language, which is against the idea of centralizing or decentralizing force in language as well.
"Samurai English"
Play videoThis is a Japanese commercial of Nissin cup noodles. In this commercial, a CEO of a Japanese company made an announcement that they are going to made ENGLISH as an official language of his company although his employee were not fluent in English. This situation is represented as a historical war, probably in 1850s. Languages and fluency is presented as weapon and their strength: Japanese weapon was too weak same as their English language ability. This commercial represents the centrality of English, globally. It is funny because it is written ironically: the “Japanish” has strong Japanese accents and they can only say typical sentences which Japanese people learn in junior high schools. It also express irony toward globalization which is oriented in English. This commercial is focused on Japanese, but this form of globalization on happens everywhere.
John Oliver and Jimmy Fallon Talk Accents
Play videoThere are a few instances in this video that relate to or bring up some sort of sociolinguistic/sociocultural linguistic norm or topic, but the main one that sticks out comes up at about 1:00, a minute into the video. John Oliver, who is an English comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, media critic, and television host of the HBO political talk show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He is asked about his 18-month-old son and whether or not he will have an English accent or not. Oliver goes on for a bit poking fun at American accents after explaining that his son will most likely NOT have an English accent, where he jokingly says, when talking to Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon who has an American Accent, "the way you make words sound hurts my ears", and when explaining how he will speak in a different manner, he again jokingly says he will be speaking "worse". The main example he presents though is at the 1:50 minute mark when talking about the difference between American and English accents and whether it makes it harder to communicate in America. Oliver goes on to explain that for people without an American accent, automated machines are a "real problem". He jokingly makes a comparison in which he says when dealing with automated machine people without American accents are "battered down into submission by the machine until you talk like a sedated John Wayne" after which he does an impression of...a sedated John Wayne, in which he speaks with a stereotypical American accent. This last bit is very interesting because even though he talks about it in joking, light-hearted manner, he brings up strong evidence for people without American accents being "battered down into submission" to not use their accents. In these situations, people without American accents are forced to accommodate their speech and change it to sound more American which also relates to Style-Shifting. To me, there is also a slight bit of globalization too in a similar way to what I just mentioned. It is most likely indirectly but it is pushing towards just a plain American accent to be used.
Ed Sheeran's "Bibia Be Ye Ye"
Play video“Bibia Be Ye Ye” is the title of a track on Ed Sheeran’s new album. In the song, the verses are sung in English while the chorus is in Twi, a dialect of the Akan language. Akan is a major native language of Ghana. While Sheeran was writing his new album, he vacationed in Ghana for a few weeks and linked up with a popular musician (Fuse ODG) while there. His time there inspired him to add part of their culture and language to his album. As most of his fame comes from American and European entertainment cultures, the mixing in of an African language adds more multicultural and multilingual recognition on a global superstar scale. The language borrowing could also be viewed as a form of language appropriation though, where Sheeran is using only a few chosen words of Twi to liven up his song, which he still translates back to English in the video’s lyrics description.
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/
Language and culture
Play videoThis video shows the experience of three young people who have traveled to different places around the world. Their experiences show us how language shapes the perception and understanding of people. It is also shown that language is under major influence of culture and the ideology of different regions.
Plan Now to Avoid Post - Brexit Languages Crisis
There is a focus right now on the education system of the UK, with areas most at risk being language performance. If a crisis was to emerge in language performance from the UK split areas of official practice; such as trade, could be jeopardized. There are plans as of right now to push and ensure the emphasis on particularly language skills to ensure the enhancement post Brexit. This plan includes residency and a national plan to better primary education to even the post graduate level. With the quality of education slipping in the UK as it is, and a nation wide crisis within the linguistics field, the Brexit could only worsen the matter with children potentially receiving a lacking education. The goal of these reforms and education plan is to ensure a quality education to students at all levels, and hopefully encourage the emergence of language skill teachers and even linguistics majors. [Published on 10-16-2016]
Redefining Race and Ethnicity in the US
Play videoThis video discusses the problem with classification of race in America. People often attach Race to people wrongly when they should really be referring to ethnicity.
Stunning animated game helps teach endangered Aboriginal language
In recent times there has been a resurgence for Australians to get in touch with their families native languages, possibly noticing that once their family members die off, there is no one left to speak it. With this game being released, it's hopes are to draw enough attention to Merra, by interactively engaging players with words, and icons to keep the language alive. There are only a handful of people in the world that speak Merra, and the creator related with his own native Indigenous language being almost lost within his family as well. Hopefully this game takes off and is successful enough to spur other similar games that bring attention to Indigenous Australian languages globally. [Published on 10-06-2016]
The Man Of Many Languages
Play videoA polyglot man who can speak at least 15 languages and he wants to learn all languages in the world. He explains why and how speaking another language can give you a different perspective on life.
He is Mi and I am Yu
Play videoThis is a clip from the movie Rush Hour 3 where Agent Carter is confused because of translations between Chinese and English. This clip touches issues on multilinguistic practices, translation, communication barriers, and so on. Because of the differences Agent Carter was getting frustrated making the situation worse.
The Spanish-Language Anthem
Brief history of Spanish speakers with the national anthem followed by a more current thought of bilingualism. Notes how a Neil Diamond song is more appropriate than the Anthem. [Published on 05-18-2006]
Expanding Past English May Lead to Great Discoveries in Other Languages
Patricia Ryan stresses the importance of language globalization and how we must expand our linguistic abilities and knowledge past English in order to advance our society as a whole. She discusses how the limitation of acquiring only one language may be causing us to miss out on discovering incredible ideas that are stuck in a different language, which enforces the necessity of multilingualism and shines a light on the rapidly increasing rate of dying languages. [Published on 12-01-2010]
Pidgin English from Nigeria
Play videoA video of two Nigerian Men who explain and give example of language divergence and Pidgin 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]
A Remote Amazonian tribe could fundamentally change our understanding of language
This article talks about the recent discovery of the language of a remote tribe in the Amazon that may be drastically different from any other known languages. A researcher from MIT teamed up with one of the few non-native Piraha speakers in the world to try to analyze the differences. This research may change our understanding of how language works and how it developed.
Emotions that have no names in English
A chart of how emotions that have no names in English relate to emotions that have names in English.
Words that sound dirty in other languages
The article details how a word that is innocuous in one Language is very offensive in another. [Published on 01-02-2015]
Cherokee Look for Ways to Save Their Dying Language
This article depicts the perception of Cherokee as a "dying language", and how the remaining speakers are trying to bring it back to life. [Published on 02-29-2016]
Hawaiian Pidgin
Play videoWe are learning about Pidgin and Creoles. Here is a wonderful example of Pidgin.
How Culture Effects Learning a language
Play videoThis shows how learning a language can be very difficult, but if you know some of the background of the culture and deep meaning of the culture, it can make learning it that much easier and enjoyable.
Polyglots Might Have Multiple Personalities
Nathan Collins reports that psychologists at Hong Kong Polytechnic University have found that people who speak multiple languages adopt the personality traits associated with the language they are currently speaking. [Published on 05-01-2011]
How Social Networks Have Changed the World
Play videoThis video describes how we as a society have changed how we interact with peers and friends. This video also describes the change of how we acknowledge birthdays with those around us.
I Say Arabi
Play videoThis video demonstrates the variation in the pronunciation of foreign (a) in Arabic words that are frequently used in English. The difference in the pronunciation of the word 'falafel' is particularly interesting in the context of the Hall-Lew article on the pronunciation of 'Iraq' because here, /ɑ:/ and not /æ/ is the nativized variant.
LANGUAGE CHALLENGE ITALIAN VS POLISH WITH MY GIRLFRIEND
Play videoA boyfriend and girlfriend challenge each other in translating English works in to either Italian or Polish words.
Listen: There's no such thing as a Brooklyn accent, exhibit says
A recent exhibit at NYC organization CityLore played New York voices for listeners, arguing that race/ethnicity and not borough is what distinguishes New York voices from each other. [Published on 01-28-2015]
Global English
(Enlarge image)A map showing the use of English around the globe, as a native language and as a second language or lingua franca.
Lohnson's Fury (Singapore English)
Play videoThese Singapore English speakers have made a whole bunch of "Singlish 101" videos, all of which are really fun. I chose this one because it illustrates a couple of interesting fixed expression (including "win already lor"--basically lexicalized sarcasm), as well as giving some idea of how the vowel system and intonation of Singapore English work.
Rock Me Amadeus
Play videoThis is the song I chose for my music project--it shows a number of English borrowings and code-switches between German and English.
BBC News: Economic success drives language extinction
Research shows that in countries with more successful economies, minority languages are at greater risk of extinction (due to one language dominating political, educational, and economic spheres). [Published on 09-02-2014]
What Language Does your State Speak?
Slate published a map showing the most commonly spoken languages by state when English and Spanish are removed. [Published on 05-13-2014]
"We're sinking!"
Play videoA commercial for Berlitz in which a German coast guard trainee misunderstands a call for help from a sinking American ship.
Engrish Test
Play videoKlik.Tv interviews speakers of Singapore English on the street to test their "correct" pronunciation.
What will globalization do to languages?
A 2008 forum on the effects of globalization on language, including thoughts from linguist Mark Liberman.