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PrintProfessional Development Unit/Session Four
Language and Social Identity
- Overview
- Topics
- Key Ideas
- Key Terms
- Objectives
- Video Sections Used in This Unit
- Description of Sections
- Background Information
- Discussion Questions & Activities
- Related Resources
Overview of Session
Just by talking, no matter what the subject matter, people convey a good deal of social information about themselves—where they are from, their level of education, age, ethnicity, and sexual orientation—and about how they view the situation in which they are speaking. Speaking involves choices about a complex combination of linguistic features that include pronunciation, vocabulary, pitch, intonation, pace, loudness, and rhythm. Since language behavior is largely unconscious, people may be unaware of features in their own speech that identify them as belonging to certain groups or as holding certain values. On the other hand, they might be quite conscious of some verbal features that are characteristic of another group, and they might adopt them to display affiliation with that group. This session investigates some factors that may influence speech style. It suggests that because style signals social identity, asking students to make changes in their speech style is not a trivial matter.
Back to TopTopics
-
Language and social group membership
-
Language perceptions and attitude
- Style shifting
Key Ideas
- Social identity is signaled by choices in a wide
range of linguistic features, including vocabulary, syntactic patterns,
volume,
pace, pitch, and intonation.
- Together, these choices add up to speech style.
-
Speech style is not static. Speakers shift styles, even within a single conversation. They make style choices according to whether they wish to align with or distance themselves from the people they are speaking to. Thus style is negotiated.
- Speech style is learned. People learn to use the
stylistic strategies that those around them use. They also learn norms
for
suiting strategies to the speaking situation. But ultimately, no factor
causes
people to speak in a certain way.
- The range of speech styles that one person uses
is not the same as another person’s range.
Some people, for instance, shift between different dialects of a
language, and some people only use one dialect.
Even people who only speak one dialect shift among several registers
according to the speech situation.
- Speech style can elicit both positive and
negative reactions, determined in part by attitudes linked to social
norms.
- Speaking style is influenced only minimally, if at all, by media, including television. Daily interaction with other people is a much more important influence.
Key Terms
- Accent
- Bidialectalism/bilingualism
- Codeswitching
- Dialect
- Grammar
- Language prejudice
- Language prestige
- Language profiling
- Mainstream (Standard) American English
- Register
- Slang
- Social speech varieties
- Sociolinguistics
- Speech community
- Style shifting
Objectives
Viewers will:
- Understand the relationship between language and social identity.
- Recognize that certain situations encourage the use of particular speech styles.
- Understand that the media, including television, play only a minimal part in the development of style.
- Relate this
segment’s key ideas to their daily work in schools.
Video Sections Used in this Unit
Do You
Speak American? is
available on both DVD and conventional
videotape. Guides for
accessing
specific sections of the video have been formatted as follows:
Description/Episode DVD
Section VT Time Code
Running
Time
For more information on accessing the video click here.
Appalachian
English (DYSA/2)
2a
-2c
[01:01:35]
(7:28)
Sounding
Country
(DYSA/2)
2b- 2d
[01:09:05]
(7:56)
Language
and Politics
(DYSA/2)
8a-8b
[01:40:05]
(6:08)
California
Identity
(DYSA/3)
5a-6a
[01:22:22] (11:21)
Language
and Social Identity (DYSA/3) 7a-7b
[01:33:42] (7:18)
Description of
Segments
Appalachian English (DYSA/2) 2a -2c [01:01:35] (7:28)
MacNeil and linguist Walt Wolfram listen to some Appalachian English aboard a riverboat en route to Rabbit Hash, KY, where they speak to residents about whether the Appalachian way of speaking is fading.Sounding
Country
(DYSA/2)
2b- 2d
[01:09:05]
(7:56)
MacNeil stops in Nashville, TN, to discuss the
speech of
country music and truck drivers. He interviews singer Cody James, who
has
adopted country speech despite not being from the South. Linguist John
Fought
explains that the American South is the fastest growing region in the
country
and now the most populous dialect region. Of course, many of its
residents are
not originally from the South, and this influx of people from other
areas,
sometimes called linguistic swamping, is having an impact on the
traditional
Southern way of speaking. MacNeil goes to Oxford, Mississippi, where he
listens
to a recording of Eudora Welty reading a passage from her story, “The
Optimist’s Daughter.” Welty’s speech patterns are clearly different
from those
of other Southern speakers heard in the video. They illustrate the
change
in
the traditional Southern dialect. One of her characteristic
features is dropping of the “r”
sound in
words like forced and started. This traditional
Southern feature has
largely
disappeared from Southern dialects.
MacNeil travels to the Texas State Capital in
Austin to
meet columnist Molly Ivins. Ivins describes the dialects of Texas and
the
creativity that Texans show in creating new words and phrases. Texas
politicians such as Lyndon Johnson were known for their salty turns of
phrase,
many of which are preserved in the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin.
Carmen Fought, a linguist who studies dialects
in
California, examines two Western dialects: Valleygirl and Surferdude.
Fought explains
some of the pronunciations that typify these dialects; and George
Plomarity, a
speaker of Surferdude, explains some of the specialized jargon that
surfers use
and how some of it has entered mainstream American English. MacNeil
talks to
skateboarders and snowboarders about the special terms they use.
This segment examines the use of language in
other social
groups, including members of the military and gays.
Background Information
Before watching the film, all group members
should read
the following background information about language
and
style . This
reading provides background information about this session’s topics.
Reading it
will enhance the group’s ability to discuss the ideas and questions
that arise
in the film.
Discussion Questions & Activities
Pre-Viewing Questions
1. Based on the overview, background information, and key ideas, what questions do you have before viewing?
2. Review the key terms. Define them on your own before consulting the glossary.
Back to Top
Appalachian
English
2. Celebrating
Dialect Diversity: Linguist Walt Wolfram
says, “We’re coming to celebrate and recognize some of the dialect
differences
as part of our natural cultural heritage.” He believes that we ought to
celebrate language variety instead of trying to eradicate it. What
varieties of
English do people tend to celebrate? Are there any varieties that
people still
typically do not celebrate? What ways are there to celebrate language
choices
that signal speakers’ social identity? In what ways can you celebrate
language
variety differences in your classroom?
3. Country
Music: Cody James says that country music
doesn’t necessarily have to be sung with a Southern accent but that it
seems
right to do so. What language varieties seem right for singing the
following
kinds of music: jazz, pop, heavy metal, hip-hop, etc. How would you
describe
the language used for each of these musical genres? What would it be
like if
the voice didn’t match the style of the music—for example, if Cody
James sang
like a New Yorker?
4. American
Music: There are various types of music that
are distinctly American: jazz, American pop, country music, heavy
metal, hip
hop, etc. Cody James, a singer from Oregon, felt comfortable taking on
a
Southern accent to express the essence of country music. Does music
enable
Americans to transcend regional and cultural boundaries because we can
all
participate in it?
6. Language
Prejudices: In the story about Eudora Welty
that MacNeil recounts, Welty claims that when she was at Columbia
University in
New York, she was never given tickets to cultural events because people
interpreted her way of speaking as meaning that she would not be
interested in
cultural activities. When you hear someone speak, what judgments do you
feel
confident about making? Do you think you can judge people’s interests
from the
way they sound? What assumptions do you think people make about you
based on
the way you speak? What assumptions do you think your students make
about you
based on the way you speak?
7. Jeff
Foxworthy: Foxworthy makes a joke about not
wanting your brain surgeon to have a Southern accent. What accent would
you
most like your brain surgeon to have? What about a car mechanic or a
computer
repair person? Is there an ideal dialect for a teacher? Are there
dialects that
you prefer a teacher not have? What assumptions are there about the
people who
speak particular regional dialects? How are these assumptions created
and
maintained?
8. Molly Ivins:
Molly Ivins describes Texas and Texans as
“just like the rest of the country except more so. Everything [in
Texas] is
slightly exaggerated.” What does this suggest about the identities of
people
who speak with a Texan dialect? How would you describe your region’s
language
variety? Do you feel that your role as a teacher has influenced the way
you
speak more or less than the area you are from?
9. Swearing in
of Presidents: MacNeil says that President
Clinton “saw no need to lose his Arkansas accent—partly because he
could change
it at will.” Why do you think Clinton has retained his Arkansas way of
speaking? Assuming that President Clinton can shift between two
dialects—one
more evocative of Arkansas and one more like the dialect of the
Midwest—think
about how he might integrate the speech of his native region with a
less
regionally marked variety to forge a personal style.
California Identity
11.
Valleygirl, Surferdude, Skate-Board, and Snow-Board:
Identify slang terms from MacNeil’s conversation with the teenagers in
Irvine
that your students use. What is your attitude toward slang in the
classroom? Does everyone agree? What is the connection between slang and
social identity?
12. Groups of
Language Users: This section of the video
shows that other social groups speak in distinctive ways that separate
them
from outsiders. What groups do you belong to that have a distinctive
way of
speaking or special terminology? What groups in your school and/or
community
have distinctive ways of speaking? What role does language play in
defining
these groups? What other factors help to define these groups?
Dialect in Schooling
1. Ann Arbor
Case: MacNeil says: “When they spoke as they
did at home—in African American English—their instructors simply
assumed they
couldn’t do school work.” How do you explain these assumptions? Is the
way
students speak a reliable indicator of the quality of work they can do?
2. Ann Arbor
Case: The judge in this case directed that
teachers receive training about AAE and about how to teach
non-mainstream-speaking students. What kind of professional development
might
teachers need to help students expand their range of linguistic
choices—to add
Standard English to their repertoires without abandoning their home
language?
How would the notion of academic language figure in?
3. Ann Arbor
Case: The lawyer who tried the case, Kenneth
Lewis, says that a person applying for a job in his law firm would
require
particular language skills—and that if he himself wanted to work as a
DJ for an
R&B station, he would need a different set of language skills. How
might an
aspiring lawyer or DJ who lacks the requisite language skills go about
learning
them? Is Mr. Lewis talking only about dialect or about something more?
How do
teachers help students learn the requisite academic language skills for
school
and career success? What is particularly challenging about doing so,
and how
have you and your colleagues gone about teaching academic language?
4. Steve
Harvey: Mr. Harvey says that getting by in
America requires the ability to switch between different language
styles. Does
everyone need to be able to switch, or just those people whose language
is
stigmatized? In what situations do you notice yourself shifting the
style of
your speech? Do you think you ever shift without noticing it? Do you
shift into
and out of academic English? What specific changes do you make?
6. Academic English Mastery Program: Does your school or district have a program for teaching Mainstream English using students’ home language? If so, describe it. Who are the students? What grades are they in? Who teaches the program? What kinds of professional development are required for teachers who use the program? Does this program explicitly address academic language? What have been the academic results of this program for students? If there is no formal program, how do teachers teach Mainstream English? Is the method effective?
7. Academic English Mastery Program: This program asks students to identify the precise points of difference between a vernacular dialect and Mainstream (Standard) English. Do you think it is important that your students become aware of the differences between their dialects and the dialect that is expected for settings in which academic language is used? Explain. What are some effective ways to teach students about dialects and speech style?
8. Clueless: This
movie and the TV series was made some
time ago. Are any of the slang terms that Amy Heckerling mentions still
current? Who uses them? Do you? Are slang terms ever appropriate in
academic
language? What does slang contribute to conversational language? People
often
associate slang with young people. Is that accurate?
9. My
So-Called Life: When Winnie Holzman says, “There’s
almost nothing more personal than how you express yourself,” she is
referring
to choices in language. Does this observation apply to academic
language or
just to conversational language?
Back to Top
1. Answering Your Questions: Go back to the questions that you thought this session would provoke. Did you get your questions answered? What new questions do you have?
2. Reflecting on Your Teaching: What aspects of this segment have affirmed the way that you teach your students or interact with their parents or guardians? What aspects have caused you to challenge the way that you teach students or interact with their parents or guardians?3. Understanding Linguistic Patterns: A-prefixing: One of the features of Appalachian English mentioned in the film is “a-prefixing.” Although people may believe that a-prefixing is used haphazardly, that is not the case. There are rules governing its usage. Discover the rules that govern the use of this feature.
4. Literature-Based Exercise: Southern literature often includes characters who exemplify different dialects. Bring in short excerpts from stories that feature regional and social group dialects. Southern writers include Charles Chesnutt, Joel Chandler Harris, Lee Smith, Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, and Flannery O’Connor. Compare the different types of language in these stories. How diverse is Southern English? How does language use contribute to character development in the books?
5. Folk linguistics assignment: Complete this folk linguistics mapping exercise individually. Does everyone in the group agree? What assumptions do you make about the people in the various regions? This is also an effective previewing exercise.
6. Fun quiz: See what regional dialect terms you can figure out using the DARE matching quizzes/exercises. How does the personal style of the speakers confirm or refute the assumptions you make about people from different regions?
7. Video exercise: Re-watch parts of the video to notice whether MacNeil shifts his speech depending on who he’s talking to. Are there any other characters who display multiple styles? What language features differentiate one style from another? Why do you think the characters style-shift?
8. EXTENSION ACTIVITY
Style-shifting log: People alter their style of speaking, either consciously or subconsciously, depending on who they are speaking to and what the circumstances are. Keep a log for some period of time in which you list who you talk with, what the context is, and, if possible, how your language style changes to match the situation. (Note that this level of self-reflection can be extremely challenging.) You can record general reflections such as, “When I talked to my friends, I cursed. I didn’t curse when I talked to my children,” or “I talked baby-talk with my daughter.” What does your style-shifting suggest about your social identity?Related Resources
WEB RESOURCES
Bailey, G. &
Tillery, J. “Lone Star Language” : An
examination of the language and culture of Texas.
Bailey, G.
& Tillery, J. “Sounds of the
South”: A
look at the current and historical factors that have shaped Southern
English as
well as the various perceptions that outsiders have of different types
of
Southern English.
Chambers,
J. “Talk the Talk” : An examination of
evidence
from the 1950s through the present for whether television influences
the way we
speak.
Colloff, P.
“Drawl or Nothin' -- Is Texan a Thing of the Past?” : A
look at
how the dialect of Texans is changing and why it is not in danger of
disappearing.
Cutler,
C. “Crossing Over” : An presentation of
the
phenomenon by which White, male, suburban adolescents adopt certain
language
patterns typical of urban African Americans.
Eckert, P.
& Mendoza-Denton, N. “Getting
Real in the
Golden State” : A look at the influential dialects of Californians
including
Valley Girls, Surfer Dudes, and Hollywood.
Fought, C. “Are
Dialects Fading?” : An
explanation of the
ways in which dialects define who we are and why they will not
disappear.
Johnstone,
B. & Kiesling, S. “Steel Town
Speak” : A
story of a town that defines its identity partly according to its
unique way of
speaking.
Mallinson, C. et
al. “Smoky Mountain English” :
An
account of the speech of rural Appalachia.
Nass, C. “Machine
Voices”: A look at the way we
perceive
and interact with computer-generated voices and what that says about
preferences and prejudices about language use.
Pittsburgh
Speech and Society Project: Links to
information about how communities view language as an important aspect
of group
reference.
PRINT RESOURCES
Hoyle, S. & Adger, C. T. (Eds.). (1998). Kids talk: Strategic language use in later childhood. New York: Oxford,
Describes how young people suit their talk subtly and intricately to aspects of the social situation.Tannen, D. (1986). That’s not what I meant! How conversational style makes or breaks your relations with others. New York: William Morrow.
Investigates ways in which people who do not share a style may misinterpret one another’s meanings and intentions.DVD Episode & Chapters: For DVD users, DYSA has been broken down into episodes and chapters. The term chapter is industry standard for sections or "breaks" programmed into the DVD video. A number indicating the DYSA episode will always be followed by a number indicating the DVD chapter within an episode. (i.e. 1.2 is Episode 1, Chapter 2. The numbers 1.2 appear on-screen for DVD users.) DVD users may watch a DYSA episode straight through or alternatively, jump to specific sections of the program by referring to a main menu available on the DVD.
Chapter Description
Chapter (or section) descriptions are available on-screen
for DVD users only, and include a text description along side the
episode number and the chapter
number
within the episode (i.e. 1.2 Pronunciation in Maine). Videotape users
will
need to refer to printed versions of the curricular units to benefit
from the chapter descriptions.
Running Time The running time indicates the length of the section of video.
Videotape (VT) Time Code Videotape users should fast forward or rewind to the corresponding number displayed in the videotape counter window in the front of the videotape playback device. (i.e. Videotape users should insert the videotape in the player and shuttle to [01:27:19] in the counter window to see the beginning of the Springville,Texas section.)
Do You Speak American? professional development materials for educators were produced by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, DC. This material was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the Center for Applied Linguistics.
Sponsoredby:
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National Endowment |
William and Flora Hewlett |
Ford |
Rosalind P. |
Arthur Vining |
Carnegie |
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