This website is so wonderful, it’s a database on the majority of the known indigenous tribes in South America. It has these very detailed summaries about the entire history of many tribes, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese! It’s a great resource for those wanting to learn more about Native Americans, and I’m grateful it’s been offered in so many languages. I’ve linked the main page, where you can pick from a colorful list of tribal groups, along with the page on my selected group, the Parakanã. This is a great resource for anyone covering a language prominent in South America.

 

Main Page: https://pib.socioambiental.org/en/Main_Page

 

Parakanã: https://pib.socioambiental.org/en/Povo:Parakan%C3%A3

I was really intrigued about how African American Vernacular English is perceived in schools, as we learned from Chapters 1 and 2 of Articulate While Black. I did some research into the topic, and found a PBS documentary called “Do You Speak American?”. It is Robert MacNeil’s analysis of the various accents present in America, and the racial, geographic, and social connotations carried with them. There’s a very short section that covers AAVE, but I’ve attached the entire documentary as well for those interested. It’s a very interesting watch!

 

AAVE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX1-FgkfWo8

 

Full Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOTzkejL7ks

• What are the two models of learning English and their implications?

There exists the Lingua Franca Model, created by Braj Kachru, and the World English Model, by Tom McArthur. Kachru’s model carries the implication that other varieties of English spread out from the United States and the United Kingdom, meaning that they are the authorites on the language. Other dialects are shown in wider circles and are seen as extensions of the “correct” version of the language. English serves as their Linuga Franca. McArthur’s model gives more value to other versions of English, setting them on the same level as American and British English. Here, dialects become extensions from general definitions for the language spoken in that region.

• Does linguistic insecurity occur in other languages?

It does! Dialects exist in virtually every major modern language. In Colombia, some may say someone from Bogota speaks “cleaner” Spanish than others in the country, but grammatically there are exactly the same. It all depends on who the power lies with in the society.

• What are the political implications of language imperialism for English? Have some areas already reached a certain threshold of language imperialism (English) internationally, such as politics?

It sets a standard that only a specific kind of English is accepted in society, and thus gives power to those who can use it effectively. It limits the opportunities for others, something that’s already occurred to speakers of AAVE, as we saw from Articulate While Black. I would argue that when speakers come to America / the United Kingdom, their versions of English are also less valued for deviating from this false “standard”.

This chapter by Lippi Green explores language discrimination targeting Spanish speaking communities in the United States. By introducing a summarized history of how terms such as “Hispanic” arose to define a massive and diverse portion of the American population, Green argues how individuals with Spanish accents are targeted and systematically punished for being unable to erase their accents, and by extension their identities, to appease their non-Spanish neighbors.

Questions to Consider 

1. How does generalizing various Latin American nationalities under the umbrella term “Hispanic” impact how non-Spanish speaking populations view them?
2. What are crucial traits that provide the framework for what it means to identify as “Hispanic”?
3. At what point does the desire to communicate in the workplace transcend connivence and enter language discrimination?
4. The College of Wooster requires students to enroll in courses that explore a “Cultural Difference”. How has academic coverage of minority groups in the classroom affected students of said groups, and those who identify differently?