https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzprLDmdRlc

This comedy sketch depicts acts of code-switching. When I saw this video, I could not help but think of our early class discussions about different English dialects. In the video, Keegan Key is depicted as speaking “proper” English while on the phone. When Jordan Peele’s character approaches him while also on the phone, Keegan Key’s character begins to speak in the same vernacular as Jordan Peele’s. Once the two are far enough apart, Jordan Peele’s character begins speaking how Keegan Key’s was earlier, though. This is interesting because it outlines (in a very exaggerated in order to be funny) the nature of code-switching and the small social cues that can set it off.

https://www.npr.org/2014/08/09/338975625/effort-to-preserve-yiddish-works-not-bupkes

The above link is for an article written by Jon Kalish for NPR. It discusses an ongoing language preservation effort being conducted by the National Yiddish Book Center. This is interesting because it ties into much of what we discussed in class about language preservation as a key to cultural preservation. I used this specific article for my language preservation project, and it gave me a lot of great insight on the purpose of preservation. It also outlines how this preservation effort is attempting to shift into a revitalization effort, which is a really cool prospect for the study of language and politics and how they intertwine.

Regarding the Phenomenology of Error discussion questions posted by Matt, I’d like to discuss the types of errors I find to bother my peers and teachers the most.  In my experience, my teachers haven’t really been bothered by poor grammar or misspellings.  I think this is because when I make these errors, my teachers assume I just didn’t proofread my work, not that I wasn’t aware that I was making an error.  However, I have found peers to be a lot more critical of grammatical errors.  Many of the revisions my peers give me are just pointing out very surface-level errors.  However, many of the critiques my teachers give me are pointing out content level areas.  I’m not sure why content vs. grammar errors seem to bother certain people more.

Linguistic profiling: The sound of your voice may determine if you get that apartment or not

 

The above is the link to an article on linguistic profiling, which is the practice of discriminating based on the sound of someone’s voice.  The article details how people who “sound African American or Latinx” are discriminated against in real estate practices when buying a home.  This relates to our earlier classes, when we read we discussed Ebonics and the stereotypes associated with speaking in an accent other than SAE.  This article shows that there are real, material consequences to speaking with an accent.

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