1. The language varieties used in the film(s) are mostly General and Regional. The main characters, Woody and Buzz, reflect a more general accent while
more minor characters such as Jessie, Mrs & Mr. Potato Head, etc. reflect a more regional accent. Some of the characters language varieties do reflect the actor’s voices and help to distinguish the characters.

2. The film takes place in a stereotypical suburban neighborhood and reflects a general american culture (use of “pizza parlors” and birthday parties). There are several prominent actors who play main characters and reflect a general american accent.

3. Yes, language and accent does seem to be used to build character and reflect behaviors. Toys who are main characters and are generally “good” seem to reflect a more general american accent while the villains, such as Zerg and the Prospector in Toy Story 2 reflect stronger accents or language variety.
The Potato Head characters are both louder, have accents associated with New York, and their actors are both Jewish. Additionally, the prospector’s accent in Toy Story 2 is more regionally american and in the beginning, to appear more friendly, utilizes more simple language associated with his rural background.

4. Like Lippi-Green found, minor characters and villains seemed to have accents or language tendencies that were associated with more variety while the main characters simply shared the linguistic tendencies of their actors and reflected a more acceptable, “general” American accent.

3:20 – He discusses media and the language used to teach us about the world. Financial gain shapes the way companies produce media and, therefore, the ways media influences the “conversation” based on what they view as profitable.

 

TW: discussion of sexism, racism, mention of suicide/self harm (13:00 minutes, end at 13:30)

Does Lippi-Green sometimes go too far in her accusations of racism in Disney movies? Do the animated medium and the films’ primary demographic justify some decisions made by Disney (e.g. Scar’s distinctly British accent, The Emperor’s New Groove‘s pseudo-Incan aesthetic)?

In the passage, Max Weinreich is quoted as saying, “a language is merely a dialect with an army and a navy.” How does this paradigm play out in our daily lives? And to what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement?

Here is the link to the dialect survey discussed in the New York Times (and connected to the Harvard Dialect Survey): link

In extreme cases, does political correctness push linguistic relativism to its limits, nearly supporting the rarely accepted concept of linguistic determinism? In other words, if certain ways of speaking are either publicly advised or denounced by an overbearing but well-meaning government, does that government paradoxically hinder its initial goal of creating healthier social relationships by telling its citizens how to exercise linguistic freedom “properly”?