Assignment

There are four topic prompts below. Pick one and carefully read through and respond to it in a thoughtful paragraph (5-7 sentences). You should incorporate information from the readings, videos, and your thoughts and opinions.

1. Review the readings and notes on language history and watch the video (shown in class). Then, respond to the questions below.

Youtube video: "Where did English come from? - Claire Bowern"

What were the main external factors of change in historical English development? How did these change and influence English (syntax, semantics/vocabulary, phonology)? Many people may think that English is more closely related to Latin-based languages (like Spanish and French) than to German (which is actually a closer relative than Latin). Which external language influence(s) cause(s) people to think like this?

2. Review the readings and notes on regional variation and watch the videos (shown in class). Then, respond to the questions below.

Youtube videos: "Weird and wonderful regional words still used in the US - American Tongues episode #6"
"You Talk Funny (And Other Opinions) - American Tongues episode #7"

The first video is very light and shows how colorful regional language can be. The second video shows that although sometimes diversity is accepted and enjoyed, it is also very common for people to have very strong negative opinions simply based on regional accents. Why is it that people can be so judgmental about other varieties? What causes these opinions?

3. Review the readings and notes on regional variation and watch the videos (shown in class). Then, respond to the questions below.

Youtube video: "What is Diglossia? (Quick Video)"

This video discusses how diglossia is a feature of a few different languages/societies, including Arabic, German, and Italian. The U.S., the U.K., and Australia all have "standard" forms of English that are used in formal situations (government, media, education), but many people talk differently than these standard varieties in casual conversation or with their social group. Some spoken varieties of English are relatively close to the standard form, while others are quite different in many different aspects (grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary). Taking this standard form and varieties of spoken English into account, do you think that the U.S. and other English-speaking countries could be considered to bediglossic? Why or why not?

4. Review the readings and notes on social variation and watch the video (shown in class). Then, respond to the questions below.

Youtube video: "Segment of the documentary 'Do you Speak American"

There is a lot of tension between different social groups in the United States, and one of the major ones is tied to race. Language use is a factor that we examined, specifically AAVE/black English, and how minority language use can affect how the population perceives a person. Do you think that people's negative attitudes towards certain language varieties can be dispelled? How do you think the bridge can be crossed in terms of language? What are the best ways to help people from dialects understand each other?