Ethnicity Flashcards
What is Ethnicity?
A concept relating to aspects of a person’s cultural identity.
Includes community, language, religious beliefs, and family heritage.
What is a Heritage language?
A language not dominant in the society an individual lives within but is spoken at home.
Example: A child speaking Spanish at home in an English-speaking country.
How is ethnic identity performed?
by using language in different ways that reflect solidarity and affiliation to aspects of their heritage.
What was the focus of Sharma’s (2011) Punjabi Study?
To examine the use of T pronunciation- retroflex and glottal among South Asians in Southall, London.
How did older 2nd generation individuals (35-60) use pronunciation in Sharma’s study?
Their pronunciation varied more and converged more dramatically due to hostile race relations growing up.
What was found about the younger generation (18-35) in Sharma’s study?
They had a less dramatic switch in pronunciation and were more confident with their identities.
Potentially because they experienced less regular contact with India and less hostile race relations.
What did Drummond’s (2012) study examine?
Pronunciation of -ing by Polish people living in Manchester.
What was a key finding in Drummond’s study regarding the use of -ink?
There was no relationship between the use of -ink and the level of English proficiency.
It was noted that people planning to return to Poland were more likely to use -ink.
What are Pidgins?
A simplified language that develops as a means of communication between 2 or more groups with no common language.
What are common characteristics of Pidgins?
- Limited vocabulary
- Reduced grammatical structures
- Simple clauses
- Fewer prepositions, determiners, and auxiliary verbs
What are the primary reasons for the development of Pidgins?
Circumstances such as colonisation, trade or slave trade forcing groups together and the need to communicate.
What happens to a dominant language in the formation of a Pidgin?
It becomes adapted and simplified.
List four characteristics of Pidgins.
- Limited vocabulary
- Reduced grammatical structures
- Simple clauses
- Fewer prepositions, determiners and auxiliary verbs
True or False: A Pidgin has native speakers.
False
What is Creolisation?
When a Pidgin is used more extensively over time and becomes the native language of the next generation.
What is an example of a Pidgin that has undergone Creolisation?
Hawaiian Pidgin.
What is Jamaican Creole also known as?
Patois.
Approximately how many native speakers does Jamaican Creole have?
Approximately 3.2 million native speakers.
When and why did Jamaican Creole develop?
In the 17th century due to the slave trade.
Identify a linguistic feature of Jamaican Creole.
- /d/ phoneme instead of /th/
- Vowel shifts
- Non-standard 1st person pronouns
- Omission of auxiliary verbs
- ‘Fi’ instead of ‘to’ with infinites
- Multiple negatives
What is the prescriptivist attitude towards Pidgins and Creoles?
They are seen as corrupt, imperfect, and inferior intellectually.
What is the descriptivist view of Pidgins and Creoles?
They are seen as efficient, functional, and a symbol of group identity and solidarity.
What is a primary argument in favor of Jamaican creole translation of the Bible?
Simplifies meaning to make understandable.
This makes the text more accessible to a wider audience.
What is a key argument against Jamaican creole translation of the Bible?
Corrupts scripture. Opponents argue that it takes away meaning and complexities.
What negative impact do critics claim Jamaican creole translation may have on Jamaica?
Jeopardise Jamaica’s development and They argue that it may hinder cultural and intellectual growth.
What does the term ‘gatekeeping’ refer to in the context of media?
Process where info is filtered to the public by the media.
Explored by psychologist Kurt Lewin in the 1940s.
What happens if a particular group dominates a field according to gatekeeping theory?
The dominating group is able to exclusively publish/advocate and instill language/behaviours/laws to promote itself. This can lead to a lack of diversity in perspectives and narratives.
What does the Muted Group Theory (MGT) focus on?
How marginalised groups are muted and excluded through the use of language,
Developed by Edwin and Shirley Ardener in 1975.
What does Muted Group Theory suggest about the dominant group?
Dominant group contributes mostly to the formulation of the language system including social norms and vocabulary, This creates barriers for subordinate groups.
According to Muted Group Theory, what do members of the subordinate group have to do?
Learn and use dominant language to express themselves,This often leads to a loss of their own linguistic identity.
Who did Sharmas (2011) study include?
1st gen adult immigrants, local born 2nd generation between 35-60 and also 18-35
