Language and Ethnicity Flashcards

Question

What is code mixing?

Answer 1

When someone hybrids between two languages.

Answer 2

Ronald Wardhaugh (1986)

Answer 3

Inter-sentential, intra-sentential and extra-setential.

Answer 4

The code mixing occurs in the middle of the sentence, the speaker is often unaware they’ve done it. E.g. We don’t have the dinero to pay.

Answer 5

When the code mixing occurs at the beginning or the end of the sentence - most commonly used by fluent bilingual speakers. E.g. Gracias for the lovely gift.

Answer 6

When code mixing occurs as a tag phrase. E.g. Es más difícil, you know?

Answer 7

Monopthongism, flattening of vowel sounds (e.g. face), discourse markers, fillers (e.g. innit), hyper-local features (e.g. letter -> lettOH), deletion (e.g. nothing -> nuttin’) and substitution of pronouns (e.g. he -> man).

Answer 8

In 2014, Ives looked at code switching between English and Punjabi (Bradford has a lot of people that speak Punjabi). He interviewed 8 teenage boys, 1 girl and two adults born in UK who speak Punjabi. Boys said code switching is natural and everyone speaks like it, but became clear it was a conscious choice. They also said mixing them creates their own language all together, wouldn’t use with their parents. Girl said that she’d never mix English with her second language as her social group wouldn’t understand. OVERALL HE FOUND PARTICIPANTS CODE SWITCH TO EXPRESS ETHNIC IDENTITY.

Answer 9

The sample size is very small and might not reflect true representation of language in the area.

Answer 10

He repeated his Bradford study in South London and asked participants which words and phrases ‘set them apart’ and gave them ethnic identity. They gave the following (examples of BBE): Bare - lots of Bruv - good friend Calm - good Jerk - to rob Live - atmospheric Neek - nerd / geek Chatting rubbish - saying something ridiculous A bag of man dem - a group of boys Link me - meet me

Answer 11

Analysed speech patterns between white and black children and found in one area, girls tended to have more interracial friendships than boys, however in a second region the percentage was more evenly split. He also found that in Black speakers code switch between their language and standard English but also white speakers did too as a symbol of ethnic identity and friendship.

Answer 12

Speakers can claim an ethnic identity associated with their second language and she also underlines that code switching is a sign of group membership, especially when it comes to shared ethnicity. This links to Gary Ives.

Answer 13

Observed 45 British born young people whose parents were Jamaican immigrants. By recording conversations, she found that speakers use patois often to assert ethnic identity and express ‘warmth, friendship and solidarity’. However, she found speaking patois in an academic setting disadvantaged the speakers as it was perceived to indicate poor academic ability.

Answer 14

‘Jafaican’ is a derogatory term for what we have called ‘MLE’ and ‘BBE’, especially for those who aren’t ethnically Jamaican. Paul Kerswill explored the increasing popularity of this term in 2014, he found it is frequently used in the media in a negative manner as a threat to English dialects and the way young people speak.

Answer 15

She explored the role of ethnicity in relation to social groups. She noted that white varieties of English are often characterised into dialects whilst non-white varieties are often collectivised.

Answer 16

He argued that the term ‘roadman’ has emerged from Jamaican English to mean a man who spends a lot of time on the streets but has come to be exaggerated and stylised through TikTok. He also noted that videos with #roadman often referenced MLE features such as TH stopping (tink) and DH fronting (dat instead of that).

Answer 17

In 2020, they observed five 11 year old girls who were all multilingual in East London to see if their pronunciation changed in different contexts. They discovered MLE features were used extensively on the playground. They found girls style shifted, like code switching, but in different social contexts.

Answer 18

They explored emergence of MLE in Cockney dialect. They found rather than MLE replacing Cockney, cockney features have maintained alongside the development of MLE features. They contradict the media outlets when they say MLE will make the cockney dialect disappear.

Answer 19

She explored the way in which language and ethnicity asserts different social identities. She specifically looked at second generation British Asians in West London. She found Punjabi social structures were retained and older men and younger women had wider social contacts and changed the way they spoke to accommodate those social groups.

Answer 20

Investigated Polish immigrants in Manchester, specifically those who wanted to stay in the country versus returning to Poland. He concluded those who wanted to stay in England changed their pronunciation to accommodate the local accent. However, those who wanted to return to London made less of an effeort and kept their own speech patterns e.g. -ing as -ink (e.g. happenink)

Answer 21

He coined the term ‘resistance identity’ to mean that language was being used to express ethnic identity and they wanted to be different from mainstream. He also found that dialect in London was developing because of the increase of resistance identity.

Answer 22

He observed a class of African American teenagers in Washington DC. He found they resisted standard English and instead performed ‘white linguistic stereotypes’ which they perceived as an elite way of speaking. He also found they used language as a means of marking themselves as different from the ‘white’ way of speaking.

Answer 23

Investigated language used by African American drag queens in Texas and how it linked to their identity. Barrett found they altered their language in context of speech goals and to manifest their identity as black, African American, gay drag queens. He concluded they use style shifting so that they can express different identities all at once.

Answer 24

He discussed cultural appropriation where he depicted a SNL sketch about Gen Z slang where people believed that slang was of black English origin had been ‘stolen’ by white people. The sketch included words like ‘bro’, ‘yo’ and ‘bestie’. He then explained language comes into contact and create hybridity and concluded that white talk and black talk becoming similar in America is a sign that whites and blacks are more comfortable socially than they once were.

Answer 25

He argued black children should be taught ‘proper English’ and ‘slang English’ and he argued it was essential to remain members of their community. This is still a problematic stance as many English specification mark schemes argue that standard English is only correct but isn’t as naturally used by children today.

Answer 26

She argued that black students are shamed if they are black and speak black language, meaning they are linguistically dehumanised. She noted that many studies show black language is highly developed and functional yet continues to be stigmatised. She argues students should understand how Black language represents identity, heritage and culture and they should celebrate it than see it as a lesser white language.