MTII Flashcards
What was the purpose of the book - Language Myths? Why was it written?
● A group of linguistics scholars decided to write a book on language that would be easily understood by the average person
● They used a survey to determine common assumptions of mainstream people regarding language
● Linguists that were surveyed, disagreed with the “common wisdom” in this regard, and thus the beliefs were labeled myths
Why does the usage and meaning of words change? What are the ways in which language changes?
● It is a universal characteristic of language to change over time. The only languages that will not change are Latin because it serves limited purpose and is unspoken. As experiences evolve and change, words will evolve and change. As there is nothing static in life, language is not static either.
● There are 3 ways that language changes.
1. Pronunciations
2. Grammar
3. Word Meanings.
Why are some languages accused of “not being good enough” and what is the author’s response?
● Some languages have wider functions, like being used as official languages of states and nations for things like politics, education, and literature, but some languages (like Latin) are very restricted and only used for specific purposes
○ Because of this difference in scope, some people believe that some languages that don’t cover a wide range of functions aren’t good enough
● The author responds by saying: Good enough for what?
○ Original, indigenous languages are the best at representing the culture
○ If it’s not broad enough, they can develop new words; all languages are capable of expanding vocabulary to respond to change
⇒ Because they do not have the vocabulary to describe a certain idea, but the solution to this deficit is to create new words that can describe the ideas (e.g., the French create new words to describe English technical words)
Why does the general public blame the media for ruining English? What is the author’s response to those accusations?
⇒ Text messages and other relaxation of grammar and conventions is; People write dictionaries largely off of the vocabulary base that the media use
- Reporters report the words of the people they interview verbatim so they cannot be held responsible for contorting or “ruining” the English language. The author states it is just a reflection of the people in the society.
● Two common misconceptions about the media:
○ Journalists are sloppy language users
○ Journalism is junk writing
● Author argues that:
○ The author argues that the media are “Linguistic mirrors” ; they reflect the current usage
and extend it. They do not invent these word forms themselves, they are only reflecting back the language changes and usages in culture.
What does the author say about the myth of women talking too much?
○ Author’s response: Evidence does not support this notion. Both men and women can and do talk a lot, it all depends upon:
■ The SOCIAL CONTEXT in which the talking takes place.
■ The SUBJECT MATTER involved.
■ The relative SOCIAL CONFIDENCE of the speakers.
■ The SOCIAL ROLES held by the speakers.
■ The FAMILIARITY with the topic under discussion.
What are the situations that influence how much men and women talk?
In family situations women talk more→ it is context dependent.
** In which situations do men talk more?
** I remember Hamilton mentioned that men like to “gossip” about politics and public figures
What are the various challenges in learning a new language?
What is the most difficult aspect of learning a language?
Why does the author say that “some languages are harder than others” is a myth? Remember the specific language examples mentioned in class. (below)
○ Learning a language is a multifaceted issue.
○ To learn a language involves learning:
■ GRAMMAR = pronunciation, word order, and conjugation. ( the structure, rules, some have more different grammar than others.)
■ VOCABULARY= having the right word at your disposal. ( most difficult aspect for learning a language because vocab. is always changing.)
■ SOUND SYSTEMS = being able to articulate the sounds of the letters. (how you have to articulate it, some languages don’t have the same phonemes ex: ‘r’ in french and english)
■ RULES OF USAGE = when to speak, how to address a person, how to ask questions, politeness
■ The most difficult aspect of learning a language is the VOCABULARY because we develop our vocabulary forever.
○ Author’s response
It is easier to learn a language that is in CLOSE CULTURAL PROXIMITY with you.
The most difficult aspect of learning a language is the VOCABULARY because we develop our vocabulary forever.
Some languages ARE more difficult to learn than others, it just depends on what aspect of the language we are talking about.
■ English is challenging because of its vast vocabulary and because there are too many speech sounds “chasing” after too few letters.
■ British English is difficult regarding rules of usage.
■ Hawaiian has only 13 distinctive sounds and Southern
Botswana has 163 phonemes.
- What do the authors describe as the two competing views regarding the myth that some languages are more attractive to listen to than others? Emphasized more so on the test
Why do the authors prefer the “social connotations hypothesis” over “the inherent value hypothesis?”
○ Italian sounds elegant, sophisticated, and lively. French is similarly viewed as romantic, cultured, and sonorous. These languages are said to conjure up positive emotions in hearers.
○ In contrast, German, and some EastAsian tongues are considered harsh, dour, and unpleasantsounding.
○ English is in the middle, evoking few accolades of aesthetic merit but few comments of disdain.
○ Most people who comment on differences between standard and nonstandard accents believe that the basis of their judgment is aesthetics—a matter of taste
such as that which distinguishes a good piece of music from a bad one, a good painting, poem.
○ Two competing hypotheses as to why:
■ Inherent value hypothesis, versus
■ The social connotations hypothesis
INHERENT VALUE hypothesis
● This hypothesis asserts that some languages and accents are inherently more attractive than others.
● Critique of this hypothesis—
● Believing in this point of view is argued to be bad for disenfranchised members of
society. (hurts selfesteem of children, discriminatory practices.)
SOCIAL CONNOTATIONS hypothesis (The better of the 2 and “more socially just”)
● This perspective favors the belief that our perception of the pleasantness of languages and dialects is BASED ON CONVENTION, rather than something that is inherent in the sounds.
● If a social group assumes power in a society, it will take measures to have its forms of communication privileged through the media, education, and so forth.
● Research shows that sounds are variably interpreted and socially constructed, rather than some fact that can be objectively measured.
● In sum, the authors believe views about the beauty and ugliness of the way people talk are built on a complex of social, cultural, regional, political, and personal associations and prejudices.
Who has an accent?
What do accents tell us?
- Everyone thinks they do not have an accent, but in fact, EVERYONE HAS AN ACCENT. ( Who we are and hang out with, where we lived.)
“EVERYONE HAS AN ACCENT EXCEPT FOR ME.”
· Everyone thinks they don’t have an accent, but in fact, we all do.
· Some countries have one accent which is accepted as “standard” and which enjoys higher social prestige than any other.
o We may feel that this national standard is accentless and that nonstandard speakers, by contrast, have accents. To use the standard accent just gives it wider reach perhaps than others, but the way of talking is no less of an accent than any other one.
o Our speech characteristics are uniquely our own. The voice is the essence of recognition—thus we all have an accent.”
What are the common themes and perceptions held by all of the linguist writers who contributed to the book?
· The ongoing and inevitable nature of language CHANGE.
∙ People in general are very concerned about the state of ENGLISH and wish to know more about language.
∙ The beliefs held by linguists regarding language are quite DIFFERENT from the beliefs about language held in the wider community.
∙ Prejudices based on the way other people speak, are akin to SEXISM and RACISM.
∙ Most views about the SUPERIORITY of one language or dialect over another have social and historical origins, as opposed to genuine LINGUISTIC origins.
What were all the facts about English discussed?
Facts about English
– English has become the most widely spoken language in the history of humankind.
– Chinese surpasses English in the sheer number of its native speakers, but ENGLISH IS SPOKEN ALL OVER THE WORLD. While Chinese is largely concentrated in its populous homeland, English is spoken all over the planet by people of all races and nearly all religions and cultures.
– English as a PREFERRED SECOND LANGUAGE outnumber those who use it natively.
– One out of every seven people in the world understands and speaks English in some form.
– The majority of the world’s books, newspapers, and magazines are written in English.
– English has almost as many speakers as French, German, Spanish, and Italian put together.
– Reasons for this are:
• England and the US are economic, military, and scientific superpowers.
• Internationality of its words. English is the most hospitable and democratic language because it has never rejected a word from another culture.
• With its liberal borrowing policy, it feels familiar to speakers of other languages.
• Its grammar and syntax is considered to be relatively simple.
• Its richness of vocabulary sets it off from other languages: 450K – 615K words. German = 185K. Russian = 130K. French = 100K.
• An abundance of synonyms allows for the precise and complete expression of diverse shadings of meaning.
• It is a strikingly terse and direct tongue. It uses less words to say the same thing. spoken English words
• It is a popular export of language. (The French try to resist it.)
History of English
distinctive three tiered vocabulary
1) Anglo Saxonfoundation of english
2) Frenchthis language influence offers english grand, deep/full, and courtly qualities 3) Latin/GreekThis classical influence gives english precision and learned quality english is direct: shorter to say everything compared to other languages
english keeps creating new words
words change categories and categories of new words change
Who does the author consider to be the “literary wordmakers” in the world and why?
1) William Shakespeare-wrote plays, greatest wordmaker ever lived, coined 1700 words
2) Samuel Johnson-produced first dictionary of the english language
3) Lewis Carroll-played with eccentric logic of discourse =, wrote alice in wonderland and through the looking glass
4) Mark Twain-wrote tom sawyer and huck finn books, all modern american lit came from him, and used 7 different dialects to reflect the speech patterns of various characters
5) George Orwell- wrote 1984, warned people about newspeak, doublethink, and doublespeak which are all euphemisms that obscure the truth
What is the thesis of this book - Plastic Words?
This book is about how ordinary language is changing in a unique and disturbing way.
This is just from the summary on Amazon, but maybe it’ll help…
Development. “Project.” “Strategy.” “Problem.” These may seem like harmless words, but are
they? German writer and linguist Uwe Poerksen calls these words “plastic words” because of their malleability and the uncanny way they are used to fit every circumstance.
Poerksen traces the history of plastic words, establishes criteria for identifying them, and provides
a tragicomic critique of the society that relies on them. He shows that when plastic words infiltrate a field of reality, they reorder it in their own image—hence their threat. They are building blocks for new models of reality that may seem utopian but that impoverish the world.
What is bottom-up and top-down language?
Bottom up language: created based on the culture and direct experiences within a specific context or locale by the people who actually experience that which the language refers to.
ex: Mauri the indigenous language of NZ
American English is considered bottom up
Top-down: “given” to a culture and is created from some other place using words that came from somewhere else that is separate from and possibly alien to the culture’s everyday and historical vernacular
ex: champagne originated in France
· BOTTOM UP is language that has been created within a specific context or locale by the people who actually experience that which the language refers to.
MEANS EXPERIENCE, COMES FROM THE PEOPLE IN THAT AREA. EX. KOALA BEAR IS A BOTTOM UP WORD FOR AUSTRALIANS WHO LIVE THERE. FOR OTHERS ITS TOP DOWN AS IT IS LEARNED BUT NOT EXPERIENCED IN ITS NATURAL STATE.
∙ TOP DOWN is “given” to a culture and is created from some other place or realm that is separate from and possibly alien to the culture’s everyday and historical vernacular. More conceptual
BORROWED WORDS FROM OTHER CULTURES – GIVEN TO US ALL THE TIME IN ACADEMIA. EX. “AGONISTIC RESPONSE” MADE UP WORD BY SCHOLAR AND USED, STUDENT TRIES TO CORRECT, BUT ITS ACCURATE BASED ON OTHERS USE. COCONUT, ARTICHOKE, KIMCHEE – WE USE AND KNOW BUT NOT INDIGENOUS.
What does “the vernacular” mean?
Commonly used everyday speech that forms most of public discourse as well as private conversations. It is different from the professional languages of the sciences. It is ordinary context based, colloquial language.
- Everyday talk
- contrasted with the world of science
How many languages are spoken in the world? How are they distributed?
5,103 languages are spoken across the world and distributed as follows
Asia= 30%
Africa= 30%
Pacific region: 20%
American continent= 16%
Europe= 1% (only 67 different languages spoken)
What’s the implication of the way languages are distributed around the world?
*Implication of the distribution of languages
○ There is a REDUCTION OF DIVERSITY in the most powerful nations (meaning that people are more and more thinking in similarities, rather than differences)
○ Monocultures are GAINING ASCENDENCY and overwhelming the globe.
○ The most powerful nations extinguish (by replacing) languages, thus extinguishing
cultures with it. (Losing the profound differences of individual cultures.)
○ The most powerful nations are the drivers of GLOBAL HOMOGENIZATION.
Discussion: IS THAT GOOD OR BAD? LACK OF DIVERSITY IMPEDES CREATIVE THINKING AND INNOVATION. WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL? WHEN WE TRAVEL WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN EXPERIENCE RIGHT? FOOD, CLOTHES, MUSIC, CITY, ETC.
FORCED OBSOLESCENCE? 1.0, 2.0 NEW EDITION OF TEXTBOOK, SMARTPHONE, TECHNO
FORCED CONFORMITY? MUST SUBSCRIBE TO THE SAME ITEMS TO STAY CURRENT AND RELEVANT EX. AS A STUDENT NEED COMPUTER, PHONE, BIKE, ETC.
What’s the author’s “third pyramid”?
What’s noteworthy about it?
· Three dozen, 36 words, (PLASTIC WORDS) are being spoken everywhere: political speeches, board meetings, academic conferences, business consultations, media, and private conversations.
∙ For the first time in history there are indications of a universal language. (MEANS ITS LACKING IN CONTEXT)
This language is being generated from a topdown manner versus the more natural bottomup(unique) manner
Noteworthy because for the first time in history there are indications of a universal (because lacking content) language. This language is being generated from a top down manner versus the more natural bottom up manner.
plastic words makes us ALL THINK the SAME way. He finds it alarming
What are the differences between the arenas of “the vernacular” and “science”?
THE VERNACULAR—The commonly used everyday speech that forms most of public discourse as well as private conversations. It is NOT the professional languages of the sciences. It is ordinary, contextbased, colloquial language. (EVERYDAY TALK)
SCIENCE—An arena of concept and language development that is characterized by: ■ OBJECTIVITY
■ SCOPE, and
■ IMPERSONAL
■ The scientist tries to move from concrete observation to generalizability.
The scientist seeks scope.
■ The scientist conceptualizes from a higher plateau, away from context.
■ The scientist’s language is not made for private, intimate speech.
■ Scientific language (in an altered state) is penetrating the
vernacular—changing it, and extinguishing many of its unique qualities by replacing it with scientific terms.
■ Experts—someone familiar with scientific and technical matters—are the “messengers” that are bringing this language into the vernacular in a topdown manner.
What is an “expert?”
Who are the “experts?”
What is the expert’s role in bringing plastic words into the vernacular?
∙ Experts act as MEDIATORS between the two spheres of SCIENCE and the VERNACULAR
∙ Experts are at the points where knowledge is PUT INTO PRACTICE.
· Experts speak with authority on the basis of methodically gained specialized knowledge and then express this understanding in more simple terms to “ordinary” laypeople.
· Experts are business, technical, psychological, and financial consultants/counselor, reporters, and politicians.
The language that the experts uses becomes part of the vernacular, replacing what was once there with this “new” language—given to the vernacular in a topdown fashion
How does the expert(superior) end up silencing “critical thinking?”
○ The expert in their “SUPERIOR” position of bringing new, cutting edge knowledge
“to the people” create need that in times past, was not there.
○ The expert makes the past look OBSOLETE AND OUTDATED
○ The expert silences CRITICAL THINKING by appearing PRESTIGIOUS AND ON
THE CUTTING EDGE.
■ This works to DISEMPOWER people by bringing material existence under
the purview of experts who are oriented differently than laypeople
■ A crust of science and technology has hardened over our common
language and given it an authoritarian ring.
What are the characteristics of plastic words?
What does each of the characteristics actually mean?
Have a sense of what makes a plastic word a plastic word?
What are some examples of plastic words?
- they sound like they make sense, but in truth, doesn’t make sense
There is no content to the words, but theres a function/manipulation to the words. - Plastic words originate from science and are superficially related to scientific terms.
∙ They are carried from one sphere into another replacing more CONCRETE words.
∙ The layperson lacks the power to DEFINE the word. (topdown vs. bottomup)
∙ They condense a huge field of experience in one expression.
∙ They lack IMAGERY.
∙ They are more about FUNCTION, than CONTENT.
∙ They create perceived NEED; they make the past look OBSOLETE and
OUTDATED.
∙ They have a POSITIVE connotation.
∙ They SILENCE CRITICAL THINKING and examination.
· A sampling of plastic words: care, center, communication, need, communication, sexuality, information, consumption, decision, development, education, energy, exchange, factor, function, future, growth, identity, living standard, management, model, modernization, partner, planning, process, production, progress, project, raw material, relationship, resource, role, service, solution, strategy, structure, substance, system, trend, value, work.
According to the author what is the ultimate concern with plastic words?
Plastic words are manipulative; experts can use broad, generalized terms to manipulate what people think and do. Plastic words ultimately benefit a small few at the expense of the masses
- What is a language war?
What are the examples of language wars she discusses?
A language war is when a subculture speaks up publicly about a perceived unfairness, injustice, difference in opinion, etc. The people to whom the protest is typically aimed is towards the “status quo culture.”
⇒ Those who control the language in society, control the meanings. Lakoff’s book is “media story analysis” of “language politics in action.” Where people in America battle over who gets the final say on what the meaning of a situation is going to be.
Examples:
Should the definition in the dictionary for the Holocaust be “holocaust” or “Holocaust?” Should a town allow a cross on a piece of land be so large and clear and well placed that everyone in the town reports seeing multiple times a day?
Females, requesting to be addressed as Ms. vs Miss or Mrs.
My Jewish professor banning the department’s Christmas party. Gays and lesbians demanding the right to marry.
What does “the democratization of meaning-making” mean?
Subcultures within the whole of the American culture often engage in a confrontative exchange of messages in the form of the minority subculture protesting some action, law, policy, outcome that is perceived as unjust in the minds of the protesters.
The message exchange may become very heated and hard feelings often are experienced during these times of “communication conflict.”
But at the end of it all, no matter who ends up “winning”, the public has heard a lot of details about how a specific subculture experiences life. This can be eyeopening if we have been listening. And when we have our eyes open, and we choose to be more inclusive in order to respect ALL Americans—we have moved closer to a democratized America.
What are the definitions for a “frame” and “culture.”
Frame: A structure of expectation.
Wanda Sykes “white girlfriend” has the frame or expectation that she will not be hassled if she drinks from a water bottle in a store before paying for it. Wanda Sykes, an African American, has a different expectation/frame. She believes that she will be hassled if she drinks from the bottle before paying for it.
Culture: The construction of shared meaning.
When a group of individuals find that they have some important things in common, they will come together for the purpose of talking about, reflecting upon, and improving those experiences. In their sharing their private meanings through communication they construct a worldview or a frame that they share amongst themselves. These subculture frames are often not shared by the majority or “status quo” frame.
What do frames have to do with democracy and culture?
What is a “status quo” frame versus a “special interest” frame?
The more frames we can include in developing the USA’s culture the more democratic we will be.
A status quo frame is what the majority of people believe to be the acceptable “expectations” of how society should be. (Marriage is between a man and a woman; a cross represents the majority of American’s religious beliefs.)
A special interest frame disagrees with the status quo frame in some specific way. (Women not wanting to be defined based on whether they are married or not).
