Pope Francis’ native language is Spanish; however, he primarily speaks Italian when he is around other members of the Vatican and in smaller public appearances. The Pope uses High Code of Diglossia while speaking to the public during mass announcements and church mass service; he does this by speaking traditional Latin (as well as Hebrew and Greek) as did those before him. This diglossia of language will remain until further notice, as this has been stated as a stable tradition of the Vatican and Catholic Church. Diversity of language allows Pope Francis the ability to be broadened with those of whom he is addressing at the moment of speaking publicly and in private.

“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver interviewed the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace laureate and Tibet’s spiritual and political exiled leader. With a hint of investigative journalism, Oliver used his gift of humor to engage the Dalai Lama in broad discussions from conflicts with the Chinese Government to claims that drinking horse milk will cure alcoholism. The interview demonstrated a self-reflective Dalai Lama laughing at labels from the Chinese Government. This televised comedy show provoked the Chinese government so much that they proclaimed the interview to be politically motivated and propaganda for an anti-China separatist movement.

The idea of the Jewish-American accent highlights the ways in which language associates with a specific group of people and can sometimes be used as a way to stereotype a group of people. Generally, the Jewish accent is tied with the Brooklyn/New York accent, as the boroughs of New York are a big place for Jewish populations. Especially in mainstream media, like “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” have perpetuated the idea of the New Yorker Jew. The idea of code-switching and mixing languages is also prominent in the accent, as Jewish people are more likely to use Yiddish words in their everyday language. In the first media, Larry David amps up his Jewish slang and emphasizes his accent/Yiddish knowledge even more to make the other man know that he is Jewish. In the second video about Bernie Sanders, his accent is in part tied to his Judaism, as well as his hometown. Certain words and phrases, along with the accent, are sometimes tied almost to a learned part of language in Jewish families, especially in more religious households. (For another video of interest, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waeXBCUkuL8 [from 3:06])

This is an excerpt of the eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney delivered by President Obama after the Charleston shooting at the Emanuel AME Church. He makes strategic use of preaching style to establish a rapport and sense of belonging with a black audience in a religious setting.