Sociolinguistic Artifacts

This video is an SNL sketch in which two courtroom attorneys argue over the meaning of a specific word used by the defendant. This argument revolves around the question: Does "Za" mean pizza or lasagna? Because the two attorneys have differing language ideologies and are a part of different speech communities, they interpret the word "Za" differently and therefore each believe the defendant belongs to their speech community and uses "Za" the way it means to them. This video also plays on linguistic indexicality, which is the way in which language references or points us to certain aspects of the world; in this case the pronunciation of "Za" pointed one attorney towards lasagna and the other towards pizza.