Race,Ethnicity
Lawyer Dog
Tweet describing a Black man being assigned a Lawyer Dog, due to his request for a "lawyer, dog" being transcribed without the comma. The comments of the tweet offer many similar scenarios
Rep. John Lewis’ Speech at March on Washington 1963
Play videoA speech given by Rep. John Lewis at the March on Washington in 1963.
Ted Cruz/ Hispandering
Play videoTed Cruz displays Hispandering during an interview, on Bloomberg. This involves explaining how he has the ability to relate to being Hispanic. There is a bit of code switching also, toward the end of the interview
Confederacy: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Play videoThis is a video of John Oliver the host of the show Last Week Tonight. In this video he explains the debate over taking down Confederate monuments in southern states. He makes some really good points about the issues and I think that his use of language helps frame the issue in a way that makes his argument more convincing.
Interview with rapper Angel Haze
Play videoArtifact 2 of 2 in an analysis of style-shifting as a function of interviewer race. This interview was analyzed as part of a project on Coronal Stop Deletion in the speech of Hip Hop artists.
Accent and identity (Awkwafina's disappearing blaccent)
Awkwafina (Nora Lum, an Asian-American rapper/actress) has been accused of making use of the AAVE to her benefit and dropping it when she's going more mainstream in recent years - I think this is a great example of how one can use accents to construct different social identities. This also reminds me of the Benor/Eckert article on ethnolect and indexicality.
Black American Sign Language Gains New Interest Thanks to TikTok App
This article (and corresponding video) underscore the recent resurgence of Black American Sign Language. One part that stood out to me was Hill's note on code switching, and the historical context that contributed to some Black deaf people's preference of only using BASL in private settings. [Published on 02-25-2021]
Born a Crime
This is a passage from Trevor Noah's book "Born a Crime" that I found really interesting. He was raised in apartheid South Africa as a mixed child and had to switch between multiple languages to navigate the world. He argues that "language, even more than color, defines who you are to people" because he was able to use language to change other people's perception of his race. [Published on 2016]
"We Don't Say That" NPR Podcast
This podcast discusses terminology used by and for Black folx in France, and how this has changed over the past half century. This is especially interesting because of the influence that the Académie Française has (or tries to have) over the French language, while demonstrating the connection between race and language. [Published on 05-01-2019]
Gob's Perception of the Effect of Skin Color on Voice
Play videoIn this very short clip from Arrested Development, Gob's puppet Franklin comes out of the dryer with the color drained from his cloth. Gob had always used AAL for the puppet, but in this clip he uses British English. Since Franklin's cloth/skin is light now, the joke is that he also lost his AAL repertoire and gained a British English variety of speaking. This is an example of the the oversimplified way that people often see language variants as stereotypically mapping on to people.
Animation for Black Actors
I remember seeing this on tumblr a couple years ago and found it cause it's basically Chris Rock showing he's noticed how black actors can only get roles as nonhuman animals. [Published on 12-31-1969]
Clothes as Codeswitching
Usage of clothing by immigrant women in the United States as a form of code-switching to help them identify / be identified with the culture they want to be [Published on 07-13-2017]
Your Personality Changes When You Change Language
This video talks about those individuals that are multilingual change personalities when they change languages. This video shows in great detail how personalities all around the world are effected by changing languages. The video also talks about how only when a speaker matches their linguistic personality with their new language are they likely to be considered truly multilingual.
How “Rez Accents” Strengthen Native Identity
A cool article about identity and “reservation English” [Published on 03-06-2017]
Made In-Medine
Play videoThis song is "Made In" by the French-Algerian Kabyle rapper Medine. The lyrics are mostly in French, with code switching to English and briefly to Arabic. The song is about being proud of one's ethnic/cultural heritage and/or immigrant identity. The song celebrates diverse origins and experiences, and the code switching helps to support that message and lend the lyrics a global feeling.
Ever wanted to watch Sailor Moon in Anishinaabemowin?
Inspired by dubbed versions of Sailor Moon in languages all around the world, Westin Sutherland, an Ojibwe 18 year-old from Canada, created a dubbed version of Sailor Moon in Anishinaabemowin and Cree, two indigenous languages of Canada. He believes that it gives young speakers confidence and pride in their language, and encourages young speakers (who are traditionally the weak link in linguistic transmission) to keep speaking indigenous languages. [Published on 08-12-2018]
English Conundrums
Play videoThis is a clip from an "I Love Lucy" episode in which a foreign man is having troubles with some English words. It is interesting, because it points out the several different ways one can say -ough. In my opinion, this is a great example why English is considered one of the more difficult languages to learn as a second language.
Rethinking Grammar: How We Talk
We as people judge the way that others speak, we assume intelligence based on the way that people speak. African American Vernacular tends to be associated with not being very smart [Published on 10-21-2015]
Is "talking white" really a thing
Play videoThis is a clip in which two people are blindfolded and asked to determine if people are white or black only by their voice. The speaker is given a song to read aloud as the listeners try to determine if “talking white is really a thing”. There is a belief that people will inherently sound different simply because of their ethnicity. This puts the stereotypes to the test and shows how different vocal inflections are perceived
Chardjou dialect of Turkmen
Play videoIndexicality of a tribal affiliation through use of code switching from Chardjou dialect to Russian.
Mock Spanish
This poster is an example of mock Spanish with the phrase Cinco de Drinko.
SNL- Black Jeopardy with Drake
Play videoDrake plays as a African-American from Canada in a Jeopardy show centered around African-American stereotypes. The awareness of the public about certain features they use allow them to construct these stereotypes and place Drake as a part of the out group.
Hinglish - Code Switched Hindi + English
Play videoThe Portsmouth College, UK has started a course for Hinglish language. Hinglish is the mixed/code switched version of Hindi and English, and is the popular street language in India.
Brother Ali freestyle on GoRadio - 95.3FM
Play videoBrother Ali is a white socially-conscious rapper who, due to being albino and growing up primarily around African-Americans in the Midwest, existed for many years with a publicly ambiguous racial identity. In more recent years (including at the time of this video), Brother Ali has been more explicit about being white In this video, Brother Ali freestyles on a local Twin Cities radio station. He uses numerous features of AAE, including pervasive coronal stop (-t/-d) deletion.
G-Eazy - Fire In The Booth.
Play videoThe freestyle that I analyzed for my assignment in AAE. This rapper is interesting because he potentially disrupts traditional notions of authenticity in hip-hop, given the recent "frat rap" movement.
Excerpt from Donald Glover's
Play videoI used these four songs, a clip from "Weirdo," and this interview of Donald Glover's coronal stop deletion.
Varieties of Indian English
Play videoThis video samples Southeast Asian speakers of English, showing the diversity of language feature repertoires involved in what non-Southeast Asians often lump together as an Indian English ethnolect.
Iggy Azalea Freestyle
Play videoIggy Azalea's attempt at her rap persona and linguistic repertoire without practice. Citation: Eberhardt, M. & Freeman, K. 2015. 'First things first, I'm the realest': linguistic appropriation, white privilege, and the hip-hop persona of Iggy Azalea.
Professor suspected of being a terrorist because of a math equation
A woman thinks that an Ivy League professor is a terrorist due to her inability to understand what he's writing (among other things). Her standard language ideology influenced her to believe that because he didn't seem to be writing in English, this could only be an indication that he was foreign and, ultimately in her eyes, a terrorist. [Published on 05-07-2016]
Jackie Aina's Review of Inclusive Fenty Beauty
Play videoJackie Aina is a popular black makeup artist and YouTuber who frankly discusses issues of race. She also frequently employs some features of African American English along with Standard English, unlike some other popular black beauty YouTubers who use more Standard English in their videos.
Jesse Williams' Speech (BET Awards 2016)
Play videoPopular speech upon receiving the BET Humanitarian award. Example of black preacher style by biracial speaker.
The Newest 'Grey's Anatomy' Hunk, Jesse Williams
Play videoJesse William's interview with Ellen on the Ellen Show in 2010, marking usage of African American Language.
Fox News clip sampled on DAMN.
Play videoThis clip is a really clearly delineated example of "language as proxy" for racism. It's really clear in the tone of the broadcasters when reading Kendrick's lyrics that their issue is not only with the content but with the stigmatized aspects of AAVE. I also wanted to bring up this clip/the album DAMN. because it's a great example of a lot of the themes talked about in the film Talking Black in America, particularly regarding hip-hop. The way Kendrick puts his music, which deals with issues of race and is basically the way he was able to survive violence in dialogue with white people saying "hip hop is doing more damage than racism" is really masterful and gives me chills.
Spanish phrases Gringos need to stop abusing!
Play videoThe women in this video describe all the ways non-Spanish speakers use Mock Spanish. They describe it as sometimes being a way to connect with others. However, the overuse of Mock Spanish can become disrespectful and insulting.
#MemeOfTheWeek: Hillary Clinton, Not Quite An Abuela
This article touches on Hillary Clinton. Hillary claimed that she was like the Hispanic communities abuela, in order to win the hearts of the Hispanic community. Mrs. Clinton posted a previous article explaining how Hillary was like your abuela. When recapping her actions I don’t understand how her or her team did not find this offensive. However, there was the backlash from the community expressing how Mrs. Clinton is far from their abuela. In this attempt to relate to the people by making fake promises and outrageous gestures, often times there is a line that is crossed. [Published on 12-26-2017]
As a Latina, I have a problem with Hispanic Heritage Month
Juliana Schwartz is tired of hearing famous people, the republican party, Obama and more, share their "appreciation" for Hispanic Heritage Month when these same people have caused mass deportation for Hispanics and have created ugly ideologies towards Hispanics. She wants the hispandering to end because she believes that Hispanics are a culture, not some marketing scheme to receive more votes or gain more profit. She wants the government to stop the hispandering and to stop using hispanics, and to instead help Hispanics gain justice and inclusion. [Published on 07-01-2014]
Dave/Erina trying Super Spicy Yeobki Tteokbokki
Play videoIn this video Dave (the man) and Erina (the woman) are trying a super spicy Korean rice cake dish. In the video both are using Korean, neither being their native languages, but through the experience of eating the food we see an instance of code-switching from both parties due to the spiciness; Erina to Japanese, and Dave to English.
Coca Cola - Mock Spanish
Play videoThis Coca Cola - Hispanic Heritage commercial clip shows the Coca Cola company using Hispandering by using Hispanic sterotype such as a run down town, and tattoos that are on the coke can that they can apply to their skin, especially the one of "Rodriguez" which he applied the tattoo to his neck.
Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don't belong to everyone
Play videoThis clip specifically looks at uses of language and the contexts and ideologies surrounding them that create speech communities. Ta-Nehisi Coates implies certain terms from particular speech communities and cultures cannot be used by outsiders appropriately.
Welcome to Hell SNL Skit
The SNL skit in this article goes into the topic of how dangerous the world is for women and how men have not been aware of it until now in line with the sexual harassment cases. The title of the song is called "Welcome to Hell." It tries to break language/gender ideologies by describing the how females see the world as "Hell", but in the light cheerful way that women are "supposed" to speak due to current social linguistic ideology now. [Published on 12-03-2017]
Mock Spanish T-Shirt
A posting from Facebook with a shirt that uses incorrect lyrics Justin Bieber used for the song “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi when he had issues remembering the Spanish words during a performance.
Relationship between linguistic fragmentation and social capital
This article analyzes the experiment that finds the relationship between linguistic fragmentation and social capital. Researchers found that the number of language spoken in a country is significantly negatively correlated with social capital. They have concluded that multilingual countries tend to be poorer than those dominated by a single big language. They also concluded that countries with high levels of social capital tends to be richer and tend to proper. They have examined some countries have many languages and relatively high social capital which include America and Canada as immigration destinations that also host to many indigenous languages. The article created a relationship between the results from the experiment and the immigration in which immigrants and their children must master the language of their new countries whether or not they keep their old languages.
The term “Ching Chong” as the representation of mocking Asian community in the U.S.
This audio surrounds the concept of “Ching Chong” which is one of many well-known examples that have been used as an insult to Asians in the United States. The concept of “Ching Chong” was initially formed from an anti- Chinese sentiment and were often brought up as a taunt back in the 19th Century. Mimicry, particularly for mocking Asian accents, is the default pejorative mode. The article mentioned that this form of mockery identifies Asians as decidedly, unequivocally foreign, and that Asians and Asian Americans are the “other” and excluded from the American community.
This Is How I talk SNL Skit
Play video
The SNL skit "This is How I Talk" plays off of linguistic and societal norms attributed to different groups of people (in this case black and white people) to create a humorous situation. The situation is funny because Louis C.K. who is an extremely white individual and a speaker of Standard English, pretends to be a native speaker of African-American Vernacular English to avoid letting his new boss know that he was making fun of her. This is unusual because AAVE is strongly associated with race, so to see a white man using this speech type is so out of the ordinary as to be humorous. Later on in the clip, Brenda switches to SE in order to find out for sure if Louis C.K.'s character is only pretending to speak AAVE natively. While she is speaking, she says that "this is my real voice. See, I went to a good college..." indicating the common conception that AAVE is not an "academic" form of speech and reinforcing the social hierarchy that is related to American dialects.
My name is Jose Jimenez
Play video“My name is Jose Jimenez” became a popular catch phrase in America after Hungarian-Jewish descent Bill Dana performed this skit dressed as Santa Claus. Bill Dana utilized humor to soften the racializing stereotypes seen in most portrayals of Latin American men. Using Mock Spanish, the naïve character of Jose Jimenez was seen playing a variety of professions, including a United States astronaut. So popular was the character that Mercury astronaut Alan Shepherd adopted “Jose” as his official code name, and astronaut Jose Jimenez made a “guest appearance” at the 1961 Kennedy Inaugural Gala. In the 1960’s Bill Dana was honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition for his work as an activist. In 1970 with changing sensitivities concerning Mock Spanish and racial stereotypes, Bill Dana had an “official funeral” to declare Jose Jimenez dead.
AAVE (African American Vernacular English) Ebonics Is Not “Improper” English
Play videoA video from May of 2016 explaining why AAVE Ebonics is a proper form of English because everyone has their own dialect that is valid. The video goes on to suggest that white supremacy is the cause of all this uproar and if roles were switched then AAVE would be the official language of the United States.
Mandana Seyfeddinipur's TED Talk on Endangered Languages
Play videoThis is a TED Talk video of Mandana Seyfeddinipur, a linguist and the director of the
Endangered Lanuages Documentation Programme at SOAS University of London, sharing her
perspective on endangered languages. Seyfeddinipur shares how globalization, climate change,
urbanization and political unrest are causing the extinction of languages at a rate equivalent to
the loss of biological diversity during the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. She also emphasizes
how such change can negatively impacts cultural diversity and decreases social resilience.
I GET THE BAG Gucci Mane ft. Migos
Play videoThis is a new Hip-Hop video with Gucci Mane and rap group the Migos called I Get The "Bag". When people are talking about getting a "Bag" now of days it's just another way of saying getting money or bossing up that's just your "bag". Bag can be used in many different ways it's a new thing that has been used frequently. It's an African american slang word coming from rap culture.
1960 - Jackie Kennedy Spanish Ad
Play videoThis is a video of Jackie Kennedy doing a campaign ad in 1960 in Spanish. The goal of this video was to connect with the Hispanic voters. I chose this particular video because it shows how Jackie Kennedy used different speech communities to reach a certain group of people. Indexicality plays a role as well because she is indexing the Spanish speaking community.
Chola Makeover
Play videoA group of cholas give two other woman a makeover using their styles of fashion and makeup.
Chola's Talk Chola Fashion
Play videoA few groups of cholas comment on chola fashion and the ways people outside of the group use their makeup and clothes styles.
What kind of Asian are you?
Play videoIn this video directed by Ken Tanaka (David Ury), a common topic/"issue" is addressed in a humorous way. This issue is the tendency of caucasian people to ask people who are clearly not caucasian the question "Where are you from?" This is a strange issue because almost all the time, the asker does not mean where the person was born, or where they grew up, but usually is trying to ask where their family origins/heritage lies. It is a funny phenomenon that occurred mainly due to a lack of any other 'politically correct' way of asking someone (usually a stranger) where their family origins are.
English Motherf*****
Play videoAn interrogation scene from the HBO series The Wire. Through their use of mock language two detectives index a language ideology that places the immigrant's language as substandard to English. This language ideology restricts the agency of the immigrant by reinforcing language inequality through the positioning of English as the only tool that can serve the communicative function in this discourse.
Maz Jobrani: Comedy TedTalk in Qatar
Play videoMaz Jobrani is an Iranian-American who does a lot of comedy to bridge Americans with the Middle East, and to bring awareness of Middle Easterners.
Racial Slurs- Clerks 2
Play videoWarning- strong language and frequent use of racial slurs. In this scene from the movie "Clerks 2", in which the characters discuss the use of racial slurs, specifically the term "porch monkey", reflects some of the different attitudes towards racist language in society. Randal (played by Jeff Anderson) plays the ignorant white man in the scene, and his attitude towards the other, outraged characters in the scene represents opposing ideologies that are present throughout society. Just like society as a whole, Randal is stubborn in his defense of the term "porch monkey", claiming that it's not racist, and that he can "take it back." At one point Randal describes his grandmothers racist remarks as "cute" and says "that's the way people talked back then", excusing racism as a social norm. Randal's friend and co-worker Dante (played by Brian O'Halloran) at one point says, "And even if it could be saved, you can't save it because you're not black." This statement is interesting because white people are notorious for being entitled when it comes to other races or cultures, whether it be Cinco de Mayo, or white people's use of African American Vernacular English. This scene sheds an interesting perspective on the issue of racism in the US and how some still view racism as an objective subject matter.
Hold Up! Time for an Explanatory Comma
This episode from NPR's Code Switch podcast reminds me of Bell's discussion of audience design. Code Switch is a podcast by journalists of color where they discuss race and identity. Sometimes, the topics they discuss are out of context for those who have different socialization. In the episode below, they talk about having to use what they call an "Explanatory comma" in order to accommodate the different backgrounds of their listeners. [Published on 12-14-2016]
Racism In America (Satire)
Play videoAs we have thoroughly discussed Mock Spanish, along with language, race, ethnicity, the following YouTube video is a humorous play on racism in America. The Hispanic housemaid is faced with her racist boss as she's assumed to be a thief, an idiot, and not know English, simply because she is not a white American. It also highlights the tendencies to classify someone as not as intelligent simply because they do not fit the stereotype for where we are from. Again, this is a humorous spin on real life happenings that occur, many of which are oblivious to us.
Keye & Peele - Proud Thug
Play videoIn this Key and Peele skit called “Proud Thug”, comedians Michael Keegan-Key and Jordan Peele portray stereotypical Hispanic gangsters. They use terms like “holmes”, “homie” and “esé” to refer to each other. On top of the heavy Spanish accents, they use some broken English, double negatives, slang, and a lot of cursing to communicate in a way that Hispanic “gangstas” are expected to.
A Few Things to Know About American Sign Language
Play videoSimilar to the different accents that exist in the English language, different styles of sign language express different cultural upbringings. This video is a short personal account into a few individual’s experiences with sign language and its perception from none deaf people. Explaining issues like the use of the term “hearing impaired”, is considered more offensive than being labeled deaf because it does not recognize deaf people as a “linguistic minority”. The point is that deaf people have a culture. One of the speakers talks about how slang has influenced ASL specifically in the African-American cultural community. Being deaf does not exclude people from existing in a living language that adapts and changes to fit the times. Rich with the impact of various cultures.
Die Antwoord's Evil Boy: A Dynamic Crossroad of Language, Culture, and Rap in South Africa
Play videoDie Antwoord is a controversial rap group from Cape Town, South Africa fronted by Ninja Yolandi Vi$$er. Speaking from a post-apartheid perspective, this group offers an underrepresented view of young, lower-middle class, white Afrikaans - a subculture known as "Zef." Historically, Zef has been considered a derogatory term describing someone who was white, poor, and "trashy." However, Die Antwoord and others have looked to transform this into a self-reflective, somewhat satirical, parody that Ninja described as being "apocalyptic debris that we’ve stuck together." In this music video, they display their unique code-switching between Afrikaans and English, as well as Xhosa - the Bantu language of the Xhosa people. Adding to their mixed-bag controversial nature, is the relationship of the Afrikaans languages’ association with apartheid.
Through dynamic language and visual use, this video reflects the complex sociocultural and sociolinguistic interactions that occur in this region. The lyrical narrative told is a statement on the clash between traditional tribal circumcision rituals, and the modern subcultures that seem to offer an alternative path to "manhood." This can be heard in the verse by the guest rapper Wanga, sung in his native tongue:
"Mamelapa umnqunduwakho! (listen here, you fucking asshole)
Andifuni ukuyaehlatini! (I don't want to go to the bush with you)
Sukubammba incanca yam! (don't touch my penis)
Andi so stabani! (I’m not a gay)
Incanca yam yeyamantobi! (this penis is for the girls)
Incanca yam iclean! (my penis is clean)
Incanca yam inamandla! (my penis is strong)
Ndiyinkwekwe enkulu! (I am a big boy)
Angi funi ukuba yeendota! (don't want to be a man)
Evil boy 4 life! yebo! (yes)
Evil boy 4 life!"
Through the use of polyglossic code-switching, performativity, sociocultural and racial integration, and a revamping of contextual meanings, Die Antwoord is doing its part to redefine what it means to be young and Zef in South Africa, and what a socioculturally- and sociolinguistically-complex rebellion sounds like.
Covert Racism Found in Grey's Anatomy
Play videoDuring this scene of Grey’s Anatomy, Amelia approaches Maggie, who is African American, about a situation where she felt like she may have come off racist. There are several points during their conversation in which anthropological elements are highlighted. One major example is presented when Maggie talks about about how people assume things about her based on her race. She mentions that she approached an airline ticket booth with a first class ticket and the attendant said, “We aren’t boarding coach yet.” Although this isn’t an overtly racist statement, the subtle racist ideas are still present. This example is similar to the statement “You can turn the air conditioning on if you want to” that we talked about during lecture. When we make implicit statements like these, we are giving power to racist ideas without coming out and using actual racist language. We let our assumptions do the talking and reinforce the racial stereotypes that already exist in our society.
“Do You Understand the Words That Are Coming Out of My Mouth? - Rush Hour (1/5) Movie CLIP
Play videoThis is a clip from the movie Rush Hour where Agent Carter misunderstood that Jackie Chan (Lee) cannot understand English; therefore he got frustrated and started to change his tone and volume while talking to him. This clip touches on the issue of performativity, racial and linguistic ideologies, Standard Language Ideology and Language socialization.
Chris Tucker in the movie was expecting Jackie Chan to be able to speak English, and he also used forms like “speaka” and said “Mr. Rice-a-Roni don’t even speak American”. Based on this example and also the rising tone and increasing volume, it shows how Tucker had the linguistic ideologies of if he speaks louder and slower then the other person is going to understand him. He also used terms that shows his own identity such as “speaka”, and he also said, “speak American” to show his ideology of American equals English only.
Barack Obama - Code Switcher
Play videoCode switching is a large part of a public figures publicity arsenal. Being able to switch mannerisms, linguistic traits, and other factors of a depiction of self is incredibly important in the formulation of a diverse and accepting group of constituents. Being able to maintain all the code switching when prompted is also necessary for maintaining those groups, because being able to appear like you know exactly what they’re experiencing shows commitment and understanding. Barack Obama was known through various examples to show his ability to code switch based on the community he was visiting, whether it be rural North Carolina church, or USA basketball locker rooms. In this clip, we see his interactions with various players, male and female, and the coaching staffs. Take note how he changes the way he speaks based on their perceived race and whether they are a coach or a player. In addition, the status of the individuals he is addressing changes the way he speaks. For example, the way he talks to LeBron James (superstar) and Anthony Davis (rookie at the time) are different, even though they are both power forwards for the USA Men’s basketball team. Furthermore, in his recounting of the story about Joe Biden’s daughter, we see his use of different speech techniques with a coach who is white when compared to interactions with a black player. Finally, the handshake at the beginning of the video with Kevin Durant is a great example of an on the fly code switch.
Press One for English
Play videoThis music video features a clearly Anglo couple singing in thick Southern U.S. accents about the need to speak English in the United States. It clearly showcases many examples of languages ideologies and subtle racism. The video indexes a strong relationship between an American identity and English ability by using many flags, referencing the U.S. military, and blatantly saying "English is the language of the land." They also support the dominance of English, associating it with the opportunities of America, even ironically saying that "We share this land of liberties, so please speak English". Language is closely tied to one's identity, and it is a great abuse to force language upon another person. It's also very difficult to learn another language, especially to full proficiency, once one has passed puberty. Despite these facts, the lyric "You chose to come, now choose to speak English", insists that to be accepted as an American, you must alter a fundamental aspect of your being. The song goes on to associate different languages with "others", saying " I don't live in China, Mexico, no foreign place," and frequently implying that to speak another language is to be lesser, especially in the U.S. These attitudes surrounding English are what create the English hegemony in the U.S., but just because it is the norm doesn't mean it is positive. Many nations are multilingual and there are massive benefits, but this song maintains that it is absurd to have "subtitles in 5 languages" and that as an American, "why should I have to press one for English?". English is massively dominant in the U.S., despite the present of many other varieties over time. The dominance of English is closely tied to the systematic oppression of various ethnic groups in the U.S. over time.
Donald Trump: We need to get out 'bad hombres'
Play videoThis is what Donald Trump said in the third presidential debate in regarding to the issue of immigration. In his speech, he used Spanish word “hombre” to refer to the immigrants that he views as bad people, which has some negative meaning. However, “hombre” in Spanish only means “men” without any negative meanings. This is a good example of mock Spanish as defined by Hill (1998). People can’t understand the meaning without understanding the indirect index of the badness and criminal of Spanish people. It also contains underlying racism which shows that Spanish people have a stereotype of being bad, and in contrast white culture is better than others.
Key and Peele Loco Gangsters
Play videoThis is a video from the TV show Key and Peele called Loco Gangsters. Key and Peele act out a skit as perceived Latino males. They use a variety of linguistic techniques ranging from the ideologies believed to be associated with Spanish to mock Spanish.
Transformers 2 mudflap and skidz spitting on leo
Play videothis video shows off to heavily criticized characters from transformers 2 : revenge of the fallen. director Micheal Bay has a habit throughout this movie series of introducing transformers that are stereotypes of races and cultures such as the Mexican and samurai warrior transformers in the 4th movie. mudflap and skidz are no exceptions to this habit, both portraying a stereotypical African american way of talking and using certain words like bust a cap in his ass and nah what I mean?
Trump Relies on Mock Spanish to Talk About Immigration (OPINION)
This blog post is about how non-Spanish speaking white peoples' use of "mock Spanish" is a form of covert racism that is used as an unconsciously strategic effort to silently dominate the folks who are imagined to speak the language, but to do so through attempts at silliness, humor and acting "cool” or "with it". This article is written by a Spanish professor. He discusses how hard it is to talk to white people about mock Spanish, and even cites Jane Hill, but a different paper from the one we read. [Published on 10-20-2016]
'English Only' Sign Triples Diner's Business
Play videoThis video reports about an owner of a diner in North Carolina that gained major support when he posted an 'English Only' sign at his door. In this interview the owner claims it started because of it was annoying to him and his staff to have to wait on people that did not speak English. He said it became very frustrating for both parties and eventually the Spanish speaking customers were hostile towards him. When the sign was first put out the diner tripled its business. People from the local community supported his stance and pledged their support for him in there continual attendance. He even said people requested to have their own signs so he made copies and has given out nearly 2,000 signs. What was shocking to me was the national support this man was getting. Celebrity new anchors and various organizations contacted him in support of his stance. One political organization even offered free law support if he were to come into any conflict regarding the issue. I figured something like this would have support, but not nearly to the magnitude it did. What shocked me even more was the lack of push-back he was receiving. He claimed that there was little to none. That being so, it can either show the dominant ideology in America regarding the English Only movement, or the difficulty to organize anti-Engliah Only groups.
Reality TV outgroup language use
Play videoThis clip shows outgroup language use of a white women on a reality TV show. When she is upset, she begins to use more standard English and less AAE markers. Other people on the show notice. This relates to themes of crossing or outgroup language use and also the question of authenticity in relation to race and speech explored in Cutler's "Keepin It Real" (2003).
At UMass lecture, Stanford professor tackles prejudice against African-American English in courtrooms
A woman’s testimony in court is accused of being “unintelligible” because she speaks a different dialect of English, specifically African American English. The slang terms or speech patterns that she uses do not sound grammatically correct to the courtroom, but back home, it is normal speech. Rickford interestingly notes in the article that since interpreters for foreign languages are used in the courtroom, we should also use those resources of dialects of English that are not as easily interpreted by conventional speakers of the language.
New Girl - Schmidt & Winston Crack Scene
Play videoIn this scene, Schmidt tries to help Winston stay true to himself, and Winston suggests they can do this by getting cocaine. Schmidt tries to accommodate Winston by going to a rougher neighborhood. Schmidt tries to fit into the situation at hand, albeit often unsuccessfully, but his linguistic style-shifting is most apparent as he tries to get the "drug dealer's" attention.
Be Free- J. Cole
The artist J. Cole uses his lyrics to express the hardships that he has faced in relations to his experiences as a Black man.
Redefining Race and Ethnicity in the US
Play videoThis video discusses the problem with classification of race in America. People often attach Race to people wrongly when they should really be referring to ethnicity.
Youth soccer coach booted for speaking Spanish to players
This is an article about a youth soccer coach being ejected for speaking Spanish to his players. The referees ejected him for simply speaking Spanish during a game. This is an obvious attempt to discriminate against this coach and his team. The coach code-switched between Spanish and English and this was deemed unacceptable because they "want everybody to understand". Yet, they say they have no rule against speaking Spanish.
[Published on 12-20-2012]
"Token Black Woman" -Issa Rae
This gif comes from an episode of the show "Insecure" that aired recently on HBO. The show is based on Issa Rae, an African American woman, trying to navigate her way through her 20's. Rae works for a non profit called "We Got Ya'll," which helps children of color from low income communities to be successful in school. The non-profit was created by a white woman and Rae is the only black woman working there. Rae refers to herself as the "token black woman." This gif shows a white co-worker asking Rae the meaning of "on fleek." Her co-worker is assuming that because Rae is black, that she is familiar with this language. This is an example of her co-worker's language ideologies. Unfortunately for her co-worker, due to indirect indexicality, making this assumption actually makes her appear racist.
Rae spoke about the show, saying that the series will examine "the complexities of 'blackness' and the reality that you can’t escape being black." Rae also said, in regards to the potential mainstream reaction to the series: "We’re just trying to convey that people of color are relatable. This is not a hood story. This is about regular people living life."
"That Mexican Thing"
Play videoDuring the Vice Presidential Debate, Tim Kaine referred to some of the demeaning comments Donald Trump has made in the past, regarding Latinos. In response, Mike Pence said, "Senator, you whipped out that Mexican thing again." Whether Pence meant to be offensive to the Latino community or not, he most certainly was. Recently, Trump has tried to redeem himself with the Latino community, but with his VP referring to Latino issues as a "Mexican thing," it is apparent that Trump is engaging in hispandering.
Strange Wilderness- Spanish accent
Play videoThis is a clip from "Strange Wilderness" and in this clip they are mocking Mock Spanish. It's a completely over the top clip. There is obviously overt stereotyping displayed in the clip and attempt to condescend the Latino race. Its a legitimate question as to how many people would realize (because the clip is so over the top and backfires so extraordinarily) that this indeed a mockery of Mock Spanish.
Why I keep speaking up, even when people mock my accent
Animator and Narrator, Safwat Saleem, reflects on his experience with the "pre-existing notion of normal" at a young age and how he is still challenged by that notion today. Throughout his life Saleem has faced criticism due to society's idea of what is "normal" and what is "good" and has let it negatively affect his career and esteem. Saleem explains how he has overcome those challenges and now chooses to use his accent and work to help shape and transform a more accepting society. [Published on 02-01-2016]
Could your language affect your ability to save money?
Amazing Ted Talk by Keith Chen illustrating how "language" can help a person's ability to save money! EVERYONE should see this. It also gives a really good illustration on how different languages force you to say different things. [Published on 06-01-2012]
Hillary Clinton: Blaspandering?
Do we need a new term for black pandering, like hispandering has? In this clip, fox news sounds off on Hilary's speech regarding white privilege. Although her intent is good, like examples of hispandering, her language of "we" and "our" vs. "you" helps to reflect and reinforce ideologies of otherness. [Published on 04-13-2016]
How to Speak Hip
Play videoThis is the intro to a 13 part "album" instructing listeners on how to speak and understand "hip" language. Those who want to appear "cool" to this subculture that includes hipsters, juvenile delinquents, jazz musicians, etc.
Code Switching, Mock Spanish, and Kevin Hart
Play videoKevin Hart is explaining what it's like to be in prison. He takes on numerous different forms and voices to show the different type of people in prison.
Rich Chigga - I Only Say N**** When I’m Jamming to Rap Music
This Indonesian "rapper"/comedian with the stage name, Rich Chigga, is receiving backlash from the hip-hop community for making a song that utilizes the n-word. When confronted about this word, he was quoted saying, "My intent was to kinda help take the power out of that word so people would be less sensitive about it but I do understand if some people would be offended and I think doing it in that song’s enough."
It is usually a common theme for people not to say the n-word due to the negative implications of the word. However, he tries to justify his usage by describing how he is attempting to desensitize a word. He is getting backlash for trying to exploit this culture derived from African-Americans and hip-hop. [Published on 07-20-2016]
7 Year Old Polyglot
Play videoThis is a girl who is half-Japanese and half-Spanish, and she is currently (as of 2015) living in Spain. In this video she shows us how many languages she has at her disposal, highlighting the fact that speakers can have many different repertoires to index their identities.
Mahogany performing CultureAppropriation
Play videoPowerful performance and poem from Mahogany. CultureAppropriation. Turns the appropriation of African American culture, using emotional references, provocative stereotypes, music...
Gulf Between Words and Actions @ CU-Boulder
Very interesting article illustrate a situation where simply using the "right words" isn't enough. [Published on 03-10-2016]
A Remote Amazonian tribe could fundamentally change our understanding of language
This article talks about the recent discovery of the language of a remote tribe in the Amazon that may be drastically different from any other known languages. A researcher from MIT teamed up with one of the few non-native Piraha speakers in the world to try to analyze the differences. This research may change our understanding of how language works and how it developed.
Language, Race, and White Public Space
This article talks about the use of language in comparison to race. It talks about the negative stereotypes that are directed to Chicanos and Latinos by talking about "Mock Spanish".
Pardon my Spanglish
Play videoA comedian joins Spanish CNN to talk about his new book about Spanglish. The comedian and the anchor switch between English and Spanish throughout the video, talking in Spanglish. While there's a good deal more Spanish being spoken in the video, there's also English, just not as much as Spanish. The intro of the video is a great example of Spanglish, as is the whole interview for the most part.
Ax VS. Ask
Play videoThe video is an example of "ax" vs. "ask". Becuase "ax" is sterotyped as being less statusful, hearing politically prominant figures like Barack Obama use language in this way stands out.
Family Guy Stereotypes
Play videoThis video is a combination of stereotypes that have aired on family guy over the years. Many of these stereotypes have to do with race and language in society today.
Key & Peele - Obama's Anger Translator - Meet Luther
Play videoIn this video clip of Key & Peele, Peele's Obama is a very mild-mannered character who calmly addresses his audience, and Key's Luther interrupts Obama's speech to represent Obama's inner anger.
Does Not Speaking Spanish Make You Less Latino? Pero Like Ep.4
Play videoThis article discusses speech communities and how the language you speak does or does not define your culture. In this example, the video is discussing if not speaking Spanish makes you less Latino.
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
Play videoA humorous look at the interpretation of AAVE from the movie Airplane! ca. 1980. Beyond this being an example of linguistic ideologies at work it also serves as social commentary on how AAVE was perceived in the time the movie was made.
CNN Election Center
Play videoIn this video there are many different types of sociolinguistic artifacts, and in any kind of SNL skit they have to make it more dramatic to bring out the commentary. Yet, within this clip you see many types of tags used within the first few minutes. For example, Donald Trump is the first person to be impersonated, but within the short clip that he is in he shows tags of "Race/Ethnicity, Sexism, Gender, Politics and Policy". And for Hillary Clinton she is showing many of the same character traits as well. Within all of these impersonators they are all trying to benefit themselves in some way that looks appealing to the audience.
If Asians said the Stuff White People Say
Play videoThe video is a complete spoof but it does a great job of identifying how the Asian population can be categorized into one giant category. It illustrated linguistic discrimination and shows how the social context you live in can influence a culture's way of thought.
Fresh Prince: Carlton plays "Gangster"
Play video
In this video created from the show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Carlton, who is known as a preppy, straight-A, and very propper character changes his complete "style". He is in the projects with a bunch of gangsters who live a completely different lifestyle and also talk completely different than Carlton. Therefore, Carlton constructs his identity and changes the way he speaks and even dresses in relation to the gang members he is surrounded by. His cousin Will is completely thrown off, but realizes that he is only changing his "style" because of his surroundings.
Nigerian Pidgin English accepted as unofficial second language
Play videoA news story with examples of spoken NPE as well as cultural context for the shift in perception of the Creole Language.
Ernestine Johnson Performs 'The Average Black Girl' on Arsenio Hall Show
Play videoErnestine Johnson's performance of "The Average Black Girl" shows the stereotype of talking white vs talking black. Here is a good example of the relationship between race and language.
Stephen Fry - The power of words in Nazi Germany
Play videoStephen Fry speaks about the power of language during the time of Nazi Germany and how using certain words to describe others can change everyone's perception of those people. This video significantly shows how language influences world-view.
Cut For Time: Def TED Talks - Saturday Night Live
Play videoA skit making fun of Ted talks by creating a 'Def Jam' version. It uses AAE and has Caucasian speakers trying to act like African Americans.
If Latinos Said The Stuff White People Say
Play videoThis video is extremely comical, yet makes a claim that often times, white people approach other races as completely foreign, different, and even alienate them. This hints at the idea of code-switching as well as linguistic discrimination and provides examples of the white race usage of language connotations towards other races.
Hawaiian Pidgin
Play videoWe are learning about Pidgin and Creoles. Here is a wonderful example of Pidgin.
How kids of different backgrounds are affected by racism
This group of videos shows how kids of all races and backgrounds are affected by words and racism.
The "White Voice" of Radio
This clip points out the style-shifting of the particular speaker, and attributes it to race, performativity, and accommodation to his audience. [Published on 02-02-2015]
"The Day Beyonce Turned Black"
Play videoWithin this SNL skit, there are many different forms of language used. For this skit, it is explaining how caucasian people tend to look at the world in a over dramatic way. Throughout the skit, there are race, gender, & sexualities between white people and Black people. This skit has a comical view on different political problems that we have in this country today, and what the children of our culture are growing up in.
Carlton
Play videoThis particular clip shows the comparisons of what some specific groups might think of how someone should be because of color and class when it is society who defines these boundaries.
india vs mexico
Play videoThis clip shows how different countries or races think or talk about other countries. The same thing he says here Americans typically say about Mexico.
Key & Peele - Negrotown
Play videoIn this Key and Peele video, the stigmas attached to African Americans are shown. A white police officer begins to arrest a black man walking in an alley who is doing nothing wrong. When they enter 'Negrotown' he begins singing a song in which he says "here you can walk the streets without being stopped, harassed or beat." This brings in race and ideology about how African Americans are still being treated unfairly.
Linguistic- Code Switching
Play videoThis video gives the breakdown of code-switching in America. It talks about all the different types of English that exist in US. It also addresses why and individual partitakes in this linguistic practice; a word translation doesn't come to mind so they revert to the word in another language, or they are purposely excluding others from understanding. Code Switching if referred to different terms depending on the language mixture; Spanglish, Chinglish, etc.
The Linguistics of AAVE
Play videoThis video discusses the history of AAVE, "African American Vernacular English. It address the origin, the pronunciations, and how it is used. The video gives great examples of AAVE and the translation of what it means in "proper" English.
"English Only" chants at Nevada Democratic caucuses
At the 2016 Nevada Democratic caucus, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta was heckled and booed off stage by a group of alleged Bernie Sanders supporters, who chanted "english only" when she attempted to translate the ballot for the Spanish-speaking caucus participants.
Link to tweet from Ms. Huerta: https://twitter.com/DoloresHuerta/status/701184235315400705 [Published on 02-20-2016]
Key & Peele - White-Sounding Black Guys
Play video
Key and Peele talk about their very intentional use of AAE features in both real life and comedy. This ties in perfect for language ideology because it turns out to be much more than just language. It's the cultural system of ideas about social and linguistic relationships.
"Hispandering" through food.
I am starting my proposal for my research paper and we are tasked with investigating "Hispandering" from a linguistic anthropological perspective. This add personifies "Hispandering" it uses performance to elicit feelings about stereotypes of ethnicity. [Published on 09-30-2014]
3 Ways To Speak English
This TedTalk features Jamila Lyiscott, who describes the "three Englishes" she speaks on a daily basis, which is determined by her surrounding environment and who she is with. Her detailed breakdown of the different "tongues" she speaks shows the correlation between language, culture, and race, as well as how society and culture effect language acquisition/usage as a reflection of widely held language ideologies. [Published on 02-01-2014]
Beyonce - Formation
Play videoIn this song and music video, Beyonce addresses stereotypes of the African-American community and uses language and style-shifting to play on how the public perceives wealthy black individuals such as herself and her family. She also discusses her upbringing in the deep south and mentions how her family's "negro" and "Creole" heritages combine.
Skins Outtake
Play videoAn outtake from the British TV show Skins, much like the "I speak jive" video, as it also has very formal subtitles and a white speaker who is revealed to speak the variety as well.
How capicola became gabagool: The Italian New Jersey accent, explained
This article discusses how different varieties of Italian made their way to the U.S., using the example of the word "capicola" pronounced like "gababool" on an episode of the Sopranos. [Published on 11-05-2015]
Key and Peele Rap Album Confession
Play videoThis Key and Peele sketch also makes use of a black AAE speaker and a white middle class establishment character. In contrast with Little Homie, this skit illustrates both Key and Peele's abilities to style shift according to the character they are portraying.
Key and Peele Little Homie
Play videoCW: Violence and blood. This skit by Key and Peele casts the comedians as a black speaker of AAE and a white establishment character who makes use of a puppet that speaks AAE.
How to be a Grown Ass Woman
Play videoThis is an hour long radio piece from WNYC featuring Jessica Williams (among other accomplished women) where interviewees discuss moments and period in their lives that they believe marked their adulthood as women. Although it is public in the popular culture sector, Jessica Williams is essentially participating in a standard sociolinguistic interview as she tells stories from her past that are close to home for minutes at a time. Due to her telling personal stories, I thought this could be a good opportunity for more casual, natural speech that may include /ai/ monophthongization. [Starts at 33:00].
Obama's Eulogy of Reverend Pinckney
Play videoThis 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.
Debate about who gets to use a word
cw: discussion of racial slur
This is a CNN interview between a white commentator and a black rapper named Trinidad. They're debating about use of the n-word.
I find the controversy about who gets to use certain words fascinating. I hear a power & privilege conversation most often, as well as an "in-group" vs "out-group" conversation. [Published on 03-17-2015]
Listen: There's no such thing as a Brooklyn accent, exhibit says
A recent exhibit at NYC organization CityLore played New York voices for listeners, arguing that race/ethnicity and not borough is what distinguishes New York voices from each other. [Published on 01-28-2015]
Thug Kitchen: Literary Blackface
Play video"Now, the Hollywood couple behind online blog turned vegan cookbook are in the limelight for a clumsily adopted, expletive-charged “thug” persona reminiscent of hypermasculine Black men. Thug is a heavily loaded word and while it is not explicitly synonymous with African Americans, it recently adopted new meaning and performs as a colloquial version of the n word. Did I mention the founders of Thug Kitchen are white? Yes, white. The authors kept their identities anonymous for quite some time."
-http://www.forharriet.com/2014/10/dear-creators-of-thug-kitchen-stop.html#axzz3S8EWrMRn
Black South African English 2
Play videoThis variety of Black South African English is notable (especially in comparison to the BSAE speaking security guard) for its more Cultivated style--which makes sense in context because the advertisement is for a South African university and therefore indicative of a higher socioeconomic class and exposure to the standard.
Black South African English
Play videoThis black South African security guard speaks using a variety of Black South African English.
Sharlto Copley White South African English
Play videoSharlto Copley is a white South African actor who speaks with a General/Broad SAE accent.
Why language about race changes over time
An NPR piece on changing terms for racial and ethnic categories, but really is about how terms change over time through process of pejoration, or what Pinker calls the "euphemism treadmill." [Published on 11-10-2014]
The n-word: An Interactive Feature
An interactive piece on use of the n-word in contemporary American English, with interviews from varying perspectives and on varying aspects of the term's use, including in- vs. out-group usage, reclamation, and its use in hip hop culture. [Published on 11-10-2014]
Talking white: Black people's disdain for proper English and academic achievement is a myth
A Slate article challenging the notion that black Americans stigmatize both academic achievement and the use of standard English as 'acting white." The author argues that black speakers who bristle at being accused of 'talking white" are perhaps being accused of failing to code- or style-shift appropriately. [Published on 10-02-2014]
Hawaiian Creole English and cultural content in "Mr. Sun Cho Lee" (Contact Languages in Music)
Play videoThis song, first released in 1975 by Keola and Kapono Beamer, reveals stereotypes of the diverse ethnic backgrounds of Hawai'i residents, and contains several features of Hawaiian Creole English (often called "Pidgin" but is really a creole).
NPR Article on Russia and Nearby Countries/Languages
"Ethnic Russians" in Ukraine and Estonia are defined/described by their language ], especially in relation/contrast to the language spoken by the relevant nation. [Published on 09-04-2014]
American Tongues: Tough Guy from Boston's North End
Play videoAn excerpt from the documentary American Tongues profiling speakers from the North End of Boston.
When Slang Becomes a Slur
Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg, who testified in the trademark trial over the name of the football team the Washington Redskins, argues that the term remains a slur and that the team name should be changed. [Published on 06-23-2014]
What Language Does your State Speak?
Slate published a map showing the most commonly spoken languages by state when English and Spanish are removed. [Published on 05-13-2014]
Dark-skinned and plus-sized: the real Rachel Jeantel story
Report on how the defence lawyer in trial of Trayvon Martin's killer tried to make Martin's girlfriend's testimony sound less convincing by discrediting her and her non-standard English.
NPR: Kreayshawn breaks in, but whose party is she crashing?
A 2011 profile of white female hip hop artist Kreayshawn, leader of a "white girl mob" of Oakland hip hop artists, which highlights the criticisms of her related to her race and gender.
Hasta La Vista, Baby
Play videoArnold Schwarzenegger use's Mock Spanish in The Terminator.
I use this with the reading: Hill, Jane. 1999. Language, Race, and White Public Space.
Macklemore: White Privilege
Play videoA song from white hip hop artist Macklemore that addresses issues of race and ethnicity, specifically whiteness, in the hip hop community and argues that white participation in hip hop is an instance of white privilege.
J-Roc, Microphone Assassin
Play videoSerial crosser J-Roc, a character on the TV comedy series Trailer Park Boys, gives a lesson on critical race theory.
Having Trouble Being Black
Play videoTwo African American men employ code-switching while making a video, prompting one to accuse the other acting white.
If These Knishes Could Talk
Play videoA preview of the in-progress documentary "If These Knishes Could Talk: The Story of the New York Accent."
"No Homo" in hip hop
Play videoA 2008 video post on the slang term "No Homo," defined as a "defense mechanism" used within hop hop culture by men wo want to confirm their heteromasculinity.
NPR: Code-swtiching: Are we all guilty?
A 2010 NPR piece about the criticism of President Obama's "negro dialect," with a broader discussing of both style-shifting and code-switching.
African American and white ASL varieties
An article examines Black American Sign Language and the ways it differs from a white ASL variety, revealing surprising cultural implications [Published on 09-07-2012]
The linguistics of the East L.A. accent
A 2011 interview on Southern California Public radio about the East L.A. accent and Chicano English, with guest Carmen Fought.
Linguistic Profiling on 20/20
Play video20/20 feature on racial linguistic profiling and housing discrimination with linguist John Baugh.
Racism (Linguistic Profiling) Caught on Tape
Play videoWhite office manager at Tennessee car rental company makes racist remarks over the phone after wrongly guessing the race of the customer based on linguistic profiling.
Ebonics Cartoon
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