Jamie A. Thomas
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#languagestory blog

Video & perspectives on communication, intercultural learning & the impact of anthropological research.

Internet Language IRL

12/20/2017

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by Charis Nandor

Charis is a student at Bryn Mawr College, where she is completing her major in Linguistics. You can watch her video  here.

Because Internet.

Internet Linguistics, while not actually being its own field of linguistics (yet) is starting to be a popular thing to study. People use words differently on the Internet. Punctuation is important in a way that’s more obvious than in spoken language. Even syntax (word order) can be different on the Internet.

For example, in spoken language, up to a few years ago, it would be entirely ungrammatical for someone to say “*I want this because reasons.” They would have to say, “I want this because of reasons.” However, this structure became acceptable on the Internet, and now it’s actually spread into spoken language (albeit mostly among frequent Internet-users).

“Blefadula” is Not a Word.

Of course, because language contains so many parts, I couldn’t focus on all aspects of language. I decided to specifically focus on one of the simplest things for a broad audience to understand—words. Everyone knows what a word is. “Happy” is a word. “Blefadula” is not a word. And then, it gets more complicated than that. For some people, yinz is a word. Other people might have no idea what that means, and say it definitely isn’t a word. (For reference, “yinz” is a Pittsburgh term meaning “you guys” or “y’all”.)

​The same thing happens with Internet words. While I, an avid Tumblr user, feel perfectly comfortable with doggo or snek, my parents would have no idea what these mean. One of the interesting things to me about Internet words is that they’re often very similar to “regular” English words. In this case, “doggo” is a large, cute dog and “snek” is a cute snake. 

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You Are How You Speak

12/19/2017

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by Melanie Ackerman & Emily Williams 
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When asked to investigate instances of language diversity on our college campuses as an assignment for an Introduction to Linguistics course, we conducted surveys to explore how knowledge of a secondary language affects one’s primary mode of speech. We compiled survey responses regarding Swarthmore College students’ acquisition of new languages with responses from members of the Bryn Mawr College athletics department about the differences in their slang and terminology across varying sports and jobs. Our findings reflect how influential learning a second language or being part of a secondary speech community can be in forming a better understanding of a primary language or speech community.


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20 Swarthmore students from around the world were interviewed about how they perceive language. Their answers may surprise you…

12/7/2017

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by Bryan Murray and Nathaniel Johns
How do people think about language? Do people agree that all languages, and dialects of certain languages are treated equally? In an attempt to answer these loaded questions, we interviewed a group of twenty Swarthmore College students to see how they perceive of language at home and abroad.
Keywords

  • Standard Language: “Taught in schools and used in print and broadcast media” (Genetti 13).
  • Speech Community:  “A group of people who share a common language or dialect and cultural practices” (Genetti 7).
  • Communicative Competence: “Usually refers to the communicative knowledge and skills shared by a speech community, but these (like all aspects of culture) reside variably in its individual members” (Saville-Troike 21).
  • Prescriptive language/prescriptivism:  “The socially embedded notion of the "correct" or "proper" ways to use a language” (Language Files 14).

Students Speak Up.

“When I hear about things like dialect persecution in the news it really upsets me,” noted Matt, a Junior linguistics minor at Swarthmore College citing a recent story regarding the ideologically empowered misunderstanding of an African American man’s dialect that resulted in the barring of his constitutional right of council during an arrest.  Matt was referring to African American Vernacular English (AAVE). The AAVE dialect of English is seen by many as an incomplete way to communicate.

Stories like this are what troubled Swarthmore students like Matt, whom we interviewed.

Students at “Swat”--the local nickname for the College, have specific perceptions of language that impact the way they use it and understand its implications.  Testimony of the interviewed students reflects the idea that upbringing in various linguistic and cultural environments (also known as speech communities) can result in these perceptions. The testimonies exhibit how their perceptions are also challenged by their participation in study abroad programs and their transition to the Swarthmore Community.

The perceptions of the group are shown through statements regarding language ideology and communicative competence abroad.  The group also shares the same negative view of linguistic inequality (the idea that speakers are unequal or languages are used unequally) as well as the idea that different environments shape this inequality.

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Dehumanization of women through language

11/2/2016

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by Jessica Lewis
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In this particular segment of conversation during the third presidential debate Donald Trump was asked by the moderator, Chris Wallace, why a number of women would came forward with accusations of being assaulted. Trump proceeds to answer the question by claiming the women were hired by President Obama and Secretary Clinton to sabotage his rallies and cause violence. He also emphasizes violence that occurred at the rally was significant enough for people to have been seriously hurt or killed. During Secretary Clinton’s turn to respond to this question she begins her statement by proclaiming that previously Trump had stated the women who came forward with accusations were not attractive enough for Trump to be interested in them. As Clinton is continuing to respond she is interrupted by Trump multiple times. There is a time when both candidates are speaking when Clinton is answering the question and Trump is interjecting with his disapproval of Clinton’s statements.


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Nonverbal Cues and the Monopolization of Screen Time in the Third Presidential Debate of 2016

11/2/2016

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by Ryan Sheehan
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“It's how you looked when you said it, not what you actually said.” (Pease 2006). This long held sentiment is one particularly important to keep in mind while watching the third presidential debate of 2016. The debate, featuring presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, in addition to moderator Chris Wallace, is about 90 minutes overall and includes the 30-second long segment that is transcribed above. Through an analysis of this brief interaction in particular, it is possible to understand the role of nonverbal elements in the candidates’ discourse and to conclude that Clinton and Trump are involved in a power struggle in which they are both attempting to monopolize screen time through the use of their body language.

Before doing that, however, one must better understand the context of the debate as a whole. In general, the accepted standards for a presidential debate include formal language, respectful disagreements when necessary, and allotted time slots for both candidates to have an equal opportunity to speak. Although there is a live audience, they are expected to remain quiet throughout. During the debate, Trump and Clinton are to stand on a stage in front of the live audience at their respective podiums facing Wallace, and Wallace is to sit at a table that is exactly halfway between both candidates in order to express the inherent neutrality of his position.


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    Jamie A. Thomas is a linguistic anthropologist and digital media producer. Her forthcoming book Zombies Speak Swahili is all about the undead, videogames, and viral Black language. She teaches at Santa Monica College.

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