Language Attitudes

Language Attitudes

What are language attitudes?

z Language

attitudes are the feelings people

have about their own language variety or
the languages or language varieties of
others.

What are language attitudes?

z Women
z Children

talk too much.

much.
can
cant speak or write properly any

more.
more.
the Appalachians they speak like
Shakespeare.
Shakespeare.
z Black children are verbally deprived.
deprived.
z They speak really bad English down
south and in New York City.
City.
z Everyone has an accent except me.
me.
z In

Language Attitudes

Implications of Language Attitudes

1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

Language attitudes usually entail attitudes to

the speakers of the particular language or
dialect.
There is evidence that language attitudes
influence sound change.
Language attitudes may influence how
teachers deal with pupils.
Attitudes about language may affect second
language learning.
Language attitudes may affect whether or not
varieties are mutually intelligible.
4

Language Attitudes from

American Tongues
Tongues
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

A Yalie girl
girls attitude to her boyfriend
boyfriends Southern accent
A Northerner
Northerners attitude to the Southern brogue
brogue
Mike Hardin on New Yorkers
Yorkers attitudes to the speech of
Ohio
and his attitude to the New York accent
A Southern woman
womans attitude to the way they speak
speak in
the North
The importance of darlin
darlin
Northerners
Northerners and Southerners
Southerners attitudes to the /ay/ - //
variable
Molly Ivins on the prejudice against a Southern accent
5

What are your attitudes to

some varieties of American
English?

Language Attitudes

What are Your Attitudes to Some

Varieties of American English?
Name the variety that you have chosen
How pleasant is it?

1.
2.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

3.

Very pleasant
Pleasant
Neutral
Unpleasant
Very unpleasant

How prestigious is it?

Very prestigious
Prestigious
Neutral
Not prestigious
It has no prestige at all

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

The people who speak this variety are

4.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

5.
6.

Very intelligent
Intelligent
Neutral
Dumb
Really dumb

What kind of house would you expect a speaker of this variety live
live in?
What kind of your job would you expect a speaker of this variety to have?

Attitudes to Social Dialects

z

In the clip from Friends

Friends,
z
z

Why does Phoebe change her accent?

What accent does Phoebe imitate?

Do you agree or disagree with these statements?

z
z
z
z
z
z

You can tell a lot about a person by the way they talk.
My language use at home is different from my language use at
school.
Learning to do a new job can involve learning new ways to use
language.
I adapt the way I talk depending on the people involved.
Communication difficulties cause interpersonal problems.
Communication difficulties cause political problems.

Language attitudes and

linguistic capital
z French

that

sociologist Pierre Bourdieu argued

z Linguistic

exchanges invoke a complex

network of power relations in which the
producer, by producing an utterance or text,
makes a bid for social authority, and the
recipient or audience decides to what degree
to recognize that claim to authority.

Language Attitudes

Language attitudes and

linguistic capital
z Bourdieu

introduced .

z The

concept of linguistic capital to describe

the respect or authority enjoyed by a speaker.
z Those with high linguistic capital speak with
command,
command, i.e., the power to influence a
listener toward the desired interpretation.
z Utterances are always ventured in a particular
field or market, in which certain social
expectations for speech and interaction
obtain.
10

Language attitudes and

linguistic capital
z In

a linguistic market

z People

undertake speech production with a

certain anticipation of profit, or anticipation of
the expected reception of their words.
z Thus, according to Bourdieu,
Bourdieu, linguistic capital
is created, adapted, asserted, and rereevaluated through linguistic encounters.

11

Language attitudes and

linguistic capital
z Linguistic

production is governed by

z linguistic

habitus,
habitus, or a historically and socially
constituted sedimentation of experiences in
linguistic markets.
z Linguistic habitus signifies the internalized
inclination toward certain types or styles of
linguistic production, which is considerably
shaped by one
ones personal history of social
interaction and one's sense of the value of
one
ones language.
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Language Attitudes

The Contribution of
Animated Movies
to the reproduction of linguistic
habitus

What do you think of these female

Disney characters?
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

Snow White and the Prince

Feline and Bambi in Bambi
Bambi
Cinderella and the Prince
Wendy and Peter in Peter Pan
Pan
Lady and the tramp in Lady and the Tramp
Tramp
The beauty and the prince in Sleeping Beauty
Beauty
Perdita and Pongo in 101 Dalmatians
Dalmatians
Ariel and Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid
Mermaid
Belle and the Beast in Beauty and the Beast
Beast
Princess Jasmine and Aladdin in Aladdin
Aladdin
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What do you think of these female

Disney characters?
z Are

they tall or short?

they fat or thin?
z Are they rich or poor?
z What is the color of their skin?
z What is the color of their hair?
z What do they sound like?
z Are

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Language Attitudes

When were the films released?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

101 Dalmatians
Dalmatians
Aladdin
Aladdin
Bambi
Bambi
Beauty and the Beast
Beast
Cinderella
Cinderella
Lady and the Tramp
Tramp
Peter Pan
Pan
Sleeping Beauty
Beauty
Snow White
White
The Little Mermaid
Mermaid

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.

1938
1942
1950
1953
1955
1955
1961
1989
1991
1992
16

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1938
17

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

z Snow

White:
White: ((Sings. Each line is echoed
from the bottom of the well))
Im wishing
for the one I love
to find me
today.
Im hoping
and I
Im dreaming of
the nice things
he
hell say.
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Language Attitudes

Bambi

1942
19

Cinderella

1950
20

Cinderella
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

Cinderella:
Prince:
Cinderella:
Prince:
Cinderella:
Prince:
Cinderella:
Prince:
Cinderella:
Prince:
Cinderella:
Prince:

oh my goodness!
what
whats the matter?
it
its midnight.
yes. so it is but [why
[Goodbye
no no wait you can
cant go now it
its only,
oh I must. please please I must.
but why?
well I I oh the prince ha ha I haven
havent met the prince.
the prince but didn
didnt you know that ((clock chimes))
good
goodbye.
bye.
no wait (.) come back oh please come back.

21

Language Attitudes

Peter Pan

1953
22

Peter Pan
z Wendy:

z Peter

Pan:
z Wendy:

Neverland oh I
Im so happy I
(.) I think I
Ill give you a (.) a
kiss.
(.)
what
whats a (.) a (.) kiss?
oh well (.) I
Ill show you. (.)
oh
23

Lady and the Tramp

1955
24

Language Attitudes

Lady and The Tramp

z
z
z
z
z
z

Lady:
Tramp:
Lady:
Tramp:
Lady:
Tramp:

((Rooster crows))
o:h (.) oh dear
is something wrong Pidge?
Pidge?
it
its morning.
yeah (.) ((yawns)) so it is.
I should have been home hours ago
why? (.) because you still believe in
that ever faithful old dog Trey routine?
25

Sleeping Beauty

1955
26

Sleeping Beauty
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

Prince:
Aurora:
Prince:
Aurora :
Prince:
Aurora :
Prince:
Aurora :
Prince:
Aurora :

what
whats your name?
mm? oh (.) my name. why it
its (.) it
its oh no
no I can
cant I (.) good
goodbye
but when will I see you again?
oh never (.)
(.)never.
never?
(.) well maybe some day.
when? tomorrow?
oh no (.) this evening.
where?
at the cottage. (.) in the glen.
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Language Attitudes

101 Dalmations

1961
28

101 Dalmations
z Perdita: a:h.
z Pongo:

Perdita. darling. are you alright?

mmhum oh of course dear
after all (.) dog were having
puppies long before our time.
mm huh hum
z Pongo:
Pongo: huh huh.
huh.
z Perdita:
Perdita: mhm

29

The Little Mermaid

1989
30

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Language Attitudes

The Little Mermaid

z Ariel:

z Bird:
z Ariel:

Ive never seen a human this

close before o:h (.) he
hes very
handsome isn
isnt he?
(.) I dunno he looks kinda hairy
and slobbery to me.
Huh (.) not that one (.) the one
playing the snarfblat
snarfblat

31

Beauty and the Beast

1991
32

Beauty and the Beast

z Beast:

Belle? (.) are you (.) happy here

with me?
z Belle: yes. (.)
z Beast: what is it?
z Belle: (.) if only I could see my father
again. just for a moment. I miss
him so much.
(.)
z Beast: there is a way.
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11

Language Attitudes

Aladdin

1992
34

Aladdin
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

Jasmine: what?
Aladdin: Abu says uh (.) that
thats not fair.
Jasmine: oh did he?
Aladdin: yeah. (.) of course.
Jasmine: and does: Abu have anything else to
say?
Aladdin: well uh (.) he wishes there was
something he could do to help.
Jasmine: mm
mm (.) tell him that
thats very (.)
sweet.
35

What was happening in women

womens
lives when these films were released?
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

1938
1942
1950
1953
1955
1955
1961
1989
1991
1992

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Dwarfs
Bambi
Bambi
Cinderella
Cinderella
Peter Pan
Pan
Lady and the Tramp
Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
Beauty
101 Dalmatians
Dalmatians
The Little Mermaid
Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Beast
Aladdin
Aladdin
36

12

Language Attitudes

Compare the female and male leads

and answer these questions
z Who

is taller?
is thinner?
z Who is richer?
z Who has darker skin?
z Who has darker hair?
z Who has the better accent?
z Who

37

Compare your own accent with the

characters in these movies
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

Snow White and the Prince

Feline and Bambi
Cinderella and the Prince
Wendy and Peter
Lady and the tramp
The beauty and the prince in Sleeping Beauty
Beauty
Perdita and Pongo
Ariel and Prince Eric
Belle and the Beast
Princess Jasmine and Aladdin
38

What about foreign languages?

z French

is a logical language.
language.
is beautiful, German is ugly.
ugly.
z Indians speak a primitive language.
language.
z Languages like Chinese have no
grammar.
grammar.
z I love your British accent.
accent.
z Italian

39

13

Language Attitudes

What about foreign languages?

z French
z Lumiere
z The

in Beauty and the Beast

Beast
chef in The Little Mermaid
Mermaid

z Italian
z The

cook in Lady and the Tramp

Tramp

z British
z Mrs.

Potts and Chip in Beauty and the Beast

Beast
40

Learning Activity
z Describe

the linguistic models of young

women that are portrayed in Disney
cartoon movies.
z Are they good role models for our
daughters?
z Why or why not?

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