ENGL 306A W21 Forrester

Module

Week

Topic

Readings

Featured Issue/Research

Introduction and Overview

1

Course Overview:

• What is linguistics and what do linguists do?
• Where did language come from?
• Is there a difference between language and a language?

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 1, pp.1-12

The Sappir-Whorf/Linguistic Relativity hypothesis: The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, part of relativism, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis /səˌpɪər ˈhwɔːrf/, the Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism is a principle claiming that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition, and thus people's perceptions are relative to their spoken language.

The principle is often defined in one of two versions: the strong hypothesis, which was held by some of the early linguists before World War II, and the weak hypothesis, mostly held by some of the modern linguists.

• he strong version says that language determines thought and that linguistic categories limit and determine cognitive categories.
• The weak version says that linguistic categories and usage only influence thought and decisions.

The principle had been accepted and then abandoned by linguists during the early 20th century following the changing perceptions of social acceptance for the other especially after World War II. The origin of formulated arguments against the acceptance of linguistic relativity is attributed to Noam Chomsky.

2

Language Origin

• How do we acquire language?

Do we learn it all, or are we born with it?

• Language, the brain, and cognition - what’s the connection?

Rowe & Levine: Ch. 1, pp.13-22

Ch. 8, pp.231-235

Speech Sounds & Articulation

3

Phonetics - Speech Sounds

• How do we produce speech sounds?
• How do the organs for articulation work together?

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 2, pp. 30-33

Inuit Throat Singing: First known to non-Indigenous people as guttural songs or throat songs (sometimes referred to as breathed songs), they were later designated more accurately as throat games by ethnomusicologists Beverley Diamond and Nicole Beaudry. Yet it is the Inuit term katajjaq that is most often used. However, it applies only to

Arctic Québec and to the south of Baffin Island. Netsilingmiut (Netsilik), Iglulingmuit (Igloolik; Iglulik) and Kivallirmiut (Caribou Inuit) vocal games do not necessarily feature the throat sounds typical of katajjaq that are so striking; and they often refer to a narrative text absent from katajjaq. Thus, it appears simpler to adopt a more neutral and less specific term such as vocal game. In Inuit terminology, these games belong to the larger family of ulapqusiit (traditional games) and are designated more precisely as nipaquhiit, that is “games done with sounds or with noises” (nipi).

4

Phonetics (cont’d)

●    Are speech sounds infinite? ●    Practice exercises

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 2, pp. 34-47

Phonology - Sounds and their

meanings

• How do sounds get their meanings?
• Do all languages share the same sounds?

Rowe & Levine: Ch. 3, pp.61-70 pp. 71-75

Words, Phrases & Sentences

5

Morphology - What are Words?

• Word segments and how to combine them
• Parts of speech

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 4, pp.85-91

Audism

Audism occurs in all levels of government and society in the form of direct, indirect, and/or systemic discrimination and discriminatory behaviour or prejudice against Deaf people.

CAD-ASC’s position

Audism is as unacceptable as sexism, racism, ageism, and other forms of bigotry.

Many Deaf Canadians experience prejudice and discrimination because

of their differences from the non-Deaf majority. Much of this discrimination arises from ignorance or thoughtlessness. Much of it is institutional, systemic, and/or attitudinal. None of it is acceptable.

Audism can be seen in two general aspects. One is the assumption or belief that people who are deaf must be encouraged (or even forced) to become as much like non-deaf people as possible. The other is to assume control over deaf people, to disempower them, by making decisions about their language(s), their education, the services they will need, and so on, with limited or no input by the D/deaf person and the Deaf community.

The assumption that D/deaf people must become like non-Deaf people involves a repudiation of Sign language and the Deaf culture, a fixation upon “overcoming” the deafness, zealous promotion of “hearing” and speaking, and a pathological attitude towards deafness. It also implicitly includes the belief that a person who cannot hear is ipso facto inferior to those who can.

6

Morphology & Sign language

●    What does a morpheme look like in signed language?

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 4, pp.93-100

Syntax - From words to phrases

• Different kinds of phrases
• Word order

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 5, pp.113-123

7

Syntax - From phrases to

sentences

• The components of the sentence
• “Hidden” items in the sentence

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 5, pp.124-127

Meaning in the

Conversational

& Social

Contexts

8

Semantics - Words and their

Meanings

• How do we assign meanings to words?
• How do these meanings change?

Rowe & Levine: Ch. 6, pp.151-158

pp. 159-164

Mansplaining (a blend word of man and the informal form splaining of the gerund explaining) is a pejorative term meaning "(of a man) to comment on or explain something to a woman in a condescending, overconfident, and often inaccurate or oversimplified manner". Author Rebecca Solnit ascribed

[5] the phenomenon to a combination of "overconfidence and cluelessness". Lily Rothman, of The Atlantic, defined it as "explaining without regard to the fact that the explainee knows more than the explainer, often done by a man to a woman".

In its original use, mansplaining differed from other forms of condescension in that it was said to be rooted in the assumption that a man is likely to be more knowledgeable than a woman. However, it has come to be used more broadly, often applied when a man takes a condescending tone in an explanation to anyone, regardless of the age or gender of the intended recipients: a "man 'splaining" can be delivered to any audience. In 2010, it was named by the New York Times as one of its "Words of the Year". American Dialect Society nominated Mansplaining as the “most creative” new word in 2012.

Pragmatics - The Social Meaning of

Utterances

• Speech Acts
• Conversational Maxims

9

Can you break up via text?

●    Speech acts and felicity conditions

Rowe & Levine:

Ch. 6, pp.170-181

Language in the

Broader Social

Context

10

Sociolinguistics - How language shapes our world

• The linguistic landscape & heritage of Canada
• Language & social networks

Rowe & Levine: Ch. 7, pp.188-197

pp. 201-210

Linguistic imperialism or language imperialism is occasionally defined as "the transfer of a dominant language to other people". This language "transfer" comes about because of imperialism. The transfer is considered to be a demonstration of power; traditionally military power but also, in the modern world, economic power. Aspects of the dominant culture are usually transferred along with the language. In the modern world, linguistic imperialism may also be considered in the context of international development, affecting the standard by which organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank evaluate the trustworthiness and value of structural adjustment loans.Since the early 1990s, linguistic imperialism has attracted attention among scholars of applied linguistics. In particular, Robert Phillipson's 1992 book, Linguistic Imperialism, has led to considerable debate about its merits and shortcomings. Phillipson found denunciations of linguistic imperialism that dated back to Nazi critiques of the British Council (European aristocracy was, at the time, agreeing on the use of English), and to Soviet analyses of English as the language of world capitalism and world domination. In this vein, criticism of English as a world language is rooted in anti-globalism.

How do we get new languages? ●    Language contact

        ●    The pidgin-creole life cycle

11

Discourse Analysis - Language &

social institutions

• Reading between the lines, words & intentions
• Language in social contexts

“Discourse Markers:

Language, Meaning & Context”

The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 2nd ed.

Discourse Analysis (cont’d)

• Transcribing natural speech
• Doing linguistic field research

Applied Linguistics

12

Critical Discourse Analysis

• Language, Power, & Ideology
• Linguistic discrimination

Linguistic profiling is the practice of identifying the social characteristics of an individual based on auditory cues, in particular dialect and accent. The theory was first developed by Professor John Baugh to explain discriminatory practices in the housing market based on the auditory redlining of prospective clientele by housing administrators. Linguistic profiling extends to issues of legal proceedings, employment opportunities, and education. The theory is frequently described as the auditory equivalent of racial profiling. The bulk of the research and evidence in support of the theory pertain to racial and ethnic distinctions, though its applicability holds within racial or ethnic groups, perceived gender and sexual orientation, and in distinguishing location of geographic origin.

Baugh's theory is distinct from linguistic profiling as defined by Hans van

Halteren from the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Van Halteren's theory deals with the categorization of linguistic features for the purposes of author identification and verification from a text, not necessarily specifically [1] addressing the socially defined categories within which they are included.

13

Course Review and Conclusion

●    Consultations on final assignment