Sociolinguistics

For my last blog post, I wandered around YouTube looking for something that would catch my eye. I almost started a 1+ hour long video about how U.S. military linguists learn languages so quickly. I decided that might be a bit more than I wanted to take on. Then, this video popped up.


My favorite part about this class, Introduction to Language Studies, has been learning more about how language ties into the different parts of society. Eleven minutes seemed like an easier video to digest, as well.

The video, from Crash Course Linguistics, explains how linguistic differences between and within languages are based on factors such as our location, education level, race, gender, and more. There are so many different variables that play into how we speak with each other.

Taylor, the narrator, started out the video stating that everyone has an accent. It is influenced by who we grew up with and where we live. As someone that grew up in Iowa, a place considered almost "accent free", I am acutely aware of the accents of people around me. I love accents. I also have the very weird tendency to copy the accents of people I'm speaking to. I never do it on purpose. I didn't used to even know that I do it as bad as I sometimes do. Google tells me this is called the Chameleon Effect. Many years ago, I used to work at a greenhouse where, at times, I would call on growers all over the country. Inevitably, when I would hang up the phone after talking to a grower in South Carolina, for example, my co-worker would crack up and ask if I was talking to someone in the South.

Living in the Rio Grande Valley exposes me to many different accents and dialects of English. Language, here, is rich and diverse. Unfortunately, I'm no military linguist and I haven't picked up enough Spanish to hold a conversation. But...I can tell if someone is talking about me. 😬


There are differences in the dialects here, though, as compared to my home in the Midwest. In the video above, Taylor gives the example of how someone in Wisconsin will call what you drink out of a bubbler but someone in New York will call it a water fountain. In Iowa, it's called a water fountain. A regional phrase that I noticed about the RGV, after living here for awhile is, "right now."

For example, if you're at a doctor's office and someone needs to get you some paperwork, the person behind the desk will say, "I'll get that for you right now." It took me awhile to realize that the phrase "right now" does not mean the same time frame in the RGV as it does in the Midwest. In the Midwest, saying "right now" means that whatever needs to happen is going to, literally, be the next thing that person takes care of. In the RGV, "right now," just means that whatever it is that needs to be done will be handled eventually. There is no urgency behind it. 

The video, above, makes the point that our accent and language gets tangled up in our identities. I know that I still identify as a Midwesterner, despite living in the RGV for close to 14 years. My kids have all grown up here. Their language is a wonderful mix of what they've heard in the home and what they hear in the community. I have picked up a lot of words and phrases that are common in the RGV. But I do find myself code switching when I go back home.

Though, this summer, I must have forgotten where I was. I looked at the most adorable little girl in the vacation Bible school I was helping at and said, "Hey there, mamma." She put her little hands on her hips and said, "I'm not a mamma!" I confused her - for sure - as she did not recognize "mamma" as a term of endearment like sweetie or honey.

I liked how the video, above, ended. Taylor made the statement,
"As people learning about linguistics, we have a responsibility to use our newfound understanding of how language works to fight linguistic discrimination. and to use our language as a way of being more compassionate and respectful with each other."

That is so true and that is what I hope to take from this class into my future as both a member of humanity and as a future educator.

WORK CITED:

Sociolinguistics: Crash Course Linguistics #7. YouTube, YouTube, 23 Oct. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of4XzrbkknM. Accessed 20 Nov. 2022. 

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