ling midterm review

What is a example of different honorifics

tapai (high) middle (timi) and low (tuhun), used in languages such as Nepali to denote varying levels of respect.

What are 2 words that are said to know in order to “know” language?

Competence and performance

Phonology

The study of the sound of language; to know a language one must recognize and produce sounds from that language

Morphology

The study of the internal structure of words; requires ability to use suffixes, prefixes, and infixes

Syntax

The study of the structure of sentences, including construction of phrases, clauses, and word order; one must know how to construct and interpret meaning

Pragmatics

The study of language use and actual utterances; how meanings emerge in actual social contexts, including culturally and linguistically specific ways of constructing narratives, performances, or everyday conversations

Competence

The abstract, internalized knowledge of a language's rules

Performance

The actual use of language in real situations

Phoneme

The notion of a distinct unit of sound in a language that can be transcribed phonetically (e.g., the different "p" sounds in "pin" vs "spin")

Language is not monolithic, why?

It is instead is a system of systems — not always obvious, requires scientific study (e.g., sound distinctions/phonemes)

Selective

All languages select from a limited set of possible sounds; variation exists across languages and dialects

Structural / Rule-governed

True of all languages and dialects; languages must be understood on their own terms

Language affects production and perception

Language systems influence how speakers produce and perceive sounds and meaning

Fixed word order (English)

In English, word position marks grammatical function — the performer of an action comes before the verb, recipient after; does the same job as nominative/accusative case endings in Latin

Honorifics

A grammatical system that encodes social status or respect in language

2nd person high honorific (Nepali, Junigau dialect)

Tapāī — used for people of high social status

2nd person middle level (Nepali, Junigau dialect)

Timī — used for social equals

2nd person lowest level (Nepali, Junigau dialect)

Tā — used for those of lower status or intimacy

Register

A linguistic repertoire associated with particular social practices and the people who engage in them (e.g., law, medicine, prayer, sports commentary, military)

Lexical register

A specific tone, vocabulary, and way of speaking shaped by social context, audience, and purpose of communication

-ese suffix

Added to a word to name a lexical register

suffix examples for lexical registers

(e.g., legalese, academese, bureaucratese, journalese, officialese)

Coinage

The invention of a brand new word by putting sounds together from scratch; NOT how most new words are made

Compounding

Word formation by combining two existing words (e.g., football, bookmark)

Affixation

Word formation by adding prefixes or suffixes to existing words (e.g., mega-, perma-)

Functional shift

When a word changes its grammatical category without changing its form (e.g., a noun used as a verb)

Shortening

Word formation by cutting a word down (e.g., "lab" from "laboratory")

Blending

Word formation by merging parts of two words (e.g., "brunch" from "breakfast" + "lunch")

Register shift

When a word moves from one social group's register into mainstream use (e.g., "dude" originated in 1930s–40s African American communities → Mexican American → white communities through music)

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (strong version)

the (largely rejected) idea that language determines thought — that your language controls what you are able to think

Grammatical categories

Grammatical structures of a language that must be used for sentences in that language to perform well; they are habitual, obligatory, and mostly unconscious

Why grammatical categories influence thought

Because they are habitual, obligatory, and for the most part unconscious — speakers use them automatically

Language → Thought

The idea that the structure of your language shapes how you think and perceive the world

Frames of Reference (FOR)

Coordinate systems used to locate objects with respect to other objects

Relative / Egocentric FOR

Location described relative to the speaker's own body (e.g., "the fork is to the left of the spoon")

Intrinsic / Object-centric FOR

Location described using the object's own features (e.g., "the fork is at the nose of the spoon")

Absolute / Geocentric FOR

Location described using fixed external directions like compass points (e.g., "the fork is to the north of the spoon")

Noun classifiers

A system where nouns are organized into different grammatical classes; in European languages this takes the form of gender assignments

Romance language gender

In all Romance languages, animate nouns are determined by sex — masculine for males, feminine for females

Jacaltec noun classifier system

Anthropologically interesting because it seems to reflect the culture and worldview of the ancient Maya; known for adaptability and openness to change

11 basic color categories

White, Black, Green, Red, Yellow, Blue, Brown, Purple, Pink, Orange, Grey — found across all languages

Kay's universalist color theory

Originally argued color terms are universal and perceived the same across languages; later updated to admit linguistic variation can influence color perception

Whorfian effect on color (Kay & Kempton 1984)

Experiment showing English speakers (green/blue distinction) perceived the boundary between blue and green more starkly than Tarahumara speakers (who use one word, siyo'name, for both)

Tarahumara

A Uto-Aztecan language spoken in northern Mexico that has a single word (siyo'name) covering both green and blue

Quakers & pronouns

Quakers used "thou/thee" (singular) to address everyone, signifying that all are equal in God's eyes — a deliberate non-hierarchical pronoun choice

Thou / Thee

Singular second-person pronouns used by Quakers; "ye/you" were the plural forms

Semantic derogation

The process by which words (especially female-gendered terms) acquire negative or diminished meanings over time (e.g., "bitch" from dog, "lioness," "hussy," "wench")

Language (re)produces

The idea that language doesn't just reflect social reality — it actively reproduces and reinforces it (e.g., gender inequality)

Gendering

The social assignment or designation of a person's gender, usually based on perceived sex; constantly displayed through pronouns and social scripts

What is race (scholarly definition)?

A social and historical category — not a biological reality. People assign meaning to physical differences like skin color, but those categories are constructed, not natural.

What is racialization?

The process of turning social conflicts into racial categories — making "race" seem natural when it's actually political and historical

What is ethnicity?

Identity based on shared cultural traits (language, customs, history). Unlike race, it's framed in cultural — not biological — terms.

What is AAE?

African American English — a fully rule-governed dialect with its own grammar, phonology, and syntax. NOT sloppy or incorrect English.

What is invariant/habitual "be"?

An AAE verb form marking habitual action. "She be happy" = she's always happy. Different from "She is happy" (just right now).

What is copula deletion?

Dropping "is/are" in AAE. "She happy" = grammatical in AAE, just like contractions are in SAE. Follows strict rules.

What is code-switching?

Shifting between two language varieties depending on social context — like switching between AAE and SAE for different audiences.

What was the Ebonics controversy (1996)?

Oakland's school board called AAE a separate language and sought funds to teach it. Sparked huge public debate over whether AAE is a dialect or language, and whether it should be used in classrooms.

Is the language vs. dialect distinction linguistic?

No — it's political. Prestige and power determine the label, not grammar. (Serbian and Croatian = "languages" but mutually intelligible; Mandarin and Cantonese = "dialects" but not.)

What is Mock Spanish (Hill)?

When non-Spanish speakers casually use Spanish words/phrases (e.g., "No problemo"). Seems harmless but indirectly reinforces negative stereotypes of Latino people.

What is direct vs. indirect indexicality?

Direct = what a speaker consciously signals (e.g., "I'm fun/cosmopolitan"). Indirect = unconscious stereotypes invoked in the process (e.g., Mexicans are lazy).

What is linguistic profiling (Baugh)?

Discriminating based on how someone sounds on the phone. Baugh's AAE "voice" got less than half the callbacks his SAE voice did when calling landlords.

What is misrecognition (Bourdieu)?

Failing to see that Standard English's high status is arbitrary — just a reflection of who holds power, not any linguistic superiority.

What is the "spiral effect" in racist discourse (Pagliai)?

When mild negative comments go unchallenged, speakers escalate to more overtly racist remarks. Agreement (or silence) enables racism to build.

Does an ethnic group need a shared language?

No. Groups can share ethnic identity without a shared dialect (Tharus in Nepal; many Asian Americans) — ethnicity is built through politics, culture, and practice.

(Disney paper) Central argument?

Disney uses accent stereotypes to teach kids which groups are good or bad.

(Disney paper) How much TV do kids 2–5 watch?

32+ hours/week; 60% of all media time is screens.

When do kids show prejudice?

By age 4.

Disney Spell (Zipes)?

Disney steals stories from other cultures and erases the originals.

% of Disney characters speaking SAE?

43.1% SAE, 21.8% British, 13.9% marked U.S. varieties.

Foreign accent = villain?

Foreign-accented characters are evil at twice the rate of U.S. English speakers (40% vs. 20%).

Linguistic profiling?

Guessing race/ethnicity from voice alone.

Three Little Pigs controversy?

Wolf voiced with Yiddish accent to code him as Jewish — kept even after visuals were changed.

Aladdin accent pattern?

Heroes = American accents. Villains = heavy foreign accents.

Beauty and the Beast France pattern?

Only stereotyped roles (maid, butler, cook) got French accents.

Gender breakdown in Disney?

70% male speaking roles. Women = mothers/princesses. Men = doctors/hunters/pilots.

AAVE characters in animal form?

Yes — ALL AAVE speakers were animals, never humans.

Lion King ideology?

SAE = royalty/power. AAVE = hyenas/danger/darkness.

Lilo & Stitch difference?

Directors had creative control → honest Hawaiian portrayal, not stereotyped.

Core hypothesis?

Animated films disguise ideology as entertainment ("Spoonful of Sugar").