Chapter 2: Language, thought and representation

2.a Animal noises

In Chapter 2, we discussed the arbitrariness of the representation of animal noises in various languages. Here you can find a table of animal noises as represented in various languages
http://www.eleceng.adelaide.edu.au/personal/dabbott/animal.html [accessed 17 March 2018]

2.b Linguistic diversity in action

The addition of new words to language can be a source of humour or frustration. How do you experience them?

You might be able to think about the question in detail by reading the following story about the words used in the office environment that people love to hate. Are you familiar with these terms? Are there others that you can think of from your workplace that you ‘love to hate’?
Steven Poole (2017) From decks to moats: the complete guide to modern office jargon, The Guardian, 21 June, https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/jun/21/from-decks-to-moats-the-complete-guide-to-modern-office-jargon [accessed 17 March 2018]

2.c Sapir Whorf: words for snow

Here are some online resources to explore the concept of linguistic relativity and determinism. Compare the claims made with Pullum’s paper on the Great Eskimo Snow Hoax. Do you find the following reports credible?

A recent blog post by Pullum discusses particular articles about this topic (Pullum, 2013). Why do you think that there is such a fascination with other languages in this way?
Wilton, Dave (2011) Are there really hundreds of Eskimo words for snow? Oxford Dictionaries, Blog, 6 January, http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/01/eskimo-words-for-snow/ [accessed 17 March 2018]
Jacot de Boinod, (2014) Cultural vocabularies: how many words do the Inuits have for snow? The Guardian, 29 April, http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/apr/29/what-vocabularies-tell-us-about-culture [accessed 17 March 2018]
Pullum, G. (2013) ‘Bad science reporting again: the Eskimos are back’, Language Log, 15 January, http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4419 [accessed 17 March 2018]

Here are the links to the resources where you can look at Scottish words for snow over time:
Kay, Christian, Jane Roberts, Michael Samuels, Irené Wotherspoon, and Marc Alexander (eds.) (2017) The Historical Thesaurus of English, version 4.21. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, http://historicalthesaurus.arts.gla.ac.uk/.
You can also access it here:
http://scotsthesaurus.org/ [accessed 17 March 2018]

Finally, whatever you think about the whole debate around snow, you can watch this short video about Scots words for snow and the status of the Scots language in general.
BBC Scotland (2018) Which language has 400 words for snow? 10 April, https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/which-language-has-400-words-for-snow/p063vmwx [accessed 11 April 2018]

2.d Language and thought – the theory

Moss’s short article has a good short film embedded in it which explains the connection between language and thought.
Moss, Laura (2014) Does the language you speak influence how you think? Mother Nature Network, 9 June,
http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/does-the-language-you-speak-influence-how-you-think [accessed 17 March 2018]

This article recounts research about how the language we speak can change our experience of time. There is also discussion of metaphor and the link between time and the experience of space.
Pierre-Louis, Kendra (2017) The language you speak changes your perception of time, Popular Science, 9 May, https://www.popsci.com/language-time-perception (Pierre-Louis, 2017) [accessed 14 January 2018]

In this piece, Panos Athanasopoulos explains the link between language and thought and discusses some of the research that supports this view.
Athanasopoulos, Panos (2015) How the language you speak changes your view of the world, The Conversation, 25 April, https://theconversation.com/how-the-language-you-speak-changes-your-view-of-the-world-40721 [accessed 17 March 2018]

The following is a short article describing some research about how blind people use colour terms. Do the findings surprise you? What does it tell us about how people understand and use language?
Love, Jessica (2014) Describing a visual world without vision: on blindness and language, The American Scholar, http://theamericanscholar.org/describing-a-visual-world-without-vision/ [accessed 17 March 2018]

You can also listen to a podcast where Lera Boroditsky discusses the effect of language on the way people view and interact with the world.
Vedantam, Shankar (2018) Lost in translation: the power of language to shape how we view the world, Hidden Brain [podcast] 29 January, https://www.npr.org/2018/01/29/581657754/lost-in-translation-the-power-of-language-to-shape-how-we-view-the-world [accessed 19 March 2018]

2.e Language and thought – applied

This is an article about research on media representation of cycling accidents. It argues that the way language is used to represent these accidents downplays how serious they are and tend to blame the cyclists.
MacMichael, Simon (2017) Media reports on cyclist fatalities shift blame from drivers to riders, says researcher, Road CC, July 27, http://road.cc/content/news/226710-media-reports-cyclist-fatalities-shift-blame-drivers-riders-says-researcher [accessed 17 March 2018]

Clare Allen, in The Guardian, argues that the terms we use to describe mental illness matter. Can you see how this connects to Lucy’s (see Section 2.4.1 of the textbook) concept of ‘habits of thought’?
Allan, Clare (2016) Why words matter when it comes to mental health, The Guardian, 5 April, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/05/words-matter-mental-health-speak-out [accessed 14 January 2018]

Mohammed Al-Mosaiwi reports on research that suggests that people with clinical depression use language differently. While this isn’t quite the same as language influencing thought, it does show how powerful linguistic analysis can be.
Al-Mosaiwi, Mohammed (2018) People with depression use language differently – here’s how to spot it, The Conversation, 2 February https://theconversation.com/people-with-depression-use-language-differently-heres-how-to-spot-it-90877 [accessed 17 March 2018]

Emotion words are not universal across languages. Psychologist Tim Lomas argues that it may be possible to harness positive words in other languages. He writes, ‘The existence of “untranslatable” words pertaining to well-being implies that there are positive emotional states which have hitherto only been explicitly recognised by particular cultures’ (2015: 547). He has compiled a dictionary of positive terms that you can see here: https://www.drtimlomas.com/lexicography [accessed 14 January 2018]
Do you think that having access to new words for good experiences would make you more likely to appreciate these experiences?

The following example is about a very particular kind of habit: the habit of speaking to people. It turns out that people will say ‘thank you’ to what are essentially robots. Specifically, people ‘thank’ the self-driving car that delivers their pizza.
Metz, Rachel (2018) Apparently, people say ‘Thank you’ to self-driving pizza delivery vehicles, MIT Technology Review, 10 January, https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609944/apparently-people-say-thank-you-to-self-driving-pizza-delivery-vehicles/ [accessed 15 January 2018].

One woman included ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ in her google searches.
Micklethwaite, Jamie (2016) Google thanks polite grandmother who included 'please' and 'thank you' in searches, Evening Standard, 16 June, https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/polite-grandmother-thanked-by-google-after-using-please-and-thank-you-in-searches-a3273096.html [accessed 17 March 2018]

Do you speak to your phone or your computerised home assistant in the same way you speak to humans? Have you ever tried to have a conversation with these voices? What does this tell you about the way humans interact with technology?

Finally, you may have seen the film Arrival. It is based on a short story by Ted Chiang called ‘Story of your life’ (2016). In the story, aliens visit the earth, and a linguist is tasked to learn their language. The aliens, the heptapods, have a very different language to human languages. They do not experience or represent time in the same way. The following are two extracts from the short story. See if you can deduce how time works for heptapods by looking closely at the linguistic choices that Chiang makes in his short story.

‘I remember a conversation we’ll have when you’re in your junior year of high school. It’ll be Sunday morning, and I’ll be scrambling some eggs while you set the table for brunch’ (2016: 129).
‘I remember what it’ll be like watching you when you are a day old. Your father will have gone for a quick visit to the hospital cafeteria, and you’ll be lying in your bassinet, and I’ll be leaning over you’ (2016: 170).

Chiang, Ted (2016) ‘The story of your life’ in Arrival, London: Picador, pp. 109-172,.

You can read a linguist’s view of the film here, in an article on Slate:
Martinelli, Marissa (2016) How realistic is the way Amy Adams’ character hacks the alien language in arrival? We asked a linguist, Slate, 22 November, http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/11/22/a_linguist_on_arrival_s_alien_language.html [accessed 17 March 2018]

2.e Language diversity

The following article explores the way English continues to borrow from other languages.
Durkin, Phillip (2014) The international swap trade in useful words, BBC Magazine 13 February, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26137419 [accessed 17 March 2018]

In this article, David Doochin explains the invented language that divided everything into 40 categories. Can you see any similarities with the research Lucy conducted on Yucatec (see Section 2.4.1 of the textbook)? What might be the advantages of dividing the world up in this way?
Doochin, David (2016) The 17th-century language that divided everything in the universe into 40 categories, Atlas Obscura, 28 July, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-17thcentury-language-that-divided-everything-in-the-universe-into-40-categories [accessed 17 March 2018]

2.f A perceptual trick

The McGurk effect is an intriguing phenomenon. What we hear may also depend on what we see. In the following article, you can experience it for yourself.
McCulloch, Gretchen (2014) When your eyes hear better than your ears: the McGurk effect, Slate, 27 June, http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/06/27/mcgurk_effect_you_think_you_re_hearing_da_when_you_see_ga_and_hear_ba.html [accessed 17 March 2018]

A paper for lecturers

This paper might be useful to instructors preparing lectures on linguistic relativity.
Steele, Tracey (2003) Sex, culture and linguistic relativity: making abstract concepts concrete, Teaching Sociology, 31(2): 212–220.

Chapter 3: Language and politics

3.a Don’t do politics

At the start of the chapter, we refer to a British campaign encouraging people to vote; Slinky Pictures created the campaign for the UK Electoral Commission. You can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ame0j8jbMY4 [accessed 17 March 2018]
Slinky Pictures’ work is archived at http://vimeo.com/slinkypictures [accessed 17 March 2018]

Walker, D. (2004) Can cartoons animate voters? BBC News, 17 March, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3513658.stm [accessed 6 March 2018]

3.b Snowflakes and so on

In Chapter 1, we looked at ‘political correctness’. This is also a political issue. Recently, young people have been accused of being ‘snowflakes’. This is supposed to denote a particular kind of fragility, someone who is easily offended.

Consider the following accounts of the snowflake phenomenon. Do they have anything in common? Who is most likely to be called a snowflake? What kinds of arguments are made? Where do you think this term comes from? What is political about this whole discourse?

Daubney, Martin (2016) The snowflake awards: for those who defined the term ‘political correctness gone mad’ in 2016, The Telegraph, 28 December, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/snowflake-awards-defined-term-political-correctness-gone-mad/ [accessed 6 March 2018]
Serwer, Adam (2017) A nation of snowflakes, The Atlantic, 26 September, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/it-takes-a-nation-of-snowflakes/541050/ [accessed 6 March 2018]
Stadlen, Matt (2017) Self-confessed snowflake Matt Stadlen stands up for political correctness, LBC Radio, 12 November, http://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/matt-stadlen/self-confessed-snowflake-political-correctness/ [accessed 6 March 2018]
McKay, Tom (2017) Intrepid reports catch ‘snowflake students’ correctly surmising the moral of Frankenstein, Gizmodo, 6 March, https://gizmodo.com/intrepid-reporters-catch-snowflake-students-correctly-s-1823569523? [accessed 8 March 2018]

3.c Fracking

In this chapter, we looked at persuasive language around fracking. But as other parts of the chapter showed, there are different forms of political action and agency.

Consider the Knitting Nanas Against Gas:
http://www.knitting-nannas.com/index.php [accessed 6 March 2018]
Have a look at their website and document the activities they engage in and the political traditions they draw on.

They are based in Australia, and you can read a newspaper article in the Sydney Morning Herald about them here:
Farrelly, Elizabeth (2017) KNAG power: knitting nannas on the march against fracking polluters, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 September,
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/knag-power-knitting-nanas-on-the-march-against-fracking-polluters-20170831-gy824u.html [accessed 6th March 2018]

3.d Hashtag politics and politics online

There are a number of political campaigns that have used Twitter to help spread their message and garner support. Protests in Romania in 2017 arguing for democratic change are a good example. The hashtag was #rezist2017, and you can read commentary about it here: http://www.romanianprotests.info/

Something we didn’t discuss in the chapter is the growing use of online petitions. People who engage extensively in these activities have been named ‘slacktivists’ (see Chapter 1). This is a blog from The Spectator which discusses whether the truth of the claims made in online petitions matter (Stokes, 2016).
Stokes, Liam (2016) When it comes to online petitions, facts should speak louder than clicks. Sadly, they don’t, The Spectator, 28 October, https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/10/comes-online-petitions-facts-speak-louder-clicks-sadly-dont/ [accessed 17 March 2018]

We discuss fake news in Chapter 4. The preceding link discusses the claim that we are living in a post-truth era, so you might want to explore that in this commentary from Steven Poole (2016).
Poole, Steven (2016) How we let the phoneys take control and debase the language of politics, The Guardian, 14 August, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/13/political-lies-donald-trump-post-truth-politics [accessed 17 March 2018]

3.e Politician’s speech

Donald Trump’s unusual speaking style has been the topic of a great deal of public discussion. You might be interested in this article which includes the views of a linguist.
Golshan, Tara (2016) Donald Trump’s strange speaking style, as explained by linguists, Vox, 19 October, https://www.vox.com/2016/8/18/12423688/donald-trump-speech-style-explained-by-linguists [accessed 17 March 2018]

3.f Words and weapons: the politics of war

Explore a debate about the use of euphemism and discourses about nuclear war in this Politico article.
Crowley, Michael (2018) Trump’s North Korea tweets shatter decades-old nuclear taboo, Politico, 3 January, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/03/trump-nuclear-war-language-taboo-korea-322623 [accessed 17 March 2018]

3.g Toys Activity 3.8

The gendering of toys is not uncommon, but there have been recent campaigns arguing against it. You can explore the arguments made in the following links:

Boyle, Sian (2013) Barbies for girls, cars for boys? Let toys be toys and get them gender neutral presents this Christmas, The Independent, 17 December http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/barbies-for-girls-cars-for-boys-let-toys-be-toys-and-get-them-gender-neutral-presents-this-christmas-9011155.html [accessed 17 March 2018]
Let Toys be Toys Campaign, http://www.lettoysbetoys.org.uk/ [accessed 6 March 2018]
Sherman, A. M. and Zurbriggen, E. L. (2014). ‘Boys can do anything’: effect of Barbie play on girls’ career cognitions, Sex Roles, 70: 195–208.
Khazan, O. (2014) How Barbie affects career ambitions, The Atlantic, 14 March, http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/how-barbie-affects-career-ambitions/284411/ [accessed 6 March 2018]
Mawson, Rowena (2014) Stop shops sorting toys by gender, says equalities minister, The Guardian, 27 June, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/27/toys-gender-jenny-wilmott-science-engineering-careers [accessed 6 March 2018]

(see also website Activity 6.d)

3.h Silly citizenship

There are many examples of silly citizenship publicly available. Look at some of the following and consider how much they engage in political action. Are they effective, or are they just entertaining?

USA

The Colbert Report: Comedy Central, http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: HBO, http://www.hbo.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver

The Onion, http://www.theonion.com/

United Kingdom

Mock the Week, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t6vf

The Mash Report, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08yxh4h

Australia

Crikey, www.crikey.com.au

The Shovel, www.theshovel.com.au

India

Faking News, http://www.fakingnews.firstpost.com/

For academic research that deals with similar issues, you might like to explore

Burwell, C. and Boler, M. (2014) Rethinking media activism through fan blogging: how Stewart and Colbert fans make a difference, in Ratto, M and Boler, M (eds) DIY Citizenship: Critical Making and Social Media, Massachusetts: MIT Press: 115–26.
Kahne, J., Middaugh, E. and Allen, D. (2014) Youth new media, and the rise of participatory politics, YPP Research Network Working Paper #1, March 2014, http://ypp.dmlcentral.net/sites/default/files/publications/YPP_WorkinPapers_Paper01.pdf [accessed 6 March 2018]

3.i Hashtag politics

Do you think it’s possible to have an effect on politics by using Twitter?
The following is a link to a project exploring ‘hashtag politics’, a way of conducting political action on Twitter.

Beautiful Trouble (n.d.) Theory: Hashtag Politics, http://beautifultrouble.org/theory/hashtag-politics/ [accessed 17 March 2018]

ABC News, (2010) The conversation: understanding ‘hashtag politics’, 20 September, http://abcnews.go.com/WN/tcot-drives-tea-party-republican-message-social-media/story?id=11682222 [accessed 6 March 2018]

Davis, Bud (2013) Hashtag politics: the polyphonic revolution of # Twitter, Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research 1(1): 16–22.

3.j Sinclair

When we were in the final stages of preparing this book, a deal of attention was focussed on Sinclair media (the topic of the John Oliver extract in Section 3.9.1). The controversy was precisely about the ‘must run’ segments and the political stance of this media group.

You can learn more about this event by looking at
Hooton, Christopher (2018) Sinclair Broadcast Group responds to criticism of ‘Orwellian’ scripted mantra shown across local TV news, The Independent, 3 April, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/sinclair-broadcast-group-tv-message-donald-trump-this-is-extremely-damaging-to-our-democracy-video-a8285931.html [accessed 27 April 2018]

You can also hear a podcast about Sinclair on WMYD’s On the Media.
On the Media (2018) TV news anchors speaking from the heart — Uh, TelePrompter, 3 April, https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/tv-news-anchors-speaking-heartteleprompter [accessed 27 April 2018]

Chapter 4: Language and media

4.a Manufacture of consent

In 1992, a documentary about Chomsky and Herman’s book, Manufacturing Consent, was made by Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick. You can watch it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnrBQEAM3rE [accessed 12 March 2018]

4.b Obamacare versus the Affordable Care Act

In Chapter 4, we discussed Jimmy Kimmel Live, a show broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, http://abc.go.com/shows/jimmy-kimmel-live). In one episode, he asked people whether they preferred Obamacare to the Affordable Care Act. You can watch the extract of the show here:
Kimmel, J. (2013) ‘Six of one – Obamacare versus the Affordable Care Act’, Jimmy Kimmel Live, 1 October, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx2scvIFGjE [accessed 12 March 2018]

The following links discuss the same issue.
Hamblin, James (2013) Some Americans say they support the Affordable Care Act but not Obamacare, The Atlantic, 1 October, http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/some-americans-say-they-support-the-affordable-care-act-but-not-obamacare/280165/ [accessed 12 March 2018]
Johnson, A. (2014) Obamacare or not Obamacare, National Review Online, 21 March, http://www.nationalreview.com/article/373925/obamacare-or-not-obamacare-andrew-johnson [accessed 12 March 2018]

4.c Fake news and media hoaxes

Because we tend to believe what we see on the news and what is reported in the media, hoaxes of some kind using the mass media occur from time to time. In the past, these would be spoken about as media hoaxes. See the article from Vincent James about waterproof iPhones.
Vincent, James (2013) Fake ‘waterproof iPhone’ ad tricks users into destroying their smartphones, The Independent, 24 September, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/fake-waterproof-iphone-ad-tricks-users-into-destroying-their-smartphones-8835952.html [accessed 12 March 2018]

Hoaxes used to be rather good fun. You may enjoy a hoax from 1957 about spaghetti farms. At the following link, you can see the original film item.
BBC (2008), On This Day, 1 April, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2819000/2819261.stm [accessed 12 March 2018]

The difference between hoaxes and fake news is not always clear. Clare Wardle provides a useful way of thinking about it by identifying seven kinds of items that might all be called ‘fake news’ by some people. Have a look at Wardle’s taxonomy. Do you think some items are ‘faker’ than others?
Wardle, Claire (2017) Fake news. It’s complicated, 16 February, https://firstdraftnews.com/fake-news-complicated/[accessed 17th July 2017]

Facebook seems to draw a distinction between ‘fake news’ and ‘false news’. Do you think this is reasonable? Or is it is a distinction without a difference?
Oremus, Will (2017) Facebook has stopped saying ‘fake news’, Slate, http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/08/08/facebook_has_stopped_saying_fake_news_is_false_news_any_better.html [accessed 12 March 2018]

It’s also worth remembering that fake news can be dangerous. This article from the Washington Post gives a number of examples from India, where false news, a lot of it, spread through WhatsApp and led to severe problems.
Doshi, Vidhi (2017) India’s millions of new Internet users are falling for fake news – sometimes with deadly consequences, The Washington Post, 1 October, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/indias-millions-of-new-internet-users-are-falling-for-fake-news--sometimes-with-deadly-consequences/2017/10/01/f078eaee-9f7f-11e7-8ed4-a750b67c552b_story.html?utm_term=.025f72930d48 [accessed 12 March 2018]

You can learn more about how this kind of material spreads from the following podcast. You can see the transcript and listen to the episode here:
Fresh Air (2016) Fake news expert on how false stories spread and why people believe them, http://www.npr.org/2016/12/14/505547295/fake-news-expert-on-how-false-stories-spread-and-why-people-believe-them [accessed 12 March 2018]

Fake news has also had an effect on public understanding of the term. It was the American Dialect Society word of the year. You can read about that here:
ADS (2018) ‘Fake news’ is 2017 American Dialect Society Word of the Year, https://www.americandialect.org/fake-news-is-2017-american-dialect-society-word-of-the-year [accessed 12 March 2018]

4.d Tweets misunderstood

Twitter users have developed a range of ways to signal specific meanings and activities. The following gives a handy guide to the semiotics of Twitter.
Sheets, Connor Adam (2013) What do #FF, #TBT, #GFF, FOH, RLRT and other Twitter and Instagram hashtags and terms mean? International Business Times, 16 January, http://www.ibtimes.com/what-do-ff-tbt-gff-foh-rlrt-other-twitter-instagram-hashtags-terms-mean-1021098 [accessed 12 March 2018]

Note that these hashtags and acronyms aren’t the only source of misunderstanding.
BBC News (2012) Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US, 31 January, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16810312 [accessed 12 March 2018]

And sometimes, hashtags just don’t work out in the way that the promoters want them to.
Waldram, Hannah (2012) #Susanalbumparty: top five Twitter hashtag PR disasters, The Guardian, 22 November, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2012/nov/22/twitter-susan-boyle-susanalbumparty [accessed 12 March 2018]

4.e The news you never saw

In this chapter, we discussed news values and the various filters that are applied to representations. The following article, however, provides insight into an event that nobody paid attention to. Can you explain the lack of attention to the event in terms of Bell’s news values or Chomsky and Herman’s filters?

McGill, D., Iggers, J. and Cline, A. R. (2007). Death in Gambella: what many heard, what one blogger saw and why the professional news media ignored it, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 22(4): 280–299.
The same text can be downloaded at rhetorica.net/docs/manuscript_final_narrative.doc [accessed 12 March 2018]

4.e Vaccines

In Chapter 4, we discussed the MMR vaccine debate. This started some time ago, but as these links show, the debate continues. Why do you think this has such longevity? Would you classify this ongoing event as related to fake news or something else?

Merlan, Anna (2017) The anti-vaccination movement is working with the Nation of Islam to scare black families, Jezebel, 26 June, https://jezebel.com/the-anti-vaccination-movement-is-working-with-the-natio-1796021231?utm_medium [accessed 12 March 2018]
Estes, Annette (2017) Vaccines do not cause autism; they save lives, The Seattle Times, 23 June, https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/vaccines-do-not-cause-autism-they-save-lives/?utm [accessed 12 March 2018]

4.f Online news gallery

Because many newspapers now have websites, this has enabled news outlets to create what is called ‘online news galleries’. The online news gallery is a set of pictures which may, or may not, tell a story. The online news gallery is a form made possible by the changes in both production and consumption of web-based material. Until fast Internet became generally available, it didn’t make sense to include a lot of information like pictures on web pages that would not load quickly. Caple and Knox (2012) argue that online news galleries appear to be particularly popular among ‘editors, readers, and photographers’ (2012: 08), but they nevertheless think it is important to ask questions about what these galleries do. Is it ‘just that people like to look at images, or do these galleries exploit the semiotic potential of the world wide web to tell stories in a new way?’ (2012: 208). They make a distinction between ‘online news galleries’ and ‘photo essays, picture stories, portfolios, verbal news stories, and other verbal texts’ to discover whether these galleries, in fact, do tell a story (2012: 208).
Caple and Knox examine photo galleries as ‘sequences of images’ (2012: 208), paying attention to the text (including captions and headings) that accompanies the images and to the sequential ordering of all these elements. They argue that while it is possible to construct a story using visual means, the authors of such sequences still need to pay attention to the structures of texts with which we are familiar. Such a structure may be one that moves temporally, from beginning to end, or one that seeks to provide focal points with other images providing contrasts or elaborations to these.

Activity

Find an online news gallery. These are common in online newspapers and involve a series of photos. Use the following table to describe the images.

Image number	Relation to previous image	Image	Caption	Textual relation	Positive/negative
The order of the image 1, 2, 3 and so on	Did the events in this image occur before / after / at the same time as those of the previous image? Is it in the same place?	What is the image of?	What does the caption say?	How does the caption relate to the previous caption? Is it a ‘next event’, a ‘detail’ or an ‘overview’?	Are the image and caption communicating something positive, negative or factual? How?

You may find that the images in some galleries don’t have a clear structure or tell a story at all. Rather, they present some visual representations of new stories covered elsewhere. ‘Online news galleries offer new possibilities for storytelling’ (Caple and Knox, 2012: 232). This is clear from the kinds of analysis they undertake.

Some examples of online news galleries

• Otago Daily News
• New Zealand http://www.odt.co.nz/news/galleries
• The Australian http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/photos
• CBC, Canada, http://www.cbc.ca/news/photos

Caple, H. and Knox, J. S. (2012). Online news galleries, photojournalism and the photo essay, Visual Communication,11(2): 207–236.

4.g Same story, different venue

The same story can be represented in different ways because of the place it is published. Consider this comparison of coverage of the same event in the Strait Times (Singapore) and The Guardian (UK) by Nee (2017). The analysis that Nee undertakes is an excellent way of seeing how the issues we discussed in Chapter 3 can be applied to the media.
Nee, Adriel (2017) Eight differences in international and local media reporting on the Lee family dispute, 15 June, https://mustsharenews.com/lee-saga-reports/ [accessed 12 March 2018].

Other differences in venue result in other changes. Bateman, Delin and Henschel (2006) provide a set of features which should be examined in the analysis of multimodal texts (whether in hard or soft copy).

1. canvas constraints – limitations of the physical or virtual mode of production, e.g., page or screen size
2. production constraints – technology, time, advertisers
3. consumption constraints – taking into account how the text is read and consumed (2006: 155)

Identify a story, and find coverage of it in a variety of outlets. For example, find a printed edition of a newspaper and look at the same story on the World Wide Web on a computer, on a tablet and on a smartphone. Think about the constraints of each kind of format and see if you can find features in the layout of the story that seem to be connected to the technology used.

Bateman, J.A., Delin, J. and Henschel, R. (2006) Mapping the multimodal genres of traditional and electronic newspapers, in T. D. Royce and W. L. Bowcher (eds), New Directions in the Analysis of Multimodal Discourse. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: 142–72

Chapter 5: Linguistic landscapes

5.a Exploitation of convention

Ryan Laughlin, who kindly provided Image 5.11, is an artist who has created other signs. You can see them here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28017515@N03/sets/72157617259403472/ [accessed 17 March 2018]

Examine Ryan’s work, and look closely at the use of conventional semiotic codes. How are these exploited in a creative and humorous way?
All images 2009 Ryan Laughlin, http://rofreg.com

A similar exploitation of convention was staged in Paris on April Fool’s Day in 2016. One of us happened to be travelling through Paris on that day. The prank made trying to figure out when to get off the metro just that little bit more challenging.
Sharkov, Damien (2016) Watch: Paris Metro stations prank commuters with hilarious name changes, Newsweek, 1 April, http://www.newsweek.com/watch-paris-metro-stations-prank-commuters-hilarious-name-changes-443164 [accessed 9 February 2018]

Would you consider this intervention top-down?

5.b Graffiti

The following images were photographed by Evans at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Why do you think people write on monuments like the Eiffel Tower? How old do you think such graffiti has to be before it too is a ‘historical monument’?

This story describes a case where graffiti was appropriated into ‘art’.
Byrnes, Frances (2016) The tragic story of Sheffield’s Park Hill bridge, The Guardian, 21 August, https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/aug/21/tragic-story-of-sheffield-park-hill-bridge [accessed 17 March 2018]
What do you think of this? Is this a form of theft?

What about this image? Would you consider it graffiti?

5.c Courtesy campaign

In a 2003 article, Lazar examines the Courtesy campaign in Singapore. This was a top-down campaign that sought to change the behaviour of the public, especially on public transport. Lazar, M. (2003) Semiosis, social change and governance: A critical semiotic analysis of a national campaign, Social Semiotics 13(2): 201–221.

The Singapore Courtesy Campaign that Lazar examined has now been taken up as part of the Kindness Movement. But in the following links, you can see some of the images and signs that have been used, as well as learn about the current Kindness Movement.

Do you think this a good thing for government to be doing? Would you be more likely to be nice to people as a result of such a sustained campaign?

Singapore Kindness Movement, http://kindness.sg/ [accessed 17 March 2018]

You can see material from the 1984 Courtesy campaign here:
Remember Singapore, (2010– ) http://remembersingapore.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/singapore-campaigns-of-the-past/ [accessed 17 March 2018]

Singapore is not the only country with ‘courtesy’ signage. Recently in Madrid, signs have appeared asking men to sit differently on public transport.
Jones, Sam (2017) Madrid tackles ‘el manspreading’ on public transport with new signs, The Guardian, 8 June, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/08/madrid-tackles-el-manspreading-public-transport-with-new-signs [accessed 9 February 2018]
If you saw this sign without having seen this news story, do you think you would have understood what it wants to communicate?

5.d What does it mean?

Sometimes, it’s hard to know what a sign is communicating. This may be because of the conventions it uses or where it is placed. What possible interpretations could be made of the following?

5.e Multilingual signs

Sometimes multiple languages are used not to address specific audiences but to do something else. Consider the two images below. They were in a Japanese garden in Canada. What does the use of Japanese communicate here? Whom is it for?

5.f Not here

In Chapter 5, we discussed the way signs structure space, allowing some activities and not others. As a result, people can be excluded from a space. Who is excluded from the spaces in which the following signs were found? Why?

A recent campaign in London was very successful in challenging the exclusion of some people from some places. You can follow what happened by looking at the coverage.
Saul, Heather (2014) ‘Homeless’ spikes outside London flats spark outrage on Twitter, The Independent, 7 June, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homelessness-spikes-outside-london-flats-spark-outrage-on-twitter-9506390.html [accessed 17 March 2018]
RT (2014) London Mayor Johnson calls for ‘ugly, stupid anti-homeless’ spikes to be removed, 10 June, http://rt.com/uk/164952-anti-homeless-spikes-remove/ [accessed 17 March 2018]
Williams, Rob (2014) Tesco removes one-inch ‘anti-homeless’ spikes from outside central London Metro store after activities threaten days of protest over measure, 12 June, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tesco-removes-oneinch-antihomeless-spikes-from-outside-central-london-metro-store-after-activists-threaten-days-of-protests-over-measure-9533089.html [accessed 17 March 2018]
Have you noticed similar structures where you live? What do you think they are designed to do? Are they successful?

Other people have commented on such activity by placing signs of their own on public benches. You can see examples of these signs here:
Morley, Nicole (2015) Council on the hunt for pranksters behind these funny park bench plaques. Metro, 17 October, http://metro.co.uk/2015/10/17/council-on-the-hunt-for-pranksters-behind-these-funny-park-bench-plaques-5445988/?ito=facebook [accessed 9 February 2018]
Do you think this is similar to Ryan Laughlin’s work? Or would you analyse it differently?

5.g Memes

In Chapter 5, we discussed the Doge meme. As you will know, there are many others. You may be familiar with dogo. You can read more about it here:
Boddy, Jessica (2018) Dogs are doggos: an Internet language built around love for the puppers, NPR, 23 April, http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/04/23/524514526/dogs-are-doggos-an-internet-language-built-around-love-for-the-puppers [accessed 9 February 2018]
McCulloch, Gretchen and Gawne, Lauren (2018) Bonus #4 - Doggo linguistics behind the scenes, Lingthusiasm, http://lingthusiasm.com/post/161357745681/bonus-4-doggo-linguistics-behind-the-scenes [accessed 9 February 2018]

You might enjoy this long conversation in memes IRL.
White, Alan and Fiebrig, Sebastian (2015) A door in Germany broke down and the most memetacular thing happened, Buzzfeed, 13 March, https://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/this-sage-of-a-broken-german-door-that-became-a-wall-of-meme?utm_term=.sjmRPBPVo#.hrvx8z8XM [accessed 9 February 2018]

Gif may also be considered memic. You can read a blog about these by Rodney Jones that references Varis and Blommaert (2016) here:
Jones, Rodney (2018) Gif wars, 5 February https://ls2lnm.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/gif-wars/ [accessed 9 February 2018]

Here you can find an article by Erhan Aslan about the surprising origin of memes.
Aslan, Erhan (2018) The surprising academic origins of memes, The Conversation, 12 February, https://theconversation.com/the-surprising-academic-origins-of-memes-90607 [accessed 13 February 2018]

5.h Instagram

Just like the move of memes from online to offline, the ‘real’ world linguistic landscape can be transferred to the online linguistic landscape. This article recounts an artist who used the natural world to create a compelling linguistic landscape. Krule, Miriam (2014) Shelley Jackson is writing a short story in the snow, Slate, 14 February, http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/02/13/shelley_jackson_is_writing_a_short_story_in_the_snow_and_posting_it_on_instagram.html [accessed 13 February 2018]

Like other online platforms, Instagram has a number of uses. While it may be used for art, it may also be used for purposes of critique as in this case of ‘hipster Barbie’ that draws attention to (and mocks) some of the developing conventions on Instagram. Do you recognise the conventions that are being referenced here?
CNN (2015) Hipster Barbie mocks Instagram users, 10 September http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/hipster-barbie-instagram/index.html [accessed 17 March 2018]

5.i Emoji

In this chapter, we mentioned that there is a World Emoji Day. You can read about it here:
Hern, Alex (2017) Apple marks World Emoji Day with beards, headscarves and breastfeeding, The Guardian, 17 July, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/17/world-emoji-day-apple-unveiling-new-symbols-bearded-person-breastfeeding-sandwich-zombies-t-rex-ios-11 [accessed 9 February 2018]

In the story, we learn that Apple has released new emojis to mark the day. But other people have also created emojis. Look at the following stories, and see whether you agree that these creations are needed. Can emoji be discriminatory?
Sivasubramanian, Shami (2016) World’s first Maori emoji app launches with unique Polynesian expressions, SBS, 22 December, https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/12/22/worlds-first-maori-emoji-app-launches-unique-polynesian-expressions [accessed 9 February 2018]
BBC (2016) ‘Emoldjis’: Gran’s call for older people’s lives to be reflected, 28 October, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-37789947 [accessed 9 February 2018]

Certainly, some people worry that emoji result in impoverished communication. In the following article, can you see evidence of the complaint tradition or standard language ideology (Chapter 2)?
Some people are rather worried about the effect of emoji on language more generally.
Marsden, Rhodri (2013) More than words: Are ‘emoji’ dumbing us down or enriching our communications? Independent, 10 May, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/more-than-words-are-emoji-dumbing-us-down-or-enriching-our-communications-8610767.html

Do you think those worried about the effect of emoji on language have a point? Pullum certainly doesn’t.
Pullum, Geoffrey (2018) Emoji are ruining grasp of English, says dumbest language story of the week, Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 April,
https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2018/04/23/emoji-are-ruining-grasp-of-english-says-dumbest-language-story-of-the-week/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

That doesn’t mean that they aren’t widely used. In the following, you can also link to news written entirely in emoji.
Doble, Anna (2015) UK’s fastest growing language is . . . emoji, BBC Newsbeat, 19 May, http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/32793732/uks-fastest-growing-language-is-emoji [accessed 9 February 2018]

One company has even sought to hire an emoji translator.
Eggert, Nalina (2016) Emoji translator wanted – London firm seeks specialist, BBC News, 12 December, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-38287908 [accessed 9 February 2018]

5.i Other signs

Signs are a versatile media. Because of the range of semiotic codes they can draw on and because of the way their meaning depends on where they are placed, a wide range of communicative purposes can be found in signs.

They may be self-referential, being made to comment on themselves (5-15) or open to interpretation in this way (5-16).

They may be placed in a paradigmatic string, to form a sentence of signs.

Signs may be playful.

Signs might also be part of silly citizenship.

5.j Umbrellas

Umbrella movement (Section 5.4)

You can see examples of the different kinds of signs and structures that Jaworksi and Lou discuss at https://becomingverb.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/hong-kongs-new-public-landscape/ [accessed 9 February 2018]

5.k Barcelona

You can learn more about the situation in Barcelona in the following links. Barcelona has had a large increase in tourism in recent years, and locals are not happy. Increased tourism can be an advantage, but it can also make areas much less affordable for local people. All of this information and Image 5.10 were provided by Dr Sarah Pasfield-Neofitou.

Hunt, Elle (2017) ‘Tourism kills neighbourhoods’: how do we save cities from the city break? The Guardian, 4 August, https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/04/tourism-kills-neighbourhoods-save-city-break [accessed 9 February 2018]

McMah, Lauren (2016) ‘Tourist go home’: Why you’re no longer welcome in Spain, news.com.au, 1 June, http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/tourist-go-home-why-youre-no-longer-welcome-in-spain/news-story/4febc459dcd721f25bc113eab6c509e5 [accessed 9 February 2018]

Kassam, Ashifa (2014) Barcelona’s tourism booms, swelling its coffers and littering its beaches, The Guardian, 15 June, https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jun/15/barcelona-tourism-boom-economy-residents [accessed 9 February 2018]

5.l YouTube

In Chapter 5, we discussed a range of online spaces, the platforms available and the kinds of practices that people engaged in. One platform we didn’t discuss is YouTube. This is a complex space to theorise, as while it can be considered in terms of the construction of a point of view, it is also amenable to analysis in terms discussed in Chapter 4.

The ‘problem’ with YouTube is that it can be used to do a wide range of things. The platform, and its functionality, does provide a good starting point. For example, the search function indicates that people can look for something specific (either a person or a topic). The ability to share links indicates that people can tell their friends about what they are looking at or direct them to suitable content. The listing of similar content beside and after individual clips suggests that some viewers may browse through a range of linked and interrelated material. The existence of ‘channels’ and the ability to ‘follow’ a filmmaker or vlogger indicate that some viewers might be loyal to particular YouTube spaces and people.

If you’ve spent any time on sites like this, you’ll know that there is a wide range of material presented to viewers. From professionally produced material and animations to outtakes from personal or real-time event recordings, there is no such thing as a YouTube ‘style’. When it comes to material produced specifically for YouTube, generalisations may be made, although even here, commonalities among vlogs will depend on genre and type.

Go to YouTube and explore the content. Try to find examples of the following content:

• Tutorials (e.g., how to knit, fix a leaking pipe)
• Animations
• Music

See if you can find commonalities among the examples you found in each genre – or across genres.

If you’re interested in how YouTube compares with television, you can read Tolson (2010). As YouTube has been described as being a form of ‘post-television’ (Lister et al. cited in Tolson, 2010: 278), it makes sense to analyse it in these terms.

Tolson, A. (2010) A new authenticity? Communicative practices on YouTube, Critical Discourse Studies 7(4): 277–89.

5.m Research that relies on the online linguistic landscape

The online linguistic landscape can be a great source of material for linguists. Twitter has been used to look at variation in Spanish.
MIT Technology Review (2014) Computational linguistics of Twitter reveals the existence of global superdialects, 7 August,
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/529836/computational-linguistics-of-twitter-reveals-the-existence-of-global-superdialects/ [accessed 9 February 2018]

Linguists have also commented on the reactions available on Facebook.
Dreyfus, Emily (2016) Linguists not exactly wow about Facebook’s new reactions, Wired, 28 February, https://www.wired.com/2016/02/linguists-not-exactly-wow-facebooks-new-reactions/ [accessed 9 February 2018]

New technology is also being used to map variation in the linguistic landscape. You can see two examples of such projects here:
Linguscape in Luxembourg
https://lingscape.uni.lu/ [accessed 9 February 2018]
Linguasnapp Manchester
http://mlm.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/linguasnapp/ [accessed 9 February 2018]

Chapter 6

6.a Gender-neutral pronouns

There have been a range of suggestions of gender-neutral pronouns over the centuries. You can find a comprehensive list here. Why do you think these suggestions were not adopted?
Baron, Dennis (n.d.) The epicene pronouns: A chronology of the word that failed, http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/epicene.htm [accessed 23 March 2018]

To see a blog about the debate,
Gender-neutral pronoun, http://genderneutralpronoun.wordpress.com/ [accessed 23 March 2018]

The Académie Française decided that gender-neutral forms of language are an ‘aberration’ that put the French language in ‘mortal danger’. Can you see the parallels with other forms of standard language ideology?
Willsher, Kim (2017) French language watchdogs say ‘non’ to gender-neutral style, The Guardian, 27 November, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/03/french-language-watchdogs-say-non-to-gender-neutral-style [accessed 16 February 2018]

In Australia, a girls’ school has banned the words ‘girl’ and ‘woman’ in an effort to be gender neutral.
Burke, Liz (2016) Calls for intervention over Sydney girls’ school gender neutral language policy, News.com.au, 20 July, http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/school-life/calls-for-intervention-over-sydney-girls-school-gender-neutral-language-policy/news-story/37c0d140a109d9c6a592b1a80ec0af6e [accessed 16 February 2018]

In Italy, the climate is more favourable to change toward gender-neutral language usage.
Kington, Tom (2016) Women force Italy to change its language, The Times, 20 July, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/women-force-italy-to-change-its-language-67txfmz5k [accessed 16 February 2018]

Closely related to the gender-neutral debate is the question of how people who are trans or gender fluid may want to be addressed. ‘Gender fluid’ has recently been added to the dictionary, telling us that the term has wide and durable use.
Simon, Carolyn (2016) ‘Gender-fluid’ added to Oxford English Dictionary, Human Rights Campaign, https://www.hrc.org/blog/gender-fluid-added-to-oxford-english-dictionary [accessed 16 February 2018]

One UK bank now offers a gender-neutral title, ‘Mx’.
Bulman, May (2017) Mr, Ms, or Mx? HSBC bank offers trans customers gender-neutral titles, The Independent, 31 March, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hsbc-bank-transgender-customers-neutral-titles-mx-ind-mre-a7659686.html [accessed 16 February 2018]

Nevertheless, the use of gender-neutral or non-binary pronouns and forms of address is understood by some as a form of ‘political correctness’.
Craig, Sean (2016) U of T professor attacks political correctness, says he refuses to use genderless pronoun, National Post, 29 September, http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/u-of-t-professor-attacks-political-correctness-in-video-refuses-to-use-genderless-pronouns [accessed 16 February 2018]

Actor Emma Watson’s appearance at the UN is an example of the perception of speaking out for women’s rights as ‘political correctness’.
Huddleston, Tom (2016) Emma Watson spoke up for women’s rights at the UN – but to The Sun it’s just ‘whining, leftie, PC crap’, Time Out London, 23 September, https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/emma-watson-spoke-up-for-womens-rights-at-the-un-but-to-the-sun-its-just-whining-leftie-pc-crap-092316 [accessed 16 February 2018]

Some people have suggested that we need more ways to represent gender identity in language or that we should dispense with the idea of gender altogether. You can listen to a podcast of their discussion here.
BBC (2016) Do we have enough genders? The Inquiry http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03q03zy [accessed 16 February 2018]

6.b The trouble with Ms

Ms is a baffling title for many people. Read Zimmer’s and Browning’s articles and see whether you think this misunderstanding is warranted.

Zimmer, Ben (2009) More Ms.-teries of ‘Ms.’ Vocabulary, 23 October, http://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/more-ms-teries-of-ms/ [accessed 23 March 2018]

Browning, Anna (2009) Mrs? Or is that Ms, Miss? BBC News, 20 March 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7952261.stm [accessed 23 March 2018]

6.c Stereotypes and shopping

Listen to the following story from NPR (National Public Radio, US) about Lego made for young women. What do you think about the gendering of toys? (See also website Activity 3d.)
Ulaby, Neda (2013) ‘Girls’ Legos are a hit, but why do girls need special Legos? NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2013/06/28/196605763/girls-legos-are-a-hit-but-why-do-girls-need-special-legos? [accessed 23 March 2018]

What about gendered foods?
In an interview on the podcast Freakonomics, the CEO of the company that owns the brand Doritos mentioned that they were considering developing a product for women, http://freakonomics.com/podcast/indra-nooyi/ [accessed 8 April 2018]

For more on the ‘lady Doritos’ and the different opinions about it, here are a few of the many stories that followed the CEO’s comments:
Saner, Emine (2018) ‘Lady Doritos’: a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, The Guardian, 5 February, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2018/feb/05/lady-doritos-a-solution-to-a-problem-that-doesnt-exist [accessed 2 March 2018]
Graham, Ruth (2018) You know what, I do want ‘Lady Doritos’, Slate, 6 February, https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/02/the-backlash-to-lady-doritos-is-absurd.html [accessed 2 March 2018]

An alcohol brand has created a product just for women:
Sullivan, Emily and Chang, Alisa (2018) Do ladies need their own scotch? All Things Considered, 28 February, https://www.npr.org/2018/02/28/589506144/do-ladies-need-their-own-scotch [accessed 2 March 2018]

Men, feeling self-conscious about drinking Rosé wine, have started referring to it as ‘Brosé’.
Wilson, Jason (2015) Brosé: wine for the angsty bro who blushes when he ‘drinks pink’, The Guardian, 29 July, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/29/brose-wine-for-the-angsty-bro-who-blushes-when-he-drinks-pink [accessed 2 March 2018]

Japanese brand (Pocky) has made a special version of its popular snack for male consumers.
Rodriguez, Matthew Rodriguez (2016) Your favorite Japanese candy has a special just-for-men version, Mic, 13 August, https://mic.com/articles/151491/your-favorite-japanese-candy-now-has-a-special-just-for-men-version#.ycOHwtc7I [accessed 2 March 2018]

What do you think about this kind of branded marketing? Is it clever or reinforcing stereotypes?

6.d Everyday sexism

Many people assume that sexism is no longer an issue because society has changed so much in this regard. This story about a model who was threatened after being photographed without shaved legs suggests otherwise.
Siddique, Haroon (2017) Swedish model gets rape threats after ad shows her unshaved legs, The Guardian, 6 October, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/06/swedish-model-gets-threats-after-ad-shows-her-unshaved-legs?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other [accessed 16 February 2018]

A number of campaigns have sought to highlight the way women are subjected to sexism on a daily basis. Explore the following sites. Do the experiences reported surprise you? What does it tell us about society? What kinds of resources are women using to object to this treatment? And what have been the responses to these campaigns?

• #Me too
• Everyday Sexism, http://everydaysexism.com/
• #YesAllWomen on Twitter
• Slut walk, http://www.slutwalktoronto.com/

When a woman, Jacinda Ardern, became the leader of a political party in New Zealand, there was quite a response.
Holden, Madeleine (2017) An incomplete account of the sexism in Jacinda Ardern’s first 24 hours as Labour leader, The Spin Off, 2 August, https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/02-08-2017/all-the-sexism-in-jacinda-arderns-first-24-hours-as-labour-leader/

This story is an example of how all marginalized genders are subject to everyday abuse of this kind:
Hess, Amanda (2014) Smile, baby! A new study shows how often women and gay men are sexually harassed on the street, Slate, 3 June, http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/06/03/stop_street_harassment_study_how_often_women_gay_men_and_people_of_color.html [accessed 17 July 2014]

It’s very important to remember that these issues are a result of societal expectations of gendered behaviour. That means that every gender group that behaves in a way that is outside of expectations may be criticised. In this story, a British actor is one of many people to talk about this.
Sturges, Fiona (2017) How not to be a boy by Robert Webb review – the gender conditioning of men, The Guardian, 1 September, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/sep/01/how-not-to-be-a-boy-by-robert-webb-review [accessed 16 February 2018]

Some argue that sexism by men towards women is linked to men’s own troubled gender performance. Do you think this could be right?
Hosie, Rachel (2017) Men use sexist and homophobic jokes due to insecurity over their masculinity, study claims, The Independent, 21 April, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/men-sexist-homophobic-jokes-masculinity-insecure-anti-gay-study-gender-roles-western-carolina-a7694591.html [accessed 16 February 2018]

6.e Resisting sexism

There are many ways of highlighting and resisting sexism. Look at the following materials, and try to identify the strategies they use. Are they successful?

Bennett, Jessica (2016) Workplace a bit sexist? Welcome to feminist fight club, The Guardian, 3 September https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/03/workplace-sexist-feminist-fight-club [accessed 16 February 2018]

Hale, Tom (2016) Male scientists’ biographies written as if they were women, Iflsciennce, 2 February,
http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/male-scientists-biographies-written-if-they-were-women/ [accessed 16 February 2018]

Girogis, Hannah (2015) Radical Brownies: is this the future of girl groups? The Guardian, 26 January, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/jan/26/radical-brownies-future-girl-groups-social-justice [accessed 16 February 2018]

Walmsley, C. (2014) Feminist hotline revolutionises the art of avoiding pick-up artists, The National Student, 20 June, http://www.thenationalstudent.com/Features/2014-06-20/Feminist_phone_line_revolutionises_the_art_of_avoiding_pick_up_artists.html [accessed 17 July 2014]

Feminist phone line, http://feminist-phone-intervention.tumblr.com/ [accessed 17 July 2014]

Go to Amazon.com and search for ‘Bic pens for women’. Read the reviews of this product. What are these authors doing?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BIC-For-Her-Medium-Ballpoint/dp/B004FTGJUW [accessed 8 April 2018]

6.f Gender activity

Look at the following quotations. Do you think they are sexist? Who might have said them? When do you think they were said or published? Search the Internet for quotes of a sexist nature that are from this year. Are you surprised by the number of current sexist quotes you can find? What can we learn about societal hierarchies from this?

• ‘women should shut up in public’

Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/news/20130612/australia-coach-sexist-comment-holger-osieck/#ixzz2YUrm9u6g

• A woman in front-line combat ‘[creates] a very compromising situation, where people naturally may do things that may not be in the interest of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved’ [Rick Santorum 2012 (Rubin, 2012)].

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CWAR7FeY4pA

• ‘Let’s hope that the key conferences aren’t when she’s menstruating or something, or just before she’s going to menstruate. That would really be bad. Lord knows what we would get then.’

Link: http://womeninbusiness.about.com/u/ua/challengeswomenface/ggordonliddycomments.htm

• ‘Most women can find the mustard in the pantry quicker than a man and most men can reverse a car better than a woman.’

Link: http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2013/08/20/godfrey-bloom-women-are-better-in-the-pantry-than-the-car

6.g Men and from Mars?

Read the following articles with consideration of what they presuppose about the way men and women use language and other forms of communication. You should pay close attention to the linguistic choices used to determine both semantic and pragmatic presupposition (as discussed in chapter 3). What stereotypes do these stories draw on? Do they cite any sources for the facts asserted?

Wills, Kate (2016) Just not sorry, The Independent, 7 January, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/just-not-sorry-gmails-new-app-aims-to-help-women-be-more-assertive-a6801506.html [accessed 16 February 2018]

Harper, Leah (2016) How to get heard in meetings: deep breaths, superhero poses and owning ‘bossy’, The Guardian, 4 January, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/04/how-to-get-heard-in-meetings-deep-breaths-superhero-poses-and-owning-bossy [accessed 16 February 2018]

Cossar, Vicki-Marie (2009) How women can crack the code, Metro, 2 November, p. 18, http://metro.co.uk/2009/11/06/how-women-can-crack-the-code-593163/ [accessed 23 March 2018]

Van Edwards, Vanessa (2013) Three tips for women to improve their body language at work, Forbes, 21 May, http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2013/05/21/3-tips-for-women-to-improve-their-body-language-at-work/ [accessed 23 March 2018]

Welchlin, Kit (2013) Do men and women speak a different language? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8fwpRrl56s [accessed 23 March 2018]

Holman, Rebecca (2014) How to speak ‘Menglish’ – the language ‘only men’ understand, The Telegraph, 31 January, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10608094/How-to-speak-Menglish-the-language-only-men-understand.html [accessed 23 March 2018]

6.h Dude

Watch the following beer advertisement. How many meanings of ‘dude’ can you identify? What is it that changes the different meanings of ‘dude’?

Bud Lite (2007) Dude, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyMSSe7cOvA [accessed 16 February 2018]

See Kiesling (2004) for a nuanced linguistic discussion of the differences.
Kiesling, Scott F. (2004) ‘Dude’, American Speech 79(3): 281–305.

6.1 Science fiction and sexism

In July 2016, it was announced that a woman would play the role of Doctor Who in the TV series by the same name. This role has long been played by a man. Many people expressed displeasure about a female playing Doctor Who. The following stories address the discussions that followed the announcement, including some humorous interventions. Do you think these perspectives are sexist or funny? What assumptions does this humour rely on in order to be funny?

Demianyk, Graeme (2017) New Doctor Who: ‘Man babies’ cannot cope with Jodie Whittaker as the first female in lead role, Huffington Post, 16 July, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/doctor-who-menbabies-jodie-whittaker-first-female_uk_596b9412e4b017418628374d? [accessed 16 February 2018]

Southend News Network (2017) Doctor Who filming SUSPENDED as new Timelord can’t park Tardis, 16 July, http://southendnewsnetwork.com/news/doctor-who-filming-suspended-as-new-timelord-cant-park-tardis/ [accessed 16 February 2018]

Neil Tollfree (2017), Civilisation survives tumultuous first night of having a female Dr Who, Newsthump, 17 July, http://newsthump.com/2017/07/17/civilisation-survives-tumultuous-first-night-of-having-a-female-dr-who/ [accessed 16 February 2018]

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary also contributed to this (via Twitter).
Sullivan, Margaret (2017) Merriam-Webster had the perfect response for Internet trolls after the ‘Doctor Who’ announcement, Mashable, 17 July https://mashable.com/2017/07/17/merriam-webster-dr-who/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-socmed-link#Ap8oQxO5XPqX [accessed 16 February 2018]

Smidt, Remy and Byran, Scott (2017) People are making the most hilarious jokes about people who are not okay with a woman playing the doctor in ‘Doctor Who’, Buzzfeed, 16 July, https://www.buzzfeed.com/remysmidt/end-of-the-world?utm_term=.qoOzmZO39#.cgak3YP7X [accessed 16 February 2018]

Spiel, Jacob Duarte (2017) To appease male fans, Doctor Who announces every Dalek will have visible penis, The Beaverton, 16 July, https://www.thebeaverton.com/2017/07/appease-male-fans-doctor-announces-every-dalek-will-visible-penis/ [accessed 16 February 2018]

The Shovel (2017) first episode of new Dr Who to just be men explaining concept of time travel to Jodie Whittaker, 18 July, http://www.theshovel.com.au/2017/07/18/first-episode-of-new-dr-who-to-just-be-men-explaining-concept-of-time-travel-to-jodie-whittaker/ [accessed 16 February 2018]

Chapter 7: Language and ethnicity

7.a Different kinds of migration

If you’re interested in how people are officially classified in terms of migration, you can find out here.
Travis, Alan (2015) Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers: what’s the difference? The Guardian, 28 August, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/28/migrants-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-whats-the-difference [accessed 19 February 2018]

7.b ‘Reverse racism’

Do you think it’s possible to be racist against the ethnic majority? Some people think so. In the following link, David (2014) reports on research that found that white Americans claim to experience racism.
David, M. B. (2014) Study finds white Americans believe they experience more racism than African Americans, Political Blindspot, 3 January, http://politicalblindspot.com/study-finds-white-americans-believe-they-experience-more-racism-than-african-americans/ [accessed 19 February 2018]
Have a look at the many comments on the article. Do they cluster into clear groups in terms of opinions and arguments?

7.c Emerging identities

In the US, ‘nerd’ as an identity category has existed for a long time. ‘Nerd’ has typically been a category associated with European Americans. Recently, however, this category has been associated with African Americans. Look at the following, and see if you can determine why ‘nerd’ is only now available as an identity category for African Americans.

Black Nerd Girls, http://www.blackgirlnerds.com/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

Toby, Mekeisha Madden (2012) The rise of the black nerd in pop culture, CNN, 31 March, http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/31/showbiz/rise-of-black-nerds/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

Black Nerd Blogspot, http://blacknerdsnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/ [accessed 23, 27 April 2018]

Bucholtz, Mary (1999) ‘Why be normal?’: Language and identity practices in a community of nerd girls, Language in Society, 28(02): 203–223.

7.d Zimmerman trial

Rachel Jeantel was a witness in the US trial of George Zimmerman. Mr Zimmerman was being tried for murder, for killing a young black man in Florida called Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman claimed he was acting in self-defence. Rachel Jeantel was talking on her mobile phone with Trayvon just prior to his death and was therefore the only ‘witness’ to his death. During her testimony, a great deal of attention was given to her language use and behaviour on the stand.

Compare the following two texts. How do they differ? In what ways are they the same? Why was Ms Jeantel’s language discussed? Do you think it would have been discussed if she spoke Standard American English?
McWhorter, John (2013) Rachel Jeantel explained, linguistically, Time, 28 June, http://ideas.time.com/2013/06/28/rachel-jeantel-explained-linguistically/ [accessed 27 April 2018]
Rickford, John (2013) Rachel Jeantel’s language in the Zimmerman trial, Language Log, 10 July, http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=5161 [accessed 27 April 2018]

7.e Coca-Cola ad

Read Zimmer’s account of the reaction to Coca-Cola’s multilingual advertisement that was broadcast during the Super Bowl in the US in 2014. Comic group Garlic Jackson created a version in response. What comment do you think Garlic Jackson’s version is making about the original?
Zimmer, Ben (2014) Coca-Cola’s multilingual ‘America the Beautiful’, Language Log, 3 February, http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=10142 [accessed 27 April 2018]
Garlic Jackson advertisement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18mS4cLPOb8&list=TLnOQTv54cCKEUAapEcSFwSyuq6zDRHxWZ [accessed 27 April 2018]
Griner, David (2014) Here’s that Coke ad, now in Klingon, Dothraki and Pig Latin: Comedy troupe gets even more inclusive, Adweek, 5 February, http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/heres-coke-ad-now-klingon-dothraki-and-pig-latin-155502 [accessed 27 April 2018]

7.f Social media and race

In Chapter 4, we discuss hashtags and trending. You can explore the kinds of topics that become popular in social media by looking at the following website. You can then further explore the controversy by looking at the hashtags on Twitter. You may find similar discussions and controversies about ethnicity on Twitter. Which hashtags become trends and which do not? Why do you think some are more popular than others?
BBC (2014) How two friends started a hashtag race row, BBC News Magazine #BBCtrending, 14 February, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26179642?ocid=socialflow_twitter [accessed 27 April 2018]

Jason Osamede Okundaye experienced abuse and threats after some tweets he sent. What does the reaction tell us about conceptions of ethnicity and racism? Do you think the medium of the message was part of the problem?
Okundaye, Jason Osamede (2017) I was accused of saying all white people are racist. This is what happened next . . . The Guardian, 6 August https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/06/i-was-accused-of-saying-of-all-white-people-racist [accessed 19 February 2018]

One advantage to social media is the ability to share information quickly. Without the speed and reach of online communication, it is likely that the following stories would have stayed a very local matter. These kinds of stories remind us that racism is still a very real issue.
BBC News (2017) We don’t tip black people, note to Virginia waitress said, 9 January, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38561883 [accessed 19 February 2018]
Barne, Mo (2016) Man almost dies because flight crew didn’t believe black woman was a doctor, Rolling Out, 13 October, http://rollingout.com/2016/10/13/man-almost-dies-because-flight-crew-didnt-believe-a-black-woman-is-doctor/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

7.g Jafaican

Over the last ten years, there has been a great deal of discussion about a variety of English used in the UK called ‘Jafaican’. Read the following stories, and describe the variety, who uses it and how it is evaluated.
Ashton, Emily (2006) Learn Jafaikan in two minutes, The Guardian, 12 April, http://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/apr/12/research.highereducation [accessed 27 April 2018]
Braier, Rachel (2013) Jafaican it? No we’re not, The Guardian, Mind Your Language blog 30 August, http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2013/aug/30/mind-your-language-jafaican [accessed 27 April 2018]
Pullum, Geoffrey (2011) Jafaican doesn’t exist, Language Log, 28 August, http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3392#more-3392 [accessed 27 April 2018]

Finally, this piece of satire may be amusing. It is also instructive in relation to racism and racial profiling.
McG, Dominic (2018) Middle class white student with dreadlocks held in detention centre, News Biscuit, 17 April, http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2018/04/17/middle-class-white-student-with-dreadlocks-held-in-detention-centre/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

7.h Style shifting

Look at the following video. Can you hear the change in styles? The style switch seems to be led by topic. Compare the discussion of school (3.15) and being a mummy’s girl (3.55). What differences do you notice? Is there a pattern throughout the video of where each speaker uses different styles? Latoya’s mother is bidialectal. How does she use her mastery of two dialects to construct her social identity?

Latoya Forever (2012) Meet my Caribbean Mum, 4 July, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9thWe3JKv8 [accessed 27 April 2018]

7.i Jamila Lyiscott: three ways to speak English

Look at the following film. What is Jamila saying in this film? How does this connect to the theories of language and ethnicity discussed in chapter 7? How does Jamila use variation in language to convey her point? Which three varieties does she use? Why does she have these varieties? What meanings do they have? Is this crossing or something else?

Lyiscott, Jamila (2014) Three ways to speak English, TED Talks, 19 June, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9fmJ5xQ_mc&app=desktop [accessed 27 April 2018]

Zac Cheney-Rice provides some extracts and some commentary on Jamila’s performance.
Cheney-Rice, Zac (2014) This brief talk brilliantly explains what black people hear when white people call them ‘articulate’, Identities.mic, 2 July, http://mic.com/articles/92657/this-brief-talk-brilliantly-explains-what-black-people-hear-when-white-people-call-them-articulate [accessed 27 April 2018]

7.j Reverse positions

A good way of figuring out whether something is racist (or sexist or prejudiced in some way) is to imagine the words or sentiment directed at another group. This is exactly what the following video does. Do you think it makes the point effectively?

BuzzFeed (2014) If Latinos said the stuff white people say, 12 July, http://www.buzzfeed.com/abefg/if-latinos-said-the-stuff-white-people-say [accessed 27 April 2018]

7.k Language change and multiculturalism

Ethnolects are often associated with particular groups, but the presence of a diverse range of people can change the way we all use language.
The following story from Australia draws on linguistic research about the language of all Australians changing because of linguistic diversity. It also gives some pointers on terms found in Australian English.
O’Brien, Abbie (2017) How multiculturalism is changing the way we speak, SBS, 19 March, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/how-multiculturalism-is-changing-the-way-we-speak [accessed 19 February 2018]

7.l Cultural appropriation

Something we didn’t discuss in Chapter 7 is cultural appropriation. This term describes and critiques the practice of the majority culture taking something from minority culture. It can include the appropriation (that is, the taking) of clothing, hairstyles, language, cultural practices and music. It is seen as offensive. However, it is not always clear whether something is a case of cultural appropriation or respectful borrowing. We can consider crossing in this context. As we describe in Chapter 7, Rampton describes crossing as using a language variety that is not your own. Is this cultural appropriation? Is it offensive?

The following articles can help you think through what cultural appropriation is. Do bear in mind the power dimension involved. If a minority culture takes something from a majority culture, this is likely to be seen as ‘assimilation’. This is very problematic at a policy level.

This is a good account of the term and the practices it describes.
This Week (2018) Cultural appropriation, 18 April, http://www.theweek.co.uk/cultural-appropriation [accessed 27 April 2018]
As cultural appropriation depends on who the majority and minority cultures are, what counts as cultural appropriation varies from place to place.

The following article discusses who gets to own a discourse that was created by black women in the US. Is it acceptable for large corporations to take over something that was generated by people to empower them?
Hope, Clover (2017) Who gets to own ‘black girl magic’? Jezebel, 7 April, https://jezebel.com/who-gets-to-own-black-girl-magic-1793924053 [accessed 27 April 2018]

This article discusses linguistic style and the appropriation of this. Given that identity is constructed and performed by individuals, rather than something that is given, where do you think lines of ‘ownership’ can be drawn? Is imitation flattery or an appropriation of power?
Brown, Kara (2016) Why Meghan Trainor’s cultural appropriation lives in her voice, Jezebel, 10 June, https://jezebel.com/meghan-trainors-cultural-appropriation-lives-in-her-voi-1781756781 [accessed 27 April 2018]

Chapter 8: Language and age

8.a Ageism

When are we ‘old’? As people are living longer, you might think that ageism would decrease. However, being young (or appearing to be young) still seems to be prized. When do you think someone is old? Should that have an influence on how they are regarded and represented?

Lang, Kylie (2016) ‘Old boiler’. ‘Cougars’. ‘Greys’: The prejudice of ageism, The Courier Mail, June 16, http://www.couriermail.com.au/rendezview/old-boiler-cougars-greys-the-prejudice-of-ageism/news-story/3834144788672540c8f1f81e16ffe568 [accessed 20 February 2018]

Some attempts are made at improving representations of older people. Do you think the images on this website help? How would their presence in the linguistic landscape structure space and place?
https://www.springchicken.co.uk/pages/signofthetimes [accessed 20 February 2018]

This story asks about the corporate motivation of a cosmetics company doing away with the term ‘anti-aging’.
Cills, Hazel (2018) Allure doing away with the term ‘anti-aging’ isn’t as radical as it seems, Jezebel, 14 August, https://jezebel.com/allure-doing-away-with-the-term-anti-aging-isnt-as-radi-1797821093 [accessed 26 April 2018]

Humour is a good way of confronting ageism, but it doesn’t always work in expected ways. Watch this spoof advertisement, and decide whether you think it is ageist.
Amazon Echo for older people, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvT_gqs5ETk [accessed 5 April 2018]

As we discussed in the chapter, ageism can also affect younger people. Read the following article and see what you think. Whatever age you are, have you experienced ageism?
O’Donoghue, Caroline (2017) Dear Millennials . . . This is what employers really mean when they say they want a ‘grafter’, The Pool, 19 July, https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/opinion/2017/29/caroline-odonoghue-on-millennial-bashing [accessed 20 February 2018]

8.b Banning ‘youth’ language

These stories describe how young people are blamed for ruining language.
Malvern, Jack (2015) Modern language makes dictionary compiler see, like, red, The Times, 31 March, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/modern-language-makes-dictionary-compiler-see-like-red-l65ww6xrsvt [accessed 26 April 2018]
Pullum, Geoffrey (2018) Emoji are ruining grasp of English, says dumbest language story of the week, Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 April, https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2018/04/23/emoji-are-ruining-grasp-of-english-says-dumbest-language-story-of-the-week/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

A school in South London wanted to ban the use of particular words and phrases. Look at the following articles and the comments they generated. What do you think of the school’s initiative?

Fishwick, Carmen (2013) London school bans pupils from using ‘innit’, ‘like’, and ‘bare’, The Guardian, 15 October, http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/15/london-school-bans-pupils-slang-innit [accessed 5 April 2018]
BBC News (2013) ‘Slang banned from Croydon school to improve student speech’, BBC News, 15 October, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24522809 [accessed 5 April 2018]

You can test your knowledge of British youth language here:
Tobin, Lucy (2009) Pimp your vocab, The Guardian, 15 September, http://www.theguardian.com/education/quiz/2009/sep/15/youth-language-vocab-quiz [accessed 5 April 2018]

Here you will find an article about youth slang in the US:
Kid Zoom (2013) Wonkette’s Teen Korner for Teenz: YOLO Swag Twenty-Three Skidoo Edition, Wonkette, 10 August, http://wonkette.com/525233/wonkettes-teen-korner-for-teenz-yolo-swag-twenty-three-skidoo-edition#more-525233 [accessed 5 April 2018]

8.c Like

‘Like’ is used in a variety of ways, as a quotative and a discourse marker. Read the following and see if you can set out what people don’t like about it.

Hitchens, Christopher (2010) The other L-word, Vanity Fair, 13 January, http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/01/hitchens-like-201001 [accessed 5 April 2018]

Winterman, Denise (2010) Teen slang: What’s, like, so wrong with like? BBC News Magazine, 28 September, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11426737 [accessed 5 April 2018]

8.d Children and swearing

The following story discusses an article by Jay and Jay about children and swearing. Follow the link to listen to the story. What assumptions are made about people who do swear? Does it depend on the person’s identity or the context of talk? Who is ‘allowed’ to swear?
NPR (2014) Like little language vacuum cleaners kids suck up swear words, All Things Considered, 20 April, http://www.npr.org/2014/04/20/304957688/like-little-language-vacuum-cleaners-kids-suck-up-swear-words [accessed 5 April 2018]

Jay, K. L. and Jay, T. B. (2013) A child’s garden of curses: A gender, historical, and age-related evaluation of the taboo lexicon, The American Journal of Psychology, 126(4): 459–475.

8.e Digital and language divides

In Chapter 4, we mentioned the digital divide, the idea that there is a division in society between people who have access to the World Wide Web and those who do not. This article discusses the digital divide in terms of age.
Garrington, Christine (2014) Does digital by default exclude older people? Society Central, 19 June, http://societycentral.ac.uk/2014/06/19/does-digital-by-default-exclude-older-people/ [accessed 5 April 2018]

Wolf reports that there are terms she is not ‘allowed’ to use around her children. What do you think is going on here? Is this a generation gap or something else?
Wolf, Jessica (2016) The seven words I cannot say (around my children), Well, 8 June, https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/08/the-seven-words-i-cannot-say-around-my-children/?emc=edit_tnt_20160608&nlid=37959635&tntemail0=y&_r=1 [accessed 20 February 2018]

8.f Elderly abuse

A report in the UK from the Commission on Improving Dignity in Care for Older People argued for better treatment of elderly people when they are in hospital or undergoing medical care. Watch the following and read the text beneath the film to see if you can find linguistic evidence of age discrimination.
Channel 4 (2012) Patronising the elderly like ‘racist or sexist abuse’, Channel 4 News, 29 February, http://www.channel4.com/news/patronising-the-elderly-like-racist-or-sexist-abuse [accessed 5 April 2018]

8.g Gendron et al. (2016) paper

In the chapter, we discussed Gendron’s research. You can find that research report here and see more of the results.
Gendron, T.L., Welleford, E.A., Inker, J. and White, J.T. (2016) The language of ageism: Why we need to use words carefully. Gerontologist, 56(6):997–1006, 16, https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/geront/gnv066 [accessed 5 April 2018]

Chapter 9: Language, class and symbolic capital

9.a What class are you?

Do you know what social class you are? Do you think it matters? You can see which social class you would belong to in the US or in the UK in the following websites:

USA

Here you can see where you fit in terms of occupation, income, wealth and education when compared to the population of the US.
Tse, Archie and Werschkul, Ben (2005) How class works, The New York Times, 15 May http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/20050515_CLASS_GRAPHIC/index_01.html [accessed 23 February 2018]

The Pew Research Centre also offers a calculator. It is based largely on income. Do you think this is a good indicator of social class?
Fry, Richard and Kochar, Rakesh (2016) Are you in the American middle class? Find out with our income calculator, Pew Research, 11 May, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/05/11/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

UK

At this website, you can see where you fit in the new British class system by answering just a few questions, a small set of those asked in the real survey.
BBC (2013) The Great British class calculator: What class are you? BBC News, 3 April, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22000973 [accessed 23 February 2018]

Australia

The ABC also provides a quiz. You can read the introduction to see what they say about social class and how it is defined.
Ting, Inga, Liu, Ri, Scott, Nathanael and Palmer, Alex (2018) What your habits reveal about social class, ABC, 12 April, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-13/what-your-habits-reveal-about-your-social-class/9610658 [accessed 27 April 2018]

9.b Social class and clothing

The language we use is one way of demonstrating the symbolic capital we have. Clothing is another. Consider the following reports from India about people being banned from particular shopping malls because of the clothing they are wearing. Is the discrimination here about the clothes being worn or something else? Can you think of similar examples in your own locale?
Singh, Rahsmi (2017) Blame India’s deepening class bias, not just malls, for dhoti bans, 21 July, Daily O, http://www.dailyo.in/politics/dhoti-ban-ashish-avikunthak-kolkata-tamil-nadu/story/1/18520.html [accessed 23 February 2018]
Roy, Sandip (2017) A class war is brewing outside the gates of our posh malls and high-rises in India, Huffington Post India, 19 July, http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/07/19/a-class-war-is-brewing-outside-the-gates-of-our-posh-malls-and-h_a_23036849/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

9.c Playing with social class

The following is a compilation of comedy sketches by British comedians Armstrong and Miller. What is the source of humour here? Pay attention to the different aspects of language variation they exploit.
Armstrong and Miller (2010) ‘The Armstrong and Miller Show – WWII Pilots 1’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_b1Y-Rl_Uo [accessed 23 February 2018]

9.d Intersectionality

The following personal account of an indigenous Australian woman gives a good example of intersectionality. What different identities are she and her family required by society to respond do?
Bond, Chelsea (2017) Class is the new black: The dangers of an obsession with the ‘Aboriginal middle class, 28 June, ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-28/opinion-class-is-the-new-black-chelsea-bond/8655544 [accessed 5 April 2018]

9.e Scotland

Lochs

The following film instructs people how to ‘correctly’ pronounce ‘loch’. What do you think about his claim that this is the proper way to pronounce this word?
Scottish Geeks (2013) How to pronounce loch, 24 April, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRiWBRS3OC8 [accessed 23 February 2018]

Glasgow: Maryhill

Jane Stuart Smith and her colleagues spoke to teenagers from Maryhill. In the following special news report, you can find out more about Maryhill. You can also hear a range of Scottish English in this report.
Evening Times (2010) Inside Glasgow: Maryhill, 1 March, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWMXdUWc8C8 [accessed 23 February 2018]

9.e Names and social class

Listen to the following podcast about names and social class. Do you think the argument is convincing? Will this change the way you think about people because of their name?
Freakonomics (2013) How much does your name matter? A new Freakonomics radio podcast, 8 April, http://freakonomics.com/2013/04/08/how-much-does-your-name-matter-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

9.f Money and class

Around the world, there is an ongoing discussion about benefit fraud and tax evasion. Benefit fraud refers to people claiming social welfare from the government by misrepresenting their income, assets and living situation. Tax evasion refers to the ability to legally avoid tax by drawing on expert financial advisors. Consider whether ideologies about social class are involved in the perceptions of benefit fraud and tax evasion in the following links.

Morris, Toby (2017) The Pencilsword: Greed versus need, 2 August, The Wireless, http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/the-pencilsword-greed-vs-need [accessed 23 February 2018]
Quinn, Ben (2017) Outrage at eviction company advert calling tenants ‘household pests’, The Guardian, 5 August, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/05/eviction-company-advert-calls-tenants-household-pests [accessed 23 February 2018]

9.g Class in Hong Kong

There has been a great deal of debate about what social class means in Hong Kong. Can you identify themes from chapter 9 in the following news reports? Compare the news reports with research about language regard and social class (Lai 2010).
Ngo, Jennifer (2013) Dollars – not coffee – define social status, say Hongkongers, South China Morning Post, 5 September, http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1303450/dollars-not-coffee-define-social-status-say-hongkongers [accessed 23 February 2018]
Xueying, Li (2013) Hong Kong asks: What does it mean to be middle class? The Nation, 16 March, http://epaper.chinadailyasia.com/focus-hk/article-142.html [accessed 23 February 2018]
Kui-Wai, Li (2013) How to define the ‘middle class’? China Daily, 15 March, http://epaper.chinadailyasia.com/focus-hk/article-142.html [accessed 23 February 2018]
Lai, M. L. (2010) Social class and language attitudes in Hong Kong, International Multilingual Research Journal, 4(2), 83–106.

9.h Chips

In Chapter 9, we described Freedman and Jurafksy’s research on potato chips/crisps. They argue that this is related to social class and authenticity. Why is potato chip marketing related to class? You may find it helpful to read the following articles. Are there other products that are marketed in the same way?
Keller, Sarah Jane (2011) Enticing words printed on bags of potato chips have a lot to say about social class, Stanford researchers find, Stanford News, 30 November http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/november/potato-chips-class-113011.html [accessed 23 February 2018]
Matwick, Keri and Matwick, Kelis (2014) What your preferred package of potato chips says about you, The Alligator, 29 May, http://www.alligator.org/the_avenue/food/article_94840120-e6e0-11e3-abf0-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm [accessed 23 February 2018]
You can find the original paper here:
Freedman, J. and Juraksy, D. (2011) Authenticity in America: Class distinctions in potato chip advertising, Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies, 11(4): 46–54, https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/freedmanjurafsky2011.pdf [accessed 23 February 2018]

Emma Brockes argues that sandwiches are also linked to social class. Read her editorial and see if you agree.
Brockes, Emma (2017) What does a sandwich choice say about your class? The Guardian, 20 July, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/20/sandwich-choice-class-us-british [accessed 23 February 2018]

Finally, you might be interested in the following account of the importance attached to Ferrero Rocher chocolates by people in different parts of the world.
Aghajanian, Liana (2018) How Ferrero Rocher became a status symbol for immigrant families, Thrillist, 27 April, https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/ferrero-rocher-chocolates-status-symbol-immigrants [accessed 27 April 2018]

9.i Educational issues

This news article discusses some of the challenges involved in teaching children from a variety of social backgrounds. What words are used to describe levels of educational attainment? How does this affect your understanding of the issue? What experts are consulted to explain this issue (see Chapter 4)? Compare the report to the research (Demie and Lewis 2011) to see how faithful the news report is to the original research.

Garner, Richard (2014) Exclusive: Poor white pupils need extra help with English, The Independent, 26 June, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/exclusive-poor-white-pupils-need-extra-help-with-english-9566513.html [accessed 23 February 2018]
Demie, Feyisa and Lewis, Kirstin (2011) White working class achievement: an ethnographic study of barriers to learning in schools, Educational Studies, 37:3, 245–264.

And consider this: trainee teachers were apparently told to modify their accents. Do you think that will help the issues with attainment that Demie and Lewis describe?
Weale, Sally (2016) Trainee teachers from northern England told to modify their accents, The Guardian, 12 May, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/may/12/trainee-teachers-from-northern-england-told-to-modify-their-accents [accessed 23 February 2018]

9.j Prescriptivism and social class

In earlier chapters, we discussed standard language ideology. This affects not just how people speak but also how they write. Consider the following article. Do you think the standard language ideology is related to social class? Can you find evidence of this in the way the arguments are made in the article?

Devoe, Philip H. (2017) No, insisting on proper English grammar and spelling is not ‘elitist’, National Review, 1 September, https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/09/proper-english-grammar-not-elitist/ [accessed 23 February 2018]

Chapter 10: Global Englishes

10.a Global English

The estimates of how widely English is spoken around the world vary. Some think that linguistic diversity is a cause for celebration:
Driffill, Rosie (2017) From Seaspeak to Singlish: celebrating other kinds of English, The Guardian, 11 March, https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2017/mar/11/from-seaspeak-to-singlish-celebrating-other-kinds-of-english [accessed 4 March 2018]

There has also been a backlash against English and how it is taught in some countries. You can read more about that here:
Skapinker, Michael (2016) Mind your language: the fightback against global English, Financial Times, 23 September, https://www.ft.com/content/5ee11a7a-7f32-11e6-8e50-8ec15fb462f4 [accessed 4 March 2018]

It has also been argued that the Internet is changing how we learn and use language.
O’Brien, Jane (2012) Learn English online: How the Internet is changing language, BBC News Magazine, 14 December, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20332763 [accessed 4 March 2018]

Here you’ll find more information about the languages people use online:
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm [accessed 4th March 2018]

Finally, this article has some information about Twitter and language choice.
Keating, Joshua (2013) Top countries on Twitter, Slate, 10 January, http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/01/10/the_most_popular_countries_and_languages_on_twitter.html [accessed 4 March 2018]

10.b Urban language diversity

While many nations consider themselves monolingual, multilingual societies are found around the world. This diversity has led researchers in sociolinguistics to call for attention to ‘superdiversity’. The first set of links help you explore the linguistic diversity that is found especially in urban centres. The following references can be consulted for more information about superdiversity. In short, superdiversity acknowledges that the traditional ways of identifying people (class, gender, age, ethnicity) are not inclusive or stable enough to reflect what is really happening. Scholars urge us to take notice of the particularity of human experience in order to fully understand what people are doing with language.

London: von Ahn, Michelle, Lupton, Ruth, Greenwood, Charley and Wiggins, Disk (2011) Languages, ethnicity and education in London, http://www.restore.ac.uk/UPTAP/wordpress/index.php#sthash.Rw4mKSTb.dpuf [accessed 4 March 2018]

New York: a map of tweets by language in New York, http://ny.spatial.ly/. For more information about this research, see Cheshire, James (2013) Mapped: Twitter languages in New York, spatial.ly, 20 February, http://spatialanalysis.co.uk/?p=3978 [accessed 4 March 2018]

You can read about superdiversity in Australia here:
Tewari, Shilpi and Beynon, David (2018) The rise of the super-diverse ‘ethnoburbs’, The Conversation, 5 February, https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-super-diverse-ethnoburbs-90926 [accessed 27 April 2018]

You can read about superdiversity in New Zealand here:
Chen, Mai (2015) Superdiversity has reached critical mass – it’s New Zealand’s future, New Zealand Herald, 19 October, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11531147 [accessed 27 April 2018]

Scholarly papers on superdiversity

Blommaert, J. and Rampton, B. (2011) Language and superdiversity, Diversities, 13(2) www.unesco.org/shs/diversities/vol13/issue2/art1 [accessed 4 March 2018]

Blommaert, J. (2013). Superdiversity, Ethnography and Linguistic Landscapes: Chronicles of Complexity.Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Blackledge, A., Creese, A. and Takhi, J. K. (2013) Language, Superdiversity and education, in de Saint-Georges, I and Weber, J-J (eds) Multilingualism and Multimodality. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers: 59–80.

10.c Language in India

The following articles and news reports set out the different pressures and polices at work in India with regard to language use and language policy. Do you think language policy should be determined by government with reference to what citizens think? Find out how many languages are spoken in India. Why do you think the focus is on Hindi and English?

Jeffrey, Craig (2014) English explodes in India – and it’s not just Hinglish, BBC News Magazine, 30 June, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28054460 [accessed 4 March 2018]

BBC (2014) #BBCtrending: Is there a distinctive ‘Indian English’? BBC, 27 June http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-28062387 [accessed 4 March 2018]

India Today (2014) Hindi language: Congress opposes push, warns of backlash, India Today, 20 June, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/hindi-language-congress-opposes-push-warns-of-backlash/1/367779.html [accessed 4 March 2018]

Nelson, Dean (2014) Indian officials ordered to ditch English for Hindi, The Telegraph, 20 June, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10914978/Indian-officials-ordered-to-ditch-English-for-Hindi.html [accessed 4 March 2018]

Zee Media (2014) Committed to promoting all languages of India: Union Home Ministry’, Zee News, 19 June, http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/committed-to-promoting-all-languages-of-india-union-home-ministry_940956.html [accessed 4 March 2018]

10.d English Mania?

Watch Jay Walker’s talk and then read the comments posted by people from China. Do you think there is an English mania? Is this a positive or negative thing?
Walker, Jay (2009) The world’s English mania, February, http://www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania?language=en [accessed 4 March 2018]

Quite apart from whether people want to learn English, some companies require employees to learn it. You can listen to an interview about how one Japanese company, Rakuten, explains their requirement (and see the transcript) here:
Knowledge@Wharton show (2018) Why a Japanese e-commerce giant made its employees learn English, 28 March, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/do-global-firms-need-a-common-language/ [accessed 27 April 2018]

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the governor of the state of Edo, Mr Godwin Obaseki, used World English day to call for greater attention to local languages.
Nigerian Observer (2018) World English Language Day: Obaseki urges local language promoters to emulate dynamism of English, 25 April, http://nigerianobservernews.com/2018/04/world-english-language-day-obaseki-urges-local-language-promoters-to-emulate-dynamism-of-english/#.WuNTRS7wZdg [accessed 27 April 2018]

Guillaume Thierry argues that the growth of English as a second language can cause problems around comprehension and comprehensibility.
Thierry, Guillaume (2018) The English language is the world’s Achilles’ heel, The Conversation, 3 April, http://theconversation.com/the-english-language-is-the-worlds-achilles-heel-93817 [accessed 27 April 2018]

10.e Singaporean English

You can read more about the politics and history of Singaporean English in the following articles.

Harbeck, James (2016) The language the government tried to supress, BBC, 19 September 2016, http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160919-the-language-the-government-tried-to-suppress? [accessed 4 March 2018]

Au-Yong, Rachel (2016) PM’s press secretary rebuts NYT op-ed on Singlish, The Straits Times, 24 May, http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pms-press-secretary-rebuts-nyt-op-ed-on-singlish [accessed 4 March 2018]

10.f Scots language in Scotland

The following link allows you to explore Scots and hear examples of what it sounds like. The link takes you to an article about time, but you can explore the site from here. Do you think this is a language related to English or not? What do you base this on? When looking at the material on numbers and time, you might like to revisit the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which we covered in chapter 2.

Scots Language Centre, ‘Numbers and Time’, http://www.scotslanguage.com/Numbers_and_Time [accessed 4 March 2018]

10.h Strange ideas about Strine

‘Strine’ is a word sometimes used to refer to Australian English of a particular kind. In 2015, an argument was made that Australian English sounds the way it does because early settlers were drunk. You can read about the argument in the following stories.
What do you think of arguments like this? What kinds of language ideology are at work?

Scott, Kellie (2015) Claims Aussie accent slurred because our forefathers were always drunk ‘absolute rubbish’ says expert, ABC News, 28 October, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-28/aussies-slur-their-words-because-our-forefathers-were-drunk/6892910 [accessed 4 March 2018]

Bastow, Clem (2015) The ‘drunken Aussie accent theory’ is another slur on our rich use of English, The Guardian, 20 October, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/30/the-drunken-aussie-accent-theory-is-another-slur-on-our-rich-use-of-english [accessed 4 March 2018]

Blair, Olivia (2015) Australian accent is a product of early settlers’ heavy drinking, claims academic, The Independent, 28 October, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/australian-accent-is-a-product-of-early-settlers-heavy-drinking-claims-academic-a6711486.html [accessed 4 March 2018]

10.i Expanding Circle Englishes

The focus on global Englishes is often on outer circle varieties. But expanding circle nations also develop their own forms of English. Look at the following articles about Denglish – German English. Do you think this is a language or a case of language change?

Diebel, Frank H. (2017) What is Denglisch and why is it so catchy? The New European, 12 January, http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/culture/what-is-denglisch-and-why-is-it-so-catchy-1-4846350? [accessed 4 March 2018]

The Guardian (2013) Germans are speaking Denglish – by borrowing words from us, The Guardian, 25 June https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2013/jun/25/germans-speak-denglish-borrowing-english-words [accessed 4 March 2018]

10.j Will English always be global?

The linguist Professor David Crystal talks about the state and future of Global English. Does the content of his talk surprise you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kvs8SxN8mc (British Council, Serbia) [accessed 4 March 2018]