Chapter 8
Please note that the labels on each recording (for example, "Chicago English" or "Black English") were provided by the person who made the recording available for you to listen to. Other linguists or individuals may not agree on the description as it stands. The best example of this: you'll note that some recordings are marked "general" American, which is problematic for the same reasons the term "standard" English is problematic.
Audio Examples
Audio
Accent |
Chapter |
Page # |
Online Example Title |
URL |
Standard American English |
8 |
203 |
International Dialects of English Archive: General American |
|
Korean accent |
8 |
203 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of Korea |
|
Black English |
8 |
204 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Alabama Four (African-American female, born 1928, Chambers County, AL) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/alabama-4 |
New Yawkese |
8 |
204 |
International Dialects of English Archive: New York Three (Puerto Rican male age 49, The Bronx) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/new-york-3 |
Alaskan accent (Palin) |
8 |
212 |
The New York Times, Sarah Palin's Speech at the Republican National Convention |
http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/conventions/videos/20080903_PALIN_SPEECH.html |
African American English |
8 |
213 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Alabama Four (African-American female, born 1928, Chambers County, AL) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/alabama-4 |
Asian L2 accent |
8 |
213 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Dialects and Accents of Asia |
|
AAVE |
8 |
222 |
International Dialects of English Archive: Alabama Four (African-American female, born 1928, Chambers County, AL) |
http://www.dialectsarchive.com/alabama-4 |
Discussion questions
1. Listen to the sample of Sarah Palin’s Alaskan dialect*. Chapter 8 describes how both Sarah Palin and her detractors use her dialect as a tool to frame her in different ways. What do you think about her dialect? Which frame does her dialect reinforce for you?
2. Listen to the samples of African American English* and English with an Asian L2 accent found in the International Dialects of English Archive. These language varieties are mentioned in the discussion of mocking on page 137. Have you ever heard anybody mock AAVE or Asian accents? What was the context? What did this mocking reveal about the mocker’s language ideology?
Videos
“Palin / Hillary Open”
Saturday Night Live
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/palin__hillary_open/656281
This video clip provides material for the discussion of the way the media framed Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential election.
“Is Calling Obama ‘articulate’ bad?”
MSNBC News, 3/09/2007
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/is-calling-obama-articulate-bad/6yy5el7
This video clip provides material for the discussion of how Barack Obama was framed in the 2008 presidential election.
Discussion questions
1. How does Tina Fey’s parody of Sarah Palin frame Palin? How does Fey’s imitation of Palin’s language variety reinforce this frame?
2. What do you think about Obama being called “articulate” on the campaign trail after watching this clip and reading Chapter 8?
Further Resources
Lakoff, G. (2004) Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives. White River Junction: Chelsea Green.
Pinker, S. (2008) Everything You Heard Is Wrong. The New York Times. October 4.
Staples, B. (2008) Barack Obama, John McCain and the Language of Race. The New York Times. September 22.
Images
Sarah Palin as the “Bard of Wasilla”
http://mariopiperni.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Palin_Shakespeare2.jpg
Obama “Snob” poster
http://crushliberalism.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/snob.jpg
Links
FactCheck.org
http://factcheck.org/
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
http://www.fair.org/index.php
RSS & Blogs
Language Watch: Doublethink from A to Zaxlebax: http://atozaxlebax.blogspot.com/