As we have learned over and over again in this course, language is extremely political. In this episode we can see how widespread English use in an area means British power in that area.
For example, in India British traders at first learned the Indian language and accquired some styles of Indian dress and customs. At that time, Great Britian was merely a trading partner. However, as the British took rule over areas a little at a time they stopped adapting to Indian customs and a new relationship began to form.
The English were the ruling power and, therefore, the highest class. They did not speak the Indian language, they spoke Enligsh. This meant that all of the best jobs were with the British in English. English became a sign of wealth and education that made people want to learn it.
The other side to the power of the English language in that sense is that by refusing to learn the Indian languages the British declared it as inferior. The same is true for their refusal to follow Indian customs and styles of dress. As people switched to English it was a form of control of the population and proving the power that the English held. By having everyone speak the English language, this forced their thoughts and words to be moulded by the words and rules of the language. Language also shapes culture, and thus shaped the Indian culture by nudging the British culture their way.
"Language of Empire." The Adventure of English. Dir. Nigel Wattis. Melvyn Bragg. LWT, 2003.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The Adventure of English: Important People
Swift hated people shortening and abbreviating words. He preferred Latin and Greek because they never changed. Swift wanted to save the English language by never letting it change. He wanted to create an academy to protect English from change and slang and to make sure everyone spoke it correctly. He believed that only Classical English would endure. His plans for the academy were ruined when the German king, who neither spoke nor cared about English, took power.
Dr. Samuel Johnson was next with his idea for the dictionary. He finished it in seven years but it was far from complete. He left out words he couldn't understand, proper nouns, words in law and medicine, and included old words written by important people even if they weren't in use anymore.
William Cobbet taught himself grammar rules to be able to move up in class. He thought the only way to move up in society was writing correctly, and once you did that you would speak correctly as well.
Thomas Sheraton took up the role of National Elocutionist and made a book about how to speak and write correctly, including how to pronounce words correctly.
Robert Burns published a book of poems specifically in the Scottish dialect and gave pride to the Scottish people and their way of speech.
William Wordsworth began to write poetry as it moved from specifically work of the upper class to romantic and revolutionary language. He felt that poetry should be written in a language that people actually used. But he felt that poetry should not be composed of simple language.
Jane Austen helped the novel acquire legitimacy in the intellectual world with the wit and depth that she included in her novels. She wrote about social life in her time, but did not use language of the streets. She wrote very correct and intelligent English. She also refused to mention or allude to human body parts or words of work or trade because it was not proper.
In the past, English was seen as an "unruly mob" that needed to be controlled by order, grammar, and many many rules. It was an age of prescriptionism. The problem with this theory was that, although many versions of English were being used, only one was viewed as correct. This lead to prejudice and discrimination based on use of language. As stated many times in the video, language and class went hand and hand. People were put into classes based on how they spoke because it was seen as a reflection of their intellect.
Now, most people view language from a more descriptivist point of view. And, even the prescriptionists aren't nearly as strict as they used to be. It is recognized that many different versions of English exist, and people are more tolerant of accents as English spreads as a very common second language. Also, English words and phrases are spreading faster and wider than ever before with the internet. Phrases or words (or whatever they are, I don't even know) such as YOLO, BRB, TTYL, and the notorious #hashtag are everywhere. This means that the English language is changing at such a rate that it would be impossible to prescribe strict rules for it.
"Speaking Proper." The Adventure of English. Dir. Nigel Wattis. Melvyn Bragg. LWT, 2003.
Dr. Samuel Johnson was next with his idea for the dictionary. He finished it in seven years but it was far from complete. He left out words he couldn't understand, proper nouns, words in law and medicine, and included old words written by important people even if they weren't in use anymore.
William Cobbet taught himself grammar rules to be able to move up in class. He thought the only way to move up in society was writing correctly, and once you did that you would speak correctly as well.
Thomas Sheraton took up the role of National Elocutionist and made a book about how to speak and write correctly, including how to pronounce words correctly.
Robert Burns published a book of poems specifically in the Scottish dialect and gave pride to the Scottish people and their way of speech.
William Wordsworth began to write poetry as it moved from specifically work of the upper class to romantic and revolutionary language. He felt that poetry should be written in a language that people actually used. But he felt that poetry should not be composed of simple language.
Jane Austen helped the novel acquire legitimacy in the intellectual world with the wit and depth that she included in her novels. She wrote about social life in her time, but did not use language of the streets. She wrote very correct and intelligent English. She also refused to mention or allude to human body parts or words of work or trade because it was not proper.
In the past, English was seen as an "unruly mob" that needed to be controlled by order, grammar, and many many rules. It was an age of prescriptionism. The problem with this theory was that, although many versions of English were being used, only one was viewed as correct. This lead to prejudice and discrimination based on use of language. As stated many times in the video, language and class went hand and hand. People were put into classes based on how they spoke because it was seen as a reflection of their intellect.
Now, most people view language from a more descriptivist point of view. And, even the prescriptionists aren't nearly as strict as they used to be. It is recognized that many different versions of English exist, and people are more tolerant of accents as English spreads as a very common second language. Also, English words and phrases are spreading faster and wider than ever before with the internet. Phrases or words (or whatever they are, I don't even know) such as YOLO, BRB, TTYL, and the notorious #hashtag are everywhere. This means that the English language is changing at such a rate that it would be impossible to prescribe strict rules for it.
"Speaking Proper." The Adventure of English. Dir. Nigel Wattis. Melvyn Bragg. LWT, 2003.
Monday, January 21, 2013
The Story of English Episode Six: O Pioneers!
This episode was the most interesting to me so far because it focused on accents that I've heard and can relate to. I liked the part about how the American accent developed in a way through the Webster's dictionary as it taught people to put equal weight on both syllables. Nearly all of the newcomers to the New World used this dictionary to learn the new language and, as a result, they learned to speak with an American accent. This accent has now come to be known as American English.
The part about the differences between Canadian and American accents was also cool because I have a lot Canadian friends and though I have spent much time making fun of their accents I had never known why they were different from mine. Now I know. Though the one thing I didn't really understand so well was why the Loyalists' speech was different from everyone else's to begin with... Excuse my rusty US history.
The comparison between the Canadian "ey" and American "a huh" was helpful because I had never though about the "ey" from a Canadain point of view: it's just something everyone says because everyone hears it all the time because everyone says it. I guess it could also be similar to "y'all" in that way because people who say "y'all" don't notice it nearly as much as people who don't.
Some cool fun fact about the origins of phrases and stuff:
- The term 'bucks' for money comes from trading buckskins
- Wide-spread beaver hunting and skin trading lead to terms like "eager beaver"
- The phrase (and its variations) "pan out" from gold mining
- The words bum and bummer actually come from German, which is nifty because I say that all the time
"These cowboys are not recently arrived Mexican immigrants, they're Americans"
"Pioneers! O Pioneers!." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid, William Cran. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Story of English Episode Five: It Don't Matter if You're Black or White
My first impression of this episode: wow this seems so old.
I mean, it is literally called "Black on White." Is it even legal to use terms like that anymore? Not socially. I feel uncomfortable calling the little walking guy, who happens to be colored by white lights, on the crossing sign the white man (as opposed to the red man for stop). It's dumb, cause it's obviously a little white man, but still. Race has been put into little colored boxes, and I'm not saying they fit, but now it's impossible to pick up those boxes with out picking up what's inside of them.
This episode places "white" and "black" races into very different boxes very quickly. From the very first minute to be precise. I think this was a pretty bad move on their part because this immediately places the languages into very different boxes. And, well, this is not always the case.
They spend a lot of time talking about "black cultural traditions," which is weird because if someone tried to tell me about white cultural traditions I would spit at them or something. What does that even mean?
English, as we have learned, is composed of very many varieties of European languages. So the "black" part of it is a combination of very many African and Caribbean languages and cultures, many more than we can count or label.
I just feel like this episode was approached very tactlessly. African influence on English is important and interesting, but the way all the narrator discusses it made me scowl my way through the videos. We talk a lot about race in this class and how it actually doesn't exist, and obviously what I learn affects how I think. I mean last year we basically had a whole unit on it. The way this video approached language from a specifically racial point of view made me really not want to watch it. Obviously it was never really offensive or anything, and as of yet no one has made any really angry remarks in the comments regarding this fact. It was just weird to see race and language put in that way, when it would be extremely strange to see it in a similar documentary made in 2012.
"Black on White." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid, William Cran. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
I mean, it is literally called "Black on White." Is it even legal to use terms like that anymore? Not socially. I feel uncomfortable calling the little walking guy, who happens to be colored by white lights, on the crossing sign the white man (as opposed to the red man for stop). It's dumb, cause it's obviously a little white man, but still. Race has been put into little colored boxes, and I'm not saying they fit, but now it's impossible to pick up those boxes with out picking up what's inside of them.
This episode places "white" and "black" races into very different boxes very quickly. From the very first minute to be precise. I think this was a pretty bad move on their part because this immediately places the languages into very different boxes. And, well, this is not always the case.
They spend a lot of time talking about "black cultural traditions," which is weird because if someone tried to tell me about white cultural traditions I would spit at them or something. What does that even mean?
English, as we have learned, is composed of very many varieties of European languages. So the "black" part of it is a combination of very many African and Caribbean languages and cultures, many more than we can count or label.
I just feel like this episode was approached very tactlessly. African influence on English is important and interesting, but the way all the narrator discusses it made me scowl my way through the videos. We talk a lot about race in this class and how it actually doesn't exist, and obviously what I learn affects how I think. I mean last year we basically had a whole unit on it. The way this video approached language from a specifically racial point of view made me really not want to watch it. Obviously it was never really offensive or anything, and as of yet no one has made any really angry remarks in the comments regarding this fact. It was just weird to see race and language put in that way, when it would be extremely strange to see it in a similar documentary made in 2012.
"Black on White." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid, William Cran. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The Story of English Episode Four: Gaelic
Thes episode focuses purely oan th' scottish accent an aw as scottish influence oan th' spreid an' evolution ay th' sassenach leid. an' they mentioned aberdeen, sae ay coorse Ah got aw excited. it's a pure strange hin' tae ken 'at someain is a natife sassenach speaker an' 'en nae kin a wuid they say when they spick it. thes happened a coople times tae me durin' th' episode an' Ah was huir uv a grateful fur th' subtitles. the part abit rabbie burns was interestin' coz Ah huvnae reid much ay his poetry an' did nae ken 'at he was sae against th' sassenach leid. Ah only kent 'at he was a famoos scottish poit an' 'at he hud written auld lang syne. haur is a mair traditional version ay th' sang played oan bags, an' haur is a mair modern version ay th' sang, also played oan bags, yit shows incorporation ay sassenach graphite loons styles loch rock intae a huir uv a traditional part ay scottish culture.
Ah also foond it sad 'at th' sassenach leid an' culture was daein' sae much damage tae th' heelain culture ay scootlund. Ah fin' th' accent frae 'at area bonnie an' charmin'. th' fact 'at those tois wee jimmies, john northguid an' calum kin', hud felt th' need tae change th' way they spoke when they moved intae th' lowlands coz ay th' way they waur bein' treated fur their gaelic accents is sic' a sham. we mentioned thes in class a wee bit, 'at coontries ur takin' oan sassenach an' therefair natife languages ur havin' trooble survivin'. when compared tae india, thaur ur mony similarities in th' way sassenach reached baith areas: by force. however, india noo functions largely in sassenach an' knowin' th' leid can be considered a sign ay class an' education. in heelain scootlund, thes isnae th' case. th' traditional leid ay gaelic is fightin' tae bide alife an' keep th' culture ay th' area frae bein' forgotten.
Translation:
This episode focuses purely on the Scottish accent as well as Scottish influence on the spread and evolution of the English language. And they mentioned Aberdeen, so of course I got all excited.
It's a really strange thing to know that someone is a native English speaker and then not understand a word they say when they speak it. This happened a couple times to me during the episode and I was very grateful for the subtitles.
The part about Robert Burns was interesting because I haven't read much of his poetry and did not know that he was so against the English language. I only knew that he was a famous Scottish poet and that he had written Auld Lang Syne. Here is a more traditional version of the song played on bagpipes, and here is a more modern version of the song, also played on bagpipes, yet shows incorporation of English music styles like rock into a very traditional part of Scottish culture.
I also found it sad that the English language and culture was doing so much damage to the highland culture of Scotland. I find the accent from that area beautiful and charming. The fact that those two boys, John Northgood and Calum King, had felt the need to change the way they spoke when they moved into the lowlands because of the way they were being treated for their Gaelic accents is such a shame.
We mentioned this in class a little bit, that countries are taking on English and therefore native languages are having trouble surviving. When compared to India, there are many similarities in the way English reached both areas: by force. However, India now functions largely in English and knowing the language can be considered a sign of class and education. In highland Scotland, this is not the case. The traditional language of Gaelic is fighting to stay alive and keep the culture of the area from being forgotten.
"The Guid Scots Tongue." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
Ah also foond it sad 'at th' sassenach leid an' culture was daein' sae much damage tae th' heelain culture ay scootlund. Ah fin' th' accent frae 'at area bonnie an' charmin'. th' fact 'at those tois wee jimmies, john northguid an' calum kin', hud felt th' need tae change th' way they spoke when they moved intae th' lowlands coz ay th' way they waur bein' treated fur their gaelic accents is sic' a sham. we mentioned thes in class a wee bit, 'at coontries ur takin' oan sassenach an' therefair natife languages ur havin' trooble survivin'. when compared tae india, thaur ur mony similarities in th' way sassenach reached baith areas: by force. however, india noo functions largely in sassenach an' knowin' th' leid can be considered a sign ay class an' education. in heelain scootlund, thes isnae th' case. th' traditional leid ay gaelic is fightin' tae bide alife an' keep th' culture ay th' area frae bein' forgotten.
Translation:
This episode focuses purely on the Scottish accent as well as Scottish influence on the spread and evolution of the English language. And they mentioned Aberdeen, so of course I got all excited.
It's a really strange thing to know that someone is a native English speaker and then not understand a word they say when they speak it. This happened a couple times to me during the episode and I was very grateful for the subtitles.
The part about Robert Burns was interesting because I haven't read much of his poetry and did not know that he was so against the English language. I only knew that he was a famous Scottish poet and that he had written Auld Lang Syne. Here is a more traditional version of the song played on bagpipes, and here is a more modern version of the song, also played on bagpipes, yet shows incorporation of English music styles like rock into a very traditional part of Scottish culture.
I also found it sad that the English language and culture was doing so much damage to the highland culture of Scotland. I find the accent from that area beautiful and charming. The fact that those two boys, John Northgood and Calum King, had felt the need to change the way they spoke when they moved into the lowlands because of the way they were being treated for their Gaelic accents is such a shame.
We mentioned this in class a little bit, that countries are taking on English and therefore native languages are having trouble surviving. When compared to India, there are many similarities in the way English reached both areas: by force. However, India now functions largely in English and knowing the language can be considered a sign of class and education. In highland Scotland, this is not the case. The traditional language of Gaelic is fighting to stay alive and keep the culture of the area from being forgotten.
"The Guid Scots Tongue." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The Story of English Episode Two: Native English Varieties
Episode two was mainly based on like how English came about in the (now) British Isles and France. I personally preferred episode one because it was more modern and relevant, but hey the old stuff is important too.
I though it was interesting that English was threatening survival of celtic languages in France, England, Scotland, and Wales in a similar way, it may be argued, as is it threatening the survival of other native languages around the world.
The fact that old English is taught like a foreign language was cool because listening to it in the film it didn't seem to foreign. It was semi understandable and very familiar sounding. The sounds were similar and recognizable but the meaning behind them was just missed. The Dutch and German tones are very evident and can be heard in the accent and pronunciation of old English. The quick old English grammar lesson that it is the "form of the words, not word order, which gives the sentence its meaning"(1). Also that it would be easy to make a sentence of words of anglo-saxon origin is cool because I probably use many words of anglo-saxon origin every day and have no idea.
Also a shoutout to Albert the Great because without him this blog post would probably sound a little different. If it weren't for him my language would be pretty much wiped out.
And I liked the story about the man (I couldn't understand his name, much less how to spell it. Erwin Belbie?) with the strong traditional yorkshire accent. It strange how he was finding it difficult to communicate with other English speakers because of the differences in accent because his was so strong. This relates back to a point in my previous post that really there is no correct or good English because even native English speakers have huge varieties in accent and vocabulary.
And it was pretty cool of them to just drop all the fancy endings and replace them with the 's. Definitely deeply appreciated.
1. "The Mother Tongue." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
I though it was interesting that English was threatening survival of celtic languages in France, England, Scotland, and Wales in a similar way, it may be argued, as is it threatening the survival of other native languages around the world.
The fact that old English is taught like a foreign language was cool because listening to it in the film it didn't seem to foreign. It was semi understandable and very familiar sounding. The sounds were similar and recognizable but the meaning behind them was just missed. The Dutch and German tones are very evident and can be heard in the accent and pronunciation of old English. The quick old English grammar lesson that it is the "form of the words, not word order, which gives the sentence its meaning"(1). Also that it would be easy to make a sentence of words of anglo-saxon origin is cool because I probably use many words of anglo-saxon origin every day and have no idea.
Also a shoutout to Albert the Great because without him this blog post would probably sound a little different. If it weren't for him my language would be pretty much wiped out.
And I liked the story about the man (I couldn't understand his name, much less how to spell it. Erwin Belbie?) with the strong traditional yorkshire accent. It strange how he was finding it difficult to communicate with other English speakers because of the differences in accent because his was so strong. This relates back to a point in my previous post that really there is no correct or good English because even native English speakers have huge varieties in accent and vocabulary.
And it was pretty cool of them to just drop all the fancy endings and replace them with the 's. Definitely deeply appreciated.
1. "The Mother Tongue." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
The Story of English Episode One: English and Marriage
So there are lots of fun facts about English. Mostly stuff I had no idea about before, like the fact that for all air travel the official language is English. And that in parts of scotland the first language is Gaelic, not English. Crazy stuff.
However, the most interesting part to me was the one with the Indian school girls and how they all viewed English. The introduction to this section was just English in India in general with an interesting interview with Prof. P. Lal. He said, "more indians speaking better english than ever before, and there are more indians speaking worse english than ever before," which was interesting because the narrator had just been talking about how there is no real perfect way to speak English anymore (1). So maybe Lal was wrong in saying that Indians are speaking worse English than before, maybe it is just a new Indian form of English as more and more people adopt the language.
Also, just a little ps, I found this video if you ever want to give this assignment in a much more condensed form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rexKqvgPVuA
1. "An English Speaking World." The Story of English. Writ. Robert McCrum and Robert MacNeil. Dir. William Cran, Peter Dale, Vivian Ducat, Howard Reid. BBC MCML XXXVI. YouTube.
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