Post on 08-Jan-2022
5/26/09
1
KyuwonMoonRebeccaGreene
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Questionsfromlastweek? SlidesupuntilMay19thhavenowbeenpostedonline LinktolearningtheIPAisnowonthediscussionsite
Questionsabouttoday’sreadings? ReadingsforTuesday:notthechapter,butavailablefordownloadonthecoursewebsite:1. howfalsettoisconnectedtogaymalespeech2. howweperceiveconsonantsbasedonspeakergender
Prompt8nowpostedLing156A:LanguageandGender
Concepts Casestudies
1.EasternKentuckyEnglish 2.Japanesewomen’slanguage
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
WhatisthestudyofSociolinguisticVariation?o Thestudyofthewaylanguagevariesandchangesincommunitiesofspeakers
o Concentratesinparticularontheinteractionofsocialfactorsandlinguisticstructures
Variables “Morethanonewayofsayingthesamething”(E&M:269)
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
MorphosyntacticVariationo Idon’tneedyouanymore./Idon’tneedyounomore.
PhoneticVariationo (IN/ING):playing/playin’
Whatdoesavariabletellus? e.g.,saying[biәg] for ‘bag’ e.g.,sayingdeclarativesentenceswithUptalkintonation
e.g.,usingalong,aspirated/t/‐release
Socialmeaningandidentity
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
5/26/09
2
Linguisticmarket(Bourdieu1977,1991) Wherelinguisticcompetence(includingcommunicativecompetence)functionsascapital
Languagesarealwaysspokeninparticularmarketsandthecharacteristicsofthesemarketsassignthemcertainvalues
Linguisticmarketandlanguagevarieties Themarketvalueofanutterancedependsonthelanguagevarietyinwhichitisframed
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Standardlanguage Globalmarket Thelanguageofsocietalpower Facilitatesaccesstoglobalresources
Vernacularspeech Localmarket Facilitatesaccesstolocalresources
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
RebeccaGreene,“EasternKentuckyEnglish”
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Global: Morevalue:
StandardAmericanEnglish Educated,middle/upperclass,white,Northern/Midwestern,suburban
Getsyousuccessinjobs,school Why?‘STANDARDLANGUAGEIDEOLOGY’
Certainothercountries’Englishaccents England,France
Lessvalue: Regionaldialects
California >‘Fargo’ >NY/Boston >South
Supra‐regional African‐AmericanVernacular
English Youngfemale/Valleygirl Gaymale Non‐native(Asian,Hispanic,
Mideastern,African,EasternEuropean)
De‐valuedhow? ‘Stupid’ ‘Uneducated’ ‘Unsophisticated’ ‘Unintelligible’ ‘Incorrect’ ‘Sloppy/lazy’
De‐valuedwhy?
Neutral‐ish??? AustralianEnglish IrishEnglish ScottishEnglish ScandinavianEnglish
Why?
5/26/09
3
ElliottCounty,Kentucky Population(2008):7280,downfrom10,387in1900
Countyseat:SandyHook,pop.678(2000) Averagehouseholdincome $25,129
Kentuckyaverage $40,267
Residentsbelowpovertyline 25.9% Kentuckyaverage 15.8%
(2007)
Notindustrialized,norailwaysormajorroads Economybasedonothersmallfarming(mostlycattle),manuallaborinsurroundingregions
Only845jobs(2003) LongestcommuteofanycountyintheUnitedStates,at48.7minutes(2000)
Awarenessthatwearelookeddownonbyothers,includingresidentsofsurroundingcounties
Senseofbleakness,“nojobshere” Mostmenworkfaraway Farmingbecomingnotprofitable Diredrugproblem
Andastronglystigmatizedlocalaccent!
“Theylookdownonyou...Theywerelike,‘YouhavethethickestaccentIeverheard.’Iwaslike,‘Leavemealone!’‘Causethey’llpickonyou,‘causetheythinkyou’relike,ahillbilly,likeyouhavenoteeth,andyougobarefootedeverywhereyougo.AndIwaslike,‘Igotshoeson!’”
Well,thelasttimethatsomeonewasguessingwhereIwasfrom,wewereontheplaneandIwasco‐,wewere,wegotintoaconversation,andtheysaid,“Whereareyoufrom?”IthinktheyweregoingtoPennsylvania,I’mnotsure,I’mnotsurewheretheywere,IthinktheywerefromtheNortheastsomewhere.Isaid,“I’mfromKentucky,”andhesaid,“Kintucky?!”Isaid,“well,yes,Kentucky,”butImusthavesaid“Kintucky,”becausehe,helaughed,hesaid,“Kintucky.”Uh,well,andthenwewerecomingbackfromwewereinNewYorkattheairportcomingbackfromoverseasonetimeandthisguywasinfrontandIsaid,“Ithoughttheysaidforustogetinline,”andhislittlewifegotallexcitedandhesaid,“Oh,don’tlistentoher,she’sfromGeorgiaorsomewhere.”
“I’vehadbottlesofpopthrewatme,I’vehadpeoplemakefunofmyaccent...I’vegottenalot,youknow,just‘Saysomethingagain,hillbillygirl’.”
5/26/09
4
Residentsoftenexpress‘oppositionalidentity’,regardingtherestoftheworld,whichisregardedasmoreliketheNorthandthe‘bigcity’
“ItdoesirkmewhenIgotoGrayson,andyouwritethemacheck,andthey’relike,‘SandyHook,’where’sthat?’Andyou’relike,‘Well,youknowwhat?Justgiveitback.’Um,thatreallybothersme.”[Theydon’tknowwhereSandyHookis?!]“Sometimestheydon’t.Ortheydon’twanttoactliketheydo.Andthatreallyirritatesme,because...soIalwaystrytobuyasmuchasIcaninthecounty.”
All30womenIinterviewedexpressedinterestinmaintainingtheiraccent,despitefrequentlybeingmadefunofforituponleaving
2155unreducedtokens,withatleast38tokensfromeachspeaker
ExcludedI,my Analyzedperceptually,categoricallyasmonophthongordiphthong
[a:]for/ay/isoneofmostsalientfeaturesdistinguishingWhiteSouthernfromNorthernspeech(Bernstein2006)
Despitespeakers’awarenessofstigma,anddespitevaryingdegreesofstandardgrammar,theygenerallymonophthongize/ay/
Only271/2155(13%)tokensdiphthongal 16of30intervieweesusedmonophthongal/ay/exclusively
Only5ofthesixteendiphthongusersexhibitedthediphthongalvariantwithanyregularity(morethan10%oftheirtokens)
5/26/09
5
CurrentlylivinginurbanLexington Fatherissuperintendentofschools Motheriselementaryschoolteacher Worksinabookstore WantstojointheAirForce,traveltheworld,becomeadentist
Enjoysliterature,photography,sushi BUT...wantstospeakwithaccent,anduses57/57[a:]
Whatyouhearwhenyou’regrowingup,that’s,whatyou,that’s,youlearntopronounce[a:]insteadof[ay],andI’vealwayssaid[a:].
I’vealwaysspokenthesameway.I’venevertriedtoemphasizemyaccentorsuppressitbecauseIdon’tthinkthere’sanythingwrongwithit.
[So,ifyouweregoingtobeon,like,youknow,TV,WSAZcameandtheyputthatmicrophoneinyourface,doyouthinkyou’dtrytotalkdifferently,oryou’djustbeyourself?]
I’vealreadyhadtodothatnumeroustimesbecauseofmyjob.Ijusttalktheway,Imean,Ithinkthatyou’regoingtobemakingitmoreobvious,ifyoutrynottotalkthewaythatyoutalk,andyouknow,andtome,thatmakes,makesyou,tomeithitsyouortootherpeoplethatyou’reashamedofwhereyou’refromandhowyoutalk.I’mnotashamedofwhereI’mfromandhowItalk.AndI’mnotgoingtochangeit,youknow...
[Don’tmatterifit’sLarryKing,oranybody,whoeveristalkingtoyou?]
Right.It’snotgoingtomatter.Atall.Youknow,otherpeoplemightfeeldifferently.Myview,I’mnotchanging.IamwhoIam.YoulikemeforwhoIam.NotforwhoyouwantmetobeorwhoIthinkIoughttobe.Thisisthepackage.
[Whatwouldhappenifyoucamebackhereandyoustartedsaying[ay]andstufflikethat?]
They’dprobablythinkyouwerecrazy.
Myroommate’sfromLouisville,andshethinksshe’slike,onahigherlevel‘causeshecansay,like,right[rait],andI’mlike,[ra:t]...andshemakesfunofthewayyousayice...’causeit’slike,she’slike,‘You’renotsayingit,’andI’mlike,‘YesIam!’...SomeguyatArby’s,they’relike,‘Yeah,yousaythatonemoretime,I’macomeoverthatcounterandpunchyou’,Iwaslike‘Ididn’tsayit!’
5/26/09
6
Howdoyouthinka‘standard’speakermightactuallybeperceivedhere?
HowaboutapersonfromadifferentpartoftheSouth?
The‘currency’or‘value’isdifferent
IsitINVERTED?
OrjustDIFFERENT?
DoyouthinkwomeninE.C.speakmore‘standardly’thanmen?
Inplaceswherewomenarefoundtousemore‘standard’language,whymighttheydoso? Jobs?Here,womendodolessmanuallabor... Orsymbolicvalue/capital?Hmm...
Or,shouldwebeasking,whyaremenusingmorenonstandardlanguage?
Arethere‘masculine’and‘feminine’linguisticmarkets?
‘Heterosexual’and‘homosexual’linguisticmarkets?
Japanesewomen’slanguage
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
SeeEckert&McConnell‐Ginet
pp.278‐281
Weperceive“women’slanguage”asafact Thereisacertaintypeandformofspeechthatwomenproduce
Women’slanguageisassumedtohavecertaintraits “Womenspeakmorepolitelythanmen” “Women’sspeechisoftenillogical”
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Criticalpartofcultural/linguisticknowledge “IsoundlikewhatinJapanese?”(http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0917/p19s01‐hfes.html?page=2)
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
“ButIwasdisappointedtolearnthatforthepast2‐1/2years,IhadnotbeenspeakinggoodJapanese.Suddenly,shefiredoffalistofthemistakesIhadapparentlymadeumpteentimes.ShesaidherfriendshadoftensnickeredwhenIreferredtomyselfinthethirdperson,asmanyJapanesewomenandgirlsdo,andwhentheyheardmeendsentenceswiththeparticle"wa,"whichisusuallyusedbywomentosoftenthetoneofasentence.Mostofall,shesaid,IneededtotakethepitchofmyvoicedownseveralnotchesfromthetoneIhadlearned.”
5/26/09
7
WhatisJapanesewomen’slanguage? Particle“‐wa” Highpitch Useofcertainlexicalitems
Symboliccapital(Bourdieu1977)
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
AssumptionsonJapanesewomen’slanguage Women’slanguageisuniquelyJapanese“Japanesewomanhoodisnowbeingrecognizedasbeautifulandexcellentbeyondcomparewiththeotherwomanhoodsoftheworld.Likewise,Japanesewomen'slanguageissofinethatitseemstomethatitis,alongwithJapanesewomanhood,uniqueintheworld"(Kindaichi1942:293).
Women’slanguagehasunbrokenhistoricalrootsinthepast“WecannothopeforcontemporaryJapanesewomentobeaswittyandtactfulaswerethoseinthepast,but,atleast,Iwouldlikethemtohaveasincereandhumbleattitudeandtopreservetheculturalheritagepasseddownfromtheancestorswithoutdestroyingit”(Mashimo1969:81)
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Howandwhydidsomespeechformsandfunctionscometobeidentifiedaswomen'slanguage?
Howdidsuchanindexicalpractice—alinkageofspeechwithsocialstructureandculturalmeaning—cometobepossibletobeginwith?
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Mythofwomen’slanguageasdescendedfromancientorigin ScholarsofNationalLanguageStudies(kokugogaku)oftendatetheoriginofwomen'slanguageasearlyasthefourthcentury
IdeandTerada(1998) Theseformsofspeechwerepartofwomen’s“occupationallanguage,”not“genderlanguage”
Geishasandprostitutes
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Inoue(2002) Manyofthesefeaturesdidnotexistuntilthelate19thcentury!
E.g.particle“‐wa”,whichisconsideredtobefeminineincontemporaryJapanese,wasconsideredtobevulgarinthepast
Ling156A:LanguageandGender Ling156A:LanguageandGender
5/26/09
8
ComparisonofUkiyoburo(1813)andSanshiro(1909) 1)particlesaregenderedin1909,butnotin1813
‐>Something’sgoingonhere… 2)1909novelisverysimilartocontemporaryJapaneseintermsofitsgenderedparticlesystem ‐>Sosomethingdidhappenbetween1813and1909…
3)someofthefemale‐onlyparticlesin1909werenotusedbysamurai‐classfemalesin1813 ‐>meaningtheywereconsideredtobevulgar ‐>classdistinction
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Whathappenedbetween1813and1909?
Didthingsjuststarttochangeabruptly?
Meta‐linguistic“whispering”(Inoue2002) Sanshiro(1909)isnotarepresentationofwomen’slanguagein1909;itwhisperstowomenbybeinganexampleofhowwomenoughttospeak
Reportedspeech,quotedspeech Elevationof“vulgar”schoolgirls’speechtothegenericwomen’slanguage
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
Whywasitnecessarytoconstructwomen’slanguage?
Modernizingandnationalizingwomen MeijiRestorationperiod(1868~1912) “Goodwifeandwisemother(ryosaikenbo)” Modernandnationalideology
Writingreformation “Writeasyouspeak(gembun’itchi)”movement Manydifferentfinalparticlesweretriedout
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
One’ssocialidentity,orpersona,islinkedtotheiraccessto“appropriate”languageforms
Women’slanguageisneitheressentialnornatural;itisshapedbylargersocialprocessesoftherealworld
Theideaofwomen’slanguageiscirculatedbymeta‐discourse:media,reportedspeech,oreverydayevaluation(peopletalkingaboutlanguage)
One’spositioning,whichishighlyconditionedbygender,allowsher/himtohavedifferentaccesstolinguisticresources
Ling156A:LanguageandGender
References(downloadthemfromthecoursesiteifyou’reinterested!)
Ide,RisakoandTerada,Tomomi.1998.ThehistoricaloriginsofJapanesewomen’sspeech:fromthesecludedworldsof“courtladies”and“playladies”.InternationalJournaloftheSociologyofLanguage.129:139‐156.
Inoue,Miyako.2002.Gender,languageandmodernity:Towardaneffectivehistoryof‘Japanesewomen’slanguage’.AmericanEthnologist29(2):392–422.
Inoue,Miyako.2004.Whatdoeslanguageremember?IndexicalinversionandthenaturalizedhistoryofJapanesewomen.JournalofLinguisticAnthropology14(1):39–56.
Ling156A:LanguageandGender