American Tongues Documentary Notes PDF

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Documentary notes over "American Tongues" off of YouTube...

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American Tongues Documentary Notes from YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmum-eT4hzM

Discuss the many examples of regional variations in language that are portrayed in the video The evident regional variations are accent and dialect. There is variation in accent whereby, Philip who grew up in Boston’s North end has an Italian accent, while his siblings do not have that accent. While the accent is easily recognizable in Philip, the accent of the other siblings is less noticeable. As mentioned by the first speaker, people with a given accent tend to believe that those without such an accent are different. The difference in accent leads to a difference in the way the siblings express themselves. Variation is also evident in the aspect of dialect whereby some vocabulary and grammar features differ between Philip who grew up in the North End, and his other siblings. For example, Philip’s pronunciation of word and construction of sentences would be difficult to understand for a person without his accent as it is filled with Italian dialects. An example is when he says “Guilio, Can we please fill minute, you look got a god though it’s a matter …” (People Like Us - The CNAM Channel n.p.). Unless he articulates what he is saying, it would be difficult for others without the accent to understand. Identify how affiliation is illustrated in the video. Identify how both convergence and divergence are illustrated. Identify how powerful language is illustrated Affiliation is illustrated by relating a person’s way of speaking to a given region. Such affiliation is evident when Philip’s siblings acknowledge that he has a different way of expressing himself, solely because unlike them, he grew up in the North End. His accent is thus affiliated to the region he grew up in. The concepts of convergence and divergence are well illustrated. Divergence is seen in that different speakers are using their accents as a way of distancing themselves from their partners in the conversation. Philip specifically demonstrates such divergence in all his conversation, he does not make any attempt to change his accent to align it to that of his audience. Convergence is seen in that Philip’s family members try to adapt and appreciate his accent to enhance a genuine cooperation with him. This convergence is seen in his sister appreciating that his accent is the best one. Language is demonstrated as powerful in that it can be used as a tool of intimidation and luring others. Philip, for instance, believes that his dialect is important in his everyday endeavors. He believes that his accent, which is Italian, played a role in making women interested in him. Moreover, he believes that his dialect helped him in violent situations in that once he got into a fight, his words enunciation would make his opponents think he is intimidating or tough (People Like Us - The CNAM Channel n.p.).

Would you describe Philip and his siblings as competent communicators? Why or why not? Philip and his siblings are competent communicators. According to Valencia College (1), competent communicators adhere to adaptability whereby they assess what is effective and appropriate in any given context and modify their communication behavior accordingly. This is evident when the siblings are being interviewed in that they are able to frame their responses to match the ones expected or the ones that can be understood by the interviewer. Furthermore, Philip tailors his language to match the person he is speaking to. For example, the way he addresses his friend Guilio is different from the way he addresses the interviewer, with the Italian dialect being more evident in the former than the latter. This depicts that he has empathy. How was low- or high-context communication illustrated? Examples of verbal codes? High-context communication is illustrated when Philip is speaking to his friends from the hood, while low-context communication is evident when the siblings are communicating with the interviewer. The former is illustrated in that when Philip is addressing his friend about how Chris is messed up, it is evident that one would not understand what he is talking about without having a great deal of background information about the event he is describing. Low-context is illustrated in that when communicating with the interviewer, a large part of the information is spelled out such that it is easy to tell that the interviewer has no background information. The context is also demonstrated by territoriality in that the speakers and the interviewer are maintaining distance when speaking to each other. Examples of verbal codes used are semantics where the meaning of different words can be established, syntactic which establishes how words are combined to form sentences and phrases, and pragmatics implying that the language used has an impact on behaviors and perception of people. How was language related to the self-concept of Philip and his siblings? The language used by Philip and siblings shapes their self-concept in that by just listening to the way they speak, one has an idea of the kind of people they are. For instance, Philip’s siblings use language in a way that depicts them as people who care about the feeling of others, for example, his brother is concerned that Philip’s language would cause challenges to others who are from outside his family/area. Philip’s language, on the other hand, shows that he believes he is an ideal self. This is because he takes his language as the coolest and does not consider changing his accent....