The document discusses several key aspects of language and linguistics, including: 1. It defines language as a complex biological tool used by humans to communicate through organized systems of symbols and rules. 2. It examines some key design features of human language, including duality of patterning, displacement, open-endedness, stimulus-freedom, and arbitrariness. 3. It discusses differences between human and animal communication, focusing on the human vocal tract and genes like FOXP2 that enable the complexities of human speech.

1. The Art & Science of Speaking:
Languages, Dialects, and Vernaculars

2. What is language?

3. a distinctive feature of the human mind

4. a system we use to convey information

5. a biological tool that enables humans
to communicate

6. a mental construct with rules and
organizing principles

7. an elaborated signaling-system

8. some design features

9. Language Game 1
Construct a dialogue where each
person is limited to one sentence,
and each sentence must be a
question.

10. Language Game 2
Construct a dialogue where each person
is limited to one sentence (question-
answer format), and each sentence
must begin with a successive letter.

11. Language Game 3
Construct a dialogue where one person
creates a line in Gibberish (random
sounds) and the other person translates
that line in English.

12. Differences between humans and animals?
1. Vocal tract
2. Duality of patterning
3. Displacement
4. Open-endedness
5. Stimulus-freedom
6. Arbitrariness
7. FOXP2 Gene

13. Team Quiz
1. Gather in groups of four (find your respective card).
2. As a group, create one closed question and one open question
on a separate sheet of paper with your names listed.
3. You have 5 minutes.
REVIEW MATERIAL:
Features of language (duality of patterning, displacement, open-endedness,
stimulus-freedom, arbitrariness , etc.)
Types of consonants and vowels
Anatomy of language
Sample film clip

14. “Mother” and “father” words
French 1. mère 1. père
Welsh 2. mam 2. tad
Turkish 3. ana 3. baba
Hebrew 4. ima 4. aba
Russian 5. mat 5. otyets
Mongolian 6. eme 6. echige
Crow Indian 7. masake 7. birupxe

15. Human Vocal Tract

16. Human Vocal Tract
An elaborated language requires a highly
sophisticated speech organ that will enable
the speaker to produce the many
differentiated sounds. Only humans are
endowed with a speech organ of this
complexity.

17. Human Vocal Tract
http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/cour
se/chapter1/chapter1.html

22. Duality of patterning
Because of the restricted capacity of our
vocal tracts, we use a limited set of speech
sounds (e.g., consonants and vowels,
sometimes called phonemes).
We can assemble and reassemble these
sounds into larger units (“words”,
“sentences,” “stories,” etc.).
Thus our capacity to produce new vocabulary
is infinite and unlimited.

32. Displacement
In contrast to other animals, humans have
a sense of the past and the future. A
gorilla, for example, cannot tell his fellows
about his parents, his adventures in the
jungle, or his experience of the past.

33. Displacement
The use of language to talk about things
other than "the here and now", is a
characteristic of humans.

34. Displacement
.
Displacement is our ability to convey a meaning
that transcends the immediately perceptible
sphere of space and time.

35. Displacement
EXAMPLES
1. I was in Paris last week.
2. I want to be an astronomer when I grow up.

36. Displacement

37. Displacement
Although some animals seem to possess abilities
approximating those of displacement, they lack
the freedom to apply this to new contexts.

38. Displacement
The dance of the honey-bee, for
instance, indicates the locations of
rich deposits of food to other bees.

39. Displacement
The bee frequently repeats the same
patterns in its dance, whereas humans
are able to invent ever new contexts.

40. Open-endedness
The ability to say things that have
never been said before, including
the possibility to express invented
things or lies, is also a peculiar
feature of human language.

41. Stimulus-freedom
Humans have the ability to say anything
they like in any context.

42. Stimulus-freedom
This ability is only restricted in certain
ceremonial contexts such as church
services, etc., where a fixed form is
expected to be followed.

43. Stimulus-freedom
For example, the honey-bee must
perform its dance, the woodchuck must
cry out in order to warn his fellows when
it beholds an eagle.

44. Arbitrariness
Why is a table called "table” in
English"? Why is the same object
called “la mesa” in Spanish?
Obviously, the thing never told us its name.
And tables do not make a noise similar to
the word. The same applies to most of the
words of our language.

45. Arbitrariness
Language is not simply motivated by its
sound structure.
In other words, we cannot tell from the sound
structure which meaning is behind it. Hence,
words and their meanings have no a
prioriconnection (from theoretical deduction).

46. Arbitrariness
There are, however, exceptions to this rule:
language can beiconic, which means that there
is a direct correlation between form and
meaning.

47. Arbitrariness
The length of a phrase, for example, could
represent a length of time the phrase refers
to, like in “a long, long time ago.”
Here, the extension serves to visually
represent the semantic emphasis. Iconicity in
language can be found frequently.

48. Arbitrariness
Another example for nonarbitrariness are
onomatopoeia. These are words that
seem to resemble sounds. There are many
examples for onomatopoetic words, like
splashor bang.

49. Arbitrariness
Another example for nonarbitrariness are
Some names for animals are also
onomatopoetic, for example, cuckoo. Still,
since animals such as the bird are named
differently in different languages, there can
be no ultimate motivation for the name.

50. FOXP2 Gene

55. The Field of Linguistics
1. Phonetics
2. Phonology
3. Syntax
4. Morphology
5. Semantics
6. Pragmatics

56. Language Acquisition

57. Nicaraguan Sign-Language:
A Case of Linguistic Creativity

58. Language and Dialects
1. What do you think the differences are
between a language and a dialect?
2. Give examples of each (teach each other
three examples). Write on an index card.

59. The Study of Language
1. Where did you grow up?
2. How many languages do you speak?
3. Teach each other a word, phrase, or
sentence in another language or regional
form.
4. Write on an index card your group
partner’s responses.

60. Language
Dialect Dialect Dialect
Language Language Language

61. dialect:
a variation of a particular language

62. “A language is a dialect with an army.”

63. standard vs. non-standard

64. The Language-Dialect Distinction
1. Folklorists and sociolinguists focus on
linguistic diversity internal tospeech
communities.

65. The Language-Dialect Distinction
2. One such case of linguistic diversity is
dialectal variation.

66. The Language-Dialect Distinction
3. Most dialects are considered mutually
intelligible varieties of a language that
differ in systematic ways.

67. The Language-Dialect Distinction
So, if one of you grew up in New
England and another one was born and
raised in Georgia, you’re still able to
understand one another, despite
differences in the language variety each
of you speaks.

68. The Language-Dialect Distinction
We say you both speak two dialects of
the same language, that is, English.

69. The Language-Dialect Distinction
EXAMPLE
Think of the recent evolving of
“Serbian”,“Croatian”, and “Bosnian”
languages in the former Yugoslavia.

70. The Language-Dialect Distinction
Prior to the disintegration of former
Yugoslavia, people in this part of the
world all spoke something they called
“Serbo-Croatian.”

71. The Language-Dialect Distinction
Today, they still speak the same thing,
but it’s not called Serbo-Croatian any
more. It’s Serbian, Croatian, or
Bosnian, depending on where you live.

72. The Language-Dialect Distinction
Folklorists and sociolinguists focus on
linguistic diversity internal tospeech
communities.

73. The Language-Dialect Distinction
We say you both speak two dialects of
the same language, that is, English.

74. Dialectology: dialect maps

75. Idiolect
An idiolect is an individual’s unique way
of speech. Since no two people speak in
the same way, we say that each one of
them has an idiolect.

76. Accent
An accent is a person’s distinctive
way of pronouncing words, which is
typically associated with a particular
region, e.g., a Boston accent, a Brooklyn
accent, or a British accent.
It is also often used for the pronunciation
of non-natives speaking a foreign
language.

77. Lexical dialectal variation
If you ask for a tonic in Boston, you will
get a drink called soda or soda-pop in
LA; and a freeway in LA is a thruway in
NY, a parkway in New Jersey, a
motorway in England, and an
expressway or turnpike in other dialect
areas.

78. Dialect: Examples
REPEAT:
Pahk the cah in Hahvuhd yahd.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

79. Phonological dialectal variation
Speaking of pronunciation, how do you say:
1. “caught” and “cot”?
2. “Will Mary marry in a merry wedding?”
3. Otter Creek? (a [krik] or a [krIk])

80. Morphological dialectal variation
In parts of Northern England and South
Wales, the morpheme -s is not just a third
person singular marker in present tense,
but a general present tense marker:
1. I likes him.
2. We goes.

81. Syntactic dialectal variation
EXAMPLE: She done already told you.
1. Can you use “done” as an auxiliary?
2. What dialect is this? What does it mean?

82. Appalachian English phonology

83. Appalachian English syntax
AE makes use of double modals:
1. I might could make one up.
2. I useta couldn’t count.

84. Appalachian English syntax
Multiple negation:
1. There ain’t never none on that shelf.2. I
can’t hardly read it.

85. Appalachian English syntax
Deletion of the relative pronoun in subject
relative clauses:
1. He had a broken back was never set.2.
That man lives down the road is crazier
than a loon.

86. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
AAE and BEV, as with other dialects, is a rule-
governed system, exactly as
Standard American English is.
It shows the same kind of systematic
differences from other dialects of English that
occur between many of the world’s major
dialects.

87. Examples of AAE or BEV
1. "She BIN had dat han'-made dress." (SE: She's had that
hand-made dress for a long time, and still does.)
2. AAVE: "Befo' you know it, he be done aced de tesses."
(SE: Before you know it, he will have already aced the
tests.)
3. AAVE: "Ah 'on know what homey be doin." (SE: I don't
know what my friend is usually doing.)
4. AAVE: "Can't nobody tink de way he do." (SE: Nobody
can think the way he does.)
5. AAVE: "I ast Ruf could she bring it ovah to Tom crib."
(SE: I asked Ruth if/whether she could bring it over to
Tom's place.)

88. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
Scholarly labels: African-American English, Black
English Vernacular, African-American English
Verncular
Recent label: Ebonics (ebony + phonics)

89. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
IMPORTANT POINT:
“African-American English” is not specific to
African-Americans; it is a scholarly label that
refers to a language variation that at first was
largely shared by African-Americans historically. It
still thrive todays in many speech communities.
.

90. The Ebonics Controversy (1996: Oakland,
CA)
“Black writers from Paul Laurence Dunbar to Zora
Neale Hurston to August Wilson have made extensive
use of it in their work, and some, like James Baldwin
("this passion, this skill, ... this incredible music."), Toni
Morrison, and June Jordan have praised it explicitly.
Black preachers and comedians and singers,
especially rappers, also use it for dramatic or realistic
effect…”

91. The Ebonics Controversy (1996: Oakland,
CA)
“But many other people, black and white, regard it as a
sign of limited education or sophistication, as a legacy
of slavery or an impediment to socioeconomic mobility.
Some deny its existence. Others deprecate it (like
Maya Angelou, who found the Oakland School Board's
1996 Ebonics resolutions "very threatening" although
she uses Ebonics herself in her poems, e.g. "The
Pusher").”
- John
Rickford

92. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
Possible origins:
AAE derives from language structures and
patterns of West African languages, British
languages and dialects, and Carribean
creoles

93. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
Other linguists suggest AAE was the historical
result of the creolization process (the process
of creating a new “language” from the
multigenerational contact and mixing between
two or more incompatible languages).

94. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
Whatever its possible origins, AAE has evolved
as a language variety with its own linguistically-
rich features and functions over several hundred
years.

95. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
The following examples and taxonomies are
taken from actual conversations of
individuals talking with one another in
everyday life from a variety of linguists and
folklorists for decades.

96. African-American English
(AAE),
or Black English Vernacular
(BEV)
Even though the following examples include a
list of common or regular linguistic features,
some of AAE’s “rules” are variedor optional
across the United States (as all dialectal forms
vary within each speech community or within
certain regions).

97. African American Phonology
r-deletion is fairly common in AAE, such that
the following words would come out the same:
1. guard [pronounced “god”]
2. sore [pronounced “saw”]

98. African American Phonology
Some speakers also drop their [l] in coda
position:
1. toll [tow]
2. all [aw]
3. help [hep]

99. African American Phonology
Loss of interdental fricative [T] and [D] :
mouth [mawf]

100. African American Morphosyntax
Double (or multiple) negatives:
1. You don’ know nothin’.
2. I don’ never have no lunch.

101. African American Morphosyntax
Copula “be” deletion:
1. He nice.
2. You crazy.
Habitual “be”:
1.The coffee be cold. (= always)
2. He be tired out. (habitually)

102. African-American Morphosyntax (Optional)
Absence of possessive -s:
John hat; Byron car
Absence of third person singular -s:
she talk; he sing
Absence of plural -s after quantifiers:
three dog; some cat

103. African-American Morphosyntax
Use of stressed “bin” as an auxiliary:
1. She bin married.
2. I bin known him.

104. AAE or BEV Is Just Another English Variety!
Claims that AAE or BEV is
“ignorant,”“deficient,” “sloppy,” “broken
English,” “incomplete,” “uneducated
speech,” “illogical,” “ghetto,” or
“slang,” are incorrect from a scientific or
linguistic perspective.

105. TO REPEAT…
AAE and BEV, as with other dialects, is a rule-
governed system, exactly as
Standard American English is.
It shows the same kind of systematic
differences from other dialects of English that
occur between many of the world’s major
dialects.

106. Code-switching
a speech behavior where
bilingual speakers typically
move back and forth
between two languages

107. Code-switching (“Spanglish”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z13CVD0idrM

108. Code-switching Is Also Rule-Governed
(Example: Chicano English, “Spanglish”)

109. Style (or Vernacular)
Style or vernacular refers to the kind of
language that one uses in a particular
situation or location.

110. Style (or Vernacular)
Formal style is typically used in
formalcontexts, e.g., written language,
speeches, the media, educational institutions,
etc.
Informal style is typically used in daily
conversations with family and friends for
example.

111. Formal vs. Informal Modes of Address
Many languages have rules for registers.
For example, the tu-vous and du-sie
distinction in French and German,
respectively.
French even has a verb tutoyer and German
has duzen.
Japanese also has a system of
honorific-marking.

112. Slang
Certain words used in informal styles that
change rapidly among groups (but may
eventually enter the lexicon) are called slang,
e.g.,
barf, flub, rave, ecstasy, pig, fuzz, hot dog,
TV, fan, phone, tight, clowning.

113. Slang
Slang is equivalent to lexical dialectal variation
(different words referring to the same object).

114. Slang
Some slang words originate within
underground subcultures or when we address
taboo topics:
crack (drug), sawbuck (money), to hang
paper (to write bad checks), con (to deceive
someone), brek (from breakfast), burn
(tobacco), screw (prison officer).

115. Jargon (or Argot)
Jargon or argot refers to the technical
language used in a particular domain.

116. Jargon (or Argot)
For example, in this course we have used a
lot of academic jargon, e.g., signifier,
signified, alea, ilinx, displacement, etc.
Computer jargon: PC, CPU, RAM, ROM,
modem, hacking, virus, download, etc.

117. The Lumbee Dialect:
Group Reflection
Describe the lexical, phonological,
morphological, and syntactic variation
in this dialect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cVnh
WSMLn4

118. Endangered Languages: The Case of N/u
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/department
s/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/vo
wels/chapter14/_xoo.html
http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments
/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/cours
e/chapter6/xong/!xong.html

119. Endangered Languages: The Case of N/u
Think about the following questions during this clip:
1. What are some of the central features of N/u?
2. How is the language perceived by insiders and
outsiders? Why do you think this is the case?
3. How are these negative perceptions of particular
languages found within the United States?
4. Why is this language “dying” in South Africa?
5. What are ways to revive or preserve these
endangered languages?

120. Sign Languages: 8-Minutes
In groups of two, come up with a set of signs for the
following sentences. Illustrate gestures on one sheet
of paper with your names.
1. I’m scared.
2. You’re tall.
3. Let’s swim.
4. The lion is happy.
5. Where’s the dog?
6. How did you do that?
7. Why do you think he got mixed up with her?
8. What did your aunt say yesterday when you called
her?

121. ASL: Facial Expressions
Compare the ASL sentences for "I'm going to the
restaurant" and "Are you going to the restaurant?"

122. ASL: NO VERB TENSES
Past, present and future are conveyed by
introducing time frame words like "yesterday,"
"today" or "tomorrow" into the beginning of a
sentence to establish the context of what follows."

123. ASL: LINEAR SEQUENCES OF EVENTS
Most ASL sentence structure is based upon
sequential thought. That is, if you talk about one
event happening after another event, you would
describe the first event and then the second.

124. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
Charles Michel De L'Eppe (1712-1789):
Established the first free public school for the
deaf in France (1771)
Samuel Heinicke (1727-1790): Established
the Oral method of teaching deaf children to
speak. Strongly opposed to the use of sign
language
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787-1851):
Visited Europe to study Deaf Education and
resumed to co-found the American School for
the Deaf with Laurent Clerc.

125. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1690-1880: Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts:
Settled by 200 immigrants from Kent County England,
an area known as "the Weald". Carried dominant and
recessive genes for deafness. By the mid-1700's a
sign language had developed on the island, used by
deaf and hearing islanders alike. Almost all inhabitants
signed and town meetings were signed for all.

126. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1864: Gallaudet College founded
in Washington, DC

127. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1864: Gallaudet College founded
in Washington, DC

128. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1941-1945: World
War Two creates a
need for labor.
Deaf men and
women are hired in
record numbers to
work in defense
industries.

129. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1960: First Linguistic book and defense
of ASL as a language by William Stokoe

130. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1984: Cochlear implant first approved
for clinical use for persons 18 and
older.

132. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1993: Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) is passed: U.
S. Department of Education establishes a
Policy of Inclusion, giving all disabled
students the right to attend neighborhood
schools in a "least restrictive environment."

133. SIGN LANGUAGES: HISTORY
1995: Use of cochlear implants
increases. Nucleus 22 device and SPEAK
Speech Processing system are the latest
technological advances in implantation.

134. DEAF CULTURE: QUESTIONS
.
1. What is “audism”?
2. How does each film represent this
insider and outsider perspectives of
deaf people?
3. Why did some members of the deaf
community reject the notion of
implants?
4. Would you give you child a cochlear
implant if they were born deaf? Why or
why not?

135. AUDISM
http://www.pbs.org/weta/throughdeafeyes/abo
ut/filmmakers.html

136. SOUND AND FURY
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=A61WvbVtIxE&fea
ture=related
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/s
oundandfury/cochlear/co
chlear_flash.html

137. Textual References
Abrahams, Roger D. 2009 [1964]. Deep Down in the Jungle: Black American Folklore from the Streets of Philadelphia.
New Jersey: Folklore Associates, Inc.
Baugh, John. 2000. Beyond Ebonics: Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Di Napoli, Lisa. 2007. Language Matters: A Guide to Everyday Questions About Language. Oxford University Press.
Green, Lisa. 2002. African American English: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Labov, William. 1973. Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Labov, William, Sharon Ash, and Charles Boberg. 2006. The Atlas of North American English. Mouton de Gruyter.
Pinker, Steven. 2007. The Language Instinct. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
Poplack, Shana, ed. 2000. The English History of African American English. Malden, MA, and Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Rickford, John R. , and Russell J. Rickford. 2000. Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English. New York: John Wiley.
Smitherman, Geneva. 2000. Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner. New York: Houghton
Mifflin.
Wolfram, Walt, and Erik R. Thomas. 2002. The Development of African American English. Malden, MA, and Oxford, UK:
Blackwell.

138. Internet References
Chicano English. Carmen Fought.
http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/chicano/
Deaf Culture. PBS.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury/culture/intro.html
Deaf Culture (Timeline).
http://www.aslinfo.com/trivia2.cfm
Ebonics Notes and Discussion. John Rickford.
http://www.stanford.edu/~rickford/ebonics/EbonicsExamples.html
The Features of Human Language. Charles Hockett.
http://people.exeter.ac.uk/bosthaus/Lecture/hockett1.htm
History through Deaf Eyes. Gallaudet
University.http://my.gallaudet.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/Deaf%20Eyes%20Exhibit/index.htm
Language and Linguistics: A Special Report. National Science Foundation.
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/intro.jsp
Lumbee English.
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/multimedia/10157
Rickford, John, “What is Ebonics (African-American Vernacular English)?:
http://www.lsadc.org/info/ling-faqs-ebonics.cfm
“Saving Dying Languages,” Scientific American. W. Wayne Gibbs. 2002..http://www.language-
archives.org/documents/sciam.pdf
What is Appalachian English?
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/zanuttir/Appalachian%20project/whatis.html