TABLE OF CONTENTS
Aceto,
Michael.
On the Possibility of an English-derived
Gold Coast Pidgin in Use During the Slave Trade.
Anyidoho, Akosua
Gender and Verbal Art: The Case of the Akan.
Bilaniuk, Laada.
Diglossia in Flux: Language and ethnicity in Ukraine.
Brody, Jill
Mayan Conversation
as Interaction.
Bucholtz, Mary
Language
In Evidence: The Pragmatics of Translation in the Courtroom.
Chavez, Eliverio
Sex
Differences in Minority Language Retention by Hispanic Children in Northern
New Mexico.
Cortes-Conde, Florencia
English/Spanish Bilingualism: The Other Side of the Coin.
Dunn, Cynthia Dickel
Variation
in Japanese Honorific Use and the Negotiation of Social Relationships.
Edwards, Marcia H. Edwards
Problems
with Identifying and Quantifying the Directives in Doctor-Patient
Talk.
Guion, Susan G
Structure
Exaggeration in Language Death.
Hill, Jane H
Is it really
"No Problemo?" Junk Spanish and Anglo-Racism.
Jacobsons, Calla
Speech
Style, Grammatical Distinction, and the Reproduction of Social
Difference in Highland Nepal.
Kakava, Christina
Aggravated
Corrections as Disagreement in Casual Greek Conversations.
Kumpf, Lorraine E
Grammatical
Roles and Participant Introductions in Native English and Second Language
Discourse.
Lefkowitz, Daniel
On the
Social Meaning of Code Choice in an Israeli City.
Lepselter, Susan
Genre
and Competence in UFO Discourse.
Mendoza-Dento, Norma and Melissa Iwai
"They Speak More Caucasian": Generational Differences in the Speech
of Japanese-Americans
Thomas, Erik R. Why We Need Descriptive Studies: Phonological
Variables in Hispanic English .
Samuels, David
Kinship
as Verbal Art: A Western Apache Case.
Sherzer, Joel
Pointed
Lips, Thumbs Up, and Cheek Puffs: Some Emblematic Gestures in Social
Interactional and Ethnographic Context.
Tillery, Randal K
Soft
Fictions: Children, Narrative Events and Identity.
Walters, Keith
Individual
Identity and the Political Economy of Language: The Case of Anglophone
Wives in Tunisia.
Woodbury, Anthony C.
A
Defense of the Proposition, "When a Language Dies, a Culture Dies."
Is
it really "No Problemo?" Junk Spanish and Anglo-Racism
Jane H. Hill, University of Arizona
"Junk
Spanish" is a mini-register used by speakers of English in the U.S.
that attracts lexical items and fixed expressions of Spanish-language
origin. The incorporation strategies of Junk Spanish lower material
that has positive or neutral meanings in Spanish itself to a jocular
or pejorative English meaning. Spanish-language elements of negative
or scatological meaning are especially likely to appear in this register.
Junk Spanish is common in mass media where it is often associated with
stereotyped racist representations of "Mexicans." It is argued that
Junk Spanish is an important strategy of Anglo racism that has intensified
in an atmosphere where more overt racist epithets and joking have been
forced underground.
Genre
and Competence in UFO Discourse
Susan Lepselter, University of Texas, Austin
This
paper explores the collisions and merging of speech genres in discourse
about unidentified flying objects. Through a close reading of a single
conversation among UFO believers. I analyze how textual authority is
negotiated through the deployment of speech styles. I show how a multiplicity
of voices opens an unfinalized space for the narration of an uncanny
experience. Finally, I connect this brief conversation to larger cultural
tensions surrounding science, gender and authority.
Soft
Fictions: Children, Narrative Events and Identity
Randal K. Tillery, University of Texas, Austin
[The
story] is one of the oldest forms of communication. It does not aim
at transmitting the pure-in-itself of the event (as information does)
but anchors the event in the life of the person reporting, in order
to pass it on as experience to those listening. (Benjamin, 1972 [Vol.
1]:611; translated in Buck-Morse, 1989:336).
Language
In Evidence: The Pragmatics of Translation in the Courtroom
Mary Bucholtz, University of California, Berkeley
Despite
the great deal of recent attention that discourse analysts have given
to language and the law, the use of transcriptions of translated speech
as evidence in the courtroom is an issue that has gone undiscussed by
linguists. This topic brings together three important factors addressed
by various researchers on legal language: the courtroom context, the
use of spoken and written language as evidence, and the effect of minority
languages on trial proceedings. Taking as data the written translation
of a telephone conversation used as evidence in a federal trial, I show
that recontextualization of the conversation, disjunctions in the written
transcription of speech, and pragmatic inconsistencies in translation
can lead to juror bias against the defendant. Courtroom transcription
is therefore a significant site for the contributions of discourse analysis.
Why
We Need Descriptive Studies: Phonological Variables in Hispanic English
Erik R. Thomas, University of Texas, Austin
Failure
to recognize Chicano English as a dialect with a life of its own and
reliance on consonantal variables that are more relevant for studies
of bilingualism have hampered the study of Chicano English. Acoustic
analysis of interviews with four Texas Chicanos reveals several useful
vowel variables. Descriptive studies are necessary to find such variables
and correct the shortcomings of previous studies.
Problems
with Identifying and Quantifying the Directives in Doctor-Patient Talk
Marcia H. Edwards, University of Texas, Austin
Some
previous sociolinguistic studies of directives in natural speech samples
have conveyed the impression that a directive is a concrete, countable
phenomenon, fairly easily recognized and usually complete in a single
utterance. Using excerpts of the talk between gynecologists and their
female patients, tape recorded during office visits, the present study
demonstrates that a single directive intent may be conveyed by a series
of utterances and that a single utterance may serve more than one function.
The repercussions from these nontrivial observations attempts to quantify
the directives in natural speech, specifically in doctor-patient talk,
are examined.
"They Speak More Caucasian": Generational Differences
in the Speech of Japanese-Americans
Norma Mendoza-Denton and Melissa Iwai, Stanford University
In
this paper, we attempt to explain the generational differences in the
English phonology of Japanese-Americans. We believe that these speech
differences are linked to changes in identity and social networks brought
about by the events which took place in the United States during the
Second World War. The internment of thousands of Japanese-Americans
in concentration camps drastically affected individuals by breaking
up their social networks, and permanently affected their community and
its relation to the larger society. We have collected data on the phonological
processes of t/d deletion and monophthongization of/ey/ and /ow/ from
recorded interviews with Japanese-Americans of the second and fourth
generations. Investigation of generational differences with respect
to these processes suggests that the English spoken by second generation
nisei bilingual speakers exhibits retention of features from the substrate
(Japanese) language. The speech of the fourth generation yonsei speakers,
however, has clearly converged with that of the matrix dialect. We attribute
this generational divergence to the dramatic change in the identity
and social networks of the Japanese-American community.
Individual
Identity and the Political Economy of Language: The Case of Anglophone
Wives in Tunisia
Keith Walters, University of Texas, Austin
Using
the frameworks of the political economy of language and language use
as acts of identity, this study analyzes comments made by anglophone
wives of Tunisians in Tunisia, a country that is both diglossic (Arabic)
and bilingual (Arabic/French), about their efforts to learn Tunisian
Arabic. While commenting on the sociolinguistics of learning a "local"
language, the study focuses primarily on issues of gender, power, and
identity.
Diglossia
in Flux: Language and ethnicity in Ukraine
Laada Bilaniuk, University of Michigan
The
relationship between language and ethnicity in Ukraine is examined,
based on data gathered during fieldwork conducted from October 1991
through August 1992. A model of diglossia is used to elucidate the change
roles of language which have been a focal point of political transformations.
Until recently, Russian was the H(igh) language, and Ukrainian the L(ow),
but data show that diglossia in Ukraine is now shifting to include both
standard Russian and standard Ukrainian as H languages. The L language
slot is now filled by all non-standard dialects and mixtures of Ukrainian
and Russian, which are collectively denoted by the Ukrainian term "surzhyk".
People living in Ukraine have developed various strategies to deal with
this flux in the linguistic structure of their world. Several ethnographic
cases are examined in depth, with reference to Giles' speech accommodation
theory to analyze the choices people make between languages and language
variants in given contexts. Some of the conflicts created by the shifting
diglossia, and their resolutions, are discussed.
On
the Social Meaning of Code Choice in an Israeli City
Daniel Lefkowitz, University of Texas, Austin
This
paper looks at the emergence of a social dialect of Hebrew used by Palestinian
Arab Israelis in Haifa, Israel. Quantitative analysis of phonological
variation is used to describe the dialect, and ethnographic data explicate
the social meaning of its use. Parallels are drawn between language
choice (Arabic/Hebrew) and the choice of dialect within Hebrew, the
politically charged dominant language in Israel. The social meaning
of this emergent language-use cannot be understood without reference
to a complex web of inter-relations between Palestinian Arabs, Mizrahi-
and Ashkenzai Jews, in which linguistic variation is used in the negotiation
of new social identities, and where it is this very negotiation which
drives language change.
A
Defense of the Proposition, "When a Language Dies, a Culture Dies"
Anthony C. Woodbury, University of Texas, Austin
The
proposition "When a language dies, a culture dies" gives a reason for
preserving endangered languages, but raises valid questions in light
of recent work on multilingual communities and on the conservatism of
some aspects of language use in situations of language shift. It is
claimed that these objections are met if the proposition is revised
to say that interrupted transmission of an integrated lexical and grammatical
heritage spells the direct end of some cultural traditions, and the
unraveling, restructuring, and reevaluation of others. In support of
this, it is argued that in situations of language shift, ancestral and
replacing languages are not equivalent vehicles for cultural maintenance
or expression. An extended empirical case is made on the basis of Central
Alaskan Yupik Eskimo demonstrative use.
On
the Possibility of an English-derived Gold Coast Pidgin in Use During
the Slave Trade
Michael Aceto, University of Texas, Austin
This
paper is an effort to explain the occurrence of Twi/Ashanti lexical
correspondences in the creoles of Jamaica and Surinam. This paper gathers
Twi lexical items from several sources and uses them to illustrate the
thesis that an English-derived Gold Coast pidgin was present within
the matrix of several Anglophone creoles. This paper correlates Twi
lexical data from six English-derived creoles to provide some insight
into the lexicon of a contact variety of English that was perhaps familiar
to some African slaves in the Americas originating from the Lower Guinea
Coast.
English/Spanish
Bilingualism: The Other Side of the Coin
Florencia Cortes-Conde, University of Texas, Austin
Studies
of language maintenance or shift deal with situations in which the language
enduring either of these processes is of a lower prestige. The immigrant
community I have studied poses a unique perspective: that of English,
a language of great instrumental value in the business community that
is currently confronting the same shift and maintenance dilemma typical
of other immigrant languages, the loss of the home domain. In field
work carried out in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1990, I had Anglo-Argentine
community members answer extensive questionnaires concerning language
use and language attitudes to both Spanish and English. Factor analysis
and relative frequencies show that in spite of its prestige, English
is no longer maintained at home. Further statistical analyses show that
the main demographic factor affecting change is age, with younger members
less likely to speak English than older ones. Although the English language
is maintained in the schools, personal accounts and participant observations
of community members show that the language is not an ethnic marker.
The fact that English has lost its value as an ethnic marker can account
for the loss of the home domain. There is a tendency in sociolinguistics
to believe that the problems of language maintenance are usually related
to the lower prestige and economic standing of the community speaking
the immigrant language. This study maintains that there are covert forces
at work in the community at large that put into question the loyalty
of an immigrant community and makes it very difficult to maintain a
situation of stable bilingualism if isolation is not achieved.
Sex
Differences in Minority Language Retention by Hispanic Children in Northern
New Mexico
Eliverio Chavez, Texas Tech University
Sex
differences in language loss among Hispanic children were examined in
three communities. The bilingual proficiency of 205 subjects was measured
by various instruments. The results indicate that females are less proficient
in Spanish and are the precursors in language shift to English because
of language prestige and female employment opportunities. Higher rates
of male proficiency were evident only in the most rural location; thus,
data was gathered in threemore rural communities in order to substantiate
the original findings. An additional 148 subjects were measured, and
the results of the first study were verified. Overall, the correlative
factors in language retention by males include rurality, early stages
of language shift, low socioeconomic status, and employment patterns.
Structure
Exaggeration in Language Death
Susan G. Guion, University of Texas, Austin
In
this paper, I propose that dying languages are characterized by a stage
of structure exaggeration, in which features of the dying language most
saliently different from the dominant are used more frequently and in
more situations than in the earlier, healthy form of the language. I
first base my observations on research conducted on a dying dialect
of New World German spoken in Gillespie County, Texas, and then draw
parallels with language death situations in other languages.
Grammatical
Roles and Participant Introductions in Native English and Second Language
Discourse
Lorraine E. Kumpf, California State University, Long Beach
This
study is concerned with the way in which new participants are introduced
into a narrative. It examines the form of the noun phrase introducing
the referent, and correlates that with the grammatical role of the NP
and with the status of the character (major or minor) in the narrative.
Both native and nonnative English texts will be examined. It is assumed
that the form of the NP is based largely on factors of information flow,
that is, on whether information is new to the discourse or to the hearer,
known to the hearer, accessible through some sort of shared knowledge,
evoked by a frame, and so on; the information status of some NPs will
be discussed. The perspective supporting this study is that grammatical
structures emerge from patterns of language use: grammar may take shape
to a significant degree as a result of discourse patterns which one
can understand as functionally or pragmatically driven. Du Bois' (1987)
discussion of the role of intransitives in narratives particularly motivates
this work. (See also Chafe, 1980, 1987; Prince, 1981, 1992; Du Bois,
1980; and Givon, 1983). Introductions are identified and classified
in this study according to the structure of the clause containing the
first mention of, or the first reference to, the new participant. As
such, the NPs used to refer to these participants will be new information,
and it is expected that the NPs will be full lexical nouns. Du Bois
(1987) and others have quantified the expectation that new information
correlates with full NPs. This study will review and revise the claim
(Du Bois, 1987; Redeker, 1987) that new participants are introduced
with intransitives.
Variation
in Japanese Honorific Use and the Negotiation of Social Relationships
Cynthia Dickel Dunn, University of Texas, Austin
This
paper uses data from interviews with twelve native speakers of Japanese
to discuss the issue of what happens when people with different sociolinguistic
norms for honorific use meet and try to converse. The consultants were
asked about their norms for the use of Japanese honorific levels and
to describe situations in which they were surprised by someone else's
honorific use. Several consultants described situations in which they
were uncomfortable because their interlocutors used plain forms when
they expected polite honorifics, or vice versa. There were also instances
in which one speaker changed his/her behavior to match that of the other.
Diverging expectations about appropriate honorific use can thus lead
to negative emotional reactions, accommodation, or both. The negotiation
of which honorific level to use involves both defining the nature of
the relationship and reaching a level of accommodation between potentially
disparate sociolinguistic norms.
Aggravated
Corrections as Disagreement in Casual Greek Conversations
Christina Kakava, Georgetown University
Disagreement
has previously been considered a structurally and consequently an interactionally
'dispreferred' action that threatens speakers' sociability. No study
has thoroughly examined contextual factors that may reflect a particular
form a disagreement make take, but some studies have shown that disagreement
can be a form of sociability in some ethnic groups (Schiffrin 1984,
Kakava 1989). The purpose of this study is to examine a type of disagreement
referred to as 'aggravated correction' and show that this type of disagreement
can reflect contextual parameters such as speakers' high involvement
style (Tannen 1984) and a speech community's cultural norms which may
'allow' this type of contentiousness. It further proposes a modified
version of Hymes' (1972) speech components as the likely parameters
that may be indexed by a particular disagreement type. This study treats
disagreement as a context-dependent action in a constitutive relationship
with contextual parameters and it thus redresses previous studies' limitations.
Pointed
Lips, Thumbs Up, and Cheek Puffs: Some Emblematic Gestures in Social
Interactional and Ethnographic Context
Joel Sherzer, University of Texas, Austin
Emblematic
gestures from three distinct locations, the Kuna pointed-lip gesture,
the Brazilian thumbs-up gesture, and French breath, lip, and cheek gestures,
are studied from the combined perspectives of social interaction and
discourse analysis and the ethnography of speaking/communication. It
is shown that there is a relationship between the details of face-to-face
communication and more general social, political, and economic context.
Kinship
as Verbal Art: A Western Apache Case
David Samuels, University of Texas, Austin
Numerous
writers have explained the Southern Athapaskan (Apachean) clan system
as either a result of Pueblo influence, or as an epiphenomenon of material
subsistence patterns. The present paper instead investigates Apachean
clanship and kinship as an expressive system--that is, as a primary
speech genre in an ethnography of speaking. The paper delineates the
use of kinship terms as an extended set of personal pronouns. It explores
the ways in which this personal pronoun usage constitutes sentiment
and social relations in a system of competitive egalitarianism. A connection
between grammar and this intersubjective sentiment is made in a discussion
of the proper use of the dual form of the verb.
Gender
and Verbal Art: The Case of the Akan
Akosua Anyidoho, University of Texas, Austin
The
paper examines the extent to which verbal expressive roles played by
the female and male in Akan culture correspond to the socially approved
sex-roles. It is hypothesized that sex-exclusive verbal genres will
mirror the general sex roles, if society is consistent in allocating
roles. To explore this issue, the contexts of performance and functions
of four female and five male verbal activities and genres are described
and compared to the Akan's conception of masculinity and femininity
and sex roles. The analysis suggests that just as males dominate public
activities, and women take charge of domestic ones, discourse types
controlled by the sexes also follow similar patterns. The paper, however,
goes beyond simple correlation to examine the associations that has
been made between the domestic realm and powerlessness on one hand,
and the public sphere and power on the other. It observes that the opposition
between the two domains as well as the differential values associated
with them derive from capitalist ideologies, and may not apply to every
society. The paper concludes that disparate criteria may be necessary
in assessing gender hierarchy and relations in different cultures.
Mayan
Conversation as Interaction
Jill Brody, Louisiana State University
The
everyday art of conversation is valued in Mayan speech communities.
The frequency and structure of back-channels in Mayan conversations
makes sense when conversations are understood to be structured around
cycles rather than turns. Examination of conversation in seven Mayan
languages results in a preliminary classification of back-channels.
Speech
Style, Grammatical Distinction, and the Reproduction of Social Difference
in Highland Nepal
Calla Jacobson, University of Texas at Austin
The
paper explores the way that honorifics are altered or "misused" in the
Nepali language discourse of native Sherpa and Tamang speakers in northeastern
highland Nepal. The Nepali language is spoken fluently but as a third
language by these Sherpa and Tamang villagers. Nepali is the language
of the high-caste Hindu majority in Nepal, of the central government
and all its bureaucratic processes, of school instruction, and of radio
news and folksong broadcasts. When speaking Nepali, these Sherpa and
Tamang villagers make significant changes to its grammar and honorifics,
changes that are perceived as mistakes by the high-caste majority. These
changes dramatically increase ambiguity and affect--indeed nearly erase
the way that status relations are indexed in grammatically "correct"
Nepali-language discourse. I argue that this particular pattern of grammatical
"mistakes," paradoxically functions to challenge and at the same time
to reproduce social asymmetry. I concentrate on Nepali-language discourse,
but include preliminary comments on the Sherpa and Tamang languages
for comparative purposes.
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