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Cultural differences about communication
Cultural differences vs cross cultural communications
Cultural differences vs cross cultural communications
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Style has been an integral component in the field of linguistics. Linguistic style refers to a person’s speaking pattern, which can include different features such as pace, pitch, intonation, syntactic patterns, etc. Styles of speech is learned, and is often influenced by location, gender, ethnicity, and age. As different cultures and sub-cultures arise, linguistic variations occur and different sociolinguistic styles come into being. Each style can index social meanings such as group membership, personal attributes or beliefs.
This paper will look analyze the sociolinguistic style of The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger, a parody of a nature documentary narrated by czg123 (Randall). A transcript of the video will be included as well as an analysis of specific linguistic features used by Randall, the meanings indexed by these features, the style created by these features, and the importance of these features within a social context.
The extended duration of /s/ and /l/ has been explored in studies researching the speech styles of gay men and gay-sounding men. Researchers found that gay sounding men often often lengthen their pronunciation of the letters ‘s,’ creating a hissing sound, and ‘l,’
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It would be unjust to say that all gay men speak in this manner. To do so would ignore intersectionality. Intersectionality is the interconnectedness of social categorizations (i.e., race, class, gender), and creates overlapping social identities. Language can be influenced by these different social categories. Therefore, different groups of people can speak differently. For example, low-income, white gay male may speak differently that a middle-class, white gay male. Similarly, a gay man of color and a gay, white male may also speak differently. Therefore, we cannot assume that all gay men speak with a stereotypically gay accent, just as we can’t assume that all men who speak in a gay-sounding voice are
This chapter focused mainly on misconceptions and attempting to clarify those misconceptions about accents. In the opinion of linguists, accent is a difficult word to define. This is due to the fact that language has variation therefore when it comes to a person having an accent or not, there is no true technical distinction because every person has different phonological aspects to their way of speaking. However, when forced to define this word, it is described as “a way of speaking” (Lippi-Green, 2012, p.44). Although Lippi- Green identified the difficulty linguists have in distinguishing between accent, dialect, and another language entirely, they were able to construct a loose way of distinguishing. Lippi- Green states that an accent can be determined by difference in phonological features alone, dialect can be determined by difference in syntax, lexicon, and semantics alone, and when all of these aspects are different from the original language it is considered another language entirely (Lippi-Green, 2012).
‘Language is considered one of the most important means of initiating, synthesising and reinforcing ways of thinking, feeling and behaviour which are functionally related to the social group.’ (Bernstein, 1959). Hence, language plays a crucial role in life and society. This essay focuses on analysing a case study of Oliver from the BBC1 documentary 7 up to 2000. The key aspect examined in this article will be the subject’s language, accent and the range of his vocabulary.
Often, the language spoken by Northern Spaniards sounds identical to the language spoken by Southern Spaniards. However, the northerners speak with the “the emission of the consonants ‘d’ and ‘r’, the aspiration of the consonant ‘s’ at the end of words, and the dropping of final consonants”, whereas southerners do not. (Khodorkovsky, 2008) Again, both types a Spaniards are conveying a message when speaking. Likewise, Americans have differing dialect. The way someone from the West coast speaks contrasts the way someone from the East coast speaks. But yet again, both people are conveying a message when speaking. Although their verbal communication may sound different, Hispanic and American culture’s are still accomplishing the same goal. There are also many similarities and differences in each culture’s nonverbal communication
masculinity in men) indexes heterosexuality, while non-normative behavior (i.e. effeminacy in men) indexes homosexuality.” This states that the perception of heteronormative speech essentially goes undetected and sounds more natural or standard in conversation. n this study we aim to understand the functions of code-switching as it pertains to gay speech. One of the many reasons people code-switch is to fit so they are accepted in any social situation. Whether it’s amongst friends, or co-workers, one tends to adapt to their surroundings via linguistic variables such as meticulously articulated phonemes, and prescriptive or descriptive linguistic formalities. Previous research has shown that gay speech is self-managed, and gay men tend to code switch depending on context (CITE). Our research is aimed to understand the functions of code switching and how men who identify as gay, bisexual, and transgender change their speech depending on their environment. While complex, our goal is to address how race and region affects vocabulary and voice production. Our intent is to determine how and why the ability to hide (or project) one’s sexuality or gender identity and conform or reject dominant social lexical norms, and how it is replicated depending on what identity the speaker is trying to
Attenborough is mostly formal with the way he communicates; the language used is sophisticated, scripted and rehearsed. Irwin is mostly informal with the way he communicates; the language used is very stereotypical Australian and it is not scripted. Attenborough demonstrates sophisticated language when explaining the Siberian Tiger and the way it hunts “the ultimate in lethal grace and beauty” this is informing the viewer of the animal’s nature in the natural habitat. Irwin uses clichés while handling the snakes “sweating bullets” this expresses Irwin’s anxiety in the dangerous situation. Irwin is notorious for using Australian slang throughout his programs “you’re alright mate” this is said when handling the snakes and various other animals when Irwin attempts to calm the furious animal down. Attenborough informs the viewer of how the body of the animals work, when talking about the Fennec Fox “it cools its blood by circulating it through capillaries” this is in relation to the foxes ears. Irwin uses formal language that is subject specific “dimorphic” this is when a snake has two distinct forms. Attenborough rarely uses informal language; these can generally be taken as of a joke “the males do no more than cock a leg”. The language used by each host is relevant to the education level or age of the target audience. Attenborough expects the audience to have a prior knowledge, whereas, Irwin explains the formal language
The way a person speaks can tell much about their character. The way someone speaks and what they say are all observable characteristic...
Women produce this sound with a higher peak frequency and a more negatively skewed spectrum than men,” and cite studies that have found that self-identified gay men also produce the /s/ sound with a higher peak frequency and a more negatively skewed spectrum than heterosexual men (Mack and Munson: 2012). This may indicate that some gay men do have a “gay lisp” and speak in a way more similar to women, and could be performing their gender in a more feminine way. Mack and Munson’s study, which includes experiments focusing on /s/ quality and perceived sexual orientation, finds that listeners associate a lisp with “gay-sounding” speech, but the study focuses only on the perception of sexuality based on lisping rather than the actual sexuality of speakers, so it cannot support the accuracy of the stereotypes. It does, however, provide evidence that, because people perceive certain speech as “sounding gay,” there are certain characteristics that people associate with being gay, even if the people with these characteristics aren’t actually
Squealer clearly has effective speaking skills, because he employs ethos, pathos, and logos into his speeches to make them more convincing. By using these rhetorical devices, Squealer is able to gain power over the other animals on the farm, even though his words were used as a weapon to abuse his authority. Squealer proves that using ethos, pathos, and logos in an effective way is they key for success, whether that success is for the good, or not so good of others.
The essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldua is relevant to today’s society, because it brings to discussion important social issues such acculturation, racism, and sexism. A major social event that she lived through and was an advocate of was the Chicano movement, which influenced her in her writing. This essay is not only written solely using her intelligence and research, it also comes from personal experience. Furthermore, she says that she will not be silenced anymore, that all people deserve the right to freedom of speech and the freedom to their culture. Not to have to submit to the dominant cultures found here in the United States. This essay is directed towards two groups
The Use of Language in Animal Farm Animal Farm by George Orwell is an allegory in which animals are personified to represent the struggles and conflicts of the Russian Revolution. The main point emphasizes in the novel is that language is a powerful tool, which can be used to manipulate and control people in order to bring about change, whether big or small. In the story the pigs govern everything that happens, whether it is something as miner as eating a meal, or something as major and important as fighting a strategic battle. Napoleon, the foreman, or leader of the pigs is the most powerful of them all. Napoleon and his “side kick”, Squealer, abused the powers of language to manipulate the animals of the farm into thinking that the farm was a beautiful society flourishing with life and freedom, when in fact, it was quite the opposite.
Leap, William, and Tom Boellstorff. Speaking in queer tongues: globalization and gay language. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004. Print.
Wardhaugh, R. (1986). An introduction to sociolinguistics. New York, NY, USA: Blackwell. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
Analyzing dialects can be difficult due to the fact that is it hard to transcribe the pronunciation of an individual dialect because English is not spelled the same way it is pronounced. Furthermore, one person’s interpretation of spelling a dialect might not match up with another’s, so the reader might not “hear” the dialect properly. Regardless, written versions of dialects are essential to discussing dialectical differences.
One of the most fascinating sociolinguistic phenomena in modern times is code-switching. This act occurs when a speaker or speakers switch from one dialect to another within a single conversation. It is similar to style-shifting, which involves a change in the level of formality between speakers. (Curzan, 266-269) The complexity of social interaction requires language users to adapt to changing needs in conversation. Typical and atypical shifts in language usage are evident in daily life. A conversation between two coworkers might be drastically different from a conversation between a manager and a supervisor. A conversation between friends who share the same two languages will likely vary from a conversation between two monolingual friends. And a letter to someone who lives only a short distance away will probably be dissimilar from a letter written to someone in a different region, country, or continent from the writer.
The book An Intorduction of Sociolinguistics is an outstanding introductary book in the field of sociolinguistics. It encompasses a wide range of language issues. In chapter 13, Wardhaugh provides a good insight to the relationship between language and gender. He explains gender differences of language-in-use with concise examples. Wardhaugh riases questions about sexist language and guides readers to look closer at how people use language differently because of their own gender in daily life. According to the Whorfian hypothesis, which indicates that the way people use language reflects their thoughts, different genders adapt different communication strategies.