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Call for questions: INTONATIONAL PHONOLOGY? (Patreon)

Published:
2018-05-25 00:02:35
Imported:
2018-05

Content

WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN, DADWARD? 

I'm interviewing this amazing linguistics expert, Dr. Nicole Holliday, who studies variations in language depending on audience. 

"She is especially interested in how individuals who cross traditional racial/ethnic boundaries reflect multiple social identities through linguistic practices. Specifically, her current research examines the use of intonation and suprasegmental features that speakers may employ in the performance of their ethnic identities, as well as the ways in which these features act as cues for listeners in making ethnicity judgments." 

https://www.pomona.edu/directory/people/nicole-holliday

This will be fascinating and I hereby welcome your questions and if you have any comments about your personal experience with this. 

This one will be goooooood. 

Comments

iolanthe

Do people tend to tone down/increase their accent in different situations? And do women lower or higher their voice depending on who they talk to?

Mara Spensieri

Where does the idea that one dialect of a language is better than another come from (ie. France Frenxh vs. Quebec French) and how do you get people to understand that there is no wrong way to speak a language?

Topher

I have two code-switches. I speak one way with my Hispanic family, and one way with coworkers. But I also speak differently with childhood friends who were raised in the religion I was in.... What. Is up. With, that!?

Maren Mossman

Why do parents (and people in general) tend to speak to children in higher pitched voices? Is there a reason why when switching to talk to adults, we sometimes don’t realize we are still speaking in that voice? Full disclosure, I am guilty of this.

Mara Spensieri

Are there certain intonations or ways speaking that are seen one way in the Americas that would be seen the opposite way in other cultures? (Ex: talking high pitched to babies/pets)

Mikey

I have a question related to a pet peeve I have. Why do people sometimes speak in a louder, harsher tone when they can’t understand someone speaking with an accent? Like why do they think if they speak louder to that person then they’ll get their point across? Help me, it annoys me so much!

Beth Frausto

What is the origin of Vocal Fry? Does it exist in other languages besides English? Is it unique to the United States, or does it exist in other English-speaking countries? And how do we make it die?!

Christa Avampato

This subject area is so fascinating! What are some techniques that we can use to engender trust and convey a real desire to understand and convey compassion. From a body language perspective, we know if we sit up straight, make eye contact, and nod as someone is speaking, it helps people to know that we are truly listening to them. Are there similar measures we can take with our tone that help open up to use during a conversation?

Jessica Bomgardner

This might not be related but what's the worst celebrity fake accent you've ever heard?

Julie K. Rose

Is she only looking at spoken language, or written language too? I'm interested in her take on internet-speak and how language is used in different online contexts. For example, Tumblr has a very specific kind of grammar and shorthand that you don't necessarily find (or use!) in "real" life or other places online.

radishcake yarns & fibers

Why do people develop verbal tics? I think all of have ones, like um, like, and my daughter says “and such” when she’s kind of done with describing something. I think it’s interesting how people talk and fill those silences.

Greg

I'm still a little confused by how "American" accents were developed from "British" accents. So it was a class thing that started in Southern England? If that's true, why didn't those people retain their "American" rhotic accents? I'm clearly misunderstanding something here lol...

Hereiskarl

Someone has probably asked this so sorry if it's repeat, but is tone deaf actually a thing, or is it just what we tell ourselves to feel better about not being able to sing?

Laura Cowles

I took non-regional diction in college to eradicate my South Georgia accent because tiny, blonde ladies with southern accents weren’t seen as the brightest bulbs in the box. Now in my professional life I occasionally play up my accent to Southern clients from the South who think it’s cute and therefore spend more money! Am I gross human for doing this? Is it the same as a woman with large bosoms wearing a low cut blouse? Also, is it weird that I got rid of my accent in a first place because I didn’t think I sounded smart?

Lauren Blanchard

OH SHIT!! This is my JAM! So, I'm Cajun and live in French speaking Louisiana, so the difference between Cajun French and "Proper" French is a pet hobby of mine.

Christopher Barley

I am southern (Virginia) and have a slight accent when talking normally. Why when I have had a few drinks, does my accent show itself more prominently? This is also the case if I hang out with my friends from back home. When not drinking/hanging out with friends back home, is my sub-conscious mind constantly self correcting itself to speak without the accent?

Jill Kerswill

People can’t read my lips when I talk because I move my mouth differently apparently. Any ideas why I would’ve learned to form different mouth shapes than the people around me to say the same words? I’m assuming that we learn to form certain sounds by mimicking our parents mouth shapes. I had speech therapy for a moderate stutter growing up and still talk really fast which sometimes causes me to slur a little. I don’t know if my nationality is relevant, but I’m Australian and only speak English.

Rachel Eli

Seems like I’m falling in line with others here... I’m raised in the Southern US, studying British Lit, and have learnt Spanish, French, and Japanese: I tend to pick up and mirror the accent of whoever I’m speaking with. Any thoughts on the cause and outcomes of such behaviour? Should I try to consciously avoid this?

Betsy Scroggs

I have some friends who are native Navajo speakers and they can make the glottal stops and "th" sounds with what seems like so much more ease than their kids who are just learning the language as adults (Also me, silly Bilagáana, I have tried and practiced for years and still can sometimes understand what people say, but can only answer back in English.) Is there a physical muscle that you have to use your whole life to be able to speak certain languages, or is it something you can get someday if you practice enough?

Matt McTaggart

What a great topic - I'm going to listen the heck out of this. My kids tease me for putting on a 'fancy' voice when speaking on the phone or with professional colleagues. I understand what they mean but couldn't describe it. I wonder, is there an analogy between vocal performance of ethnicity and social class? Is it difficult to separate those ideas in the American context?

Rebecca Wancelotti

My fiance is Brazilian. He's 100% bilingual and has no accent in either language. But when he's speaking in Portuguese with his friends or family and uses English words or phrases, he suddenly says it with a Brazilian accent. He had no idea until I told him and his friends never noticed. Why does he do this and why can't any of them hear it?

Casey Handmer

This is super cool! So many things even about my measly transition from almost unaccented Australian living in Australia to almost Crocodile Dundee in LA. But here's a super technical one. I never used to make this basic syntactical error "There's three cats" (as opposed to "there're three cats") but now I almost never use the plural in abbreviated words. Sorry, this is a boring question. It's probably because Australians don't pronounce "r"s the same way.

Euan Munro

As a Scotsman with an American wife something, I've noticed a little bit about the two places' range of accent. It seems to me that the small country of Scotland has more regional accents than America - apart from the accents from immigrants where English is the second language. Am I mistaken in this? And if I'm right, what has caused this?

Jen Durbin

Is it true that if you are not exposed to a language/dialect as a child, you can't make the sane sounds if you try to learn it as an adult? And relatedly, does that mean you can never speak a language you learn as an adult without a foreign accent?

Annika Harrison

Indo-European language. What is going on here? How did human beings started talking? Why is so much of Proto-Indo-European still left nowadays? Regarding the personal experience: I'm a native German speaker and have learned English in school. Always had a bit of a British accent, started watching a TV show from NZ and developed a veeery slight Kiwi accent, now I've been together with my boyfriend, who is an awesome Australian, and while native speakers of English tell me that I still have quite the German accent, my students (I'm an English teacher) tell me that I sound Australian. :D

Mark Larsen

What are the most and least spoken languages in the world?

Skype a Scientist

Why the heck does my Philly accent come out so much worse when I'm drunk? I'm not trying to NOT have one when I'm sober, but it's like I revert once I'm 3 beers deep, what gives?!

The Foxes

In terms of linguistic relativity, do you think cultural vernacular or colloquial speech is a strong factor in cognition?

The Foxes

When code switching is used for identity signaling, is that identity gradually diluted as linguistic terms or tenor come into common parlance?

Aeriel Belk

Why do certain accents and dialects make us make assumptions about people (they sound pretentious, they sound stupid, etc)? Is it because we have come to associate the accent with those stereotypes, or does the accent itself make us feel a certain way?

Erin Kelly

Whhhhy is it that whenever I go back to a place that I have lived my accent from that place comes back. Or if I am around people from those areas. I live in New Orleans now but grew up in Phoenix until I was 13 and then lived in central Louisiana for 18 years. That accent comes back hard when I am around people from there.

Matthew

Please ask her about the Chinese concept of TONES. For example, the work "ma" has four completely different meanings depending upon the tone with which you say it. And whereas the Cantonese and Mandarin dialects have four tones, the Haklo have eight (4 tones x 2 octaves)!

Eva

Do native speakers use different intonation than speakers who are one or two generations removed (like children of immigrants, for example)? What about compared to people who learn the language independent of their family?

Zeke Sikelianos

My wife makes fun of me for adopting a hispanic accent when speaking English with people whose first language is Spanish. I don't do it consciously, but am aware of it as it happens. Is this my brain trying to reduce the cultural distance between myself and others?

Ashlyn Northington

How can some people move to a different region or country that speaks the same language as they do and never adopt the regional accent there, yet I have to fight against adopting the accent and grammar use of someone I really like after all of five minutes of talking with them?

Colette Ayers

Why do we mix other languages in with English? Like I say oui sometimes instead of yes or à quelle heure ? My grandma was French so is this me identifying with that part of my heritage? I mean I know English stems from a wide range of languages so is this something we have always done to them develop language as it is today and it continues to develop? Into like just texting emojis. How do you feel about this and what is the future of language??

Colette Ayers

How intense an emotion is one solitary word capable of evoking?

Miriam Elizabeth

Wow does this relate to a job I just had or what. I’m a nanny and I worked for a family who had just adopted a 7 year old girl from an Indian orphanage who happened to be practically completely deaf. It was the best experience I’ve ever had to get to witness her, to just be in the presence of such a strong and resilient child for one thing. What struck me, from the first moment I met her, was the cultural difference between us. She came running up to my car as I was still driving. I don’t know if that’s ever happened to me before but I know in India that’s a common occurrence. The next thing that knocked my socks off was the way she ate. Like holy cow that girl was a great eater. And she ate with her hands. The first thing was a mango, then samosas, pomegranates, rice, sushi, just anything you’d give her if you tried it first. And you’re probably wondering but where does the language part come in? Well, during this whole experience I realized that language is a tool that we got really good at and forget that people are not born knowing words. Or sentence structure. And when you are left to yourself with no appropriate instruction about what it is to be a human for seven years you won’t know what to think when you’re taken to the USA. I’m not with the family any longer but I miss them all the time. It’s inspired me to pursue a career in helping people with language however I can. Now I’m a nanny for a baby and I’m teaching him sign language and trying to expose him to all languages. HBO has some great shows with Spanish and music from around the world I like but I’d love to know if there’s any more I can do to help babies understand the world and be able to communicate! Thanks!

Eric Polk

Consider the phrase "uh-huh", often used in a conversation to affirm to the other person that you hear what they are saying. In English (at least on the West Coast), the intonation on "huh" goes up in pitch. This is how my wife normally says it. However, when she is talking with her mother and aunts who speak almost exclusively Spanish to her, her pitch goes down on the "huh". I mentioned it to her and she insists I am hearing things. I think I have heard the same pitch difference with other Spanish speakers but I am not sure. Am I hearing things?

Aaron Collier

I would love to know how this applies to the world of sign language if possible. We studied a great deal about sign language in undergrad and it seems to be a very fragmented language both within the states and across the world. Do users of ASL or other forms of sign language develop a different sense of identity from others, even other members of their own family?

Megan Younce

Oh my god I’ve been waiting for this since your podcast started!!! So excited! Too excited for think of any specific questions!

Meaghan Walsh Gerard

So, the whole thing in My Fair Lady is totally legit, right? Someone who really studies it could place a Londoner within a few streets just based on their accent?

Mads Clement

(ahh ihope this isn't too late i love linguistics) if you saw arrival with amy adams, what did you think? at the time i'd taken a couple intro to ling classes and i thought it was great, but I wanna hear from an Actual Linguistics Person

Emma Fiori

My mother is British (from London, strong accent) and my dad is American (from Texas, mild accent, but sometimes noticeable), but I never had an inkling of an accent aside from a few words ("mummy", "loo", and "vitamins" with a short i). Everyone I've ever encountered thinks my mum's British accent is the coolest thing in the world, and I feel like I got cheated for not getting an accent. BTW we all live in California. I even had one of my aunts from my mum's side very close growing up, which was kinda like having two British parents as far as exposure goes. So why didn't I pick up an accent? Also, I've never been able to do a good British accent, despite my intimate experience with the accent. Whenever friends asked me to I always said that because I've grown up around it so much I don't notice the difference, even though I still notice British accents in non-family members. Could that be true?

Laura Mulligan

Why is it when my sister in law gets drunk, she starts speaking in a Scottish accent? Totally not trying to or anything, but we all notice it! Also, she's married to a Scot.