User:Ccoonjohn/Mock language

Choose An Article WikiEDU Assignment 6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ccoonjohn/Choose_an_Article?veaction=edit&preload=Template%3ADashboard.wikiedu.org_choose_article Just want to make sure you can find this link.

Article Head

Mock language is a term in linguistic anthropology for the intentional use of a language not spoken by or native to the speaker that is used to reinforce the speaker's language ideology of the hegemonic language. [CONSIDER REWRITING]

The term "Mock" has since been applied to other languages, and the umbrella term "Mock language" developed. Mock language is commonly viewed as a form of appropriation. [LOOK FOR CITATION?] In the United States, the most common form is mock Spanish. However, globally, mock language is used to share meaning between the speaker and audience about the speech community the speaker is mocking. [CONSDER REWRITING]

Definition

Cosmopolitanism is not used correctly.

One dominant language ideology is that English should be the only language spoken in the United States, establishing English as a hegemonic language [citation needed] **CITATION 7**

Mock language reinforces this, as it takes language and culture out of context to show the speaker's worldly knowledge, but does not celebrate or intellectually use the language. [NEED TO REWRITE]

This ideology is actually maintaining the subordinate status of the other languages used as the language speakers in that community are expected to speak English and not in a mocking way. [SHOULD BE REWRITTEN TO REINFORCING or CREATING, as maintaining suggests that these languages are subordinate. They’re not, unless you participate in the hegemonic view being discussed.]

For the opposing perspective, saying that using other languages in an English conversation is supportive of that language, it does not show awareness of the cultural or social meanings behind the words spoken. [Citation needed, Needs to be rewritten. Should this be moved to “Controversy” Section? Should Controversy be renamed or just fleshed out? This doesn’t show much controversy, except for the inherently controversial theory]

History, Theorists, and Contributors

This section doesn’t talk so much about history, theorists, or contributors, rather, it merely discusses two specific studies.  

“Mock-Languages” Hyphenated & Not throughout the rest of paper

The term "Mock Spanish" was popularized in the 1990s by linguistic anthropologist Jane H. Hill. This led to other languages being referred to as "Mock-Languages." [CHECK CITATION 1]

Globalization has occurred at an exponential rate through numerous media—such as television and social networking applications—during the turn of the 21st century. With globalization, more languages are being encountered in daily interactions, and more people are able to travel. To show this global perspective, it is common to incorporate words of different languages into your native language, thus mock language. [REVISE BITS REGARDING GLOBALIZATION. NEEDS TO BE REWRITTEN FOR POOR LOGIC]

Hill analyzes the 'inner sphere' and 'outer spheres' in which Puerto Ricans living in New York uses their bilingualism. In the inner sphere of neighborhood and intimates such as family and close friends, the boundaries between English and Spanish are blurred formally and functionally. However, in the outer sphere with strangers or government officials, the usage of Spanish becomes marked and "sharply objectified" to the point where the boundaries are so distinct that bilingual speakers may become too scared to speak at all. This shows the hegemonic power of English and how Spanish speakers feel vulnerable and powerless to use Spanish. The need for perfect English is absolute, yet when English speakers dabble in Spanish in this mocking way, there is no nervousness, as their agency extends beyond English hegemony and into the power an English speaker holds in American society. Hill also discusses how semantic domains index a state. Saying something is "el cheapo" indexes that Spanish speakers do not have money or commonly buy cheap, crappy goods. [CITATIONS NEED TO BE CHECKED AND ADDED. THIS NEEDS TO BE REWRITTEN FOR GRAMMAR, WORD CHOICE, AND LOGIC.]

In a more recent study of Mock White Girl, researcher Tyanna Slobe explains how it is a hegemonic representation of a language being dominated than another and how people would to try to identify with that race by saying a combination of words in that language. “...complicating the moralizing gaze with which linguists have approached mock as uniformly reproducing white supremacist ideologies.” This is the performance piece that people want others to portray themselves to why they would speak this way. [THIS NEEDS TO BE REWRITTEN FOR GRAMMAR, WORD CHOICE, LOGIC, AND PUNCTUATION.]

Mock white girl shows how the intentional use of vocal fry to convey a mockery of the white, upper-class, suburban, spoiled young adult or teenager is conveying a shared meaning that the language the speaker is mocking is subordinate and not to be taken seriously. It indexes the characteristics of a stereotypical white girl and uses the n+1 level of indexicality for the public to make the connection between the mockery and the speech community. [CITATION AND REVISION NEEDED]

Another semantic domain [NEEDS TO BE HYPERLINKED TO WIKI PAGE] is language crossing. “Language crossing involves code alternation by people who are not accepted members of the group associated with the second language that they are using (code switching into varieties that are not generally thought to belong to them). This kind of switching involves a distinct sense of movement across social or ethnic boundaries and it raises issues of legitimacy which, in one way or another, participants need to negotiate in the course of their encounter.” This is similar to mock language as the people code alternating are not members of the group, similar to how mock-language speakers are English speakers not members of the language they are mocking. [NOT SURE IF THIS BELONGS HERE, IT NEEDS REVISION IF IT’S STAYING. CITATION MAY NEED IN-TEXT RATHER THAN AS IT’S SETUP.]

Mock language is used in anthropology and linguistics to interpret different languages in a conversation and the characteristics of borrowing words from a language. [CITATION NEEDED, REVISION] It is important to study mock language in order to preserve the original foundations of languages or dialects that have become subject to the pressure of globalization. Each time a mock phrase is used, it reinforces the divergence from the original language.[CITATION?] Globalization occurs at a much faster rate today than in the past, largely due to technological advancements that connect the world with no regard for national borders [RELEVANCE]. American culture is overwhelmingly dominant in the field of online media, and American interpretations of other cultures often become somewhat of a universal standard, at least in terms of exposure. This makes it important for linguists to analyze such interpretations and recognize their origins. [REVISION NEEDED, NEEDS TO BE MORE OBJECTIVE, THE CONCLUSION IS WEAK AND UNSUPPORTED.]

The study of Mock Language also reveals several powerful racial ideologies in the way English speakers hold agency to use other languages carelessly. [NEEDS TO BE MORE OBJECTIVE, CITATION NEEDED] “It is certainly useful to think of linguistic signs as being bound to historical contexts. But a limited historical view of language fails to address the fact that speakers are often not aware of the historical references they make by using particular signs.” This leads to a general ignorance, mostly from the perspective of English speakers, regarding the use of certain phrases. [NEEDS TO BE MORE OBJECTIVE. ARE ENGLISH SPEAKERS THE ONLY ONES TO USE MOCK LANGUAGE?] Misuses of certain words can eventually be attributed to legitimate cultures after overuse, especially with the help of modern media as a medium of exposure, undermining history and often introducing the possibility of offending native speakers.[CITATION NEEDED]

Controversy

This section is lacking. It could be used to present opposing theories or evidence. Renaming this section should also be explored.

In the United States, the dominant language ideology is that English should be the official language [HYPERLINK TO WIKI OFFICIAL LANGUAGES OR LANGUAGES OF US]. There are many social, economic, environmental disadvantages of minority groups [WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN IN THIS CONTEXT]. The dominant ideology does not allow these groups to celebrate their language, yet “mock language involves borrowings and wordplay by speakers who require little comprehension of the other language.”  [IMPROPERLY PLACED QUOTE] Mock language reinforces the status and social differences of native English speakers versus minorities and ethnic communities. [LAST SENTENCE ISN’T NECESSARILY TRUE. SPEAKERS OF EBONICS ARE PREDOMINENTLY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS. THIS SENTENCES MOVES THE DIFFERENCES TO RACE AND ETHNICITY RATHER THAN LANGUAGE.]

Features of Mock Language

While not every use of mock language is the same, aspects such as gendered indicators, greetings, and pronouns are commonly used. [NEEDS CITATION] It may come about without the intention of knowing the harm for that language's speech community. [NEEDS REVISION] Mock Spanish commonly uses gendered pronouns of 'el', 'la', and adds '-o' to the end of words. [REVISE]

Mock-white girl [NOT HYPHENATED EARLIER IN PAGE] is a type of mock language that is inspired by the stereotypical "white girl's" vernacular [CITATION AND REVISION NEEDED]. It commonly uses features such as 'like' in excess to imply the speaker is not well spoken [THIS IS HYPHENATED] or articulate. It also features uptalk, creaky voice, blondness and the stereotypical association with Starbucks. [HOW IS BLONDNESS FEATURED IN SPEECH? NOT OBJECTIVE, VERIFY CITATION]   

Mock-Hindi has taken the word 'namaste' out of context singularly and does not borrow other words or linguistic features from the language [CITATION? NO OTHER WORD IS A BIG CLAIM]. While these are all very different mock languages features, they all do not respect the original languages and highlight the language ideology of English dominance in the US [THIS IS A CONCLUSION IN THE MIDDLE OF A PARAGRAPH ABOUT MOCK HINDI]. Additionally, it does not code switch [THIS HYPERLINKS TO A TALK SHOW, NOT THE LINGUISTIC TERM: code-switching] between the two languages, a linguistic term for switching between two languages the speaker knows, as the speaker clearly does not know Hindi [COULD MOVE THIS LINK TO FIRST OCCURRENCE OF HINDI] when using it in such a context [THIS IS NOT UNIQUE TO MOCK HINDI AS, BY DEFINITION, THE ONE WHO USES A MOCK LANGUAGE DOES NOT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE THEY’RE MOCKING. THUS, MAKING THE OFFENSE THAT MUCH GREATER.]

Mock Spanish

Not sure why this was the only language that got it's own section? I'm guessing it's because the attention paid to it by Jane Hill.

It has been adapted in society for people to code switch between languages but there is a boundary where "speaking" the language is inauthentic and distasteful. People tend to say "el" or add an "o" at the end of words as if they are speaking mock Spanish such as el cheapo, no problemo. The semantic domain is cheapness and it suggests that Spanish speakers have a limited amount of money and like to get things that are lower quality and low-priced. [REVISE FOR GRAMMAR, WORDCHOICE, AND TONE. THIS IS NOT OBJECTIVE.]

“Mock Spanish relies upon the semiotic construction of two basic social types: the easygoing, humorous, and somewhat cosmopolitan white person and the lazy, dirty, sexually “loose,” and unintelligent Spanish speaker.”   [THIS QUOTE IS JUST HANGING OUT HERE. IT REALLY NEEDS CONTEXT BECAUSE IT’S INCREDIBLY CONTROVERSIAL]

EXAMPLES

Popular T-shirts for young women with the saying "namaste in bed". This borrows the traditional greeting from Hindi and makes it into a pun of the slang term "imma stay in bed". It also associates the Hindi word as a yoga term, though this is misappropriation as it is a term used for greeting, not concluding a yoga session. It is in relation to being lazy. [REVISE FOR PUNCTUATION, TONE, AND LOGIC]

Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that celebrates Mexico’s defeat of the French on May 5, 1862, [FLESH OUT THIS DEFINITION OF THE HOLIDAY] has become extremely popular in the United States as a celebration based largely on the consumption of alcohol. Due to this association, the term “Cinco de Drinko” [SHOULDN’T BE HYPERLINKED] has emerged, representing both ignorance toward the holiday’s history and an example of the “add ‘o’” phenomenon. The “add ‘o’” phenomenon is the practice of English speakers adding an “o” to the end of an English word in order to give it the false appeal of being a Spanish word. [NEEDS REVISION]

"Mock White Girl" is a common example that is seen in movies where the girls are speaking in standard English with creaky voice and are trying to be portrayed as privileged, popular, and in power [CITATION NEEDED]. In the 2004 film Mean Girls, character Regina George is known to be the most popular girl in school and throughout the movie she has the voice for people to recognize her status [NEEDS REVISION].  [LOOK FOR MOCK LANGUAGE / MEAN GIRLS CITATION]

Bars and pubs around the world have signs that try to imitate European bar and pub culture. Oftentimes, German is incorporated due to the association of German culture with drinking. This decontextualization and use of stereotype is mock language. Danke is German for "thank you", but it is decontextualized in an English-speaking environment. [THERE’S NO REFERENCE, EXAMPLE, OR CONTEXT TO THIS]

The signs are using German as an international language of beer or drinking, but "das boot" in German translates as “the boat” and has nothing to do with shoes or drinking [DAS BOOT IS IN REFERENCE TO THE POPULAR 2006 FILM “BEERFEST” BY THE BROKEN LIZARD COMEDY GROUP (LINK BEERFEST WIKI ARTICLE)]. Nevertheless, it is used as the name of a drink represented by footwear. Using 'danke' in a pub may show knowledge of a direct translation, however it stereotypes drinking beer with German culture and language.

References

THE REFERENCES LIST IS NOT UNIFORM.