ENTRY #12 The Study of Language.

Look at this amusing videos and then read their brief analysis, which is based on Yule´s bibliography.

      The Inspector needs "a flawless American accent"

This funny video shows how difficult is to change different aspects of the mother tongue. In this particular case, pronunciation takes a prominent place, where accent and intonation are highlighted.  Furthermore, the inspector´s personality denotes the cultural features connected to French arrogance, with the addition of the inspector´s power position both professional and situational, that takes place through his demands to continue the oral lesson when the teacher suggests to finish it.  According to Yule, accent is restricted to the pronunciation that identify where the speaker is from, and it denotes cultural aspects as well.

                             

                                   Student 'dialects'?

     This is a hilarious course of English in which misinterpretations occur as a consequence of the problems that arise from different dialects.  These students present difficulties with their accent, intonation, grammar, metaphors and vocabulary.  According to Yule, dialects ‘features such as pronunciation, words or structures that are regularly used in one form or in another by different speakers, are indicators of social status, producing dialect variations

                               Speak English, please!

 This video deals with different cultures and regional dialects, precisely from America and Iraq. Social Principles are very dissimilar if we compare them, not only in their mother tongue but also in their customs and behavior.  The meaning of life and death rely upon diverse beliefs, which are connected to each cultural background. Subtitles are interpreted by the Iraq man as a personal misjudgment and discrimination. Consequently his final conduct of making mockeries to the American reporter and audience, acts as a response to these hostilities. In contrast, the American people consider that the Iraq dialect differs from the Standard English in its pronunciation, thus it needs subtitles to be understood properly.  According to Yule´s theory, geographical barriers between groups foster linguistic differences in regional dialects, social barriers such as discrimination and segregation serve to create marked differences between social dialects.