Language and Literature
Video: How languages evolve - Alex Gendler for TedEd
Video: What does the world lose when a language dies?
Word Crimes
Gender Differences
What students will learn in the language A: language and literature course
In this course you will learn about the complex and dynamic nature of language and explore both its practical and aesthetic dimensions. You will explore the crucial role language plays in communication, reflecting experience and shaping the world. You will also learn about your own roles as producers of language and develop their productive skills. Throughout the course, students will explore the various ways in which language choices, text types, literary forms and contextual elements all effect meaning. Through close analysis of various text types and literary forms, you will consider their own interpretations, as well as the critical perspectives of others, to explore how such positions are shaped by cultural belief systems and to negotiate meanings for texts. You will engage in activities that involve them in the process of production and help shape your critical awareness of how texts and their associated visual and audio elements work together to influence the audience/reader and how audiences/readers open up the possibilities of texts. With its focus on a wide variety of communicative acts, the course is meant to develop sensitivity to the foundational nature, and pervasive influence, of language in the world at large.
In Part 1: Language in cultural context, we focus on how language develops in specific contexts, how meaning is determined by context, and how people express their identities through language.
In this part of the course, you will be introduced to a range of text types, centered around various themes and topics. Topics covered will include: language and identity, language and community, language and translation, language and power, language and gender.
Throughout this part of the course, you will learn how to:
Analyse how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts.
Analyse the impact of language changes.
Demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning are shaped by culture and context.
The Evolution & Extinction of Languages
Whose Language is it, Anyway? - The Evolution of the English language in an 11-minute video (aeon.co)
A Brief History of the English Language
A History of the English Language - podcast with many interesting episodes
Endangeredlanguages.com - explore and learn!
Recovering Voices - lost languages (Smithsonian)
Sorosoro.org - Information about the thousands of languages used around the world, particularly dying languages
Are Dying Languages Worth Saving? - from the BBC news magazine
Can Minority Languages Be Saved? - globalization, culture, & language
Minority Languages & Bilingualism - article on the benefits of bilingualism and preserving dying languages
The origins of text speak - we have been using "text speak" since 1828?!
Is texting killing the English language? - John McWhorter (Time Magazine article)
Evolution of Euphemisms - John McWhorter (aeon.co)
Don't Mind Your Language - Stephen Fry on language pedantry (video of excerpt from this essay below)
Evolution of Language - Old-Timey Slang (npr.org)
Emoji: The World's Fastest-Growing Language (guardian.co.uk)
The Future of Language on the Internet (Slate.com)
Language and Thought
How Language Seems to Shape One's View of the World - Article (npr.org)
Do Different Languages Confer Different Personalities? (The Economist)
A 'Rose By Any Other Name' DOES Smell As Sweet - Radio show on which a Columbia linguistics professor argues that language does not shape how we perceive the world (WNYC.org)
Would a Rose by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? - what effect, if any, does language have on our brain and its perception of the world around us? (quora.com)
Lost in Translation - language & how we see the world (Wall Street Journal)
Lost in Translation - Words with no English Equivalent
The Art of Translation - David Bellos, a well-known translator, discusses issues pertaining to the job (Wall Street Journal)
Found in Translation: when misquoting someone is the best way to be fair and accurate (guardian.com)
Language and Gender
Language and Gender - Introduction to main ideas and theories
Key topics - more information on key issues in language & gender, and sample texts
You Are What You Say - article by Robin Lakoff, author of many works on language & gender
Women get interrupted more - article
10 Words Every Girl Should Learn (huffingtonpost.com)
Young women as linguistic trendsetters? (New York Times article)
Overturning the Myth of Valley Girl Speak (New York Times article)
The Origins of "Uptalking" - not just for young women (The Guardian article)
How It Works - gender discrimination comic from XKCD
Ladies! You should talk different! (therumpus.net)
Legislature - gender discrimination & language use cartoon & article
"Stop Telling Women to Smile" - Street Art Project (report and article from CNN)
Harassment and Sexist Language - Cartoon (Robothugs.com)
Gender Neutral Pronoun in English? (article from New Republic)
Gender Neutral Pronoun in Swedish (article from Newsweek)
National Anthems and Gender - Which is the most sexist national anthem? (The Guardian article)
Language & Identity/Language & Community
What does your speech reveal? - a great overview of language and how it links to our identities. Glossary of key terms provided (PBS.org)
Sociolinguistics - key questions for part 1 (possible written task ideas)
Language and Identity (bbc.co.uk)
Dialect and Group Membership - language & identity/community (The Economist)
Yes, we are judged on our accents (theguardian.com)
Gatekeeping - article on language usage and language "policing"
Getting Schools to Respect African-American English (atlantic.com)
Maps that show varieties of English in the US (Business Insider)
A to Z of Office Jargon - Steven Poole on words (Guardian feature)
"Mother Tongue" - an essay by Amy Tan