LP THEORY VIS-À-VIS CONCEPTS OF

ETHNIC INTERACTION

*vis-à-vis: in relation to, with regard to*ethnic: of or relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) with a common national or cultural tradition

JERRY SMITH

What we will cover in this report1. Introduction to Ebonics2. LP Theory in relation to concepts of ethnic

interaction3. Background4. Social Psychology of Bilingualism5. The Role of Language in Ethnic Interaction6. Wrap-up, Review, Questions, Discussion, &

Conclusions

CHANGE GEARS!

1. Ebonics / African American Vernacular English (AAVE) Known as Black People’s Speech (Rickford,

2012) Became a controversy in the USA in 1996

Oakland School District in California A predominantly black community

School Board Voted Ebonics to be recognized as a language of its own Instead of a dialect Special consideration of language group

members When teaching “standard” English

Due to nationwide opposition, the decision was repealed

https://www.pinterest.com/jakalakay/i-speak-ebonics/

More samples of Ebonics Ebonics: "She BIN had dat han'-made dress"

SE: She's had that hand-made dress for a long time, and still does.

Ebonics: "Befo' you know it, he be done aced de tesses." SE: Before you know it, he will have already aced the

tests. Ebonics: "Ah 'on know what homey be doin."

SE: I don't know what my friend is usually doing. Ebonics: "Can't nobody tink de way he do."

SE: Nobody can think the way he does. Ebonics: "I ast Ruf could she bring it ovah to Tom crib."

SE: I asked Ruth if/whether she could bring it over to Tom's place.

https://web.stanford.edu/~rickford/ebonics/EbonicsExamples.html

Linguists are divided over what Ebonics is Some say it is based on English, therefore a dialect of

Standard English

Some say it has African origins (And therefore its own language)

Some say it is similar to Caribbean Creole English Brought to America by Creole-speaking slaves

Rickford, John R. (2012). What is Ebonics (African American English)? Linguistic Society online. Retrieved from http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-ebonics-african-american-english, June 27, 2016

Baron, Dennis. (2000). Ebonics and the politics of English. World Englishes. Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 5-19. Retrieved from http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/403/403readings/ebonicsandpoliticsofenglish%20copy.pdf, June 27, 2016.

Some background

The American Civil War (1863-1865)

Some famous civil rights activists

Malcom X

Martin Luther King Jr.

Muhammad Ali

Chuck Berry

Harriet Tubman

Maya Angelou

Now blacks have the opportunity to be professionals, entrepreneurs, scholars, etc.

However, they are commonly stereotyped as gang members in inner-city communities

Fries-Britt, Sharon & Griffin, Kimberly. (2007). The Black Box: How High-Achieving Blacks Resist Stereotypes About Black Americans. Journal of College Student Development. Volume 48, Number 5, September/October 2007, pp. 509-524 | 10.1353/c s d.2007.0048. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/221309/summary, June 28, 2016.

(Oakland 1996) Many people did not want to recognize Ebonics as a separate language

They viewed it as a language of black people spoken on the streets (i.e. slang)

A language that had its roots in the days of slavery (1700-1800s) in the South

“Oakland did not consult linguists in formulating its position on Ebonics” (Baron 2000:11)

The result was a nationwide uproar The American people of the dominant

ethnolinguistic group (SE) were not ready for such a radical decision

Language Planning could have helped avoid the situation

Through this report topic, we can try to relate and discuss the connections

CHANGE GEARS!

2. Background of this TopicLanguage Planning Theory

LP: Choosing the best language for the situation at hand (p. 133)

LP must take into account the EFFECT a plan has on the FUTURE of the ethnic-group RELATIONS (p. 134)

LP does NOT occur in a VACUUM (p. 134) . . . LP rests on theory to understand language,

social, and cultural change (p. 134)

3. Ethnic Group Relations (5.6, pp. 163-172) LP must consider the group affiliations of

the people the plan will affect (p. 163) Language factors interrelate with group

membership in dimensions such as (p. 163):

Location Native-ness (indigenous or not) Status Relationship to religion, sex, age, and

occupation

Ebonics: Oakland 1996: What were the language factors?

Location: Within the larger and more dominant SE community

Native-ness: (?)

Status: Not considered a power language

Relationship to religion, sex, race, age, occupation: (?)

Fishman’s (1968a:94) “questionable generalizations” as applied to ethnic interaction include (pp. 163-164):

Intact groups May foist (impose) their language onto other groups . . . A movement FROM ethnicity TO nationality

Language shift counterbalanced by power from other groups Urban groups “Prestigeful” languages

Power is often accompanied by prestige leading to language maintenance rather than shift

These generalizations relate to maintenance and shift characteristics in modernizing societies. . .

Ebonics: Oakland 1996: Was this an attempt at maintenance or an attempt at shift?

Was the black culture intact? Did blacks tried to impose their language onto

the educational system of Oakland, California, or vice versa?

Was the Ebonics culture urban? Was the Ebonics language prestigious?

Schermerhorn (1964) classifies contact situations according to differences in them that we “sense to exist” (Fishman 1968a:101), (p. 164). Schermerhorn’s typologies have the following features

that classify groups in a contact situation: Power (equal vs. unequal) Control (incorporated vs. colonized) Plurality (high vs. low) Immigration (recent vs. non-recent) Social mobility (high vs. low) Acculturation (high vs. low) Industrialization (high vs. low)

When two groups are in contact, we may compare the values each has for these seven features in order to see whether maintenance or shift is likely (p. 164).

A group with an equal footing as another is not likely to undergo language shift (p. 164).

Was Ebonics on an equal footing as “Standard English” in the USA?

Unequal power Incorporated Low plurality Non-recent immigrations Low social mobility Low acculturation Low Industrialization

The perception of many

Fishman (1968a) devised another way to conceive of ethnic relations among groups in terms of (p. 165): New settlers (by invitation from the

host group) Daughter settlers (immigrated later

from the original homeland of the new settlers or the host group)

Special-purpose settlers (came to work for the host group)

How about African Americans?

New? Daughter? Special Purpose?

LP can make predictions based on typologies

LP can use these typologies to provide insight with respect to intergroup contact situations . . . (p. 165)

We can also make generalizations about likely future happenings (p. 165).

HIGHLIGHTS LP theory in relation to concepts of ethnic

interaction LP tries to find the best language for the

situation LP is a dynamic process (not a vacuum) LP must consider group affiliations LP typologies (Schermerhorn, Fishman)

CHANGE GEARS!

4. The Social Psychology of Bilingualism (5.60, pp. 166-170)

Language change is furthered or impeded by people’s feelings about the language to which the change refers (p. 166).

Planners can see the psychological and social influences and repercussions that surround multilingual behavior (p. 166).

Groups also display attitudinal characteristics that affect language (p. 166)

Social and language behavior have a strong ethnic component

Outside of communication, the major function of language is to reflect:

social and behavioral conditions of its group its life and experience its manner of thinking its world view

Language may function as a reflection of group culture (p. 166) . . .

A reflection of a group’s social and psychological self . . .

As such, language plays a significant role in how people see themselves.

“Language is the expression of the attitude of a certain speech community toward its culture” (Joshua Whatmough 1957, quoted in Jessel 1978:88).

Ebonics What were the public feelings toward

Ebonics?

Based on Ebonics, how do blacks see themselves?

Based on Ebonics, what is the expression of their culture?

How can we relate that here in the Philippines? Language may function as a

reflection of group culture (p. 166) . . .

LP must consider how a language policy will affect the perceptions group members have of themselves and for others . . .

Ebonics Based on what we have covered: If the

Oakland school board had consulted you, a language planner, what suggestions might you have given them?

ETHNIC PROCESS (Jessel), (p. 166) Every language tells a special story and falls within

an ethnic framework in terms of (p. 167):

Origin Experience Use Development

What special story do you think Ebonics tells about black people in the USA?

What special story can be said of certain languages here in the Philippines?

Language changes are the consequences of ethnic pressures (p. 167) . . .

Ethnicity is the symbolic expression of social behavior (p. 167)

Ethnicity is worldview The way we think is what makes us

members of a group . . . Part of being a member of a group is

to know its language

LP as an effort to change what language people use (p. 167) . . .

An attempt to change what people talk about in their world

An effort to see that people talk about the same things in the same way

An attempt to see that people share group membership or worldview

Ethnic process: Group membership change and accompanying language change (Jessel)

Fishman (1977): Primordial ethnicity prevails BEFORE (ethnic) groups come in contact with each other (p. 167) Cannot think: we are the people with the right to

exist and they are not

Groups in contact need to reconcile the other group’s right to be

Ebonics

How could Ebonics be reconciled with SE?

What conflicts might arise?

What membership change would there need to be?

CHANGE GEARS!

Culture-loaded vocabulary Fosters ethnicity and nationality

LP should consider changing the cultural (external) aspects of language . . .

Special vocabulary expressing group characteristics

Generally, one’s ethnicity finds most of expression in the lexicon (Fishman 1960), (p. 169)

Culture-loaded vs. culture-free vocabulary Evokes language attitudes toward us on the part of

them

What culturally-loaded vocabulary can be found in the Philippines?

Words referring to government, science, medicine, or other fields that are bound to another culture other than the national language, the success of the national language in those spheres is hindered (p. 168)

CHANGE GEARS!

The need for interdisciplinary study (p. 168): An apparent lack of knowledge by

sociolinguists about the work of psychologists

An apparent lack of knowledge by psychologists about the work of sociolinguists

Situations of di- and triglossia, and multi- and bilingualism involve attitudes of both a psychological and sociological nature

http://hl-diasporaproject.com/?page_id=102

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_the_Philippines

Within the concepts of di- and triglossia are attitudes or values attached to high (H) and low (L) speech varieties

H Connects the community with its past and the outside

world Is superior

L Is close to the real thinking and feelings of the people People already know it

H is generally more appealing to both H and L diglossia varieties, (p. 168)

E.g. Black families tell their children to speak proper English (Baron 2000)

What is the H language of the Philippines?

However, diglossia becomes a language problem when trends toward greater use of H appear as goals (p. 168)

H has a tendency to fade away IF it is not serving as a standard language in another community (Ferguson 1959:20)

H becomes a learned or liturgical language Studied by scholars or specialists Not actively used in the community

Some form of L becomes standard In the USA, it is common English (non-formal, non-

academic) The Philippines. . .

Why do language differences in multilingual societies persist (Gumperz 1969), (p. 169)?

What is easily expressible in one language is not necessarily easily or accurately expressible in another (Fishman 1960:327).

Language is an expression of worldview

Group differences

HIGHLIGHTS (5.6 & 5.60) Group features that might determine the likelihood of maintenance or shift Typologies:

Schermerhorn’s (1964) for contact situations Fishman’s (1968) three-way classification of type of settlement in an area

Depending on the circumstances under which a group settles in an area, it will be regarded in certain ways . . .

Will affect its retention or abandonment of a language

Language attitudes in light of ethnic process (by Jessel) in terms of: World view Primordial ethnicity Culture-loaded vocabulary Motives for second language learning

Next and finally: an attempt to propose a theory of language in ethnic group relations

CHANGE GEARS!

5. The Role of language in Ethnic Interaction (5.61, pp. 170-172)

A Theory of language in ethnic-group relations (Giles, Bourhis, and Taylor 1977), (p. 170)

A sociologist (Tajfel) A social psychologist (Giles) Three parts to the theory:

Taxonomy of ethnolinguistic vitality Structural factors that affect the relative liveliness of the groups in

contact Theory of intergroup relations Theory of speech accommodation

Intended as a framework to understand the role language plays in ethnic interaction (pp. 170-171)

CONCEPTUAL REALMSSocial categories used and the social identities employed by groups in contact

CATEGORIZATION SELF-IDENTIFICATION COMPARISON MAINTAIN DISTINCTION COGNITIVE ALTERNATIVE

CATEGORIZATION Basis for linguistic and cultural

attitudes and behaviors toward others

SELF-IDENTIFICATION In contrast to others Part of self-identity

COMPARISON Social identity and attitudes with

others “one’s identity only acquires

meaning in relation to other existing or other contrasting features of one’s ethnic world” (Giles et al. 1977:328

In social terms, we use language to: See who we are See how we see who they are See how we see ourselves stacking up in

relation to them

MAINTAIN DISTINCTION An ethnic group also uses language

to maintain psychological as well as social distinction from others (p. 171)

Generally speaking, psychological distinctiveness is asserted by such means as (p. 171):

Varying accent Dialect differences, or Maintenance or shifting of a code or speech

variety in the presence of others

COGNITIVE ALTERNATIVE Groups in contact use language as a way to perceive cognitive

alternatives to use in interaction with others (p. 171). The definition of a group’s position as:

Stable or unstable, or Higher or lower than that of another group If a group sees no alternative to existing intergroup situation, some

individuals may consider the position of their own group with regard to the outgroup as stable and legitimate

Will attribute the blame for their low position in society internally to themselves as a group because of their inferior characteristics

Will attempt to pass into the dominant group (Giles et al. 1977:332)

Upward convergence of speech patterns (“White man’s” speech among blacks)

Members of a dominant group may choose to use its superior language to prevent slippage from its status

The more vitality of the subordinate group is perceived to possess, the more likely the dominant group will wish to differentiate linguistically (Giles et al. 1977:334)

Each of the five conceptual realms of intergroup behavior can be associated with speech strategies (p. 171) Situational variables that operate in intergroup

contexts

Ethnolinguistic groups that interact in the conceptual realms differ from each other in terms of VITALITY

People want to belong to vital groups Strive for this goal in intergroup behavior by using speech

strategies

Ethnolinguistic Vitality (p. 172) Structured by:

STATUS . . . The prestige a group has in an intergroup context More status a group has, the more vital

DEMOGRAPHIC . . . The size of the group and its distribution throughout an

area The more people in the group, the more vital it is

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT . . . A group’s representation in the nation, region, or

community The more visible a group is and the more it is used in

high places (government, religion, business, etc.), the more vital the group is

Status, demography, and institutional support interact

By looking at their point of interaction, we may reach an understanding of ethnolinguistic interaction

Can help determine the degree of vitality that a given ethnolinguistic group has

A group with many people, a large amount of national visibility, much public representation, and great prestige is vital (p. 172).

It is healthy and likely to be around awhile

Group vitality is determined by comparing the social and ethnic categories that come in contact when the groups interact and the socially and psychologically distinct vocabulary used in those situations (p. 172)

Offers a more comprehensive analysis of the likelihood of language maintenance or shift

Usefulness to LP How different groups conceive of

themselves:

Socially

Psychologically

Cognitively

For example, when seeking to foster development and acceptance of a national language, what should be considered?

Need to be sure that ethnolinguistic vitality is associated with the plan

Sociolopsychological aspects of the group the language is associated with lend themselves to keeping the language and culture alive

A plan to implement a language of a minority group with negative vitality characteristics, and whose speakers use strategies to move themselves to another group is a plan doomed to failure (p. 172).

HIGHLIGHTS Conceptual Realms

Social categories used and the social identities employed by groups in contact

Categorization Self-identification Comparison Maintain Distinction Cognitive Alternative

Ethnolinguistic Vitality Status Demographic Institutional Support

CHANGE GEARS!

6. Wrap Up, Review, Questions & Conclusions1. Introduction to Ebonics2. LP Theory in relation to concepts of ethnic

interaction3. Background4. Social Psychology of Bilingualism5. The Role of Language in Ethnic Interaction6. Wrap-up, Review, Questions, & Conclusions

THE END