Blog Post 1 Lowrey

This class was the first I had ever heard of “creole” as a broad term, so I was very excited to learn about what it meant for a language to be a creole and how they developed. Pidgin languages develop as a result of two or more languages existing together, as speakers of those languages try to communicate with each other, but they’re less complex than a full language. When a pidgin language becomes the native language of children and it develops greater linguistic complexities, it becomes recognized as a creole language. I had only ever heard the term creole used before in reference to Louisiana Creole—which is French-based and developed first as a pidgin for African slaves and thus involved many African languages—as well as the people who speak it. It surprised me to learn that “creole” referred more to a type of language; I always assumed it was specific to Louisiana! Especially because the other creole I knew of, Patois, is not called “creole” like Louisiana Creole is. It really got me wondering about the many ways people have figured out to overcome language barriers, and the impact those language barriers have had on our lives, histories, and cultures. Of course the language that developed between all the different groups in Jamaica would be different from the language that developed between all the different groups in Louisiana, or in Haiti, since these places had such unique histories as melting pots and the languages had to develop separately.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kappler Blog Post 1

I enjoyed all of the topics in this course, but found a few topics especially interesting because they relate to me personally. Having a visual impairment, nonverbal language is one that I am not fluent in. Nonverbal language includes facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movement. While some movements are large and easy to read, such as frantic waving or stomping, many facial expressions or other gestures are much more subtle, such as a brief nod, wink, or glare. For me, I must be very close to someone to read these subtleties; otherwise I may be oblivious to them. Further, projecting my own body language to communicate with someone else nonverbally is problematic, as I cannot make direct eye contact, which is a key element of communication. Since I cannot observe social behavior, I have not entirely mastered the language to effectively communicate with it. I also liked the topics of generalization and categorization because I can see it in action with my g...
Read more

The Language of Memes and Popular Culture

Based on last class, I would like to discuss the linguistic properties of expressions of popular culture. Believe it or not, “YEET” has become a more common phrase, even if most people who know of this word use it ironically. For example, my friends and I use “Yeet” when we need to get each other’s attention, locate the other, or just as an acknowledgement that we are in fact speaking to each other. If she says my name, I sometimes respond with “Yeet?” Even if it’s in our tiny subculture of a clique, references and memes are an effective way for us to communicate. The origin of this word is in the link. Note that there is one curse word.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Bjy5YQ5xPc We can assume it’s an exclamation, commonly one of frustration or of effort, like when a person grunts when physically exerting themselves. However, as it seems to be a made-up word, can we count this as an example of the facets of linguistics and the development of human speech? One o...
Read more