Language Insights from Netflix

Dialects!  I love them.  But sometimes dialects get a bad rap by those who draw a sharp line between dialects and languages.  Dialects are variations in language.  A noted modern linguist, John McWhorter, suggests that all we truly have are dialects, because everyone speaks a dialect of some type. But our natural tendency is to think that our own dialect is much superior to everyone else's, 

English Dialects

I began thinking about dialects while watching our recent favorite Netflix series, "Republic of Doyle," which is set in St. John's, Newfoundland.  I am a sucker for anything filmed in a foreign location.  This series has not disappointed me, with its seaside location and brightly colored buildings.  But the most intriguing cultural element has been the use of an English St. John's dialect by certain characters in the episodes. (Well, one of the main characters, the private investigator Jack Doyle, is fairly intriguing even when he isn't speaking, I must admit.)

Jake Doyle

I began noticing that the series characters have a slightly different twist on the English language in certain situations.  For example, Malachy, Jake's father and fellow private investigator, sometimes uses the objective pronoun "me" in place of  the possessive pronoun "my" (as in "I lost me cell phone")  when speaking informally, mostly to other family members.

Malachy Doyle

And I kept hearing a word at the end of their sentences that sounded like "boy." Closed captioning transcribed the word as "b'y," and I heard it used to refer to both sexes.  The word "dude" seems to be an American equivalent, being used for both sexes as well.

A recent story line on the series has a policewoman, Leslie Bennett, (and romantic interest for Jake) going undercover to catch a drug dealer.

Leslie Bennett

This clean cut, serious office of the law, changes her appearance dramatically to fit the character. She begins working in a bar, living in a small, messy apartment, and dressing in a provocative manner, using lots of makeup.  But most interesting of all, Leslie adapts her language to fit the undercover character.  The most noticeable element of Leslie's language change is her constant addition of "s" on the end of all of her present tense verbs.  "I knows how we can meet Mr. Big."  brags Leslie.

The Newfoundland dialect is much more complex than is depicted on the Netflix series, containing elements of, among other languages, Irish, West Country English, and French.  The writers of the series have selected a more standard Canadian accent with a few elements of the local dialect thrown in for authenticity.  I am grateful for that decision, because I would have a hard time with understanding if the series language were like the following:

Often the label of dialect is pinned on a language as a pejorative term, meaning "my language variety is better than your language variety." But I view dialects as an essential element to express cultural identity. In last night's episode of "Republic of Doyle," a visitor to St. John's was trying to act cool by saying something like, "How about a pint, b'y?"  Jake replied, "You can't use b'y.  You aren't from St. John's."

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or not?

The well-known saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do,"  encourages visitors to adapt to local culture, customs and behaviors.  But is speaking the language of a different country or region part of that advice?  At first glance, I would be tempted to say "yes" because language is an essential part of culture.  But being addicted to foreign language study, I can attest that attempting to speak a foreign language to native speakers is often less than successful.

One of my earliest realizations that native speakers of a language are not necessarily volunteer language teachers occurred in Lisbon, Portugal, where I had enrolled in a Portuguese language school.  I set out confidently the morning after my arrival to find a cup of coffee.

The harried lady behind the coffee counter had to ask twice for my order because my Portuguese accent was not what she was used to hearing.  Then as we were discussing the milk, I became confused about the grammatical gender of milk in Portuguese. (The confusion arose because the word for milk is feminine in Spanish but masculine in Portuguese.)  So I asked the server if the correct word was "o leite" (with a masculine article) or "a leite" (with a feminine article). By now, she was completely confused and quite annoyed. Resorting to gestures, she pointed at the milk jar on the table behind me, shaking her head at the ignorance of tourists.

I had an important ah-ha moment in that small coffee bar.  My goal in using the native language and the server's goals were completely different.  She wanted, quite understandably,  to complete my order as quickly and efficiently as possible.  After all, customers were waiting in line.  I was completely focused on learning more of the Portuguese language.  Small wonder that my first attempt at communication in Lisbon was less than pleasant!

That long ago incident recently came to mind when I read a letter to Dear Abby in the El Paso Times dated September 5, 2016. 

A retired librarian in Texas (white, non-Hispanic) who speaks four languages wrote that a Hispanic friend had advised caution when choosing to speak Spanish to Hispanics. The writer confirmed the advice with a retired college-level Spanish teacher, who explained that languages are often used by speakers as a boundary to identify group members.

Having lived my entire life in El Paso, Texas, a bilingual English-Spanish city, and having had both positive and negative experiences speaking Spanish in my home town, I can affirm, speaking of language choice, that "It's complicated!"  And, I must admit that every time I choose to speak Spanish, I am hoping to get a mini-Spanish lesson, not just communicate or fit into the environment.

I will face a similar decision in Canada about use of the French language when my husband and I take The Canadian, a long-distance train across that country.  My guess is that all of the train employees will be bilingual in English-French, so attempting to use my fairly rudimentary French (along with my American accent!) seems counterproductive.  But maybe I will by chance run into a retired French teacher in the lounge car who really, really likes to discuss in detail the French partitive construction....

In a Quandary over Commas?

Does this bring back memories of composition class?

How can one small punctuation mark (,) cause such a big headache?  Admit it!  Do you feel completely secure when deciding whether to place or omit commas in your writing?  You are not alone.

The dilemma of comma placement was recently brought to my attention because a friend of mine, a former English teacher, offered to proof a manuscript I am working on. She did a very thorough job, and I very much appreciated her careful editing skills.  However, I noticed immediately that we hold different opinions regarding use of commas. Are commas governed by hard and fast rules, or is there some wiggle room in their usage?  I needed to find out quickly.

I pulled Steven Pinker's The Sense of Style:  The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century off the shelf of my Linguistics reference books.  The information on the front book flap advises readers that "...they must negotiate the rules of correct usage, distinguishing the rules that enhance clarity and grace from myths and superstitions...."  Maybe the section on usage would provide me with ammunition in my campaign against what I consider to be excessive use of commas. The index listed ten pages, 285-294, devoted to comma usage.  The topic was obviously not a simple one!

Pinker explains that, in the past, decisions about comma placement were made to indicate a slight pause in pronunciation.  More recent rules are based both on sound and sentence structure. He observes that instructors of English composition often have to deal with both comma overuse and under use.  Comma overuse occurs when the writer incorrectly sets off elements that belong together, such as the subject and verb.  Comma under use, the opposite problem, occurs when the writer fails to set off supplementary information.  Take for example,  "The lot next to mine which is huge is still undeveloped."  If the writer is adding the phrase "which is huge" as non-essential information, the sentence should read, "The lot next to mine, which is huge, is still underdeveloped."

I get the main idea here, which is that essential information should not be separated by a comma, and that extra information should be set off by commas.  What I am saying is the decision is not always easy. For example, when the supplementary information is short, and you don't want the reader to pause, then a reasonable decision would be to omit the comma, as in "Finally this comma discussion has ended" (no comma after "finally").  Steven Pinker identifies this style as "light" or "open" punctuation.

A more definite rule that Pinker offers is the admonition against the dreaded comma splice, which is when a comma is used to join two sentences that can stand on their own.

Of course, a writer has to be able to recognize a complete sentence in order to follow the rule. Pinker gives several simple alternatives for correcting the comma splice.

Another major decision regarding commas, according to Pinker, is the serial comma, also known as the Oxford comma. A major function of commas is to separate items in a list. Compare "Please bring home cheese, wine and bread and butter pickles" (no comma before third item) to "Please bring home cheese, wine, and bread and butter pickles" (additional comma).  The Oxford comma makes the second sentence easier to understand.  Pinker recommends its use.

Wow!  Some people are very serious about the Oxford comma!

My takeaway from a quick investigation of comma use and misuse is that some rules are non-negotiable, like the comma splice, while other rules require attention to elements such as the flow of the sentence, the structure of the sentence,  and meaning of the sentence.  Now I'm not sure if I have gotten myself out of a quandary over commas or become more neurotic about using correct punctuation.  How about you?

For great escapism, try learning a new language

Summer is wearing on in my home town, but unfortunately both vacation time and budget have been expended for the season. Finding myself in need of a touch of escapism, I picked up a book at the public library with an attractive cover entitled Wales,  The First Place.

This is not my first interest in the language and country of Wales.  I have read How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn several times and have always wondered how to pronounce the double l in his last name.

Then several years ago, my husband Wayne and I almost traveled to Wales and had plans to stay in a coastal resort town called Llandudno, in North Wales.  That time I looked up the pronunciation of the Welsh double l and practiced the new sound (some hissing required!).

My current interest in Wales began with the discovery of a Welsh author, Jan Morris, who writes lyrical pieces about her native land.  She contributed the introduction to Wales,  The First Place. In it, she mentioned that Shakespeare declared the Welsh language to be "skimble-skamble stuff."  I was intrigued.  What do you suppose Welsh sounds like?

I went to my go-to online language course, Duolingo, and found that Welsh is one of the languages offered for free study.  I couldn't resist.  I added Welsh to the list of languages I study daily.

A new language brings with it a frisson of excitement for me.  Will I be able to connect the new language to one I know?  Where will I find the subject and verb in the sentence?  Will the spoken language match the written language?

Beginning Welsh lessons - Duolingo.com

 

I made a few preliminary hypotheses about the Welsh language after several attempts at the circles labeled Greeting 1 and Greeting 2.  First, I was relieved to find that Welsh appears to be written more or less as it is spoken. (I have been struggling with another Celtic language, Irish, on this point.) Then I found some words that relate to English, which makes them easier to retain, such as helo (hello) and sori (sorry).  Nouns seem to appear before adjectives, as they do in many languages; for example, bore da in Welsh literally means "morning good."   And I heard the same familiar sound used at the end of the Scottish word "loch" in the Welsh words for you (chi) and thanks (diolch).  The Welsh word for tired, wedi blino, made me smile, for some unknown reason.

A taste of Welsh culture was included in the language lessons when the names Megan, Sioned (a "sh" sound for the "s") Eleri, Dylan, and Gareth were used in greetings.  And the small red dragon used as the icon for the Duolingo Welch program let my thoughts travel back to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

  
  

Duolingo  Welsh dragon

A new language provided me a much appreciated respite from ordinary life.  And with the approximately 6000 languages in the world, I may have found a never-ending fountain of enjoyment.

Is "tiny" a new marketing tool?

"Tinycards - get the app,"  ran the new offer from my favorite language learning site, Duolingo.  I was intrigued by the name.  What in the heck was a "tinycard"?

Even though the description of tinycards included the word "flashcards" (not really my favorite learning method), I still downloaded the free app on my mobile devices because the name, "tinycards" was something new.  And I must admit that Duolingo has made rote learning into a very entertaining game.  You can try it for yourself at Tinycards.  

Then I tuned into HGTV,  my favorite TV show when I am busy with kitchen duties.  "Tiny houses" are the topic of frequent episodes - "Tiny House Hunters," "Tiny House Builders," "Tiny House, Big Living," to name a few.

I tried to recall in what context I had heard the adjective "tiny" used previously.  Of course every Christmas season,  Dickens' character Tiny Tim provides us with warm, fuzzy feelings towards our fellow man. I was now on a mission to find out if "tiny" is becoming a popular product name.

 A quick Google search confirmed my suspicions.  You can  place a stationery order online with "Tiny Prints."  If you want to shorten a URL, you can go to "TinyURL.com."  NPR will provide you with "Tiny Desk Concerts," an intimate musical experience, and you can get involved with "Tiny Rockets," a new niche in the small satellite launch market.

arstechnica.com

But why the choice of  "tiny'?  Why not "little,"  "petite," "minute," "miniature," or even "wee,"  all legitimate synonyms?  Does "tiny" convey a special shade of meaning?  "Tiny" to me feels, first of all, non-threatening, affectionate, and desirable.  I must admit to a love of small objects, which my collections of miniature liquor bottles, small travel souvenirs, and little pots of succulent plants and cacti can bear witness.

So I move into the world of conjecture.  Are we looking for an antidote to the concept of "bigness"? We no longer exist just in our small communities but view ourselves as citizens of the world.  We may soon begin to conquer the vast expanses of space with exploration of Mars.  Our TV screens have become so huge that they dominate regular size family rooms.  We often hear about the virtues of downsizing and minimalist life styles. Are we weary of being asked if we want to super-size food and drink orders?

"Tiny" has my attention. I want to put more "tiny"into my life.   Now if dress manufacturers will only rename my usual dress size of medium to tiny, I'll be even more impressed with the power of adjectives.  

Is the word 'actually' driving you crazy?

I say it; family members say it; friends say it; newscasters and weather casters say it.  It's the word 'actually.'  And it appears to be ubiquitous.  My husband Wayne and I have recently started making fun of each other when we catch each other using 'actually.'

Now, I am the last person to criticize or complain about current language use or take a language-is-going-to-hell-in-a-hand basket stance.  But when I realized I was hearing 'actually' multiple times a day coming out of my own mouth as well as that of others, I became intrigued with investigating what exact meaning we were trying to convey ( if any).

Doing a quick Google search, I discovered that criticizing the frequent use of  'actually' turns out to be fairly common. One writer delved into psychology by suggesting that the term often comes out as an indication of passive aggressive behavior, a secret criticism that is saying, "You are wrong, I am right, and you are at least a little bit of an idiot."  Actually, the Worst Word on the Planet is 'Actually' The writer continues to condemn 'actually' as being unnecessary and a waste of space and recommends the use of 'really' or 'truly' instead.

Another writer warns listeners to be on the lookout for the word 'actually' because it may signal deception on the part of the speaker.  "Never say it again, if you can help it," is this writer's

advice. 1 Word that Immediately Kills Your Credibility

Still another writer takes a more practical viewpoint by coaching Portuguese speakers in the use of  'actually'  because of its frequent usage by native English speakers.

Web site for this title

This article identifies four different functions for 'actually':  thinking again, saying 'in fact,' expressing surprise, and softening a blow.  Giving a speaker the chance to rethink or correct a statement is identified as the most useful skill for Portuguese speakers learning English.  If  you say something that you don't mean and want to take it back, or if you say something in error and change your mind about it, 'actually' placed at the beginning of the sentence will do the trick.

Speaker No. 1

"Do you want to go to the beach at noon?"

Speaker No. 2

"Yes.  Actually, no. It's too hot then.

The author considers 'actually' to be discourse marker, an expression that functions more for holding a conversation together rather than for providing much additional meaning.

My personal opinion is that we overuse 'actually' because it appears that everyone around us is using it.  Most of us want to fit in and sound like others, if only to communicate more effectively with them.

Still, overusing 'actually' has become for me an embarrassing habit that I am going to try to remedy in the next several months.  Maybe a rubber band on the wrist that I snap every time I hear myself use the word?  Or a dollar in the kitty?  I hope dropping the 'actually' habit is easier than losing those elusive extra ten pounds.  

Can you catch a scammer by using linguistic clues?

Ah, what has the world become, I ask myself as I check my email account each day. So many people trying to sell me something, or solicit support for their causes, or assure me that they are doing a wonderful job of whatever it is they are doing. And that's not the worst of it! The scammers are the most blatant. Most suspicious emails are caught in the spam folder, but a few slip by every week and appear in my inbox. The Internet is indeed a dangerous place!

Lately I have been challenging myself to spot a piece of spam mail using language analysis skills. Granted, a good dose of common sense and a watchful eye will recognize most spam messages, but I have decided to do some linguistic sleuthing as well.

One day recently I saw an email from a unknown person that began, "Hello, dearest..." Are you kidding me? I have never been called "dearest" in my whole life. I'm trying to imagine the type of person who thought up that salutation. 

And then there was this recent message: "I have a legal business proposal for you, reply if interested." Why did the writer feel the need to add the adjective "legal"? Could it be that the business proposal is, in fact, just the opposite? And what's with the run-on sentence? Didn't the writer have a strict eighth grade English teacher who made students correct run-on sentences by using a semicolon or a new sentence? 

One sentence can tell so much about a writer. " I wait to hear from you as to give you more details." Way too formal and a bit awkward. And "as to" is a synonym for "regarding" or "concerning," neither of which would fit in this sentence. 

And then there are the lengthier messages, which provide more opportunities for language missteps. Some questionable language is italicized below: three run-on sentences, an incorrect verb form ("she have") and an expression that struck me as unusual in this context, "I guess."





Hello,


In a brief introduction, I am a doctor by profession, Dr. Thomas Brown, my patient asked me to send you this email. Her name is Anna Maria Cahill, she had a surgical operation that resulted in the removal of her left breast. From the diagnosis report, she will not live longer than two months. I guess her reason to contact you is about her legacy, she said she saw your profile on a social network. Please contact her directly via email to hear what she have for you. She is passionate about donating her wealth to charity.


Kindly contact her via this email address: (email address provided).


Best Regards


Dr. Thomas Brown






The challenges of writing a believable spam message remind us of the difficulties involved in communicating in writing, especially if the language you are writing in is not your native language. I wouldn't even attempt to send out an unsolicited message in a foreign language - it would end up in the spam folder every time.


Have you received any spam messages with language that arouses suspicion? I would enjoy hearing about them.