Multiple Linguistic Competencies Saturday November 19, 2011 Language, Culture & Society

Multiple linguistic competencies? Multilingual Proficient in more than one language Example: someone who speaks English and Spanish Multidialectal Proficient in more than one dialect or variety of the same language Example: someone who speaks Standard American English and Chicano English Even people who speak one language and one dialect have multiple styles or ways of speaking THIS IS A BIT TOO MUCH FORMAL LANGUAGE. I ALSO REVISED THE WORDING FOR GRAMMATICAL CONSISTENCY. I ALSO ADDED ANOTHER DETAIL TO MAKE IT MORE INCLUSIVE OF SINGLE-CODE SPEAKERS (WHITE KIDS)

Multiple linguistic competencies Style shifting Switching between two or more styles or dialects in different contexts Diglossia Switching between two or more languages in different contexts Code-switching Switching between two or more languages in the same context or sentence NOTE: STYLE SHIFTING IS USUALLY NOT WITHIN A SINGLE UTTERANCE BUT ACROSS CONTEXTS, SO I CHANGED THAT. I ADDED DIGLOSSIA. RATHER THAN MAKING THIS TOO LECTUREY, I’D ADVISE STARTING WITH AN EXAMPLE OF EACH SO THEY CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCES.

Multilingual Activity -Discuss initial impressions of the commercial. Is this possible? Why or why not? -Do you speak other languages? Which ones? -Should people learn how to speak languages other than English? Why or why not? -Why do you think two years of a foreign language in high school is mandatory for graduation? Do you think this is the same requirement in other states and worldwide? -Can you know two or more languages completely fluently? Why or why not?

Code-Switching Activity -Do you code-switch? In what situations? If not, do other people around you code-switch? Describe some situations. -Why did Selena and the interviewer use words like “cross- over”, “pop-contemporary” and “tex-mex” in English? -How did Selena learn Spanish? -How have you learned other languages? If you haven’t had the opportunity to learn another language yet, how would you like to learn another language?

Myth or Fact? People who code-switch don’t speak either language fluently FACT: Only fluent bilinguals (i.e., those who have mastery over two grammatical systems) truly code-switch

Myth or Fact? People who code-switch have cognitive difficulties FACT: Bilingualism is a cognitive advantage Balanced bilinguals often outperform monolinguals academically Bilingualism provides some protection from cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s

Myth or Fact? Borrowing words from another language is a type of code-switching FACT: When a foreign word is integrated into another language, it is called a loanword and not a code-switch A speaker doesn’t need to be bilingual in order to use loanwords Can you think of some examples of loan words in English?

Anzaldua Questions What are some initial reactions you have to the reading? Have you had any of the same experiences as Anzaldua? If not, have you seen others that have had similar experiences? What is Chicano English? Have you ever had an experience where you were not speaking the “right” language? In school, at home, with your friends? How did this situation make you feel? What does “standard” mean (e.g. Standard Spanish, Standard English)?

What languages and linguistic dialects do you speak? Reflection Questions What languages and linguistic dialects do you speak? Some people believe that languages other than English and even dialects within the English language are a threat to the linguistic unity of the United States because the English language is our common civic language. Why do you think people fear other languages and dialects encroaching on the position of English as the dominant language in the U.S.?