Friday, December 4, 2009

A lot to Learn

Carmen Solis
Dr. Hughes

I never like been in an English class because it felt that I need it to put so much effort into writing and express myself in a professional way. I am not that good in neither of those. It has always taken me so much time to develop my own ideas. I have never been able to express what I believe and write it down in a paper in a formal way. But I have been able to conquer what it seem impossible for me thanks to this class. This class has helped me throughout the semester with my grammar and thoughts. I learned how to write formal and express my ideas, but still I have some grammar problems. But I know that with time I am going to be able to fix that problem. My writing has taken a huge step from High School. Over there, they did not taught me how to argue nor do a research paper. But now I have developed a new understanding of what an essay has to be like. It does not need to be close-minded instead one should always encounter and have in mind both of the sides that way one writes a well-thought paper.
I know that I did not speak as much in this class and I need to do that. But I listened and respecting my classmates’ thoughts. It was very interesting how they argued and how everyone has a different opinion about a topic I wish I could have say what I was thinking. I learned many things while I was in the class; I learned about the Southern accent and Ebonics. Many people have different point of view between this two accents even though these two accents are kind of similar. I want to thank Dr. Hughes and my classmates for having teaching me a lot during this semester. I am going to work really hard to be able to reach where I want to be. Thank you, all.

Is It Over Yet?

Steven Holland
Engl 1101
Blog 9

Before taking this class, I had many problems with writing. I never really liked to write. This class made me want to write more and I really got into many of the topics. I have learned that the more I was interested in a topic, the more I could write about it. I also had a problem with procrastinating when I did not want to write. The problem is not completely gone, but it has been greatly reduced. I’ll work on that problem later… I have steadily improved my writing, even if it was a slow improvement. The class itself was fun and exciting and it made me want to come to class. The class discussion format made the class fun and interesting because there was never a dull moment because there was always an argument taking place. I also like the fact that the class discussion format forced everybody to participate so that the same two or three people were not the only ones participating every day. This class also made me realize that I need to consider and respect both sides of every argument before I place myself into an argument. Everybody has their own opinion and they are entitled to it. The same goes in an argument; everybody that is involved in the argument needs to understand everyone else’s side of the argument and respect their opinions.

THE END

Leila Shearon
Dr. Hughes
12.4.09
At the beginning of the semester I came into Dr. Hughes’ class unsure in many areas. I lacked in areas like commas, and works cited, and thesis statements. I was not confident in conversation about controversial subjects. I feel as though I have improved in many of these areas. Dr. Hughes beautifully educated the class and I on commas and thesis statements. She also expressed and helped us in correctly citing the works we used within our papers. I feel as though I have learned how to be more open minded. I have learned how to form an effective argument and the most effective way to present it. While we discussed controversial linguistic topics I learned how to take in account the opposing argument to form a better view on the whole aspect and issue. I am definitely more confident in my argumentative skill and writing skills. My grammar has also improved. I am more aware on the importance of standard grammar and linguistic rules. I am more educated on the linguistic controversies of the world. I enjoyed this class immensely. I was very skeptical of my freshman English class but, all my fears were extinguished as the semester continued. It has been a very educational and enjoyable experience. See, learning can be fun.

Final Blog

Jonathan Dishon
ENG 1101
Dr. Hughes
December 4, 2009

At the beginning of the semester the main problems that I felt that my writings had was a lack of conviction. This was mostly due to the fact that I thought that my writings were never going to be fantastic, but that they would always be bottom of the pack compared to everybody else. This class helped me to trust in my writing and showed that I did not need to follow what everyone else was doing or to take the path that I thought was easiest. Because in actuality the side with which you have the most in common with as far as views go is definitely the easiest path. This is because you are able to actually put yourself into the writing and people are able to see that you truly believe in the subject that you are arguing about. I also knew that in all of my writings the introduction was always subpar and that I would always rely on good body paragraphs to bail me out. Since being in the class though I have seen vast improvements in my writings. I always knew how to write a proper introduction and what it took to make a good one, but not until this class did I ever fully understand and be able to show that I did understand. When it came to the in-class arguments I was usually quiet because I was not really used to arguing in class over stuff that actually mattered. In high-school it was always arguments over dumb stuff that would never actually happen, but in this class we actually debated stuff that were either happening or had happened in the past. That was one thing that I really liked about the class even though I did not put in my two cents about the subject most times. I feel though towards the end of the semester when I started to engage in the arguments which we were doing that my argumentation skills became a lot better. Because not only did I learn to find all the information I could to back up my own side, but I learned to find information that supported the other side and involve it in my argument to show that I have knowledge of the other side as well as my own. I have also made improvements in my ability to think critically about the subject at hand. Critical thinking is a very important facet of writing because it allows you to think in depth about the writing so that you can cover everything that you need to. Since being in this class my goals have not really changed, but the way that I plan on achieving them has. This class has taught me a whole lot about not only writing, but also about ways to achieve things that I want to do, and to believe in what I am writing.

The Journey Past and The Future Ahead

Tyler Benson
12/3/09
Dr. Hughes
English 1101

At the beginning of the semester I struggled with integrating quotes and I had a good bit of grammar based issues. My arguing skills lacked the acknowledgment of the other side and their views along with a scholarly tone rather than an emotional one which I use to have. I have come a long way from these problems and I believe I have conquered some of them thanks to this class, my instructor, and my classmates. Some of the latter problems I am still struggling a bit, but I have improved and I am still trying to improve upon the base I was given due to this class.
Integrating quotes was always a major problem in my research papers in the past and my high school English teachers never really explained it very well to me. Thanks to this class I was able to understand what “dropping a quote” was and how to fix that by introducing an author of a book or work or the company where the work is associated with before quoting that source. I believe I have improved greatly and if I have not completely conquered this problem I am very close and I have improved tenfold.
My grammar was never good in high school and I believe that it is still not all that great right now, but I am striving to fix it. This class helped me with a lot of these grammar issues and my instructor helped me to improve in a number of grammar related issues such as quote grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and punctuation. My grammar has shown improvement over the class and I am excited to take what I have learned and improve on my grammar further to where it is nearly perfect.
My debate skills have reached an entirely new level as well and it is a level I am very proud of and I could not have done it without my instructor or classmates. In high school I loved to listen to other people and take what they thought, that I agreed with, and molded it into my own understanding on the topic. This ability has travelled to college with me and I have enjoyed listening to everyone’s stance on issues that are present in the world today. I am thrilled to say that I have taken at least one or two things from everyone in the class and I have applied it to my beliefs and thoughts. If not for my classmates and my instructor I would not be able to access this knowledge. I have also learned how to acknowledge the credible arguments of the other side of a debate and give credit where credit is due. In the past I was stubborn and refused to even acknowledge any of the opposite side’s thoughts even if they were good.
This class has established a base that I will always cherish and use in my classes to come. I want to thank my classmates and instructor for giving me this opportunity to better myself in my academics and my thought process. It is because of you that I am that much more empowered than I was walking into the class. Knowledge is power and I hope I get to keep sharing my knowledge and yours in the future as more than classmates, as friends. Thank you again to you all and I truly appreciate everything the class has taught me.

Last and Final Blog!! Self Assessment

Jennifer Conley
Ms. Hughes
4 December 2009

Starting out at YHC my writing skills were definitely not where they needed to be and it was honestly part of the reason I could not go to my first choice college. Although I was disappointed about that I was still very excited about college life, but was dreading the horror stories of college papers. However, now that my first semester is over, I can say that those stories were only stories. From this class I have learned that I had more writing problems than I thought because none of my high school English teachers were ever hard on us outside of grammatical mistakes. Writers block has always been one of my biggest problems and sometimes still can be. Although, I have learned the more research I have, and the more I pay attention in class and to the readings, writing is a lot easier. Word choice was probably the worst issue that I have started to overcome. With the help of Microsoft Word’s thesaurus at first, I have learned many new words that are more acceptable in formal papers and I now use them without having to have help from the thesaurus. I have also learned a great deal from class discussions as well. Discussing our class readings and having the ability to talk or debate about them has improved my critical thinking and has opened me to new beliefs regarding certain subjects. This has greatly improved argumentation in my papers which has really improved some of the few writing strategies I have gained. However, I do not think my comfort level in those class discussions has improved a whole lot. I know at the beginning of the semester I did not talk at all and I do talk now, but I do not debate about the controversial subjects only because I do not want to get too caught up in the debate. I do believe however, it shows in my papers. I have done more writings for this class alone than any of my other classes and it has taught me to not procrastinate. I now set goals of when I want certain things done and try to get them done by that time, if another assignment does not come up in that time, which I think is impossible to avoid. I have also learned to not hate or dread writing papers. Most of the subjects brought up in class have kept my attention even if I was not that interested in them and having an interest in what you are writing really shows and stands out. Although my next English class will be a little harder and will expect more, I hope that it will keep me just as interested and willing to write like this class did. I also hope I do as good or better in my next class now that I have experienced my first semester and know what professors are expecting to read now.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Self Assessment

Carol Raterman
Language Controversies has been a very interesting class with all of the discussions we have had about different subjects we have read. This class has helped me realize my strengths and weaknesses I possess. I have always had trouble transitioning from one paragraph to the next in anything I write. Grammar has never been one of my strong points.
At the beginning of this semester, I had difficulties being able to write a thesis statement, opening paragraph, a conclusion paragraph, and my transitions. By the end of the semester, I feel that I have become a stronger writer by orgaizing my thoughts, introducing new ideas and transitioning my thoughts.
I feel as though I have improved in argumentation because I have had so many opportunities to defend my point. Defending your point is only one part of the argumentation. The second part of argumentation includes thinking how the other side would possibly make their case and be prepared for whatever they will say to you. Arguing a point involves preparing your own case, thinking about what the other side would mention, and then present the argument. Before this class, I did not think about preparing the other side’s argument. This class has helped me learn different ways people think and different ways people act.
As we read more articles as it got later in the semester, I feel as though my critical thinking skills improved. Before this class I would just read the article, it seemed like I was just looking at the words, and it would take me two times before I knew I would comprehend what I was reading. Now I feel like it is easier to read and comprehend articles.
I feel very comfortable with adding to the class discussions. When I am more interested in the subject or if I am avid about a topic, I contribute more to the conversation. At the beginning of the semester, I felt like I was not very strong in the subject of English. Now I think English is one of my favorite subjects. I have found where my strong points and my weaknesses are in the subject of English.
Mary Elizabeth Lowe
English 1101
Dr. Hughes
November 23, 2009


Over the past semester I have enjoyed this class a great deal and I believe that I have learned quite a bit about grammar, debate and a variety of language issues. Prior to this course my argumentation was rather weak and far from concise. Also, I have learned the importance of acknowledging all aspects of an argument, even those with which I do not necessarily agree. While learning and writing about the other side of an issue, my own preconceived ideas are on occasion weakened, but usually, my initial beliefs are strengthened. Similarly, while arguing a point, my audience will be more likely to accept and respect my point of view if I take an educated, bold stand and point out the competing viewpoints which are often times very valid. This ensures the readers that I am not simply ignorant to other’s beliefs, but I recognize them, in spite of my disagreement.
Another key component of persuasive writing is enforcing my own ideas with the opinions and research of esteemed experts in a particular subject matter. Adding quotes and statistics signifies to the reader that I am not simply tossing out random ideas on a whim, but that my work is creditable. Furthermore, as the semester has progressed my knowledge of proper quotation and citation usage has greatly improved.
I am not a “big fan” of class discussions, I am more of a small group type of person; however, if I am required to publicly voice my opinion I have no objection doing so as this class has prompted. Overall, the topics of this class have been interesting, especially the unit on sign language and bilingual ballots. My knowledge of these issues has broadened and I have been allowed to research a great deal which I thoroughly enjoy. My own beliefs have stayed relatively constant, but I have appreciated and benefited from hearing other people’s opinions throughout the semester and I look forward to other challenging English classes in the future.

What I Have Learned

Jackie Hand
Dr. Hughes
December 3, 2009
Language controversies has helped me in a number of ways. Through this class, I have learned to look at both sides of an argument before reaching a decision. Also, I now know that it is of great importance to recognize both sides of the argument when presenting my side. By recognizing both sides, I can make myself look intelligent and like I really have passion for the issue. This is because it will be evident that I have researched the topic in depth. Also, I have learned a lot about language. I never would have considered sign language as a completely different language, but I do now. I never knew of so many things that have gone on because of what someone speaks. I learned about the Native Americans as well as African Americans and so much more. The debating we did in class was also a help to me. Through that I believe I became a better reasearcher and presenter. This class has really helped to broaden my horizons in a sense that I am more knowledgeable about current as well as past issues. I am extremely pleased that I decided to take this course, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Dr. Hughes for making learning fun!

My Progression

I have always loved to express my ideas on paper in one of my writings. This class was a perfect fit for just that. I came into the semester as a self-proclaimed "good" writer, but as we progressed week by week, I could see improvements in essays.
At the beginning of this semester, I encountered problems with simple mistakes such as using informal language in my writing. I would write in the colloquial manner instead of professionally. Simple mistakes such as using the language in which it seemed I speak in an everyday manner really seemed to take a toll on my essay writing. The semester continued to move on and I continued to grow and learn as a writer. I began to use formal language which I quickly began to realize, even when proofreading my own work, gains a lot of respect from the reader. Although I believe that I have essentially gotten rid of colloquial language, I still feel like I struggle with it from time to time.
In argumentation, I feel more confident in standing for what I truly believe in. I feel like before this class I would just as easily give on some other person's standpoint. The debate helped me gain the confidence I was seeking when trying to stand for a subject a strongly believe in. The in-class writings also were a huge factor in the sense that I could argue a point easier in the privacy of my own essay. Finishing with the verbal debates around the circle allowed me to put in a touch of my own feelings that I expressed in my in-class writing.
I love to talk to friends, peers, teachers, and anyone with the will to listen to me. In high school, I was a bit wild in all of my classes and I would never stop talking or trying to make the class laugh. Coming into this class I expected to talk quite a bit, especially with it being a language controversies class. Although this was the case, I never actually put myself out there in conversation. I just felt like the people in the class were just fine with me keeping quite and thoughts to myself. It seemed as if the class had all the people they needed to partake in debate so I was unneeded. I know that this is not the case at all, but I wish I would have put my ideas out for discussion instead of to myself.
My goals and attitudes have altered throughout this semester. While I was focused on running cross country, I also had a sense of focusing harder on my schoolwork than I ever had. Toward the middle of the semester schoolwork seemed pointless to me. I had yet to come to the realization that everything I do here affects me for the rest of my life. The past few weeks have seemed a lot more meaningful to me. I have focused more on school and how this will help me in the long run. Overall, this class was the most helpful in helping me find my way in school and the passion I need to have in every class I take in college.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Self-Assessment Blog!

Dear All,

For your FINAL blog, please write between 300-600 words discussing your progress in the class. You should consider questions such as:
  • What kinds of problems did you have with writing at the beginning of the semester?
  • Which of these problems have you eliminated from your writing, and which you still struggle with?
  • Do you think you have improved in argumentation?
  • In critical thinking?
  • How is your comfort level with regard to adding to class conversation?
  • How have your goals and attitudes changed since you've finished your first semester?

Keep in mind that it would be tremendously ironic if you were to discuss how much you have improved, but then made errors in this little essay! That is, be sure that this essay represents the best writing you can do. Write carefully and thoughtfully -- and be sure to edit your own writing!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Second Source

Tyler Benson
Nov. 22, 2009
English 1101

Mujica, Mauro. "Why the U.S. Needs an Official Language." www.worldandi.com. 2003. The World & I, Web. 23 Nov 2009. .

In “Why the U.S. Needs an Offical Language”, Mauro Majica talks about how we as a country need an official language in order to unify us and limit factors brought by the lack of one. Mauro is the chairman and CEO of U.S. English Inc, and is an immigrant themselves. Throughout the article Mauro gives good insight on how the U.S. has required immigrants to learn English in order to fit in the main-stream of society throughout history. Mauro gives census facts and many other things such as a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showing that most countries in the world see it important to learn English in order to succeed in global economics and other things. Mauro also hits the issue on how many native born citizens in the U.S. actually are considered “limited English proficient” which means that they barely speak English. Mauro gives census facts to show how this is increased in the U.S. and expresses that English maybe on its way to extinction due to others saying that, “The government requiring immigrants to learn English is oppressive.”, therefore getting a pass because no one wants to deal with racism. I plan to use Mauro Majica’s article in order to show how English is also a hurting language when immigrants throw the race card around and how it is causing America to become less unified which Mauro also explains in his article.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Annotated Bibliography

Mary Elizabeth Lowe

English 1101

Dr. Hughes


Topic: The United States should not descend into further exclusion or journey down the path of unconstitutional decisions by adopting an official language; furthermore, the United States should continue offering bilingual ballots in order to ensure that fundamental rights are sustained and to strengthen this country.



Zuckerman, Michael A., "Constitutional Clash: When English-Only Meets Voting
Rights" (2009). Cornell Law School Working Papers. Paper 62.
http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clsops_papers/62


This source provides an informative overview of the English Only Movement in addition to facts and stories concerning the voting issue and cites other dilemmas including the Constitutional vulnerability of a purposed English Only Movement. As evidence that English Only is unconstitutional, it brings into consideration the 14th amendment and states that language is the new proxy for race. One extremely compelling quote for both bilingual ballots and against English Only, is stated by the educated Zuckerman as he says, “Furthermore, the fact of a state applying its English-only policies to voter registration is independently suspect because the state is affecting voting rights, which are fundamental, and have historically been used as a tool for discrimination.” Another direct cite from this paper is the quotation from the fifteenth amendment. It guarantees that “[t]he right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This is another solid argument in favor of bilingual ballots and against a national language. I would use this, and the many other facts and stories in this article to my paper by bringing to light the fact that if this nation deemed English it’s national language, it would have to uphold this law in all areas. This would include the removal of bilingual ballots and that would take away many American citizens’ right to vote, which is a constitutional right.



Crawford, James. "The Question of Minority Language Rights." Language Loyalties A
Source Book on the Official English Controversy. New York: University Of
Chicago, 1992. Print.


This article begins with many provoking questions such as, “What would be the legal impact of an English Language Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?” and “Does it seek primarily to make a symbolic statement about the role of English as our common language or to protect the dominant status of English by outlawing all (or all but a few) public uses of other tongues?” These questions are followed by both the pros and cons of English Only and declares that both sides are valid but will certainly have a profound effect on all speakers of this nation. As the chapter progresses he says, “voting in anything other than the national tongue offends the civic assumptions of many Americans.” This is primarily due to our history for the United States is indeed a nation of immigrants.
He also cites the 1987 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which had “prohibited arbitrary language policies on the job – that is, English-only rules that have no demonstrated business necessity – as a form of national-origin discrimination.” I will use parts of this chapter to further develop the idea that the United States is a nation of immigrants and to suddenly state that English must be the official language encroaches upon the very history of our “toss salad” nation.

Annotated Bibliographies

Jennifer Conley
Ms. Hughes
20 November 2009

Thesis Statement:
Many citizens would argue that English should be our official language, but what about those citizens who practice their culture every day? Should these citizens be penalized for their practices in the way they speak or understand language or should we also utilize their abilities in our everyday life too?



“A Nation Divided: The Consequences of Bilingual Ballots.” ProEnglish: Repealing Bilingual Ballots. 4 Nov. 2009 http://www.proenglish.org/issues/ballots/fivereasons.html.


This is a pro-English article that discusses their opinion upon bilingual ballots. In this article five main points are brought to attention. The first point talks about the justification and election materials. Their response is that citizens are suppose to know English to become citizens, so why not keep practicing English as the official language. The second reason is that the requirements of bilingual ballots are arbitrary and wasteful. Citizens believe that the requirements of making ballots in another language are unnecessary when facts show a majority of citizens can speak English. Third, the local governments have to make the ballots and they are unfunded and mandatory. In their defense, the assistance amendment to the Voting Rights’ Act is provided. Fourthly, the likelihood of errors and vote fraud are increased. This reason is provided with the statistics of previous elections and how the vote was swayed to the poll workers bias opinion. The last point is simply that bilingual ballots are a growing burden. Citizens think that too much money is being spent to provide the materials and help needed, especially when the help provided has ended up causing confusion at the polls. Since my argument is not set to one side or the other, some of these points will be argued against while others will help prove my reasoning.


"Bilingual Ballot Laws." ProEnglish: The English Language Advocates. Web. 18 Nov. 2009. http://www.proenglish.org/issues/ballots/overview.htm.

This web page shows an overview of the Bilingual Ballot Provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It states that, “The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was originally enacted to prohibit state and local governments from denying or abridging the right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," a right guaranteed by the 15th Amendment.” At the time it was enacted to protect the right of voting for black Americans. “But in 1975 Congress greatly expanded the Voting Rights Act's original intent by inserting special protections for "language minorities.” By doing this Congress made voting available to any individual who was an American citizen. The only set back with this act is that it was passed as a temporary adjustment and not officially a concrete adjustment. Since this is temporary Congress has renewed this act twice in 1982 and then again in 1992. If this bill was not renewed in 2007 then it will have expired. If amendment made it fair for citizens to vote with bilingual ballots and it keeps getting renewed by Congress, why not just make it official? Voting is a right that every American citizen should be able to practice. Limiting voting to citizens who speak English very well does not make it fair. This is unjust to what this country was founded on and keeps America from being united.

Annotated Bibliography

Rebekah Medford

Topic: Should the US offer bilingual ballots?

ACLU of Florida. "English Only." ACLUFL.org. May 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2009http://www.aclufl.org/take_action/download_resources/info_papers/6.cfm

In the a article by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida over the "English Only" debate, the ACLU states its reasonings behind why they oppose the "English Only" laws. They believe the laws take away the rights of individuals as well as create false stereotypes of immigrants or people speaking different languages. The material in the article is very informational, focusing not just on now but also where the idea of "English Only" derivied and just how long its been around. Viewing the counterargument, several points are brought up on why some people believe, or have believed in the past, that "English Only" would help. Following their paragraphs about the history of "English Only," ACLU has a question and answer portion. These question and answers allow the ACLU to get their views on the "English Only" debates across, focusing on topics such as: who is affected; what the consequences are; and the false ideas behind it. There are several points I would like to use from this article. Though it is against "English Only" I would liketo use the history it provides where the idea derives from in my counterargument. Using John Adams idea and words, would help me show how people believe it to be very unifying at that time. I agree that if at that time, they had made Englsih the national language, I would have been unifying. Now it would not be. Too many cultures have come here, making English Only laws now would only seperate cultures amd people in America. If English was already the National Language, then getting rid of billingual ballots would be okay but since it is not, and we are a free country, you cannot take away peoples' rights.

The Washing Post Company. " Yes on Bilingual Ballots: Encourage non-English speakers to make informed choices." The Washington Post. 10 Jul. 2006. Web. 20 Nov. 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/09/AR2006070900553.html

This Washington Post article is pro view on Bilingual Ballots. In their article they discuss the Voting Rights Act as well as doing a deeper study of the argument. They take arguments that could be made against bilingual ballots, like: one already has to know English to take the citizenship test. The Washington Post then rebutes the arguments and states why they are not strong enough, or accurate enough to prove the counterargument. Other issues covered in the article are cost,and voting particpation. I will be able to use The Washington Post's answers towards the debate of the citizenship english to prove that this is not the same level of required when reading a ballot.
Steven Holland
Engl 1101
Dr. Hughes

Topic: The Ebonics Controversy

Oubré, Alondra. “Black English Vernacular (Ebonics) and Educability A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Language, Cognition, and Schooling” 1997

http://www.aawc.com/ebonicsarticle.html

Dr. Oubré states that one of the main causes of scholastic shortcomings of African American youth was the Oakland Public Unified School Board's attention to Ebonics. Dr. Oubré states that Ebonics brings down those who use it by saying, “The sad reality is that Blacks' poor performance in school only further reinforces for many Americans stereotypes of the intellectual inferiority of Black Africans” and “African American students who speak traditional Black dialects of the English language are less apt to do well in school because they generally cannot comprehend standard English.” Dr. Oubré obviously thinks that Ebonics is the cause of the academic downfall of many African Americans. Dr. Oubré also states that ”Black Americans earn IQ scores averaging 85 points compared to scores of about 100 for Euro-Americans and about 106 for Asian Americans of East Asian descent. IQ scores may not be an absolute or totally accurate measure of innate intelligence. But certainly they do say something about a person's cognitive ability to successfully function in American society,” which would suggest that the use of Ebonics could potentially bring down Black Americans’ intelligence. I plan to use this article to introduce the topic and to back it up with statistics. The article shows how Ebonics has caused controversy over African American education.


Rickford, John R. "The Ebonics controversy in my backyard:A sociolinguist's experiences and reflections" 1999.

http://www.stanford.edu/~rickford/papers/EbonicsInMyBackyard.html

This article basically explains the topic of the Oakland School Board Ebonics controversy. John Rickford explains what happened during the 1996 Ebonics controversy and provides background information about the controversy. I plan to use this article to provide information that is directly linked to the Oakland School Board Ebonics Controversy.

Bilingual Ballots

Tyler Gunnin
Dr. Hughes
English 1101
11/20/09

Topic: Why we should discard all bilingual ballots

1. Blum, Edward. "A Nation Divided: The Consequences of Bilingual Ballots". 5 Reasons to Oppose Bilingual Ballots. 2006.

Edward Blum summarizes the debate of discarding bilingual ballots into five key points in this article. The five major ideas in the writing are: There is no justification for bilingual ballots and election materials, bilingual ballot requirements are arbitrary and wasteful, bilingual ballots are an un-funded mandate on local governments, bilingual ballots increase the the likelihood of errors and voter fraud, and bilingual ballots are a growing burden. A few key points that are made in this article are: since 1907 the United States has required immigrants to learn English in order to become a citizen and finish the process of naturalization, the illiteracy rate of language-minority-group citizens is higher than the national illiteracy rate, Los Angeles County taxpayers spent over $1.1 million in 1996 to provide bilingual, and the number of states and counties required to provide multilingual election materials is growing voting. The article also stresses the importance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the amendment made to it in 1975. The writing gives many viable points to argue against the pro-bilingual ballot supporters. I want to use this article in pointing out key facts that show how and why bilingual ballots should be gotten rid of. By zoning in on the five key points mentioned in this article, including the Voting Rights Act, I believe I can get my main argument across in a way that has supporting evidence and back-up.


2. English First Foundation. "Bilingual Ballots: Election Fairness or Fraud?". English First Foundation Issue Brief. 22 February 2000.

The English First Foundation goes more in depth about many of the key points of why we should get rid of bilingual ballots. It starts off by mentioning the Voting Rights Act. This is one of the main arguments that I want to stress in my writing. A second key point the article makes is the question of legal and illegal aliens triggering bilingual requirements. There would be a huge possibility of creating two separate sections of "citizen" and "non-citizen" for the voting. Cost is another major idea that I want to focus on. In this article it also makes a point that unneeded bilingual ballots are quite expensive. Another interesting point made is that the accurate translations cannot be taken for granted. This and the point that bilingual ballots might not even be enough to guarantee an informed vote are two ideas that can be brought together in an argument I am trying to make. Also, the article backs these two points up with the very reasonable argument that private sectors and volunteer translators are very capable of making mistakes. I believe this article will help me in backing up multiple points I am trying to make evident in my paper. The writing is very in-depth and has a lot of information that should be easy in supporting the idea that bilingual ballots should be discarded for good.

Making English the Official Language of the United States

Jonathan Dishon
ENG 1101
Dr. Hughes
November 20, 2009

Inhofe, James M. "Should English be declared America's national language? A nation of immigrants considers the pros and cons of giving English official status". New York Times Upfront. FindArticles.com. 19 Nov, 2009. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BUE/is_4_139/ai_n17215363/>.

James Inhofe discusses how according to several polls done of both Americans and of immigrants that the overwhelming majority of both groups believe that English should be made the official language of the United States. According to the polls about 85 percent of Americans are for English becoming the official language and 71 percent of immigrants are for English becoming the official language as well. Another thing that Inhofe brings up is how many immigrants want to learn English because it will help them succeed in school, increase their earning potential, and enhance their career options. Inhofe also brings up a court case of an immigrant woman named Martha Sandoval who tried to sue the state of Alabama because they did not allow the test to get a driver’s license to be taken in a foreign language. The final verdict sent down by the U.S. Supreme Court was that Mrs. Sandoval was not allowed to sue the state of Alabama. Inhofe also brings up that many federal courts have upheld that there is no right to foreign-language based government forms, deportation notices, and civil service exams. And that there are about 30 years worth of cases related to this subject piled up. This will help out in my paper by giving me some statistics to support my view that English should become the official language. It also will help because it shows that the immigrants, who many may think do not support English, actually are for making English the official language. Another topic Inhofe brings up that will be beneficial to my paper is the court case in which the lady was not allowed to sue the state of Alabama because they did not offer the driver’s license test in a foreign language. I will be able to use this to show that the federal courts have agreed on several occasions that government forms and other forms or documents are not required to be translated into a foreign language.


King, Robert D. “Should English Be The Law?”. The Atlantic Online. April 1997. 55-64. The Atlantic Monthly Company. 18 Nov. 2009. < http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97apr/english.htm>.

In this article Robert King discusses how the language debate is already tearing apart many countries around the world and that the United States could be headed down that path if we continue to try and make English our official language. This is the opposite stance from which I am coming from. My view is that by making English the official language it will unite us and not pull us apart. King makes a very interesting statement in his article when he says that traditionally the American way has been to make English the official language, but to do so quietly and without any fuss. And that there was no rush from the Founding Fathers to make English the official language because it was always taken for granted that English be the national language and that everyone learn English in order to succeed in America. I will be able to use this statement in my paper because it shows that the original plan for the United Sates was to make English the official language. It also says that the Founding Fathers thought of it as a given that people would learn English when they came to America in order to succeed, because it is the language spoken by all native people. This goes along with my view because I believe that if you want to succeed in a country then you will learn that countries official language, and while English is not official quite yet it is still the language spoken by the majority of people in the country. Also in his article King quotes Theodore Roosevelt’s statement that, “We have room for but one language here, and that language is English, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans. We must have but one flag. We must also have but one language.” I will be able to use this quote to show that by making English the official language it will in fact help to unify us as a country. It will take all the groups of English speaking people in America and unify them under one name, Americans.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Tyler Benson (Bilingual Ballots)

Tyler Benson
11/19/09
English 1101

Hayduk, Ron. Democracy for All. New York, NY: Taylor &
Francis Group, 2006. 250. Print.

In Ron Hayduk’s Book, Democracy for All, he defends the rights of non citizens in terms of rights including the right to vote. He gives very reasonable arguments talking about how noncitizens have the same stake and interest in America as regular citizens and they deserve the right to vote so their views and beliefs can be displayed in the individuals they vote for in the elections. Another argument of Hayduk’s is that noncitizens are denied rights by America because of laws that were set up by immigrants themselves. Hayduk argues that since the country was founded by people who were not locals of America themselves, noncitizens should be able to have a chance to secure rights. I plan to use this in a counter argument against Hayduk. I will state how noncitizens are given opportunities by the United States. They have an opportunity to learn basic English and other various requirements to become a citizen through naturalization. I will also state that through naturalization the noncitizen will receive voting rights and other rights that are given to everyone. I will mostly be using the works of Hayduk to argue that noncitizens have as much opportunity as any other immigrant to become a citizen and that they have to be citizens to vote anyway.

Language Variation

Carmen Solis
Engl
Dr. Hughes


Thomason, Sarah. "Language Variation and Change". Linguistic Society of America. November 19, 2009. <http://www.lsadc.org/info/ling-fields-change.cfm>.


In the Linguistic Society of America, Mrs. Thomason explains that language is always changing. There are various examples of this fact which one of them is the mother tongue which is Latin. Latin is the mother tongue of the Roman Language, Spanish, French, and Italian. With time, language has change and has brought many new variations and words into the language. Currently, researchers are trying to connect the origin of all the languages but it is difficult to accomplish this since languages are changing rapidly. There are people who are bilingual and multilingual while others only speak a language they might be able to speak in a dialect. As we look on our own society and community, we can distinguish the different variations that people today are speaking. Those people talk differently when they are around their boss, friends, family, and elderly people. Also in this website, it shows us that people are coming up with new words, and changing the meaning of the words. While we progress, we find and make up words that seem to be naturally correct, and here is where “Language change inevitably leads to variation, and variation within a speech community often leads to social valuation of particular features as 'good' or 'bad'.” We tend to group words as been correct or standard or as been incorrect and have negative reactions. One of those words is the word “ain’t.” Most people deceived this word as being illogical. Also, grammatical constructions change; we have come to replace the word “thou,” which was used in Old English, with the word “you.” I planned to used this website to explain that there has always been a change in language and that there are different types of language variations.



Gibbon, Dafydd. Language Variation. May 7, 1996. Web. 20 Nov. 2009. <http://coral.lili.unibielefeld.de/Classes/Summer96/textdesc/node8.html>.


This website explains the various dimensions that a language has. There is a difference between how a people speak base on the environment and their class. Basically, there are three dimensions which are the regional social, and functional. The regional is a dialect within their community; social is the way that someone speaks based on their social standard or class; and functional is how someone speaks either formal or informal. Many people respond in a regional or social variation meaning that they would tend to respond back based on this terms because it is whom they are and where they come from. But on the other hand, the function variation can be switch on and off within a conversation. For instance, someone can be speaking to a boss and they might be speaking on their social dialect but the functional variation is turn on causing that someone to speak in a formal way. Contrary, someone might be speaking to a friend and they might be talking to his friend on their social dialect but the functional variation is turn off causing them to speak in an informal way. The way someone communicates depends on whom one is talking to and the use of the words rather than where the user comes from. I tend to use this website to explain that people should keep their origin which makes them unique and have diversity in this country, but, also, they should incorporate the Standard in the way they communicate to be able to succeed in the world.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

An Example Annotated Bibliography Entry

Dear All,

This week, your blog assignment is to lay the groundwork for your final paper by doing research. By assessing and summarizing research, you prepare yourself to use it in your paper. This is what an annotated bibliography entry looks like (you will be doing two of these):

Topic: The use of dialect for humorous and moral commentary in nineteenth-century literature.

Cox, James M. “Toward Vernacular Humor.” Critical Essays on American Humor. Ed. William Bedford Clark and W. Craig Turner. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1984, 107-120. Print.

James Cox analyzes the humorous projection of Huck Finn's voice, asserting that Huck’s illiterate writing of the book is another element of the inversion that leads to the climactic statement of “All right, then, I’ll go to hell!” Cox links the ability to discover the right moral choice (to steal Jim out of slavery) with the lack of rationalizing education which is reflected in Huck's ungrammatical speech. Cox also traces Holden Caulfield's (from J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye) improvement of grammar as he matures and learns. However, Holden is not a typical bildingsroman because of his sexualized humor and his “protective” swearing. Cox's article offers nuanced arguments for the use of dialect in the nineteenth century (and the twentieth) as a way of establishing the “natural” morality of a character. I would use Cox’s article to suggest that one can romanticize a non-standard dialect to the point that it achieves a form of elitism – it is viewed as more natural, and therefore more moral. However, I want to argue that while this sort of romanticizing can do positive work on people’s language ideologies, I believe that the work of linguists to prove the equal validity of all dialects to be more important.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Ebonics: Dialect, Not Language

Steven Holland
Engl 1101
Dr. Hughes
Extra Credit Blog

The number one issue of the 1996 Ebonics controversy was that of is Ebonics a dialect of the English language, or is it a completely different language? This may possibly be a difficult question to answer, but the fact is that Ebonics is not its own language. It is merely a dialect of English. If you think about the roots of Ebonics, you will see that Ebonics was derived from English around the time of slavery and the Civil War. Ebonics was developed from English just as other dialects, such as the Southern dialect, many years ago. Since Ebonics is so close to English, there is no way that Ebonics can be considered its own language. If Ebonics were to be considered its own, language, then the Southern dialect should be its own language also.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Extra Credit Blog: The Ebonics Controversy

Dear All,

This week, you may choose to do this blog for extra credit. Each blog you write is worth about 2% of your grade. Therefore, an "A" on this blog will give you an additional 2% on your overall course grade. And "A-/B+" will get you 1.5. A "B" will get you 1%. A "C" will get you 0.5%. Anything lower than that... well, I'm not going to read it, because y'all are better writers than that!

You have a choice between two questions:

1. Choose a resolution from the Oakland Policy Statement (Baugh, pages 312-313). I recommend 2, 7, 9,12, or 13. Discuss whether you think that resolution is a good educational policy for students whose heritage language is Ebonics. Discuss, also, whether the changes that the educators made (the text in bold) weakened or improved the resolution.

2. As we've discovered, there were a lot of controversies within the Oakland Ebonics Controversy of 1996. People were debating:

Teaching techniques
Governmental funding
The linguistic validity of Ebonics
The question of whether Ebonics is a dialect or a language
Questions of racism in education

Which of these issues do you think is most central to -- is really at the heart of -- the Ebonics Controversy? Discuss why that issue is more important than the others.

This Extra Credit Assignment is due by Monday, Nov. 2!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Debate Groups!

Group 1



Tyler B.

Leila

Tyler G.





Group 2



Jon

Sam

Carmen





Group 3



Jackie

Jonathan

Alex

Mary





Group 4



Steven

Allen

Bekah

Jennifer

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Friday's Assignment: Read and Prepare!

Dear All,

This Friday we will have a short quiz in class based on some readings that will prepare us for next week. I am asking you to read, and take notes on, some background information on African American English. If you want to post your notes to the blog and discuss the reading through this medium, feel free! The reading can be found at this website:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/education/curriculum/high/aae/#background

Read the following subsections under "Background Information": "Brief History of AAE," "Features of AAE: A Brief Overview," "Grammatical Features," and "Pronunciation Features." You do not have to read about the Ann Arbor Decision.

This is not a long reading, and some of the information should look familiar. But we'll be talking about the Ebonics Debate thoroughly next week, and I want you each to have a good idea of what kind of dialect/language we are discussing.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Jackie Hand
Dr. Hughes
10/16/09
Eng 1101

After reading a few of these websites, I have come to the conclusion that it is things like this that give southerners a bad name. In expressing things in the way that they did, the various authors put all of the south into one category. In Ron Collins’ “Southern Dialect Converter” he degrades the south as a whole. He acts as if the entire southern United States has the same accent, slang, and sayings for everything. This is in no way accurate. Collins uses a lot of the same conversions as Jeff Foxworthy’s “You Might Be a Redneck If…” That just goes to show how accurate his “findings” are. However, the quiz “Are You a Yankee or a Rebel” is somewhat accurate. Me, personally, got an 88% Dixie. It is funny, because since I have lived in so many places and have family everywhere, I recognized almost all of the “slang.” “Northerners tend to think of the South as a homogenous and somewhat mysterious monolith, where English has an indiscriminate “twang” or “drawl” and is peppered with pan-regional idioms,” as said by Rosina-Lippi Green says in her passage “Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Belles.” Even just the title sums up the South. There is a definite difference in say a Hillbilly and a Southern Belle. The way that Collins portrays his conversions of words makes it out like a Southern Belle would use all the same slang as a Hillbilly. This is in no way true. In my opinion, a Hillbilly is like Jethro Clampette and a Southern Belle is like Scarlet O’Hara. Two very different types of Southern, but Southern none the less. However, the Wikipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English sums it up very well. This site describes each region of the south and how they speak, and why their accent sounds the way they do. To me, this site was the most "legit" when it comes to describing the south. I think that this website helped to redeem the others that were very ignorant. The South is a part of the United States as well as any northern, western, or eastern state. It is unfair that we are categorized as one thing.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Blog 7: I Hate Ron Collin

Jon Cuccia
English 1101
Dr. Jennifer A. Hughes
16 October 2009


In each of the four web pages I visited for this blog were prevailing points which stood out to me. The first web page I visited was “Ron Collin’s Southern Dialect Converter” (http://vaiden.net/convert.html). His page immediately set the tone by playing obnoxious banjo music, and shortly afterwards I noticed the confederate images and a particularly questioning image of Beavis picking his nose while dressed up as Uncle Sam. Seeing as all this preludes the actual southern dialect conversion, I was pretty upset to begin with. I estimate his page contained a few hundred southernisms, many of which are unheard of and thought up only for humor, and a few which reference back to themselves. The combination of all this left a bad taste in my mouth, and I gathered that rather than a genuine respect for southern dialect, Mr. Collins displayed more of an enthusiasm, although I am certain he holds all things southern very dear to him.

Moving along, I came to the two web pages by alpha dictionary. This first one, “Are you a Yankee or Rebel?”(http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html) I found quite interesting. Throughout the questions, it displayed the origins of certain ways of pronunciation and dialect, whether they are widely used throughout the U.S., the southeastern U.S., the Deep South, the Midwest, or Northeastern U.S. and Great Lakes areas. Thus, the quiz lets you examine dialects in general, is informative. The second page by alpha dictionary is “A Glossary of Southern Accents” (http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/southernese.html). This page is like the very first page in many ways, as it has a similar list of southern words and what they mean. It is different, however, in that it has added depth, such as what part of speech each word is. The text is formatted into a table, making it easy to read, and lastly the font color doesn’t clash with the background in a way that makes reading painful. Overall, I believe the alpha dictionary pages maintain a bit playful humor, while still being informative. Of the four pages I visited, these two display the best use of moderation in dealing with the southern dialect.

Finally, I visited the wikipedia page “Southern American English” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English). The page was very in depth, including the differentiation between new and old southern dialects, as well as charts displaying areas affected by certain phonetical changes. The page goes very far to depict the “indiscriminate twang” that Rosina Lippi-Green describes in her book “Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Bells” with phonetic symbols and using word examples. Overall I found the page very informative and impartial, just as a wiki entry should be.

In conclusion, I leave my thoughts on the matter of Southern language and it’s reputation, and even dialects in general. Most people use Standard American English when communicating formally and in writing. No one speaks with Standard American English, and everyone speaks differently. I fail to see the reason of language controversy between the North and the South as anything more than a continuation of the long-held enmity between the two.
Mary Elizabeth Lowe

English 1101

Hughes

October 16, 2009


Each nation, state and often times from town to town, there are dialect differences. There are also doctors, lawyers, McDonald’s employees and homeless people in every town. An attempt to state that there is a direct correlation between a particular accent and overall intelligence is an unfair statement. However, the monolithic idea that all Southerners live, speak and think in the same manner is a source of great entertainment for some people such as Ron Collins in his “Southern Dialect Converter”. In the introductory title of his website he uses the words, “Innernet Xplorur”. This purposeful misspelling obviously took quite a bit of thought to even come up with such a ridiculous phrase, but his lighthearted manner subtly makes fun of the stereotype that all Southerners speak and spell in such an erroneous way.
Further down on Ron Collin’s website he reinforces the belief that, “Northerners tend to think of the south as a homogeneous and somewhat mysterious monolith, where English has an indiscriminate “twang” or a “drawl” and is peppered with funny, pan- religious idioms.” Collins artfully creates a list of “Ways to Annoy a Yankee” and “ Warning From the Southern Tourism Bureau”. In many ways the items on the lists are valid points, for we all know someone who has a bathtub on their front porch or says “ain’t” every other word, which makes the lists entertaining. However, overall these lists are written in an air or sarcasm and a joking manner, for Collins appears to be a smart man merely ridiculing Northern stereotypes while honoring his heritage and standing as a proud Southern dialect speaking man. He respects the Southern accent and is proud to be a part of the language and way of life despite inaccurate labels placed upon Southern intelligence which is often simply used in a stylistic manner adding flair to every word.

OH NO THEY DIDN'T

Leila Shearon

Before I begin this blog I must "WOW". As I was researching and looking over the websites I noticed a common trait that they help. They stereotyped the south immensely www.alphadictionary.com realized a quiz that would "help" one find answer the question "Are you a Yankee or a Rebel". This quiz introduction questioned people of southern background saying" are y'all speaking Bubbaese". This is offensive. This phrase demotes southerners in society of intelligence. The south is full of scholars and successful business men. I take offense to the stereotype of the uneducated hillbilly redneck. http://vaiden.net/convert.html does the same of stereotyping the south and their dialect. The give the impression that every person below the mason Dixon line miss pronounces most words. Everyone does not say "Aigs" instead of "Eggs" This is rude. I believe Lippi Green jumped on the band wagon (as a few “southerners” would say) in this stereotyping. In his writing about southern dialect he titled it “Hillbillies,Rednecks, and Southern Belles” . Once again not all southernes fall under this category.Green redeems herself by arguing the fact that “There is a great deal of diversity in the south”(209). What is Southernese? Www.alphadictionary.com gives definetions to words and prnuciation that is said to only be heard in the south. Why would the call it southerenesse. The southeren dialect is not a different language. It is an accent just like the northern accent. We live in a America and we are not aliens we are normal people that are all unique in the way we speak and act. We are not “rednecks” or “southernbelles”(they do exist) but WE are American people.

Southern Accents...Yes There is More Than One

Jonathan Dishon
Dr. Hughes
October 16, 2009

When looking at the different websites and how they treat the Southern accent I found that two of the websites leaned more towards the Southern accent being monolithic and the other two leaned more towards there being more than one style of a Southern accent. “The Glossary of Quaint Southernisms” by Dr. Goodword was one of the examples of a website being slanted more towards the South having a monolithic accent. This website has many “southernisms” but some of the words and sayings I have never heard before in my life, which has been spent almost entirely in the South. Now none of the websites that promote the monolithic Southern dialect do so in a harsh way, but they are still incorrect. The southernisms in the glossary are from all over the South and many states in the South do not share common southernisms. This is because many of the states have different influences that help to establish their own dialect. For example, common sayings in Louisiana may not be common in Texas or Tennessee because there are different influences in their respective dialects. These different influences show that there is no single monolithic Southern dialect, but multiple dialects throughout the South. The Wikipedia source was a good example of the different styles of dialects throughout the South. Rosina Lippi-Green states, “Southerners exhibit insecurity about their language and a willingness to accept responsibility for poor communication or bad language (213).” Now this is a highly different approach to saying the South has a monolithic accent then any of the websites. The websites were subtle in their approach and tried to incorporate fun so that the message would not be so straight forward. Rosina Lippi-Green on the other hand does not try and sugar coat things and just comes and states that there is a monolithic dialect and that it is wrong; when in fact she is wrong in her statement that we are insecure about our language and that our dialect is wrong. First off, Southerners are a very proud people so they would not just give in and admit their language is wrong. Also there is no official standard for language yet, so her suggestion that there is only one Southern dialect and that it is wrong is unsupported and incorrect. Again the Wikipedia source can be used to show the varieties of Southern dialects and how they are used every day and are accepted by everyone because there is no wrong language. In conclusion all of these sources had their own takes on the debate of a monolithic Southern accent and all of them showed great examples both for and against their choice of whether there is a monolithic accent or not, but just for the record there is more than one Southern accent.

The frosting in a cake!

We have been talking all this week long about the southern dialect. I have live in Georgia for six years and I do not see any difference in the dialect. I have not travel to the north side of the U.S. so maybe that is why I cannot recognize the differences in dialects. But been in those websites, have give me some information about the dialect. I, certainly, know that the southerners are “recognize” for been dumb and stupid only because of the way they speak. I used to see that in cartoons. I found that judging someone by their dialect is unreasonable and irrational with no explanation to why they think that. It is only a dialect. That is it. Having a dialect does not make someone less of a person. “A Glossary of Quaint Southernisms,” http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/southernese.html, somehow makes fun of the south dialect but also explains the definitions in a much sophisticated way by saying that while one read and “laugh at these entries, the important thing to remember as you laugh at these entries is that they represent perfectly good English.” In this website, the writer is writing words and sort of making fun on how they write and pronounce it. But, he writes the definitions in a Standard American English. I find that the Ron Collins’ Southern Dialect converter, http://vaiden.net/convert.html, states that the south is monolith because it only uses words and explain them in a broad way. It did not state where each word came from, it just let us know, the reader, that those words are used thoroughly I the South area. On the other hand, I identify that the Southern American English, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English, believe that the South has many different dialects within. This websites states that “there is no single Southern accent.” There are the Atlantic, Midland and Highland, Gulf of Mexico, and African-influenced, and much more other dialects. “There is a great deal of diversity in the south” and still people all around the United States think there is only one South Dialect (Rosina Lippi-Green 209). I find a dialect to be charming in its own way, and it gives a twist to the way how someone speaks. A dialect gives its own uniqueness to a language.

Southern Reputations

Jennifer Conley
Ms. Hughes
16 October 2009

Even though I was raised in the south, I realized after looking over these websites that there is a lot more to southern states than I would have guessed. After looking over the Southern Dialect Converter, which you can view at http://vaiden.net/convert.html , one can assume that the individual made the site out of respect for his southern heritage. Giving everyday words used in the south a definition in standard English so anyone can understand was nice, but viewing further on down it is clear that the individual cares for the south in more than just its' language. By the information given after the glossary of words, turns this web page from informational page into a bias only for the south, treating it as a monolith.

Like the above website, A Glossary of Southern Accents, which is viewed at http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/southernese.html , also gives an assortment of any or all southern accents, promoting that it is a monolith. However, it talks about all southern accents, giving meaning to all of them and not just one. The entry at the beginning of the page also contradicts that it is a monolith in saying that people from variations of regions, be it north or south, all have an accent. Then after every letter entry of this glossary it gives a link to http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html . This link gives a test of how much of a rebel or Yankee a person is. Instead of just asking southern or northern question like shown in this week's reading, it asks more general questions of how one would pronounce certain words or what words we would use in everyday life. With every answer given, it tells you what region or specific state in which your answer mostly comes from. This also supports that A Glossary of Southern Accents was not made in a bias opinion, but based on more statistics too.

The last site we had to look at, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English , proved to be the most non-monolith when promoting the south. On this site it talks about how the south came to be and the people who populate it. It also mentions how all the people that first populated the south came from different places with a variety of dialects. This supports Lippi-Green when she states, " Finally, it does not take into account racial and ethnic diversity in the south which results in another dimension of language variation, particularly the presence of indigenous language communities where the core language may not be English at all (Spanish, Louisiana Creole, Native American languages), not to mention the large population of African Americans and the ways that southern AAVE differ from other geographical versions of AAVE."

South or North...Your in America Regardless

Tyler Benson
Dr. Hughes
Engl. 1101
10/15/09

For this Blog I chose the first two websites and scanned through them, the first being easier to leave due to the harsh banjo music which made it almost impossible to bear. The second website intrigued me more, however, because it allowed me to express what I used in language, and I was able to see where most of the things I say come from. Both sights were intriguing, even though the banjo music made me want to leave as soon as I opened the first link, but both sights treated the Southern dialect in different and very distinct ways. What I found was that they were quite the polar opposites when treating the South with respect and not being biased. To me being biased against dialect, the north or south in general, seems alright.
The first website (http://vaiden.net/convert.html) immediately opened with the dreaded instrument of the Southern stereotype…the banjo. AS soon as I opened it I began to laugh, but after a while it took its toll on me and I had to get off the site. I did read many of the things that were posted on it, including the pictures and translations if words supposedly used by all Southerners. Some interesting ones being, “Algebra”, which is Algae of the bra apparently. There were more very funny and stereotypical definitions, which some people more than likely would have found offensive if from certain parts of the south. I think if the author of the website would have included the regions in which the word was used based off actual surveys this website would be fairly legit. I do believe that it was more of a fun, joking sort of sight not really meant to be scholarly. To me this is perfectly fine, I am sure if you search hard enough you will find a website that does the same thing only with stereotypical words that Northerners use. It just comes down to having fun. This website is for entertainment purposes and Southerners and northerners both need to get over pride for their accent and get along.
The second site that I viewed (http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html ) took me to a sort of survey type format in which I proceeded in answering questions using my own day to day word use. It was very entertaining and I spent some time on it going back and choosing different options just to know where the word came from. The website looked like the person was unbiased and actually viewed both the north and south with distinct regions. They did not clump them together, and example being if you answered a certain way it would say it comes from Texas and the South eastern United States or the Midwest and New England area. It is not clumping people together which is a good thing making it to where the prideful north and south cant moan and complain about the website. I liked this website more than the first, not because of its treatment of the south, but because it is informative and interesting.
The main point that needs to be made is that the north and south are just in a large argument and need to all in all just get over it. They create identities for each other that are partially true and partially not. Lippi-Green says it well in her work “Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Belles” when she talks about the north and south basically making up things about each other. Lippi-Green states that “The North and the South have conspired to create each other’s identities as well as their own.” (205). This quote is entirely true when it comes to viewing the northern areas and southern ones as well. The South and North are just prideful and attack each other’s accents saying that theirs is superior. It doesn’t matter, let them fight it out. It is pointless to waste energy arguing about who is superior based on accents separated by a civil war that happened in the past. The south and north need to see that it is pointless, they are all Americans above anything…they should act like it.

Respect My Accent And I'll Respect Yours

Steven Holland
Engl 1101
Dr. Hughes
Blog 7

The Southern accent is often regarded with disrespect by people of other dialects. This may be caused by someone misunderstanding what the person has to say. Since the Southern accent is sometimes difficult to understand, there is a website that has the intention of helping people to understand the Southern accent. Ron Collins’ Southern Dialect Converter (http://vaiden.net/convert.html) explains various Southern phrases and translates them into more Standard English. Some Southerners might take offense to this website and say “he’s makin’ fun o’ the way we talk,” but he actually seems to respect the Southern accent. The main goal of the website is to explain what many common Southern phrases mean. Another website that does a very good job of this is the alphadictionary (http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/southernese.html). It basically serves the same purpose as the Southern Dialect Converter. It is not disrespecting the dialect; it is intended to help someone who doesn’t know many Southern phrases. Another part of the alphadictionary is the Rebel or Yankee Test (http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html). This test is neutral towards respect of the different accents since all it is doing is determining what accent the user has. According to Rosina Lippi-Green, “There is a great deal of diversity in the South” (Liipi-Green 209). This suggests that the Southern accent is not a monolith. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English) takes the same view on the subject. The fact that Wikipedia uses the term sub-regional dialects, with reference to the South, shows that the Southern accent is not a monolith. Wikipedia clearly states that “there is no single "Southern accent". Instead, there are a number of sub-regional dialects found across the Southern United States which are collectively known as Southern American English” (Wikipedia). The idea of a Southern dialect monolith seems nonexistent because the different regions of the South have their own dialects.

Sweet Home ..Alabama?? Bammer?? Bama?

Bekah Medford
Dr.Hughes
Blog: Oct 16
Starting this blog, my initial plan was to just quickly read through the sites, pick one, and just write about it to get through the assignment. As I started this process I realized that while reading each blog there were many interesting ideas, statements, opinions, and facts about the South spread throughout each and every site. My “quick” assignment then proceeded to take up much more of my evening than I had originally planned. Each site was very interesting and presents their views on the South in their own way. Though each site was discussing the Southern dialect or dialects, the treatment of the Southern dialect or dialects varied. Out of the four the views and opinions given off by the site ranged from the South as monolith, to the South having several southern dialects.
Regarding the view of “south as monolith”, I felt the Southern Dialect convertor (http://vaiden.net/convert.html) and “The Glossary of Quaint Southernism” (http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/southernese.html ) was the strongest in promoting this. I almost felt like the first of the two was utilizing a “strategy of condescention” because though very funny, and maybe true for many, it was extremely stereotypical of the South. The layout of the site also featured very stereotypical Southern characteristics. Now the second site of the two, though presenting the idea that there is just one Southern dialect, did so in a very respectful way. The introduction on the site stating that the Southern accent is perfect English but a dialect is fighting for the Southern dialect and not putting it down.
My favorite site was the Yankee/Southern test(http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html). This job did a very good job of varying different accents of dialects and attaching them to different regions, not just specifically the South or the North. The range of different regions went along with the distinction some tend to make between the Southern states. “Tennessee and Kentucky are the “outer states”; Texas is its own kind of south; whereas Florida is hardly south at all in the minds of Northerners” (Lippi-Green, 203). After taking the quiz I found myself to be “48% Dixie, barely in Yankdom.” This site is a very interesting way to see how other accents say certain words. This site began to move towards the idea that the South is not a monolith but instead has several dialects. Following this site, the Wikipedia site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English did not support the idea that the South was a monolith at all. It uses the words “groups” or “sub-dialacts”. Living in the South I have heard and I know there are several types of different southern accents, yet it was still interesting to review these sites and notice different views of Southern talk.

The Dirty South

Tyler Gunnin
Dr. Hughes
English 1101
10/16/09

The citizens of the Southern region of the United States take pride in their language and accent. Although this may be true, it does not mean the various other regions of the country believe the Southern accent is proper. Many people think of it as a monolith because of the single unified region that is so well organized with the people all together as one, and as a result of this, many other regions have certain respects and disrespects for the South.
Multiple websites and books have been created to display some sort of attention toward the Southern dialect. In this sense, it seems as if many people have respect for the largest accent group in the country, however, this is not so true. Two sites that seek to pay their honor to the South, Vaiden.net and Alphadictionary.com, seem to bring about a poor view of the region. The websites may be all in fun, and they are enjoyable to visit, but they present their own version of the dictionary, in a Southern manner similar to Jeff Foxworthy's "redneck language." Both viewpoints, that it makes fun of the Southern dialect, and/or it is respectable toward the region, can be supported by these sites. In a writing "Hillbilliies, Rednecks, and Bells," author Rosina Lippi-Green suggests that, "The fact that a Southern accent lies at the heart of anyone's construction of the south can be documented in a variety of ways." Based off of this statement, the dictionary established by both websites seems less as an insult and more like a praise of the south "documented in a variety of ways."
When such posts are made in any entertainment industry or even the Internet, other regions get the idea that the South is quite less intelligent than the rest of the country. Many comedians make a living off of making fun of the Southern dialect, but it is not out of the question that many parodies of the South are made because of the respect other regions have for this strong monolith. The South has always been a large group of similar people that take pride in their accent, and no television show or website displaying "redneck" words could ever snatch the pride the men and women of the confederacy hold on to so desperately after all of these years. The South may not seem as intelligent, respectable, or lively as other regions, because of the false advertisements made by other people across the country, but this strong dialect will never be torn down in the sense that it is such a strong area, characterized by people who take pride in their confederate flags and representatives at the national level that partake and have had success in activities just as well as other highly elected officals around the nation.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Blog Prompt for Oct. 16: Southern Reputations

Dear All,

For this blog, I want you to look at the following websites:

http://vaiden.net/convert.html

http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/southernese.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_American_English

Then I would like for you to discuss one or more of these sites' treatment of Southern dialect. Does it treat the South as a monolith? Does it utilize a "strategy of condescention" (as mentioned on page 208 of your reading), or does it respect Southern dialects?

There is one big rule for this blog: You must cite Rosina Lippi-Green ("Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Bells") at least once in the blog, and you must integrate the quotation artfully into the paper -- no dropping! (If you missed class and do not know what "dropping" is, read section MLA-3 on how to integrate sources into your writing.)

Friday, October 2, 2009

Intro

Every day children are born all over the world, and will develop a knowledge of language in their early years that will continue to grow through their childhood. Although anyone can witness that children in fact do learn their mother language painlessly and easily, one problem holds: how? Seeking to answer this question, Steven Pinker states that language is “a distinct piece of the biological makeup of our brains” (Pinker, 18). On the other hand, Dalrymple asserts the influence of culture, as “it is a sociological truism that children tend to speak not merely the language but the dialect of their parents” (Dalrymple, 5). The two men’s opposing explanations of language further muddy the water. Is language really the product of our cultural influences, or is there really “an instinct to acquire and art”? In truth, no matter how strong Dalrymple’s argument for culture and Pinker’s argument for biology are, they do not stand strong enough to justify that language originates from either cause alone. Human linguistic development originates from a fine blend of both biological and cultural influences.

Language's development (biological or cultural?)

Carmen Solis
Dr. Hughes

The human being has a massive capacity to learn a language. Many people have tried to explain how an individual learns and adapt to a language. In the medical science, scientists believe that in our brains we have a membrane or a gene that is responsible to develop a language. Also, there are many writers that have argued about this topic whether language is learned biological or cultural; Pinker and Dalrymple are one of them. They explain thoroughly in their writing how language is developed in a human-being. Pinker states that language is an ability that comes naturally; Dalrymple explains that the cultural environment that one lives in has a great influence on the language. As a matter of fact, language's development is biological and cultural.

Communicating With Animals: Can They Communicate Back?

Steven Holland
Engl 1101
Dr. Hughes
Blog 6

Have you ever talked to your pet and then you wonder whether it can really understand what you are saying to it? A lot of people do talk to their pets, and most of them do not think that animals are capable of communicating with humans. They often think about most animals’ incapability of speech, they then assume that there is no possible way that an animal could communicate with a human. Animals can, in fact, communicate with humans; they just do not use the same methods of communicating that most humans use every day: speech. Animals can communicate with humans using several different methods of communication, including sign language, that do not require speech. Many animals have been trained to use several of these methods in order to communicate with humans.

Language: have it or gain it?(INTRO)

Leila Shearon
Hughes
10.2.09
“Mamma” and “dada” are the most common first words that an English speaking baby verbalizes. Months before those particular words escaped the infants mouth he/she was already familiar with communication. “Ohh” and “awww” added with hand motions and other gesture to signal hunger or a want. As the baby is stepping into the world of more advanced language scientist and psychologist begin to pose questions. Is language a learned element of life or is it something that is merely learned? Dalrymple and Pinker are two of the many men and women that has studied and stated their views on this subject. Pinker states that language is biological, inherited from your parents. Dalrymple, on the other hand, argues that language is learned and does not occur “naturally”. The development of language in a human child is not strictly the work of neither nature nor nurture; it is a combination of both. Both aspects mix together and form one of the most important skills in the life of this child, language.

Introduction

Mary Elizabeth Lowe
English 1101
Hughes
10/1/2009

Language is a vital quality in humanity which conveys love and joy, hate and fear as well as an endless sphere of thoughts and emotions. One pressing question though, is how does this instrument called language come to be acquired so naturally in human beings? The possession of language uniquely distinguishes humans from all other species but how this superior mechanism is attained is surrounded in great debate. One explanation was spoken by Pinker as he said, “Language is a complex, specialized skill, which develops in a child spontaneously without conscious effort or formal instruction”
(Pinker, 3). An equally authoritative outlook states, “It is utterly implausible to suggest that imitation of parents has nothing whatever to do with the acquisition of language” ( Dalrymple, 3).While a number of individuals believe that language is either biological or learned, a more logical conclusion is a blend of both inheritance and learning. A biological neural program in each human being’s head is an innate essential for future language; however, it is equally vital to hear people speak in order to learn language and reach one’s linguistic potential.

Introduction: Learning Language: Biological or Cultural?

Jennifer Conley
Ms. Hughes
Paper Introduction
2 October 2009

Have you ever wondered where language comes from or how we obtain it? After many studies have been conducted about language the evidence supported by Steven Pinker and Theodore Dalrymple's theories appears more logical than others. As a well respected Harvard Professor of Psychology, Steven Pinker believes that language is a human instinct, wired into to our brains biologically. Contradicting Pinker's theory, Theodore Dalrymple believes that language is learner through our culture that surrounds us every day. While both theories have very compelling arguments and sufficient evidence to back them up some people would still disagree that just one of their theories is right. Language is biological in that the brain already has the capacity to learn language, but culture effects the way one actually speaks language.

Learning Language: Biological, Cultural, or Both?

Tyler Gunnin
English 1101
Dr. Hughes
10/2/09

Many of the people being born everyday are given the gift of language. As we develop and grow into mature human beings, that gift is finally unveiled to us. The knowledge of language is something that does not just breathe itself into our bodies on the day of our birth. Although it seems reasonable that the way we speak just appears to us naturally, there is the question regarding whether or not we pick up language biologically, from our parents, or culturally, from the world around us. The language we speak is given to us through the genes of our parents and the outside world's culture that we are presented to every day.

The Recipe for Learning Language:intro

Rebekah Medford
October 2, 2009
Dr.Hughes
The Recipe for Learning Language
Introduction:

Looking into the recipe of learning language one will find two types of ingredients: biological and cultural. Many people believe that learning language is strictly biological, while others believe language is learned culturally. Derived from English naturalist, Charles Darwin, the concept of language as instinct or a biological trait has been researched and debated over by many linguists, including Steven Pinker. Pinker’s book “The Language Instinct” argues the point that at children are born with the innate ability to create language. In direct contrast to Darwin’s views and Pinker’s writings, there are likewise linguist who strongly believe that cultural is the main ingredient in learning language. Linguist such as Theodore Dalyrmple in his book “The Gift of Language” research different aspects of a person’s cultural that would affect their language ability. Limited vocabulary, parent’s education, the ability to express thought are topics Dalyrmple uses to provide evidence or verify his argument. Linguists from both sides of the argument have brought interesting views, examples, and evidence to defend their ingredient whether it be biological or cultural. In reality, the biological and cultural elements are blended together to create a unique, personal, learned language.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Is language learned or biological? [intro]

Samantha Redden
October 1, 2009
Dr. Hughes
Is language learned or biological?
The desire to communicate is an instinct to any animal, especially humans. This instinct is a biological trait passed down through generations. This trait is triggered when a child begins to observe and practice the language spoken around them. Because children easily pick up their language without extensive teachings, the desire to communicate is biological. However, considering the fact that children are taught their native language by being around and communicating with other natives; language is taught.

Language Authority In America

Jonathan Dishon

ENG 1101

Dr. Hughes

October 1, 2009

Of the roughly 307 and half million people in the United States 96 percent of them speak English, and of those, 82 percent speak English as their native or first language leaving about 14 percent that speak English as a secondary language and also around 17 percent that do not even speak English (D’Agostino). Now the United States has no official language to date, but I believe that the United States should strongly consider coming up with a national language while at the same time preserving the variety of languages that are intact and spoken today. The language authority would be set up to help establish a standard for all citizens in the United States, not to demolish all the other languages spoken in the United States. So I believe that the establishment of a language authority in the United States would greatly benefit the country as a whole.
Tyler Benson

Ms. Hughes

10/1/09

Introduction:

Animal communication is something that has been proven over numerous tests and is a valid fact. Animals have the ability to recognize a certain tone, gesture, or posture but animals cannot understand the words we are producing during these actions. Animals are clever and many have proven that they can show us what they desire through sign language and other forms of communication. They may be able to express wants, but it is only through memorizing the right answer to a problem that we train them to solve. Animals cannot understand human language; they merely adapt to perform sophisticated tricks that appeal to the urge to personify. Survival and comfort are the only two things animals really care about and they will adapt in order to get it. If it means that a monkey must move its hands in a certain way to obtain food and shelter for survival and comfort it will eventually learn how to do it.

Intro to U.S. Official Language

Jackie Hand
Dr. Hughes
10/1/09

America: The melting pot. Apart from English, there are roughly 28 million people who speak Spanish natively. Also according to Borgna Brunner, “After English and Spanish, however, few realize that French is spoken regularly in more American homes more than any other language (1.6 million). More than a million Americans also regularly speak German, Italian, and Chinese. And among the top languages spoken by Americans at home is one that has been spoken in this country long before English and Spanish arrived Navajo.” (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/multilingual1.html) There are 175 Native American languages currently in the United States. Of those languages, only 20 of them are alive and well, 30 of them are partially still spoken, but about 125 of them will be lost within the next 20 years. It is apparent to anyone who lives in our great nation that English is the most popular language amongst our people, yet it is not our official language. But, history shows that many Native American people were forced to forget their heritages and learn English, “just because”. The United States would benefit from making English its official language because of the people here speak it, it unifies us as a nation, and it facilitates communication. However, this can be done in a way as not to force others to lose their heritage. And if we are unsure ourselves of a national language, then it is hypocritical of our leaders to force this certain one upon their very own citizens.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Blog for Oct. 2: Introductions!

For this week's blog, you will compose the introduction to your paper. As Hacker says, a good length for an introduction is between 50 and 150 words. Write an introduction and integrate your thesis into it.

This introduction needs to do several things. It needs to grab your reader's attention. You should establish the topic and show that you know something about the topic -- that is, you need to evince your academic credibility. Also, be sure that your writing leads up to your thesis statement(s) effectively.

This is a short assignment, but I expect you to work hard to polish this into a strong and interesting introduction! Finally, as this is a formal paper, make sure your writing is clear and conforms to Standard English grammar.

Is language learned or biological?

Sam Redden
Is language learned or biological?
Thesis:
Considering the fact that children are taught their native language by being around and communicating with other natives; language is taught. However, because children easily pick up their language without extensive teachings, the desire to communicate is biological.

Quote 1: Harvey A. Daniels “Nine Ideas about Language” pg 19
“Children learn their native language swiftly, efficiently, and largely without instruction.”
This quote will be used to argue that when children learn language, there is more to it than merely being taught. They are not given lessons on grammar at age two, but they somehow still pick it up. This quote will help persuade readers that there is a role of biology in the development of a child’s native tongue.

Quote 2: Pinker “An instinct to acquire an art” pg 4
“We think that children pick up their mother tongue by imitating their mothers, but when a child says Don’t giggle me! or We holded the baby rabbits, it cannot be an act of imitation.”
I understand that most readers will need more persuasion to believe language is also biological than to believe it is learned by people around us. This quote will cause my readers to think about their arguments and consider my thesis more deeply.

Quote 3: Dalrymple “The Gift of Language” pg 4
“my mother, a native German-speaker, arrived in England aged 18 and learned to speak standard English without a trace of a German accent (which linguists say is a rare accomplishment) and without ever making a grammatical mistake. She didn’t imitate her parents, perhaps, but she imitated someone.”
This quote will be used to argue other point of my thesis. When learning a language, one typically repeats what they hear other speakers saying. I refuse, however, to write a paper about the hat Dalrymple has for Pinker. Dalrymple’s point will not necessarily used to contradict Pinker, but to aid in the construction of my paper.