This segment from Late Night with Seth Meyers, “Boston Accent Trailer”, parodies Hollywood films set in Boston and their treatment of language. It comments humorously… Read More »Seth Meyers “Boston Accent Trailer”
“If you choose an answer at random, what is your probability of being correct?” The question is, I think, pragmatically ambiguous. It features neither lexical nor structural ambiguity, yet the joke hinges on understanding the question in more than one way.
The widely read Skippyjon Jones series of children’s picture books (Schachner 2003) presents Mock Spanish to the preschool set. Lots of material available on the… Read More »Mock Spanish in Skippyjon Jones
Recently I have been re-reading James Thurber’s “Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Guide to English Usage”, a parody of Henry Watson Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage. The parody is built around a central conceit: that a language usage guide is equivalent to lifestyle or relationship advice. This is not merely a conceit around which to build a parody; it is also a fair assessment of what usage guides are used for.
This is the famous Jimmy Smits SNL skit that Jane Hill talks about in her discussion of Mock Spanish. (you will need to subscribe to… Read More »Jimmy Smits SNL skit
Black Comedian Steve Harvey compares white and black communication styles. He imitates a white man’s voice at 2:35-4:13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICsHscXzXw0 (2:35-4:13) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICsHscXzXw0[/youtube]
Examples of Mock Asian Margaret Cho http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAmcPS6xoZA&feature=related (8:32-end) [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAmcPS6xoZA&feature=related[/youtube] Gedde Watanabe (Long Duk Dong) on NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88591800
On the “Late Show,” David Letterman aired a new segment in 2009 called the “Sonia Sotomayor Pronunciation Round-Up.” The video, found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/02/lettermans-sonia-sotomayo_n_210264.html shows the myriad ways… Read More »Justice Sotomayor’s name
You can use this clip from the George Lopez TV show to analyze code-switching.
Here’s a send up on the ambiguities of “reasonable suspicion” and “illegality” from the Daily Show from May 2011, apropos of Arizona’s immigration law: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-6-2010/suspicious-behavior-on-cinco-de-mayo This clip would… Read More »“Reasonable suspicion” and “illegality” in the Daily Show
In this excerpt, Cho talks about race and language: being asked to speak to viewers “in your native language,” being treated like a visiting exchange… Read More »Margaret Cho – I’m the One I Want
In this clip from I Love Lucy, Lucy is intent on teaching her future child to speak “perfect English”, and she criticizes her husband Ricky Ricardo’s… Read More »Perfect English in I Love Lucy
Jimmy Kimmel outsources Herman Cain jokes to an Indian call center. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9BzlfI6Mj8. This is a good clip to show with Deborah Cameron’s (2000) piece on call… Read More »Jimmy Kimmel outsources Herman Cain jokes to an Indian call center
President Obama sings in a nod to Al Green during a speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6uHR90Sq6k [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6uHR90Sq6k[/youtube]
In this interview for ESPN Deportes, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski attempts to speak some Spanish and ends the interview by saying, “Yo soy fiesta”… Read More »Rob Gronkowski “Yo soy fiesta”
On the subject of constructing Latin American immigrants as inherintly “illegal,” here is a great clip from a 2010 Colbert Report show– http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/361456/october-07-2010/indecision-2010—revenge-of-the-fallen—fearstock-com If the… Read More »2010 Colbert Report on creating fear through images
“You have lots of ‘splaining to do”… Senator Tom Corburn (R-Oklahoma) interrupted Supreme Court candidate Sonia Sotomayor’s explanation about gun laws with this phrase, which echoes… Read More »Sotomayor “You have lots of splainin to do”
From Taco- to Chimichanga-Gate * “Insensitive Remarks Know No Party” by Kathleen McKinley,Houston Chronicle (February 18, 2012) http://blog.chron.com/texassparkle/2012/02/insensitive-remarks-knows-no-party/ * “The chimichanga wars” By Dana Milbank,Washington… Read More »Politicians’ remarks about Hispanic voters and chimichangas
In this clip from the 2012 Golden Globes, the TV series Modern Family is presented with an award, and the legitimacy of Spanish and intelligibility… Read More »Spanish at the Golden Globes
“My Mom’s Name is Jean?”: Discussion of deixis- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmN1UsoZRkg [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmN1UsoZRkg[/youtube] Suriya’s Aircel Ads (first two only): silly lead-in to deixis- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBK3ZcGrYHU&feature=autoplay&list=PL0A2BFF294A1ACC18&lf=plpp_video&playnext=1 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBK3ZcGrYHU[/youtube]