John Rickford (1990) states that “80%-90% of African Americans speak some form of Black English”, also known as “Ebonics” or “African American Vernacular English” (AAVE). In 1996, when the Oakland School Board proposed its resolution designating Ebonics as their students’ primary language, many African Americans outright rejected the School Board’s reference and description of their language (Smitherman, 2000, 150). Among them were Baby boomers (1940-1960s), who participated in the debates, and the Generation X’ers, (1960s-1980s), who were informed by the debates. A recent interview of members from both groups show that there is continued skepticism regarding the legitimacy of Ebonics as a language. Their resistance offers much to learn about intergroup relations and conflict. This research explores these components of group identity by examining the in-group language responses to the question of whether Ebonics, AAVE, or Black English is a language.

En el marco de los estudios en el subgénero de los reparos o comentarios de diccionarios de provincialismos, este trabajo analiza las actitudes e ideología lingüísticas, desde un enfoque cognitivo, manifestadas por Andrés Bello en su comentario a las Correcciones lexigráficas, publicado de manera póstuma. Los reparos de Bello a Gormaz son un ejemplo de la desazón que el autor tenía por la pobreza idiomática percibida entre los escritores chilenos. / Within the studies of objections and comments to dictionaries of provincialisms, this paper analyzes, within a cognitive approach, the linguistic attitudes and ideologies that Andrés Bello show in his commentary to the Correcciones lexigráficas, posthumously published. Bello’s objections to Gormaz exemplify the despair the author felt about the idiomatic poverty among Chilenian writers.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2016-08-25T11:00:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 3044439 bytes, checksum: 6b60355b6db30d425cc3768f536b5a5d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-25T11:00:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivo total.pdf: 3044439 bytes, checksum: 6b60355b6db30d425cc3768f536b5a5d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-22 / There is nothing new about the use of swearwords in human language. In fact, it is believed that swearing is as old as language itself. Studies about swearing, as well as personal experience, show us that this type of language produces a emotional impact that can have both positive and negative effects. Despite its ubiquitous presence in the speech of Brazilians, few linguistic studies have been produced on the subject. Therefore, the present work aims at mapping out the attitudes of college students that frequent Praça da Alegria in regards to swearwords and the influence that social, conversational, emotional, as well as identity factors have in their day-to-day use. According to the existing literature on language attitudes, it is not unusual to encounter gaps or inconsistencies in relation to the language attitudes professed by individuals and what they actually do when they speak (language behavior). Studies show that this contradiction result from the influence of external factors such as context, interlocutor type, place, etc., as well as internal factors such as beliefs, emotions, intentions, etc. Thus, in order to understand the relation between attitudes held about swearwords and swearing in day-to-day social interaction, we have conducted this sociolinguistic research. The present study is of a qualitative nature and is based primarily on an Interactional Sociolinguistic and Ethnography of Communication framework. The corpus used is comprised of data collected from 29 college students at the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (the Federal University of Paraíba) in a recreational area known as Praça da Alegria, using three methods: questionnaires, direct (non-participant) observation and semi-structured interviews. After that, the data was analysed in accordance to the concepts found in Language Attitude theory, as well as Accommodation Theory; and then triangulated in order to guarantee more precise and reliable results. As a result, it was found that: 1) the idea of the meaning of the term swearword, in fact, varied from person to person, nevertheless, there was, in general, a difference between the meaning of the terms swearword and offensive word; 2) the degree of offensiveness of a word is subject to individual opinion; 3) the more offensive a word was considered to be, the less frequently it was said to get used; and 4) social, conversational, emotional and identity factors, in fact, influenced considerably the individuals decision to use or not use this type of language. / O uso de palavrões não é algo novo no comportamento linguístico humano. Na verdade, acredita-se que eles são tão antigos quanto a própria linguagem. Estudos mostram que esse tipo de linguagem produz um forte impacto emocional que pode gerar tanto efeitos positivos, quanto negativos. Apesar de sua ubíqua presença na fala dos brasileiros, poucos estudos linguísticos foram produzidos sobre o assunto no Brasil. Portanto, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo mapear as atitudes dos estudantes universitários frequentadores da Praça da Alegria relacionadas a palavrões e à influência que os fatores sociais, conversacionais, emocionais e de identidade exercem no seu uso cotidiano. De acordo com a literatura existente sobre atitudes linguísticas, não é incomum que constatemos uma lacuna no que diz respeito às atitudes professadas pelos indivíduos sobre certas línguas ou aspectos da linguagem, e o seu uso propriamente dito (comportamento linguístico). Estudos mostram que essa incoerência resulta da influência de fatores externos tais como contexto, tipo de interlocutor, local, etc., bem como fatores internos tais como crenças, emoções, intenções, etc. Assim sendo, a fim de melhor entender a relação entre atitudes sobre palavrões e o seu uso em interações sociais do dia-a-dia, realizamos essa investigação sociolinguística. O presente estudo é predominantemente qualitativo e foi fundamentado principalmente no aporte teórico da Sociolinguística Interacional e da Etnografia da Comunicação. O corpus utilizado foi composto de dados coletados entre 29 estudantes universitários em uma área de lazer conhecida como Praça da Alegria, situada na Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), por meio de três métodos: questionário, observação não-participante e entrevista semiestruturada. Posteriormente, foram analisados os dados relacionados aos conceitos referentes as atitudes linguísticas e a Teoria da Acomodação, que por fim foram triangulados no intuito de garantir resultados mais precisos e confiáveis. Como resultado dessa pesquisa, foi constatado que: 1) a noção do significado do termo palavrão, de fato, varia de pessoa para pessoa, não obstante, existe, de modo geral, uma diferença entre a noção dos termos palavrão e palavra ofensiva; 2) o grau de ofensividade de uma palavra é sujeito à opinião do indivíduo; 3) quanto mais ofensiva uma palavra, menos usada ela é; e 4) os fatores sociais, conversacionais, emocionais e de identidade, de fato, influenciam consideravelmente na decisão do indivíduo de usar (ou não) esse tipo de linguajar.

The main aim of this study was to discover and analyse the language attitudes of young Trinitarians between 15 – 24 years old who still live in Trinidad, the Beni area (Bolivia) towards the threatened minority language Moxo Trinitarian. Language attitudes are of importance because they can give us an idea of the present situation of a minority language. The method applied in the survey was direct, where the informants had to answer a written questionnaire first followed by an interview. We used the Likert scale as an instrument to measure the informants’ attitudes. The results of the study show positive attitudes towards the Moxo language. The main conclusions of the study were that the informants, in general, showed positive attitudes towards Moxo, indicating that the main use of the language is mostly in the privacy of their homes and with friends or to share secrets in front of them who are not Moxo Trinitarian speakers.

Orientador: Tânia Maria Alkmim / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T03:14:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leite_CandidaMaraBritto_D.pdf: 3260900 bytes, checksum: 16c8b0a012edca7528784965aaa360a0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Este trabalho, desenvolvido no âmbito da Sociolingüística, é resultado de uma pesquisa que buscou investigar a variação e as atitudes relacionadas a um segmento lingüístico do falar campineiro: o /R/ em posição de coda silábica. A hipótese que norteou a pesquisa é que o rótico está em um estado mais avançado, se comparado a outras cidades do interior paulista, no que se refere ao enfraquecimento desse segmento, tendendo à vocalização ou ao apagamento. Esse enfraquecimento seria o responsável pela impressão, de oitiva, dos informantes que julgam pronunciar uma variante de /R/ avaliada como "intermediária" e indicada como característica do falar campineiro. A partir dessa proposição, busca-se analisar o processo de variação lingüística do /R/ em posição de coda silábica medial e final que parece ocorrer em Campinas e investigar as atitudes lingüísticas, nos termos de Schlieben-Lange (1993), procurando descrever os estereótipos e as atitudes relacionados à variável lingüística em questão. Para tanto, o corpus selecionado é composto por dados de doze informantes naturais de Campinas. Esses dados foram coletados mediante entrevista semi-diretiva e através da leitura de palavras e sentenças. Foram realizadas análises auditivas e acústicas do rótico com o intuito de verificar quais as variantes que concorrem em posição de coda silábica. Essas análises poderiam fornecer informações para que se possa compreender os depoimentos dos informantes campineiros. Os resultados alcançados nesta pesquisa mostram que há variação lingüística do rótico e que a variante mais freqüente é o /R/ caipira. Esse resultado contraria a alegada existência de um /R/ característico do falar campineiro / Abstract: This sociolinguistic work investigates the variation and social attitudes related to a linguistic segment of Campinas native accent: /R/ in syllabic coda position. The hypothesis that guided this research is that the rhotic is in a more advanced state than in other cities in the countryside of São Paulo as regards its attenuation, which causes it to be either vocalized or erased. This attenuation would be the responsible for the hearsay impression of the informants who believe to utter a variant of /R/ assessed as "intermediate" and seen as proper to Campinas native accent. We depart from this assumption in order to analyze the process of linguistic variation of /R/ in final and medial syllable coda position that appears to occur in Campinas, and to investigate linguistic attitudes (Schlieben-Lange, 1993). Our attempt is to describe the stereotype and attitudes related to the linguistic variety at stake. The corpus comprises data collected from twelve native inhabitants of Campinas. The informants were interviewed and had to read words and sentences. We undertook auditoryand acoustic analyses of the rhotic so as to verify which varieties co-occur in syllable coda position. Theses analyses could provide useful information to understand the accounts of the informants. The results evidence that there is linguistic variation of the rhotic and that the most frequent variety is caipira /R/. This finding contradicts the alleged existence of a typical Campinas /R/ / Doutorado / Linguistica / Doutor em Linguística

Orientador: Linda Gentry El-Dash / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T03:01:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thompson-Oliveira_Andrea_M.pdf: 873828 bytes, checksum: 1cdb4369b3204279ad9f4371b632e172 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Buscou-se neste estudo analisar quantitativamente, por meio de um instrumento de investigação indireto, o Matched Guise, as atitudes de alunos adolescentes de 1as, 2as e 3as séries do ensino médio frente à língua inglesa, utilizando-se fábulas de Esopo. Verificou-se por meio de modelos lineares gerais (GLM) a influência de variáveis como o idioma do texto e a idade do sujeito na atribuição de status e solidariedade. Observou-se que interações entre algumas variáveis, tais como as interações entre o sexo do aluno e o do falante, também exerceram influência nas variáveis dependentes. Investigou-se a correlação entre as atribuições de status e solidariedade ao falante e o desempenho dos sujeitos por meio da análise das notas finais na disciplina inglês. Por fim, questiona-se se é possível atingir a neutralidade preconizada pela Técnica de Matched Guise. / Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze quantitatively, by means of an indirect investigation instrument, the Matched Guise, the attitudes of teenager students in High School grades 09, 10 and 11 towards the English language, using Aesop's fables. It was found, through the use of general linear models that such variables as language and subject age influenced the rating of status and solidarity. It was observed that interaction among some variables, such as that between student's sex and speaker's sex also exerted a certain influence on the dependent variables. The interaction between the subject's final grade in English and the status and solidarity assigned to the speaker was also investigated. Finally, the doubt remains as to the possibility of reaching the neutrality prescribed by the Matched Guise Technique. / Mestrado / Ensino-Aprendizagem de Segunda Lingua e Lingua Estrangeira / Mestre em Linguística Aplicada

English today has reached global dimensions no other language has reached before. While there are other lingua francas in certain geographical regions in the world, English is the most dominant lingua franca in many important international domains, including international affairs and its use as the lingua franca of official organisations, such as the European Union (EU).   In the wake of the result of the British referendum, voices were raised for the discontinuation of the use of the English language within the EU after Brexit. While this topic has received attention from journalists throughout Europe, to date there are very few studies on attitudes towards English in a post-Brexit referendum Europe. The present study aims to contribute to the filling of this gap by investigating attitudes towards English experienced by British expats living in Germany, employing semi-structured interviews with six British expats. Also included in the study is information about the expats’ use of different languages for different purposes. The findings indicate that i) they do not see the emergence of a Euro-English likely; ii) that their language choices are determined by inclusiveness; iii) that there may be different attitudes towards English in different parts of Germany; iv) that English is experienced as a door opener; and finally, v) multilingualism is a desired notion for them all. Combined, they suggest there is a discrepancy between the EU political line and the grass root reality.

Nigerian Pidgin English is widely spoken in different parts of the country and “has been called the native language of a substantial population of people in the Niger Delta, particularly in the Sapele and Warri areas” (Igboanusi, 2008: 68). According to Balogun (2012: 90), “Nigerian Pidgin English has emerged as the most widely spoken language of inter and intra communication among Nigerians and across diverse ethnic groups that do not share a common language”. The language plays a major role in youth culture and most Nigerians speak the language. There is a general belief by some Nigerians that Nigerian Pidgin English is a colloquial form of English that is mostly spoken by those whose Standard English proficiency has not fully developed (Agheyisi, 1971:30). The government has continued to ignore it “despite the fact that Nigerian Pidgin is in most respects the most logical choice for a national language [and] official attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin remain negative, perpetuating erroneous notions inherited from the colonial period that Nigerian Pidgin is some form of ‘broken English’” (Faraclas 1996: 18). Also, the general attitudes held by Nigerians regarding the language can be described as ambivalent with majority leaning towards the negative attitude more. This project investigated if the Nigerians who find themselves in a different geographical space like Cape Town still hold negative attitudes towards Pidgin English and whether they abstained from speaking the language or speak it freely. The study also sought to establish if those who may have held negative attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin English while in Nigeria now hold a different attitude since being in Cape Town. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods in form of online questionnaires and semi structured interviews involving 38 participants to investigate the uses of and attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin English. The findings revealed that the attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin English do not show significant difference from that held by Nigerians within Nigeria. The participants in this study held negative attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin English in formal domains and positive attitudes towards the language in informal domains. These same attitudes were obtainable among Nigerians living in Nigeria. The data analysis revealed that the Nigerians in this study use the language in their daily activities for different purposes. The hegemonic perspective on Pidgins being an informal language that can serve only informal purposes was also present among some of the Nigerians that formed part of this study. Although some thought that the language can go beyond informal domains, the majority thought otherwise. All the participants use Nigerian Pidgin English mainly to communicate with their friends, family members and other Nigerians they encounter despite living far away from home where other languages exist. Also, the analysis revealed that all the participants considered the language to be an important aspect of their Nigerian identity and togetherness in the diaspora. This indicates a significant difference between those in the diaspora and those in Nigeria, because those in the diaspora appreciate and think there is a greater need for Nigerian Pidgin English outside the country. The data suggested that the reason for this shift in attitude is because speaking the language bridges the gap between home and abroad.

Code-switching (CS) has been extensively studied for a variety of purposes and under many contexts. In recent years there has been a shift in CS literature to better understand the sociological forces that affect speakers’ use of CS. While in earlier literature, CS was perceived negatively by both speakers and the general public (Milroy & Muysken, 1995; MacGregor-Mendoza, 2021; Anderson & Toribio, 2007; Fishman, 1967), it has since been shown that many bilinguals view CS positively. More recent research suggests that bilinguals perceive CS as an important part of their identity and use it to show they belong to particular groups (Yim & Clément, 2021; Rothman & Rell, 2005; Duff, 2012; Buchlotz & Hall, 2005; Bustamante-López, 2008; Torrez, 2013; Norton, 1997; Norton, 2013). These recent studies regarding CS and attitudes have largely focused on individual differences (Dewaele & Wei, 2014a; Gardner-Chloros, McEntee-Atalianis, & Finnis, 2005; Moses et al., 2021; Peña-Díaz, 2004; Urciuoli, 2014; Montes-Alcalá, 2009; Chappell & Faldis, 2007; Yim & Clément, 2021). In this research, I posit that the country in which bilinguals live influences their attitudes toward CS use due to differences in immigration policies in each country. Considering that the three countries have different attitudes toward immigrants (Brosseau & Dewing, 2018; Environics Institute of Survey Research; The Gallup Organization, 2022; Budiman, 2020; Sief & Clement, 2019), this could have an impact on how immigrants themselves use CS and their attitudes toward it. Spanish-English and English-Spanish bilinguals in three countries (Canada, the United States, and Mexico) took a survey that evaluated their attitudes toward CS, frequency of use, and if and how they used CS to form their identity. The results of the study suggest that there are differences in attitudes about CS between bilinguals in these three countries. Moreover, the results demonstrated that while Canadian bilinguals had more positive feelings overall toward CS, bilinguals in the U.S. used CS more often.

This 16-week long, observational study examined the effects of Spanish peer-tutoring on first language attitudes, maintenance, and motivation among native and heritage Spanish-speaking adolescents. In this study, 31 high school students from two ‘Spanish for Native and Heritage Speakers" classes peer-tutored second-year Spanish learners for an average of fifty minutes per week. The native/heritage Spanish-speaking students took a pre and post language attitudes, maintenance, and motivation survey and they completed two reflections during the course of the study. The native/heritage Spanish-speaking participants demonstrated a significant positive increase in language attitudes towards their native language, they also reported increased motivation to speak Spanish with friends and family after participating as peer tutors for their native language. There was no significant change in time spent in first language maintenance activities, namely: listening, reading, writing, and viewing in Spanish.