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Compare Dee’s and her mother’s spoken language

2 Answers

3 votes

Final answer:

Dee's spoken language likely reflects a modern youth culture, while her mother's language contains regional or ethnic influences, illustrating different speech communities and the practice of code-switching. Differences in their spoken language reflect cultural nuances and individual identities that are informed by broader linguistic and social contexts.

Step-by-step explanation:

When comparing Dee's and her mother's spoken language, we can explore the concept of speech communities and how individuals may code-switch between language forms. Dee's language, characterized perhaps by modern slang like 'derpy', may reflect a youthful, contemporary speech community. Her mother's language reveals an older, perhaps more regional or ethnically influenced speech community, as indicated by expressions like 'My mother was a wop' and 'N'Yawk'. This speaks to the larger phenomenon that children, even before birth, develop preferences for certain linguistic cues and are attuned to their mother's voice and language patterns. Additionally, language socialization practices vary across cultures, and involve more than simple verbal communication; they're also deeply ingrained in cultural and social contexts.

For instance, in some communities, caregivers engage in 'motherese', a sing-song form of speech directed towards infants, which is thought to aid in language learning. It's processed differently within the brain and can provide cognitive benefits. However, in many cultures, language is learned not through direct teaching but through overheard speech and social interaction. This is exemplified in different ways across societies, such as in West Africa or in Kaluli society, where babies learn by being immersed in the social world without face-to-face baby talk.

In America, there is a trend towards encouraging students to use their authentic voices in educational settings, embracing nonstandard dialects as part of culturally responsible learning. This reflects a shift from the traditional emphasis on acquisition of standard English towards recognizing the value of embracing diverse linguistic backgrounds. Language is not just a means of communication but also a way to engage with and understand one's social and cultural environment. Therefore, Dee and her mother's speech reflect their individual identities and the linguistic cultures they are part of or have been shaped by.

User Popmedic
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Dee speaks in a nonstandard dialect, while her mother speaks in a standard English dialect.

User Letie
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