Rachel Howson

Language and Language Development

1/31/16
Week 1 Babel Questions
1. Author John McWhorter argues that language is a fundamentally mutative phenomenon. How
does language change? Use the five faces of language change to support your answer. (Ch. 1,
reference p. 18- 35 for criteria discussion)
McWhorter states that language is continually changing all the time in subtle ways that
overtime evolve into something new. He states that sound change, extension, the expressiveness
cycle, rebracketing, and semantic change all contribute to shifts in a language. Over time
speakers use language in different contexts, or pronounce a word differently. These shifts soon
become more and more common, until their original meaning or pronunciation become obsolete.
This is what has occurred over time with the English language. McWhorter provides examples
of early English which would seem entirely foreign to a present day English speaker. Some of
these shifts can also occur within a lifetime. For example the phrase "from hell" and the word
terrible held very different meanings in the past. Overtime, they have lost their significance,
and have been replaced with new words and phrases to capture an emotion or sentiment.
2. The theme Todays Dialect is Tomorrows Language runs through the text (p. 92).
McWhorter argues this as a kind of mantra for the linguistic discussion: Dialects is all there
is. Using McWhorters analysis of the eight languages of the Chinese versus eight Chinese
dialects, support your understanding of this theme in Chapter 2.
McWhorter explains how the eight dialects of Chinese are actually much more like
entirely different languages that share the same alphabet. Speakers of the Cantonese dialect must
study Mandarin in order to understand or communicate. He continues to posit that culture and
politics often determine where the line is drawn in terms of when a dialect is considered a
language and vice versa. I related this idea to that of divergent species in biology. Slight
adaptations in the same species can over time lead to a new species, which is determined when
the two species can no longer interbreed. The two may share the same origin, but become
something new entirely. The same is true with language, due to different dialects or
adaptations, what starts off as German evolves into Schwabisch, which is like learning a new
language for standard German speakers.
3. The author describes how language proceeds in myriad directions. Dialects form by
migration, communication, and education. How would you relate the examples of the family tree
or making stew from the text in discussing how language change and mixing is inherent
according to the author (p. 93-94).Chapter 3.

McWhorter states that like stew, language can become infused with the flavor of a
different language just like how a potato takes on the flavor of lamb when roasted in the oven for
a few hours. In an increasingly globalized world, it seems natural that our languages mix and
change. The author provides us with examples of new Japanese words that are heavily influenced
by English. Other languages adopt terms from English while still maintaining their grammar,
structure, and pronunciation. In that sense, like a stew, the Japanese language has become
infused with English influence.
4. What would be the benefit for having the Latin language as a foundation for learning
English? (p. 98). Author McWhorter posits that Latin teaches vocabulary and base words,
grammar, and how to have an economy of words in speaking. Do you agree with this point of
view? Does learning any second language facilitate learning English? Support your opinion with
Ch. 3 concepts
As McWhorter points out throughout the book, English is heavily influenced by other
languages. He even states that ninety nine percent of the words in the dictionary are taken from
other languages. I agree with the author that it is tremendously useful to gain an understanding of
some basic latin vocabulary as a strategy for learning English. Often times in my classroom we
think of root words as one strategy to identify the meaning of an unknown word. For example, as
my students struggled with the word centennial, I reminded them of words like century,
centipede, and cents to help them discover the meaning.
However, McWhorter also states that Our vocabulary is so shot through with foreign
loan words on all levels that there is no language whose basic vocabulary is akin to ours. I do
not feel that learning a second language facilitates learning English, other than making one
realize that English is a difficult language to learn! I do however think that learning one
Romance language makes it easier to learn others. McWhorter states that Portuguese and Spanish
are quite similar, and knowing one can help to facilitate fluency in the other.

Rachel Howson
Language and Language Development
2/7/16
Power of Babel Questions Week 2
5. Give examples of usage of English vocabulary words in other languages. Discuss the
relationship of English words that are being incorporated into other languages.
McWhorter provides numerous examples of English vocabulary words that are used in
other languages in a variety of formats. One of the ways this occurs is through advertisements for
global chains like McDonald's. In other instances, English words are adopted because there is no
existing equivalent or concept in the other language. Yankee Mama, beisuboro, t-shatsu, and
bouifurendo are the Japanese version of terminology that originated in that United States.
McWhorter explains that another contributing factor of language mixture is the extent of
bilingualism that exists in a culture. In places where more than one language is spoken it is
inevitable that there will be an exchange of words between the languages.
6. Discuss the development of a new dialect of Spanish in America--Spanglish (p. 119-120) as it
relates to Question 5. You may prefer to give another symbiotic language example like Konglish
or Denglisch (p. 117) to support your answer in discussing hybrid linguistic development, where
English language has bled into other languages. Answers may vary. (Ch. 3)
As stated in question five, in places where there is extensive bilingualism it is inevitable
that languages will bleed into each other and create something new. An increasing Spanish
speaking population in the United States has lead to the americanization of Spanish words, which
has been coined Spanglish. McWhorter explains that Spanish speakers living in the US encounter
a great deal of written and spoken English throughout their daily interactions via media, print
sources, advertisements and exchanges. Consequently, English words become enmeshed into
Spanish. Extensive English interactions are also commonplace in other foreign speaking
countries as well, which leads to the same phenomenon. The term Denglish refers to a mixture of
Deutsch and English where English words have become naturalized into German.

7. How do Pidgin English and tone relate to the development of language? Is there a difference
when people use the language without having the need to acquire it? Explain. (Chapters 4 and 5,
p. 206)

The development of pidgin occurs when communication is necessary between two groups
with different native languages. Pidgin refers to a simplified version of the language which is
utilized to make communication possible. Rather than taking the time to learn all of the formal
aspects of a language, which may include sentence structure, tonal variations, and specific verb
conjugates to indicate tense, pidgin strips a language down to its most basic form. When pidgin
is used for more than just basic communication it evolves into creole. McWhorter states
However, more specifically, they combine pidginized elements from the creators and the
dominant groups languages and then expand this into a true language. ((McWhorter, p. 159)
The new creole allows speakers to communicate more complex concepts through their language.

8. In Chapter 5, the author argues that world languages are densely overgrown and contain
utterly unnecessary decorations, and fluff. How would communication be without evidentiary
markers?
McWhorter states Thus, left to its own devices, a language will develop
baubles-linguistic overgrowth that, whatever its interest, is incidental to the needs of human
exchange and expression (McWhorter, p. 215) . In McWhorters opinion, evidentiary markers
are an example an an unnecessary component of languages. Evidentiary markers function by
indicating the source of information within a given context, for example, reporting out
information that is heard versus seen. English does not utilize such markers in a formalized way,
and instead has the option to provide such indicators when necessary. Without these markers, it
is still quite possible to communicate and provide specific information through other means.

Rachel Howson
Language and Language Development
Week 3 Power of Babel Questions
9. Intonation influences the meaning and register of a word. Could you give an example of how
precise Chinese syllable stress is key in communicating? (p. 194)
McWhorter provides numerous examples of how Chinese syllable stress is a key
component of communicating in Chinese. One example he points out is the Cantonese syllable
Fan. Depending on the stress the word can mean divide, powder, advise, grave, excited or share.
Intonation is common in other languages as well, which makes learning them challenging. This
passage reminded me of my struggle with nasalization in Brazilian Portuguese. Depending on
nasalization, certain words had completely different meanings. I quickly conquered my
self-conscious refusal to nasalize after making some embarrassing requests for bread in a market.
10. McWhorter argues in Ch. 5 that tone is not a necessary feature of the human language. It is
a cognitively parsable, but ultimately accidental, permutation of a languages original material,
which can result only from a language, which began without it. (p. 197) Why is this linguistic
argument important? Explain.
A recurring theme throughout the book is that languages are constantly changing and
evolving. His perspective is similar to that on evidentiary markers, that as languages evolve they
develop linguistic overgrowth that is not necessary for communication. McWhorters
argument is based on the fact that languages have developed tones in order to distinguish words
and grammatical meaning in communication. Languages with tones rely on intonation to
distinguish words and grammatical meaning. Although these language initially did not rely on
intonation to communicate, over time they have become an essential component that enhances
the exchange of information. Specifically, a language becomes tonal as a kind of desperate
measure when sound erosion has left this as the only way to distinguish one word from another.
(McWhorter, 2001, p.195)
11. Discuss the authors point of view on Sign Language (p. 214).
McWhorters point of view in regards to sign language is that sign languages are
comprised of the same aspects of a typical language. They are complex, have grammatical
structures, and are used to express thoughts, feelings, and emotions. McWhorter categorizes sign
languages as manual creoles, as they are relatively new languages and the structure of sign
language bears more resemblance to them than to English or other languages.

12. Spoken language is an ever-changing system, the very nature of which is to be always in a
process of transformation into a new language. Can we justify the double negative is
grammatically acceptable in the English language today? Who is Falstaff?
I believe a double negative could indeed be justified as grammatically acceptable, based
on its arbitrary classification as incorrect. In regards to this decision, McWhorter states This
notion was based partly on the fact that Latin did not allow double negatives-but modeling
English on Latin made no more sense than declaring
that cats ought not to meow because dogs dont. (McWhorter, 2001,p.228). He continues to
explain that other languages use double negatives, and that it can even be found in old
Shakespeare! An example is Falstaff, a character in Henry IV, who utilized the double negative
to express extreme negativity. However, I believe that grammar rules die hard, and although
justifiable, it would be very difficult for English speakers to unlearn the double negative rule.