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ANNOUNCER:
How we talk to one another
defines who we are.

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MAN: Ayuh.

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ANNOUNCER:
And American English

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is as rich. diverse. and lively
as Americans themselves.

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ANNOUNCER:
From north to south...

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MAN: 65 is where l started.

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ANNOUNCER:
...east to west.

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WOMAN: l say. like. ''like''
and ''dude'' every other word.

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[rappers rapping]

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ANNOUNCER:
We love to talk...

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ROBERT: ls there somebody else
that l could talk to?

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ANNOUNCER: yap...

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WOMAN: lt's a ''cah.''

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ANNOUNCER: dish...

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WOMAN: La chica sexy.

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ANNOUNCER:
...and chew the fat.

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MAN: lt's not a fair piece
to Rabbit Hash.

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ANNOUNCER: lt's clear
that you are what you speak.

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MAN: ''lsn't''
is not in my vocabulary.

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The word is ''ain't.''

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ANNOUNCER: So butter
my butt and call me a biscuit...

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and sit tight as we answer
the burning question...

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ROBERT:
Do you speak American?

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Do you speak
American?

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Do you. like.
speak American?

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Do you speak American?

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Do you speak American. dawg?

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Do you speak American?

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<i>Tu parles americain?</i>

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<i>¿ Estás hablando american?</i>

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ANNOUNCER:
''Do You Speak American?''

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has been made possible. in part.

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by the National Endowment
for the Humanities.

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promoting excellence
in the humanities.

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Additional funding
is provided by...

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ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Like many Americans.

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l come from somewhere else.

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l grew up along
this rugged Atlantic shore

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in the Canadian province
of Nova Scotia.

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And my speech was colored by
the dialect of maritime Canada.

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lt's one of the great family
of North American Englishes.

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But when l moved to the U.S..

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l began to speak
more like Americans.

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Words. accents. language
have always fascinated me.

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so it was thrilling
twenty years ago

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to work on a TV series
about the English language.

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ln our television series
''The Story of English.''

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we traced the origins
of our language

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and how it spread
around the world.

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That was in the 1 980s.

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l'm curious to see

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how the language has moved on
since then.

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One thing is clearer:
American English

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has become the dominant form
of the language.

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So l'm setting out
on a journey now

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to see what's happening to
English in the United States.

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What answers do you get today

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when you ask.
''Do you speak American?''

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Our journey starts
in the far Northeast

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on a misty road
in coastal Maine.

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Linguists who study
the American language

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say the principal regional
dialects remain strong.

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but some distinctive
local dialects are dying out.

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Here among the lobstermen
in South Freeport. Maine.

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you can still hear
the laconic. terse style

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that sounds so New England.

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but with mass communications
and changes in population.

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many worry that
the Maine way of speaking

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may become as scarce
as lobsters.

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JOHN COFFlN: We're down about
fifty or sixty percent

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from what we used to do.

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ROBERT: Really?

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JOHN: Six or eight years ago.

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ROBERT: Because the lobsters
just aren't there?

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JOHN: They're not here.

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Something's happening.
we don't know what.

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ROBERT: Lobsters
decided to move on.

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JOHN: They have moved.

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ROBERT: Would you be sad

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if the Maine way of talking
kind of died out?

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JOHN: Well. yeah.
l think so. probably.

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l'd like to think my kids and
grandchildren talk that way

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whether people laugh at you
wherever we go. whatever.

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ROBERT: Do people laugh at it?

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JOHN: Oh. they have
lots of times.

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They used to when l was
in the military.

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make fun of me wicked.

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ROBERT: So how do people
from around here say. ''yes?''

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JOHN: Ayuh.

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ROBERT: Ayuh.

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JOHN: Ayuh.

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ROBERT: How do you spell it?

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JOHN: A-Y-U-H.

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ROBERT: Ayuh.

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JOHN: Ayuh.
Yeah. that's it.

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ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Linguistically.
the way Mainers speak

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is part of a regional
speech pattern

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centered on Boston.

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lt derives from early
British colonists

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who didn't pronounce the ''R''

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at the end of words
like ''father.''

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Local dialects thrive
when communities are isolated.

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When many outsiders move in.
local speech changes.

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That's why Mainers fear
that their dialect.

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with its famous ''ayuh.''

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is coming to the end
of the road.

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Hello.

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MAN: Good morning.
And how are you today?

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ROBERT: l'm fine.
How are you?

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MAN: A good. educated monkey
could do a job like this.

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Yes. sir.

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ROBERT: Thank you.

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ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Linguists draw their own
maps of North America

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to mark different dialect areas.

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To use their terms. we've
started in Eastern New England.

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We're going on to New York
and Philadelphia...

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then west into
the Midland dialect.

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then the Northern. the Southern
and on to the West.

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Right now l'm in Massachusetts.
and l'm short of gas.

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WOMAN: Good evening.
What can l do for you?

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ROBERT: Will you fill her up
with unleaded please?

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PAM HEAD: Sure.

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ROBERT: When customers come
from out of state. like me.

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what do they think
about your accent?

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PAM: l lived in Oklahoma
for a short time

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and l had a conversation with
a girl from Texas one day

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and l was in the process
of buying a ''cah.''

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and she says what
are you talking about?

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l said a ''cah.''

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She says. ''What is a cah?''
l said. ''What's a cah?''

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l said. you know.
automobile. vehicle.

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thing you get in
and drive.

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She goes. ''Oh.
you mean a car.''

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ROBERT: That's funny.

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PAM: l did. l had to go
through all the different words

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before she understood
what l was talking about.

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Yeah. it was a riot.

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ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
With that accent

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we might as well be
in the heart of Boston.

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whose way of speaking
shows no weakening.

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Americans consider themselves
egalitarian

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and unsnobbish about accents.

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but they're full of notions
about how not to speak.

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l'm indulging a sentimental whim

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to retrace a road l took
many summers ago.

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This is the Priscilla Beach
Theatre.

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one of the oldest
barn theatres in New England.

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Here l find actor-manager
Geronimo Sands

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rehearsing his one-man show.

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GERONlMO: Beware of
respectable people.

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of people perfectly grammatical

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and proud of it.

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of persons who let
their thinking be done...

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ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): l spent
one summer here as an actor.

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We were all young. eager
and ambitious.

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We did everything
from sweeping the stage

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to playing romantic comedies.

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lt was on this stage
that l first learned

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that my speech was not
considered correct.

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And the first time
l stood on this stage

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and opened my mouth.

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the director. he said.
''What did you say?''

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And he said.
''You can't talk like that.''

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because in Nova Scotia
you pronounce--

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at least l pronounced--
''out'' like ''oat.''

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and ''about'' like ''a-boat.''
and so l consciously changed it.

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and this is a wonderful
sentimental stop for me

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because it was. l was.
l was 21

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and that's 52 years ago
that l was here.

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and it was a great summer.

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After that summer
l drove to New York.

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My acting ambitions
fortunately died.

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but the city has become my home.

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The crackling energy

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of the creative forces
concentrated here.

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the sheer American power
represented.

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make New York an enormous
generator of language.

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The latest money jargon
of Wall Street traders.

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The fresher than fresh slogans
of our relentless advertising.

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The language that fuels
the great publishing empires.

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From the city that never sleeps.

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24-7 on TV. cable.
radio. electronic media.

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come the words and ideas
that define American culture

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and market it to the world.

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You can make a case
that New York City

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is now the global capital
of the English language.

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but what a language--

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restless. slangy.
constantly changing

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and ever more informal.

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Many people believe that change

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is not only inevitable
but unstoppable.

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But not John Simon.

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the acerbic theatre critic
of <i>New York</i> magazine.

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A Yugoslav immigrant himself.

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he speaks for many
mainstream Americans

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who fear that
if American English

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continues to flaunt the rules
of syntax and grammar.

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it'll sow the seeds
of its own destruction.

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JOHN SlMON:
Well. it has gotten worse.

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lt's been my experience
that there is no bottom.

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one can always sink lower.

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and that the language can always
disintegrate further.

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ROBERT: How would you describe
the state of our language today?

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JOHN: Unhealthy. poor. sad.
depressing.

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and probably fairly hopeless.

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ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Jesse Sheidlower stands for
everything John Simon hates.

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00:11:01,087 --> 00:11:02,179
He's the American editor

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00:11:02,288 --> 00:11:05,257
of the august
O xf<i>ord En</i>g<i>lish Dictionary.</i>

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00:11:05,357 --> 00:11:07,791
With his dark suit.
tie. and rolled-up umbrella.

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00:11:07,893 --> 00:11:09,520
he certainly looks the part.

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00:11:09,628 --> 00:11:11,755
But you can't judge a book
by its cover.

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00:11:11,864 --> 00:11:13,092
for he is also the author

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00:11:13,199 --> 00:11:17,431
of a scholarly history
of the f-word.

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00:11:18,771 --> 00:11:20,739
Jesse's often in
the New York Public Library

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00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,435
looking for new usages.

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00:11:24,543 --> 00:11:27,410
American English
has always been inventive.

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00:11:27,513 --> 00:11:30,004
but it is now globally
so influential

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00:11:30,116 --> 00:11:31,174
that the O xf<i>ord Dictionary</i>

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00:11:31,283 --> 00:11:34,218
needs a full-time office
in New York City.

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JESSE: American English
has always been.

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00:11:37,890 --> 00:11:39,084
at least for the last
hundred years.

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00:11:39,191 --> 00:11:41,887
it's always taken great pleasure
in its slang.

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You can find even Walt Whitman
writing in praise of slang

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00:11:44,396 --> 00:11:45,988
in the 1 9th century.

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about how wonderful it is
and how poetic it is

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and how. you know.
this is the American spirit

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distilled into language.

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ROBERT: So when you come here.
what are you looking for?

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JESSE: We'll try to find
magazines

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that have words in them

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00:12:01,013 --> 00:12:02,241
that we think are going
to be of interest.

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00:12:02,348 --> 00:12:04,646
and these can be in really
any field out there.

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00:12:04,750 --> 00:12:06,149
ROBERT: What are you looking at
at the moment?

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00:12:06,252 --> 00:12:08,083
JESSE: Right now we are looking
at some magazines

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00:12:08,187 --> 00:12:10,553
devoted to tattooing
and body piercing.

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00:12:10,656 --> 00:12:12,851
There are terms for these
different kinds of piercing

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00:12:12,958 --> 00:12:15,290
and there are terms for
different kinds of tattoos.

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00:12:15,394 --> 00:12:18,363
<i>Blue</i>. a music magazine. has
a lot of stuff about hip-hop.

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00:12:18,464 --> 00:12:19,988
which is a big influence
on the language.

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00:12:20,099 --> 00:12:21,327
A guide to ''zines.''

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00:12:21,433 --> 00:12:22,695
ROBERT: Fan magazines.

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00:12:22,802 --> 00:12:25,771
JESSE: Yes. they're
just called ''zines'' nowadays.

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00:12:25,871 --> 00:12:29,238
ROBERT: So if you find
a new word in one of these.

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00:12:29,341 --> 00:12:31,400
in one of these
really lurid magazines.

245
00:12:31,510 --> 00:12:35,105
and you decide to put it in.
does that mean

246
00:12:35,214 --> 00:12:37,307
that the dictionary
has adopted the word

247
00:12:37,416 --> 00:12:39,782
and. as it were. recognized it?

248
00:12:39,885 --> 00:12:41,284
JESSE: No. not at all.

249
00:12:41,387 --> 00:12:43,821
For now. it just means that we
have an example in the database.

250
00:12:43,923 --> 00:12:45,550
but then we have an example
in <i>Time</i> magazine

251
00:12:45,658 --> 00:12:47,717
and then we have an example
in <i>New York</i> magazine.

252
00:12:47,827 --> 00:12:49,761
and now we have an example
in so-and-so.

253
00:12:49,862 --> 00:12:51,261
and we start to think.
well. OK.

254
00:12:51,363 --> 00:12:52,830
this is a term that started off

255
00:12:52,932 --> 00:12:54,900
as a very restricted
subcultural thing.

256
00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,627
but now it's very widespread.

257
00:12:56,735 --> 00:12:59,636
and the fact that we did read
something like this originally

258
00:12:59,738 --> 00:13:01,330
will tell us something
that we wouldn't know

259
00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:03,203
if all we read was <i>Newsweek.</i>

260
00:13:03,275 --> 00:13:03,969
ROBERT: l see.

261
00:13:06,879 --> 00:13:08,244
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Language
enthusiasts tend to be

262
00:13:08,347 --> 00:13:12,977
either prescriptivists
or descriptivists.

263
00:13:13,085 --> 00:13:16,612
Descriptivists like Sheidlower
and other dictionary makers

264
00:13:16,722 --> 00:13:21,250
are content to describe language
as it changes.

265
00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,191
Prescriptivists like Simon

266
00:13:23,295 --> 00:13:27,732
believe you need prescribed
rules to preserve language.

267
00:13:27,833 --> 00:13:33,032
JOHN: The descriptive linguists
are a curse upon their race.

268
00:13:33,138 --> 00:13:38,235
who. of course. think that
what the people say is the law.

269
00:13:38,344 --> 00:13:40,107
and by that
they mean the majority.

270
00:13:40,212 --> 00:13:42,874
they mean the uneducated.

271
00:13:42,982 --> 00:13:44,745
l think a society

272
00:13:44,850 --> 00:13:49,253
in which the uneducated lead
the educated by the nose

273
00:13:49,355 --> 00:13:51,289
is not a good society.

274
00:13:55,227 --> 00:13:59,129
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Descriptivists deny treating
uneducated usage as ''the law''

275
00:13:59,231 --> 00:14:02,132
since they label it
non-standard.

276
00:14:02,234 --> 00:14:05,567
But they may record things like
the often violent. homophobic.

277
00:14:05,671 --> 00:14:09,767
misogynistic lyrics
of gangster rap.

278
00:14:09,875 --> 00:14:14,903
The result gives new currency
to words like ''ho'' and ''bitch.''

279
00:14:19,952 --> 00:14:21,510
Cece Cutler is an academic

280
00:14:21,620 --> 00:14:23,747
who has studied the appeal
that hip hop has

281
00:14:23,856 --> 00:14:27,952
for white suburban teenage boys.

282
00:14:28,060 --> 00:14:29,857
CECE CUTLER: For white male
teenagers who are in the process

283
00:14:29,962 --> 00:14:33,261
of forming their identities
as young men.

284
00:14:33,365 --> 00:14:36,425
the urban black male
represents someone

285
00:14:36,535 --> 00:14:39,436
who knows how
to pick up women.

286
00:14:39,538 --> 00:14:41,529
who knows how to handle himself
on the street.

287
00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,006
who perhaps knows
how to handle a weapon

288
00:14:44,109 --> 00:14:47,738
and can take care of himself.

289
00:14:47,846 --> 00:14:50,440
This kind of way of walking
or talking or dressing

290
00:14:50,549 --> 00:14:53,609
can give one the trappings
of a masculinity

291
00:14:53,719 --> 00:15:00,625
that doesn't perhaps exist
in the safe white suburbs.

292
00:15:00,726 --> 00:15:02,057
The sort of more
hard-core rappers

293
00:15:02,161 --> 00:15:03,185
might appeal to young men

294
00:15:03,295 --> 00:15:05,763
who are sort of afraid
of young women

295
00:15:05,864 --> 00:15:07,764
and are in the process
of trying to figure out

296
00:15:07,866 --> 00:15:11,427
how it is that one
deals with them.

297
00:15:11,537 --> 00:15:13,471
ROBERT: So to call them
''bitches'' and ''hos''

298
00:15:13,572 --> 00:15:17,064
is a kind of way of getting rid
of that problem?

299
00:15:17,176 --> 00:15:21,806
CECE: Or putting away one's fear
of those individuals.

300
00:15:21,914 --> 00:15:26,351
DAVE: Were there
bitches at the party?

301
00:15:26,452 --> 00:15:27,976
For real?

302
00:15:28,087 --> 00:15:31,682
Yeah. there's more.
there's been more.

303
00:15:31,790 --> 00:15:33,485
there's more hos
recently l've noticed

304
00:15:33,592 --> 00:15:35,890
at underground events
than there used to be.

305
00:15:35,995 --> 00:15:37,053
There used to be not so many.

306
00:15:37,162 --> 00:15:38,322
J ASON: Thank goodness
for us.

307
00:15:38,430 --> 00:15:39,590
DAVE: Yeah.

308
00:15:39,698 --> 00:15:41,359
ROBERT: Can you think
of some examples of words

309
00:15:41,467 --> 00:15:45,335
that have crossed over from
hip hop into the mainstream?

310
00:15:45,437 --> 00:15:47,496
CECE: We have terms like ''mad''
as a quantifier.

311
00:15:47,606 --> 00:15:53,511
so you can say it's mad real
or mad. it's mad raining.

312
00:15:53,612 --> 00:15:55,512
There are terms like ''my bad.''

313
00:15:55,614 --> 00:15:57,980
to mean. ''Oh. l just made
a mistake.''

314
00:15:58,083 --> 00:16:01,211
or the more colorful
''bling bling''

315
00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:06,622
to refer to expensive.
gaudy jewelry.

316
00:16:06,725 --> 00:16:08,192
ROBERT: Any others?

317
00:16:08,293 --> 00:16:12,059
CECE: Well. you can use.
you can say. ''Wassup. B?''

318
00:16:12,164 --> 00:16:13,688
to ask how somebody is.

319
00:16:14,299 --> 00:16:17,894
KATE: Snuttle: fun.
Chopsticks: hey. what's up?

320
00:16:18,003 --> 00:16:20,028
Snuttle: just chillin'. you?

321
00:16:20,139 --> 00:16:24,132
SnuttleMYbubble:
do u guyz still have examz?

322
00:16:24,243 --> 00:16:28,680
TOM: AaLiYaH: das kool.

323
00:16:28,781 --> 00:16:30,408
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Black English
is an obvious influence

324
00:16:30,516 --> 00:16:34,077
on the language of lMing.
instant messaging.

325
00:16:34,186 --> 00:16:36,552
TOM: Birdman: so anything new?

326
00:16:36,655 --> 00:16:39,954
Birdman: u gonna to do anything
else dis weekend?

327
00:16:40,059 --> 00:16:41,492
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Written English has always been

328
00:16:41,593 --> 00:16:43,424
the preserver
of Standard English.

329
00:16:43,529 --> 00:16:46,362
but written standards
are always under assault.

330
00:16:46,465 --> 00:16:49,901
The latest threat comes
from instant messaging.

331
00:16:50,002 --> 00:16:52,470
How much time do you guys
spend doing this?

332
00:16:52,571 --> 00:16:53,595
KATE: An hour and a half.

333
00:16:53,705 --> 00:16:54,694
ROBERT: An hour and a half
a day.

334
00:16:54,807 --> 00:16:57,605
Tom. how much time
do you spend here?

335
00:16:57,709 --> 00:16:59,404
TOM: A lot.

336
00:16:59,511 --> 00:17:01,411
l multitask.
so l'll be lMing.

337
00:17:01,513 --> 00:17:05,779
l'll be listening to music.
l'll be doing my homework.

338
00:17:05,884 --> 00:17:09,786
KATE: l mean. no one does caps
or periods or punctuation.

339
00:17:09,888 --> 00:17:13,756
lt's just ''omg''
is ''oh my god.''

340
00:17:13,859 --> 00:17:16,293
and this is just short
for ''know.''

341
00:17:16,395 --> 00:17:21,094
Like sometimes people say ''g2g.''
which means ''got to go.''

342
00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,192
TOM: ''jc.'' that means
just chilling.

343
00:17:24,303 --> 00:17:25,930
Then here's ''lol.''
laugh out loud.

344
00:17:26,038 --> 00:17:33,001
and here. this means
''l'm going.'' ''l will.'' ''ima''--

345
00:17:33,112 --> 00:17:37,173
And then she does here.
''you better call me on my cell.''

346
00:17:37,282 --> 00:17:40,251
''Sup wit u'' means ''What's up?''

347
00:17:40,352 --> 00:17:41,751
lt's like. you know.
how you talk.

348
00:17:41,854 --> 00:17:44,914
so how are you doing. honey?

349
00:17:45,657 --> 00:17:47,022
JESSE: Written English
in America

350
00:17:47,126 --> 00:17:50,095
has been evolving greatly over
the last certainly hundred years

351
00:17:50,195 --> 00:17:52,390
and especially the last
30 or 40 years.

352
00:17:52,498 --> 00:17:56,332
but nowadays if you look at even
the most formal publications.

353
00:17:56,435 --> 00:17:59,302
things like <i>The New Yorker</i>
or <i>The New York Times</i>.

354
00:17:59,404 --> 00:18:03,932
you will see a wide variety
of colloquial or slangy language

355
00:18:04,042 --> 00:18:06,442
used even in news articles.

356
00:18:06,545 --> 00:18:09,241
People are interested in this.
people speak this way

357
00:18:09,348 --> 00:18:11,714
and want to reflect this way
in their writing.

358
00:18:11,817 --> 00:18:14,149
Written English has become
much more informal

359
00:18:14,253 --> 00:18:15,845
than it ever used to be.

360
00:18:15,954 --> 00:18:18,422
ROBERT: What do you say
to the people like John Simon

361
00:18:18,524 --> 00:18:21,925
who are really angry

362
00:18:22,027 --> 00:18:25,724
about what they see
as a serious decline

363
00:18:25,831 --> 00:18:28,356
in linguistic standards
in this country?

364
00:18:28,467 --> 00:18:30,128
JESSE: Well. l think
they're wrong.

365
00:18:30,235 --> 00:18:32,760
and l think
they're misguided.

366
00:18:32,871 --> 00:18:34,463
Language change happens

367
00:18:34,573 --> 00:18:36,438
and there's nothing
you can do about it.

368
00:18:36,542 --> 00:18:38,407
JOHN: l mean. maybe change
is inevitable.

369
00:18:38,510 --> 00:18:42,173
maybe dying from cancer
is also inevitable.

370
00:18:42,281 --> 00:18:45,739
but l don't think
we should help it along.

371
00:18:49,655 --> 00:18:52,089
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
But casual grammar
and disturbing new words

372
00:18:52,191 --> 00:18:55,126
aren't the only perceived threat
to American English.

373
00:18:55,227 --> 00:18:59,527
New York has always been the
great doorway for immigration.

374
00:19:02,935 --> 00:19:07,497
Today you can hear Spanish
spoken all around you.

375
00:19:07,606 --> 00:19:11,337
[woman speaking Spanish]

376
00:19:15,981 --> 00:19:18,472
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
The practical question
is whether Hispanic immigrants

377
00:19:18,584 --> 00:19:22,680
will adopt English
as other immigrants did.

378
00:19:22,788 --> 00:19:25,313
ln New York. as in many parts
of the country.

379
00:19:25,424 --> 00:19:29,520
you'll find plenty of Latinos
who don't speak English at all.

380
00:19:29,628 --> 00:19:32,995
ROBERT: Hello?
Do you speak English?

381
00:19:33,098 --> 00:19:34,156
ROS A: No.

382
00:19:34,266 --> 00:19:35,164
ROBERT: No?

383
00:19:35,267 --> 00:19:36,256
ROS A: No.

384
00:19:36,368 --> 00:19:37,300
ROBERT: ¿ Español?

385
00:19:37,402 --> 00:19:39,370
ROS A: Si. español.

386
00:19:39,471 --> 00:19:41,564
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Rosa has
lived here for 1 9 years

387
00:19:41,673 --> 00:19:43,038
but speaks no English.

388
00:19:43,141 --> 00:19:45,006
ROS A: ¿ Cómo se dice
diecinueve años?

389
00:19:45,110 --> 00:19:46,008
MAN: Nineteen years.

390
00:19:46,111 --> 00:19:47,135
ROBERT: 1 9.

391
00:19:47,246 --> 00:19:49,680
She says she has been
too busy working.

392
00:19:49,781 --> 00:19:53,342
ROS A: Ah porque siempre
me dedicaba a trabajar.

393
00:19:53,452 --> 00:19:57,946
ROBERT: Always working. yes.

394
00:19:58,056 --> 00:20:00,149
American English
is always borrowed

395
00:20:00,259 --> 00:20:04,161
from immigrant languages
and then enriched by them.

396
00:20:04,263 --> 00:20:05,958
But is Spanish
something different?

397
00:20:06,064 --> 00:20:08,294
ls it replacing English?

398
00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:12,860
Raspado...
And it's a dollar?

399
00:20:12,971 --> 00:20:15,769
One dollar.
Thank you very much.

400
00:20:15,874 --> 00:20:16,772
ROS A: Gracias.

401
00:20:16,875 --> 00:20:20,276
ROBERT: Gracias.
Thank you.

402
00:20:20,379 --> 00:20:22,313
Buenos dias.

403
00:20:32,057 --> 00:20:33,752
We'll return
to the Spanish question

404
00:20:33,859 --> 00:20:35,520
later in our journey.

405
00:20:35,627 --> 00:20:40,087
but for now l'm in search
of Standard American.

406
00:20:45,337 --> 00:20:47,771
Continuing down
the eastern seaboard.

407
00:20:47,873 --> 00:20:49,898
we're headed for Philadelphia--

408
00:20:50,008 --> 00:20:51,805
of course. the cradle
of American democracy.

409
00:20:51,910 --> 00:20:55,073
but also. in a way. the cradle

410
00:20:55,180 --> 00:20:59,207
of what we now think of
as the American speech.

411
00:20:59,318 --> 00:21:00,842
At this stage
what interests me most

412
00:21:00,952 --> 00:21:04,820
is the whole idea of what passes
for correct or incorrect

413
00:21:04,923 --> 00:21:07,517
in American English.

414
00:21:09,494 --> 00:21:12,554
Even before America declared
its independence from Britain

415
00:21:12,664 --> 00:21:14,131
here in Philadelphia.

416
00:21:14,232 --> 00:21:17,998
the two Englishes had been going
their own ways.

417
00:21:20,138 --> 00:21:21,605
George Bernard Shaw once joked

418
00:21:21,707 --> 00:21:26,542
that the two nations were
separated by the same language.

419
00:21:29,581 --> 00:21:30,912
Bill Labov is the director

420
00:21:31,016 --> 00:21:34,508
of <i>The Atlas</i>
<i>o</i>f <i>North American En</i>g<i>lish.</i>

421
00:21:34,619 --> 00:21:38,055
What do you consider
Standard American?

422
00:21:38,156 --> 00:21:40,090
BlLL: Well.
most linguists recognize

423
00:21:40,192 --> 00:21:43,593
that there is a broadcast
standard pronunciation

424
00:21:43,695 --> 00:21:48,223
which is not fixed.
but which converges

425
00:21:48,333 --> 00:21:51,325
towards a pattern
that is not local.

426
00:21:51,436 --> 00:21:53,301
And that's changed over time.

427
00:21:53,405 --> 00:21:56,670
ROBERT: lt drew originally
from where?

428
00:21:56,775 --> 00:21:58,037
BlLL: From England.

429
00:21:58,143 --> 00:21:59,576
There was something called
lnternational English

430
00:21:59,678 --> 00:22:03,512
that was really modeled upon
British-received pronunciation.

431
00:22:03,615 --> 00:22:05,708
lt took its form in London

432
00:22:05,817 --> 00:22:10,447
at the beginning
of the 1 9th century.

433
00:22:10,555 --> 00:22:12,716
Americans were not
all influenced by it.

434
00:22:12,824 --> 00:22:14,724
only the big Tory cities:

435
00:22:14,826 --> 00:22:19,126
Boston. New York. Savannah.
Charleston. Richmond.

436
00:22:19,231 --> 00:22:21,995
They adopted that R-less
pronunciation

437
00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:25,331
whereby you say ''cah.''
not ''car.''

438
00:22:25,437 --> 00:22:29,032
and ''store'' is just a ''staw.''

439
00:22:29,141 --> 00:22:31,268
That's still the pattern
in England today.

440
00:22:31,543 --> 00:22:34,706
For me the model of that
lnternational English standard

441
00:22:34,813 --> 00:22:36,405
was always FDR.

442
00:22:36,515 --> 00:22:37,982
He was a New Yorker

443
00:22:38,083 --> 00:22:41,746
who had the prestige pattern
of the upper class in New York

444
00:22:41,853 --> 00:22:43,946
and was really R-less.

445
00:22:44,055 --> 00:22:47,252
lt sounded like this...

446
00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:49,418
<i>FDR.: For those who would not</i>
<i>admit the possibility</i>

447
00:22:49,528 --> 00:22:51,587
<i>o</i>f <i>the approachin</i>g <i>storm</i>.

448
00:22:51,696 --> 00:22:53,493
<i>the past two weeks have meant</i>

449
00:22:53,598 --> 00:22:56,897
<i>the shatterin</i>g
<i>o</i>f <i>many illusions.</i>

450
00:22:57,002 --> 00:23:00,028
<i>With this rude aw akenin</i>g
<i>has come</i> f<i>ear</i>.

451
00:23:00,138 --> 00:23:02,766
f<i>ear borderin</i>g <i>on panic.</i>

452
00:23:02,874 --> 00:23:06,401
<i>l do not share these</i> f<i>ears.</i>

453
00:23:06,511 --> 00:23:09,446
BlLL: So you notice that every
time the letter ''R'' comes up.

454
00:23:09,548 --> 00:23:12,244
unless a vowel follows.
it's going to sound like this.

455
00:23:12,350 --> 00:23:13,977
<i>FDR.: The approachin</i>g <i>storm.</i>

456
00:23:14,085 --> 00:23:15,017
ROBERT: ''Stawm.''

457
00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:16,678
BlLL: Not storm
but ''stawm.''

458
00:23:16,788 --> 00:23:19,586
<i>FDR.: l do not share</i>
<i>these</i> f<i>ears.</i>

459
00:23:19,691 --> 00:23:21,784
BlLL: But it's more
than just the ''R.''

460
00:23:21,893 --> 00:23:24,555
You notice the way
he says ''shattering.''

461
00:23:24,663 --> 00:23:25,994
and ''utter good faith.''

462
00:23:26,097 --> 00:23:30,591
so the pronunciation of ''T''
as ''T'' in those situations.

463
00:23:30,702 --> 00:23:32,567
still found in Boston.

464
00:23:32,671 --> 00:23:36,505
was again modeled
on the British pattern.

465
00:23:36,608 --> 00:23:43,309
and it held right up to the end
of World War ll.

466
00:23:43,415 --> 00:23:49,354
And then. to our great
astonishment. it flipped.

467
00:23:49,454 --> 00:23:51,285
So right after World War ll

468
00:23:51,389 --> 00:23:53,789
people growing up
in New York City

469
00:23:53,892 --> 00:23:55,951
and in many other cities

470
00:23:56,061 --> 00:23:57,392
behaved in just
the opposite way--

471
00:23:57,496 --> 00:23:59,794
when they were careful.
they pronounced their Rs.

472
00:23:59,898 --> 00:24:02,230
and when they were not careful.
just speaking casually.

473
00:24:02,334 --> 00:24:04,802
they stayed with their
R-less dialect.

474
00:24:04,903 --> 00:24:08,202
ROBERT: So people wanted
to sound more English

475
00:24:08,306 --> 00:24:09,830
before World War ll

476
00:24:09,941 --> 00:24:12,239
and less so after World War ll?

477
00:24:12,344 --> 00:24:13,777
BlLL: We hear British people
use that pattern.

478
00:24:13,879 --> 00:24:15,278
and we love it.

479
00:24:15,380 --> 00:24:17,143
But it's not right
for an American.

480
00:24:26,224 --> 00:24:27,714
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Labov believes Philadelphia

481
00:24:27,826 --> 00:24:30,954
shaped American speech
more than any other city

482
00:24:31,062 --> 00:24:33,257
because it was
the only east coast city

483
00:24:33,365 --> 00:24:35,595
originally to pronounce its Rs.

484
00:24:35,700 --> 00:24:38,828
and that ''R'' sound that
so typifies American English

485
00:24:38,937 --> 00:24:40,734
migrated west.

486
00:24:48,947 --> 00:24:53,714
We're heading west ourselves
on the train to Ohio.

487
00:24:53,818 --> 00:24:54,910
Ohio is the opening

488
00:24:55,020 --> 00:24:59,218
to what linguists call
the Midland dialect.

489
00:24:59,324 --> 00:25:02,384
Midland speech lies between
the varieties of the North

490
00:25:02,494 --> 00:25:04,758
and those of the South.

491
00:25:21,780 --> 00:25:23,680
For this leg of the journey

492
00:25:23,782 --> 00:25:25,977
we're joined by linguist
Dennis Preston.

493
00:25:26,084 --> 00:25:28,609
Dennis studies the strong
opinions we seem to hold

494
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,984
about what we believe
is right or wrong

495
00:25:31,089 --> 00:25:33,717
in the speech
of our fellow Americans.

496
00:25:33,825 --> 00:25:36,089
DENNlS: There is a kind of
American linguistic insecurity

497
00:25:36,194 --> 00:25:37,388
which is very. very old.

498
00:25:37,495 --> 00:25:39,190
After all.
we didn't invent English.

499
00:25:39,297 --> 00:25:41,595
They're really English who had
a hold of it before us

500
00:25:41,700 --> 00:25:44,726
and so there is a kind of
lingering American insecurity

501
00:25:44,836 --> 00:25:48,397
that. well. maybe with English
we don't do the very best thing.

502
00:25:48,506 --> 00:25:50,406
On the other hand
there is American populism

503
00:25:50,508 --> 00:25:54,308
and a desire not to be stuffy.
not to be too correct.

504
00:25:54,412 --> 00:25:57,472
l've been walking
around this train

505
00:25:57,582 --> 00:26:01,450
asking people to draw on
blank maps of the United States

506
00:26:01,553 --> 00:26:05,080
the areas where they think
people speak differently.

507
00:26:05,190 --> 00:26:07,181
You want to write
anything on it. you can.

508
00:26:07,292 --> 00:26:08,384
What they sound like.

509
00:26:08,493 --> 00:26:10,586
They don't just do
dialect areas.

510
00:26:10,695 --> 00:26:12,890
they identify those areas
where they think

511
00:26:12,998 --> 00:26:16,126
the least correct or the most
correct English is spoken

512
00:26:16,234 --> 00:26:18,293
and draw circles around them.

513
00:26:18,403 --> 00:26:20,997
Nine times out of 1 0
when you ask people to do this

514
00:26:21,106 --> 00:26:23,131
they go for either
the U.S. South.

515
00:26:23,241 --> 00:26:25,106
which is almost universally
believed

516
00:26:25,210 --> 00:26:27,440
to be a place
where bad English is spoken.

517
00:26:27,545 --> 00:26:29,103
or New York City.

518
00:26:29,214 --> 00:26:30,704
But New Yorkers.

519
00:26:30,815 --> 00:26:33,045
you're sure. they don't sound
like Pennsylvanians. right?

520
00:26:33,151 --> 00:26:34,083
WOMAN: They say ''wawdah.''

521
00:26:34,185 --> 00:26:35,083
DENNlS: They say what?

522
00:26:35,186 --> 00:26:36,084
WOMAN: ''Wawdah.''

523
00:26:36,187 --> 00:26:37,085
DENNlS: ''Woodah?''

524
00:26:37,188 --> 00:26:38,155
WOMAN: ''Wawdah.''

525
00:26:38,256 --> 00:26:39,154
DENNlS: lnstead of.
what do you say?

526
00:26:39,257 --> 00:26:40,349
WOMAN: Water.

527
00:26:40,458 --> 00:26:42,426
DENNlS: Water. well.
that's what l say.

528
00:26:45,296 --> 00:26:47,389
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Americans
are ambivalent about language.

529
00:26:47,499 --> 00:26:49,558
They may think that New York
and Southern accents

530
00:26:49,668 --> 00:26:51,101
are bad English.

531
00:26:51,202 --> 00:26:55,036
but they can also
find them charming.

532
00:26:55,140 --> 00:26:57,938
MAN: l like hearing
people from the South.

533
00:26:58,043 --> 00:27:00,170
DENNlS: Really? How come?

534
00:27:00,278 --> 00:27:01,939
MAN: l just. l just like
the way they talk.

535
00:27:02,047 --> 00:27:03,514
l like to hear
the way they talk.

536
00:27:03,615 --> 00:27:05,139
MAN: Let's take race
out of the equation.

537
00:27:05,250 --> 00:27:06,274
DENNlS: Alright. OK.

538
00:27:06,384 --> 00:27:08,784
MAN: lf we take race
out of the equation.

539
00:27:08,887 --> 00:27:11,151
if l go to a place
in the South

540
00:27:11,256 --> 00:27:16,751
where at least they are not
overtly racist or whatever.

541
00:27:16,861 --> 00:27:20,126
l would tend to feel comfortable
around Southerners.

542
00:27:20,231 --> 00:27:22,961
''Come on in here. honey.''
and that kind of thing.

543
00:27:23,068 --> 00:27:26,265
Yeah. it makes me feel
a little more...

544
00:27:26,371 --> 00:27:28,202
but l mean. there's
some places in the South.

545
00:27:28,306 --> 00:27:31,298
me. as a black man.
l wouldn't be caught dead in.

546
00:27:31,409 --> 00:27:33,673
DENNlS: That's
another story. yeah.

547
00:27:33,778 --> 00:27:35,439
lt would make no
difference how they sound.

548
00:27:35,547 --> 00:27:36,206
MAN: Absolutely.

549
00:27:42,721 --> 00:27:45,087
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
l want to make a short
stopover in Pittsburgh

550
00:27:45,190 --> 00:27:48,626
because it shows how communities
can cling to an accent

551
00:27:48,727 --> 00:27:52,595
as a badge of identity
and local pride.

552
00:27:52,697 --> 00:27:54,722
l'm here to meet with a linguist
who's been studying

553
00:27:54,833 --> 00:27:58,530
her fellow Pittsburghers'
idiosyncratic way with words.

554
00:27:58,636 --> 00:28:01,127
She's Barbara Johnstone.

555
00:28:01,239 --> 00:28:04,572
How would you describe
the language of Pittsburgh?

556
00:28:04,676 --> 00:28:08,112
BARBARA:
People talk about something
they call Pittsburghese.

557
00:28:08,213 --> 00:28:10,545
They have this strong idea
that there's a way of talking

558
00:28:10,648 --> 00:28:12,843
that happens here and only here

559
00:28:12,951 --> 00:28:16,512
or in this. in this part of
Pennsylvania. in this area.

560
00:28:16,621 --> 00:28:19,112
Here's a store that's got
some interesting stuff.

561
00:28:19,224 --> 00:28:22,022
Shirts here
with Pittsburghese on them.

562
00:28:22,127 --> 00:28:25,585
old Scotch-lrish words which you
can still hear in Belfast.

563
00:28:25,697 --> 00:28:27,130
ROBERT: That's a very unusual
word for me.

564
00:28:27,232 --> 00:28:29,359
First of all.
what does it mean?

565
00:28:29,467 --> 00:28:31,526
BARBARA: This is a way
of spelling ''yins.''

566
00:28:31,636 --> 00:28:33,103
which is the plural
of ''you.''

567
00:28:33,204 --> 00:28:34,535
ROBERT: Yeah.

568
00:28:34,639 --> 00:28:36,368
BARBARA: lt's also often
spelled with a ''Z'' at the end.

569
00:28:36,474 --> 00:28:37,736
which reflects
more how it sounds.

570
00:28:37,842 --> 00:28:40,072
or sometimes
with a ''U.'' ''yuns.''

571
00:28:40,178 --> 00:28:41,702
ROBERT: Do you have any sense
of where it came from?

572
00:28:41,813 --> 00:28:45,271
BARBARA: Oh. yeah. it's actually
a form of plural ''you''

573
00:28:45,383 --> 00:28:47,783
that's found pretty
widespread in Appalachia.

574
00:28:47,886 --> 00:28:50,252
but often it's spelled
more like ''youins.''

575
00:28:50,355 --> 00:28:51,344
ROBERT: Youins.

576
00:28:51,456 --> 00:28:53,924
ln the Burgh.
the words ''in'' and ''out''

577
00:28:54,025 --> 00:28:56,357
sound more like ''in'' and ''odd.''

578
00:28:56,461 --> 00:29:00,056
''down'' and ''town''
sound like ''dahn'' and ''tahn.''

579
00:29:00,165 --> 00:29:01,928
How would you say them?

580
00:29:02,033 --> 00:29:03,261
Starting at the top.

581
00:29:03,368 --> 00:29:04,266
MAN: Out.

582
00:29:04,369 --> 00:29:05,267
ROBERT: Out.

583
00:29:05,370 --> 00:29:06,962
MAN: Opposite of in.

584
00:29:07,071 --> 00:29:10,472
Babushka: head scarf used
for a bad hair day.

585
00:29:10,575 --> 00:29:13,043
Blitzburgh: drinking town
with a football team.

586
00:29:13,144 --> 00:29:16,341
Chipped ham: thinly sliced ham
sold only in the Burgh.

587
00:29:16,447 --> 00:29:18,039
Dahntahn. That's where
you're at now.

588
00:29:18,149 --> 00:29:20,242
ROBERT: We're at now.
yeah. OK.

589
00:29:20,351 --> 00:29:21,545
MAN: Here's the greatest.

590
00:29:21,653 --> 00:29:22,950
We don't want the lady
to read this one.

591
00:29:23,054 --> 00:29:26,387
lt's jagoff: anyone who
pisses off a Pittsburgher.

592
00:29:26,491 --> 00:29:28,118
ROBERT: What do you have to do
to piss off a Pittsburgher?

593
00:29:28,226 --> 00:29:30,956
MAN: Just tell him
the Steelers suck.

594
00:29:31,062 --> 00:29:33,155
That'll do it.

595
00:29:33,264 --> 00:29:34,231
BARBARA: l think l've always
been interested

596
00:29:34,332 --> 00:29:38,325
in how people
relate to places.

597
00:29:38,436 --> 00:29:40,427
You often hear
the claim these days

598
00:29:40,538 --> 00:29:42,335
that in the context
of globalization

599
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,704
and people moving around
and places don't matter

600
00:29:44,809 --> 00:29:46,276
in peoples' lives
the way they used to.

601
00:29:46,377 --> 00:29:48,811
and since l'm a linguist l've
looked at this through language.

602
00:29:48,913 --> 00:29:53,179
l've looked at how people use
kind of shared ways of talking

603
00:29:53,284 --> 00:29:55,411
and shared ideas
about ways of talking

604
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:56,919
to connect themselves
with places

605
00:29:57,021 --> 00:29:59,922
and to connect themselves with
other people and communities.

606
00:30:00,024 --> 00:30:04,893
ROBERT: So Pittsburghers'
fierce pride in their own speech

607
00:30:04,996 --> 00:30:07,226
is a measure of
the importance of place?

608
00:30:07,332 --> 00:30:09,232
BARBARA: l think so.

609
00:30:09,334 --> 00:30:10,460
This local accent

610
00:30:10,568 --> 00:30:12,502
which is different from
how people talk elsewhere

611
00:30:12,604 --> 00:30:15,164
is available as a way
of talking about place.

612
00:30:15,273 --> 00:30:17,673
and all the while they're
talking about who they are

613
00:30:17,775 --> 00:30:20,209
and where they live and
what it means to live here.

614
00:30:24,182 --> 00:30:26,582
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
ln a country
full of linguistic variety.

615
00:30:26,684 --> 00:30:30,780
there's one variety that
everyone sees as the norm.

616
00:30:30,889 --> 00:30:32,857
DENNlS: There's a great deal
of agreement in a sort

617
00:30:32,957 --> 00:30:35,619
of Ohio. Michigan.
northern lndiana.

618
00:30:35,727 --> 00:30:40,164
Wisconsin. Pennsylvania zone
of normal English.

619
00:30:40,265 --> 00:30:42,233
Even Southerners. for example.
will reach right up

620
00:30:42,333 --> 00:30:45,325
and draw that Midwestern area
and say it's normal.

621
00:30:45,436 --> 00:30:48,098
So this is.
this is where you say

622
00:30:48,206 --> 00:30:52,540
the kind of correct
American English is spoken?

623
00:30:52,644 --> 00:30:54,271
MAN: lt's without an accent
or a twang.

624
00:30:54,379 --> 00:30:55,971
SECOND MAN: But what's out here.
what states?

625
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:57,445
MAN: Kansas. Missouri.

626
00:30:57,548 --> 00:30:59,948
DENNlS: Kansas. Missouri.
lowa. Nebraska.

627
00:31:03,688 --> 00:31:05,553
MAN: lf you took
a speech class.

628
00:31:05,657 --> 00:31:07,056
l think that they would
want you to speak

629
00:31:07,158 --> 00:31:09,149
more like these people here.

630
00:31:09,260 --> 00:31:11,785
DENNlS: Wisconsin.
Michigan. Minnesota.

631
00:31:11,896 --> 00:31:13,921
MAN: Wisconsin. Michigan.
and l should add Ohio in there.

632
00:31:14,032 --> 00:31:15,795
DENNlS: lt's in there.

633
00:31:15,900 --> 00:31:19,301
So if you were studying to be
an announcer or something

634
00:31:19,404 --> 00:31:20,428
you think this is the....

635
00:31:20,538 --> 00:31:21,664
MAN: This is what they would.
this is--

636
00:31:21,773 --> 00:31:23,502
that's the target.

637
00:31:29,213 --> 00:31:31,340
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Technically. the dialect
area they're talking about

638
00:31:31,449 --> 00:31:33,849
is called ''Midland.''

639
00:31:33,952 --> 00:31:36,944
Midland is spoken
in much of the Midwest.

640
00:31:37,055 --> 00:31:39,148
For most Americans
this is the yardstick.

641
00:31:39,257 --> 00:31:43,091
the most normal and correct
of all dialects.

642
00:31:43,194 --> 00:31:45,560
And Americans are terribly
concerned with correctness.

643
00:31:53,304 --> 00:31:55,363
A lot of people are worried
about the state of the language.

644
00:31:55,473 --> 00:31:57,498
particularly
the written language.

645
00:31:57,608 --> 00:32:01,544
so much so that they've set up
hotlines all over the country

646
00:32:01,646 --> 00:32:06,481
where you can call if you have
questions about correct grammar.

647
00:32:06,584 --> 00:32:07,846
ln the last ten years or so

648
00:32:07,952 --> 00:32:10,682
they've produced a directory
of grammar hotlines

649
00:32:10,788 --> 00:32:13,552
in the U.S. and Canada.

650
00:32:13,658 --> 00:32:19,028
l think l'm going to pull over
and call one.

651
00:32:19,130 --> 00:32:22,099
Ulle Lewes manages
the original hotline.

652
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:23,758
ULLE: We get calls from Canada.

653
00:32:23,868 --> 00:32:26,063
We get calls
from the United Nations.

654
00:32:26,170 --> 00:32:30,800
We've gotten calls
from many lawyers and law firms.

655
00:32:30,908 --> 00:32:32,569
We've even gotten a call
from the White House.

656
00:32:32,677 --> 00:32:34,736
They would not say
which branch.

657
00:32:34,846 --> 00:32:35,904
ROBERT: l see.

658
00:32:36,014 --> 00:32:38,005
May l ask you
a question myself?

659
00:32:38,116 --> 00:32:39,413
ULLE: Oh. certainly.
go ahead.

660
00:32:39,517 --> 00:32:41,109
ROBERT: ls it getting harder

661
00:32:41,219 --> 00:32:44,052
to maintain
the written standards

662
00:32:44,155 --> 00:32:45,679
or the standards
in the written language.

663
00:32:45,790 --> 00:32:47,018
do you find?

664
00:32:47,125 --> 00:32:51,255
ULLE: Yeah. we do have troubles
with the grapholect.

665
00:32:51,362 --> 00:32:53,421
ROBERT: What does that mean.
grapholect?

666
00:32:53,531 --> 00:32:56,796
ULLE: Well. dialect means
the way we speak.

667
00:32:56,901 --> 00:33:02,703
There are about 60 dialects
of English on our planet.

668
00:33:02,807 --> 00:33:05,571
Pakistan. Nigeria.
you name it.

669
00:33:05,676 --> 00:33:06,973
lf you think about it.

670
00:33:07,078 --> 00:33:09,205
a person from Scotland
with a brogue

671
00:33:09,313 --> 00:33:10,678
might not be able
to communicate

672
00:33:10,782 --> 00:33:14,047
with a person from Texas
with a drawl

673
00:33:14,152 --> 00:33:18,248
or with a person from Nigeria
with that very clipped speech.

674
00:33:18,356 --> 00:33:21,382
but if we all keep
to the same grapholect.

675
00:33:21,492 --> 00:33:24,859
written rules. then we
can still communicate.

676
00:33:32,103 --> 00:33:34,367
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Some linguists question
whether the written standard

677
00:33:34,472 --> 00:33:38,272
can guarantee
universal understanding.

678
00:33:38,376 --> 00:33:39,866
But that's an academic issue

679
00:33:39,977 --> 00:33:42,605
in the practical world
of newspapers.

680
00:33:44,148 --> 00:33:45,615
America's main city papers

681
00:33:45,716 --> 00:33:49,379
print millions of words
of copy every day.

682
00:33:49,487 --> 00:33:50,579
And every one of those words

683
00:33:50,688 --> 00:33:53,919
will or should have been
vetted by a copy editor

684
00:33:54,025 --> 00:33:57,119
before the edition
lands on your porch.

685
00:33:59,564 --> 00:34:03,364
One of Ohio's leading papers
is <i>The Columbus Dispatch.</i>

686
00:34:03,468 --> 00:34:05,698
Kirk Arnott.
assistant managing editor.

687
00:34:05,803 --> 00:34:09,364
is the language watchdog.

688
00:34:09,474 --> 00:34:10,441
KlRK: l'm a big believer

689
00:34:10,541 --> 00:34:12,839
in informal and
conversational language.

690
00:34:12,944 --> 00:34:15,504
We should be as conversational
as we can be

691
00:34:15,613 --> 00:34:18,275
because we want to be
as accessible as we can be.

692
00:34:18,382 --> 00:34:20,543
l certainly don't
want us to sound

693
00:34:20,651 --> 00:34:24,712
like the paper was edited
by a schoolmarm.

694
00:34:24,822 --> 00:34:26,312
But somebody's got
to keep the language

695
00:34:26,424 --> 00:34:28,756
from sliding into the abyss.

696
00:34:28,860 --> 00:34:33,422
Without policing.
it will tend to slide away

697
00:34:33,531 --> 00:34:37,968
from being a useful
communication tool.

698
00:34:38,069 --> 00:34:40,537
ROBERT: Give us some examples
of things that you.

699
00:34:40,638 --> 00:34:46,008
as the language cop. have to
arrest before they get out.

700
00:34:46,110 --> 00:34:51,878
KlRK: l see a lot of words
that are just downright misused.

701
00:34:51,983 --> 00:34:53,075
ROBERT: What would be
some of those words

702
00:34:53,184 --> 00:34:54,549
that you think are misused?

703
00:34:54,652 --> 00:34:58,110
KlRK: ''lmportantly'' when all
they mean to say is ''important.''

704
00:34:58,222 --> 00:35:00,486
''more importantly.'' they say.

705
00:35:00,591 --> 00:35:04,425
lmportantly. of course. means to
act as though you are important.

706
00:35:04,529 --> 00:35:07,692
''Nonplussed'' is another one.

707
00:35:07,798 --> 00:35:11,199
The general attitude seems to be
that it means ''unperturbed.''

708
00:35:11,302 --> 00:35:14,897
when. in fact. it means
''bewildered.''

709
00:35:15,006 --> 00:35:16,997
''Bemused'' is another one.

710
00:35:17,108 --> 00:35:19,770
People seem to think
it means ''amused''

711
00:35:19,877 --> 00:35:23,313
rather than also bewildered
or preoccupied.

712
00:35:23,414 --> 00:35:28,078
Those are some of the ones
that seem to be most common.

713
00:35:28,186 --> 00:35:30,484
The people. people who work here

714
00:35:30,588 --> 00:35:32,920
watch cable TV and
listen to radio

715
00:35:33,024 --> 00:35:36,687
and it just works its way
into their heads.

716
00:35:36,794 --> 00:35:39,126
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Again the spoken
is influencing the written.

717
00:35:39,230 --> 00:35:42,131
and newspaper copy is being
affected. or infected.

718
00:35:42,233 --> 00:35:45,930
by the spoken journalism
of radio and TV reporters.

719
00:35:46,037 --> 00:35:47,231
Not because they are
bad journalists.

720
00:35:47,338 --> 00:35:48,270
KlRK: No. no.

721
00:35:48,372 --> 00:35:49,396
ROBERT: But because
their delivery

722
00:35:49,507 --> 00:35:52,840
is discursive. colloquial
spoken speech

723
00:35:52,944 --> 00:35:55,174
and not written.

724
00:35:55,279 --> 00:35:56,576
and it's a different
discipline from writing.

725
00:35:56,681 --> 00:35:58,080
KlRK: lt certainly is
different. oh. yes.

726
00:35:58,182 --> 00:36:01,310
You just have to know how
to pronounce the words.

727
00:36:01,419 --> 00:36:02,681
No offense.

728
00:36:02,787 --> 00:36:05,449
ROBERT: l take none.

729
00:36:11,495 --> 00:36:14,328
All over the country
big-city newspapers work hard

730
00:36:14,432 --> 00:36:18,459
to uphold standards
for written English.

731
00:36:18,569 --> 00:36:20,867
while the language we speak
on the streets of our cities

732
00:36:20,972 --> 00:36:24,408
is by its very nature
changeable and shifting.

733
00:36:25,977 --> 00:36:27,968
For decades Bill Labov
and his colleagues

734
00:36:28,079 --> 00:36:31,242
have been studying
how Americans talk.

735
00:36:31,349 --> 00:36:34,011
The result is a whole library
of recorded voices

736
00:36:34,118 --> 00:36:35,881
and a fascinating discovery.

737
00:36:35,987 --> 00:36:40,048
lt's called
the Northern Cities Vowel Shift.

738
00:36:40,157 --> 00:36:42,682
Labov believes there is
a revolutionary shift

739
00:36:42,793 --> 00:36:44,920
in the pronunciation
of short vowels

740
00:36:45,029 --> 00:36:48,795
that have been relatively stable
for a thousand years.

741
00:36:48,899 --> 00:36:49,991
BlLL: What we're looking at

742
00:36:50,101 --> 00:36:54,629
is this mass of cities
around the Great Lakes.

743
00:36:54,739 --> 00:36:58,231
Here we have Syracuse.
Rochester. Buffalo.

744
00:36:58,342 --> 00:37:00,776
and Cleveland. Detroit.

745
00:37:00,878 --> 00:37:02,573
ROBERT: How many people is that?

746
00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,672
BlLL: lt's about
34 million people.

747
00:37:05,783 --> 00:37:08,718
This area used to be the closest
to network pronunciation.

748
00:37:08,819 --> 00:37:11,913
lt was what the NBC standard
was based on.

749
00:37:12,023 --> 00:37:15,390
and today it is moving
further and further away.

750
00:37:15,493 --> 00:37:17,324
ROBERT: Let's go into that
in some detail.

751
00:37:17,428 --> 00:37:18,690
Show us how that's happening.

752
00:37:18,796 --> 00:37:19,854
BlLL: ln these experiments

753
00:37:19,964 --> 00:37:22,558
we played first of all
an individual word.

754
00:37:22,667 --> 00:37:24,430
<i>V</i>O<i>lCE.: . . . black.</i>

755
00:37:24,535 --> 00:37:25,502
And then people
had to write down

756
00:37:25,603 --> 00:37:27,195
what they thought
they heard.

757
00:37:27,305 --> 00:37:29,535
So you can do that yourself.
What do you hear?

758
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:30,937
ROBERT: Black.

759
00:37:31,042 --> 00:37:33,272
BlLL: Right. and then
in another series they heard...

760
00:37:33,377 --> 00:37:35,106
<i>V</i>O<i>lCE.: . . . livin</i>g <i>on one block.</i>

761
00:37:35,212 --> 00:37:36,201
BlLL: Now what do you hear?

762
00:37:36,314 --> 00:37:37,372
ROBERT: Block.

763
00:37:37,481 --> 00:37:39,312
BlLL: Well. you've changed
your mind and--

764
00:37:39,417 --> 00:37:42,318
<i>V</i>O<i>lCE.: . . . old senior citizens</i>
<i>livin</i>g <i>on one block.</i>

765
00:37:42,420 --> 00:37:46,356
BlLL: This person is saying
the word ''block''

766
00:37:46,457 --> 00:37:48,652
the way they say ''black.''

767
00:37:48,759 --> 00:37:50,488
ROBERT: The shift
in this one vowel

768
00:37:50,594 --> 00:37:53,529
seems to have a domino effect
on the other four vowels.

769
00:37:53,631 --> 00:37:55,792
and they all change. too.

770
00:37:55,900 --> 00:37:59,097
The result can be serious
misunderstandings.

771
00:37:59,203 --> 00:38:01,068
BlLL: Now this is spectacular.

772
00:38:01,172 --> 00:38:02,503
<i>V</i>O<i>lCE.: . . . bosses.</i>

773
00:38:02,606 --> 00:38:03,766
BlLL: Everybody
writes down what?

774
00:38:03,874 --> 00:38:06,308
--Bosses.
--Right. the guy.

775
00:38:06,410 --> 00:38:07,502
ROBERT: Yeah.

776
00:38:07,611 --> 00:38:09,511
<i>V</i>O<i>lCE.: The bosses</i>
<i>with the antennas.</i>

777
00:38:09,613 --> 00:38:11,444
BlLL: Now you begin to wonder
what are these--

778
00:38:11,549 --> 00:38:13,676
ROBERT: The bosses
with the antennas.

779
00:38:13,784 --> 00:38:15,251
<i>V</i>O<i>lCE.: l can remember v a</i>g<i>uely</i>

780
00:38:15,353 --> 00:38:18,652
<i>when we had the busses</i>
<i>with the antennas on the top.</i>

781
00:38:18,756 --> 00:38:20,155
ROBERT: So ''busses''
has become ''bosses.''

782
00:38:20,257 --> 00:38:21,519
BlLL: Right.

783
00:38:21,625 --> 00:38:25,026
And so this is very hard
for most people to recognize.

784
00:38:25,129 --> 00:38:26,756
ROBERT: So is it fair to say

785
00:38:26,864 --> 00:38:32,166
that North Americans are.
in different regions. are going.

786
00:38:32,269 --> 00:38:35,033
growing further apart
from each other linguistically?

787
00:38:35,139 --> 00:38:37,198
BlLL: lt seems so.
lt's hard to believe.

788
00:38:37,308 --> 00:38:38,707
Everyone says to us

789
00:38:38,809 --> 00:38:42,176
we all watch the same radio
and television. how can that be?

790
00:38:42,279 --> 00:38:44,144
lt's a very surprising
finding.

791
00:38:52,556 --> 00:38:56,151
ROBERT: ln the 1 960s.
Detroit was the home of Motown.

792
00:38:59,497 --> 00:39:01,397
Today there's
a thriving hip hop scene.

793
00:39:01,499 --> 00:39:03,933
Even the white
crossover rapper Eminem

794
00:39:04,034 --> 00:39:06,696
comes from the area
called Eight Mile.

795
00:39:11,909 --> 00:39:15,572
Inner-city Detroit is 82% African American,

796
00:39:15,679 --> 00:39:17,044
but language can define you

797
00:39:17,148 --> 00:39:20,083
just as much as the color
of your skin.

798
00:39:25,723 --> 00:39:28,385
At the main bus station
we meet John Baugh.

799
00:39:28,492 --> 00:39:29,584
a professor of linguistics

800
00:39:29,693 --> 00:39:33,720
from Stanford University
in California.

801
00:39:33,831 --> 00:39:35,264
John joins us in Detroit

802
00:39:35,366 --> 00:39:38,358
to demonstrate an experiment
he's been conducting for years

803
00:39:38,469 --> 00:39:42,166
about how Americans react
to different accents.

804
00:39:42,273 --> 00:39:45,504
lt's called
linguistic profiling.

805
00:39:45,609 --> 00:39:47,372
First he checks
the rental housing section

806
00:39:47,478 --> 00:39:49,378
in the city paper.

807
00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:52,972
then he calls properties
that are advertised for rent.

808
00:39:53,083 --> 00:39:56,780
He calls first using
an African American accent.

809
00:39:56,887 --> 00:39:58,013
WOMAN: Can l help you?

810
00:39:58,122 --> 00:39:59,453
JOHN: Yes. my name
is Michael Davis.

811
00:39:59,557 --> 00:40:01,957
l was calling to see if you
might have any houses for rent

812
00:40:02,059 --> 00:40:03,993
that might be available?

813
00:40:04,094 --> 00:40:08,087
ROBERT: Then he calls again
speaking with a Latino accent.

814
00:40:08,199 --> 00:40:09,666
JOHN: Hello. this is
Juan Ramirez.

815
00:40:09,767 --> 00:40:10,825
l'm calling about the apartment

816
00:40:10,935 --> 00:40:13,460
you have advertised
in the paper.

817
00:40:13,571 --> 00:40:14,503
Yes. alright.

818
00:40:14,605 --> 00:40:15,537
ROBERT: Finally he calls

819
00:40:15,639 --> 00:40:17,607
in a perfectly neutral
American accent.

820
00:40:17,708 --> 00:40:21,337
which is in fact
how he really talks.

821
00:40:21,445 --> 00:40:23,310
What kind of results
have you been getting today?

822
00:40:23,414 --> 00:40:25,279
JOHN: l've actually been getting
some mixed results today

823
00:40:25,382 --> 00:40:26,644
but generally speaking.

824
00:40:26,750 --> 00:40:29,514
the minority dialects
do not fare as well.

825
00:40:29,620 --> 00:40:31,884
and particularly
in the affluent communities.

826
00:40:31,989 --> 00:40:35,584
ROBERT: ls that race
or economic class?

827
00:40:35,693 --> 00:40:37,251
JOHN: lt's both.

828
00:40:37,361 --> 00:40:39,989
Race in and of itself
will not be the factor

829
00:40:40,097 --> 00:40:42,531
that excludes one from
a particular neighborhood

830
00:40:42,633 --> 00:40:45,500
or a house for sale
in an affluent community.

831
00:40:47,905 --> 00:40:49,930
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Linguists like Baugh
believe such prejudice

832
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:54,067
shows ignorance of black history
and language.

833
00:40:54,178 --> 00:40:58,114
That history is celebrated
in this African American museum.

834
00:41:04,989 --> 00:41:07,082
The stories of slavery
and black English

835
00:41:07,191 --> 00:41:10,718
are inextricably linked.

836
00:41:10,828 --> 00:41:13,388
lt's often assumed by blacks.
as well as whites.

837
00:41:13,497 --> 00:41:18,196
that African Americans
speak bad or lazy English.

838
00:41:18,302 --> 00:41:20,770
ln fact. black English
has roots as deep

839
00:41:20,871 --> 00:41:23,772
and a grammar as consistent
as Scottish. lrish.

840
00:41:23,874 --> 00:41:28,868
or any other of the Englishes
spoken around the world.

841
00:41:28,979 --> 00:41:31,504
lt was the dreadful traffic
in human lives

842
00:41:31,615 --> 00:41:35,483
that brought English
to the coast of Africa.

843
00:41:35,586 --> 00:41:38,282
British and American slavers
trading upriver

844
00:41:38,389 --> 00:41:41,153
introduced the English language
to the African middle men

845
00:41:41,258 --> 00:41:43,351
from whom they bought
the slaves.

846
00:41:46,664 --> 00:41:48,894
Twenty years ago
when we filmed our TV series

847
00:41:48,999 --> 00:41:50,261
<i>The Story o</i>f <i>En</i>g<i>lish</i>.

848
00:41:50,367 --> 00:41:54,997
we went to an upriver
trading post in Sierra Leone.

849
00:41:55,105 --> 00:41:57,369
Three hundred years ago.
blacks and whites communicated

850
00:41:57,474 --> 00:42:02,104
with a simplified English
known as Pidgin.

851
00:42:02,212 --> 00:42:04,180
JOHN: The contemporary
African American dialects

852
00:42:04,281 --> 00:42:06,909
all grew from
the trade languages

853
00:42:07,017 --> 00:42:10,043
that evolved from slavery.

854
00:42:10,154 --> 00:42:16,286
[speaking Pidgin dialect]

855
00:42:16,393 --> 00:42:18,156
JOHN: The language mixing
that took place

856
00:42:18,262 --> 00:42:20,560
between the African languages
and English

857
00:42:20,664 --> 00:42:23,292
on the west coast of Africa
for trading purposes

858
00:42:23,400 --> 00:42:26,836
still function today.

859
00:42:26,937 --> 00:42:28,461
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
This Anglo-African mixture

860
00:42:28,572 --> 00:42:32,008
is still the lingua franca
on this river.

861
00:42:42,586 --> 00:42:49,321
River trade carried it down
to the coast in slave depots.

862
00:42:49,426 --> 00:42:51,394
This is Bunce lsland.

863
00:42:51,495 --> 00:42:55,454
The ruins of an old slave fort
still stand here.

864
00:42:55,566 --> 00:42:57,295
To prevent revolts.
traders made sure

865
00:42:57,401 --> 00:43:00,564
the slaves penned up here
spoke different languages.

866
00:43:00,671 --> 00:43:02,195
To talk to each other

867
00:43:02,306 --> 00:43:05,798
the slaves created
their own pidgin.

868
00:43:05,909 --> 00:43:07,809
So even before they left Africa.

869
00:43:07,911 --> 00:43:11,074
they were speaking an English
that was all their own.

870
00:43:11,181 --> 00:43:13,547
JOHN: And so the slave factories

871
00:43:13,651 --> 00:43:17,143
and these trading languages
that you've illustrated here

872
00:43:17,254 --> 00:43:19,085
are the very origins

873
00:43:19,189 --> 00:43:21,419
of contemporary
African American English.

874
00:43:26,597 --> 00:43:28,155
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Twenty years ago when we filmed

875
00:43:28,265 --> 00:43:30,460
off the coast of South Carolina.

876
00:43:30,567 --> 00:43:34,367
you could still hear the faint
whispers of slave English.

877
00:43:34,471 --> 00:43:39,067
On the islands of Kiowa. Edisto.
Daufuskie. and Wadmalaw.

878
00:43:39,176 --> 00:43:40,939
older people
like Benjamin Blaggen

879
00:43:41,045 --> 00:43:42,706
and his sister Janie Hunter

880
00:43:42,813 --> 00:43:45,179
still spoke Gullah and Geechee.

881
00:44:12,142 --> 00:44:13,803
BENJ AMlN: Give me
the old-time religion.

882
00:44:13,911 --> 00:44:16,573
Give me that old-time religion

883
00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:21,583
Give me that old-time
religion...

884
00:44:27,191 --> 00:44:28,749
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
When rural Southern blacks

885
00:44:28,859 --> 00:44:30,952
eventually moved
to the cities of the North.

886
00:44:31,061 --> 00:44:33,757
they brought their own kind
of English with them.

887
00:44:35,933 --> 00:44:37,525
They're young men now.

888
00:44:37,634 --> 00:44:40,569
but 25 years ago
Dwayne. Asheen. and Kihilee

889
00:44:40,671 --> 00:44:44,437
were students at this school.

890
00:44:44,541 --> 00:44:48,170
Situated in a prosperous. mostly
white suburb of Ann Arbor.

891
00:44:48,278 --> 00:44:49,540
there were not many black kids

892
00:44:49,646 --> 00:44:52,581
at the Martin Luther King
School.

893
00:44:54,785 --> 00:44:56,480
When they spoke
as they did at home

894
00:44:56,587 --> 00:44:58,452
in African American English.

895
00:44:58,555 --> 00:45:03,219
their teachers simply assumed
they couldn't do school work.

896
00:45:03,327 --> 00:45:07,423
ASHEEN: They sort of felt like
we were unteachable in a sense.

897
00:45:07,531 --> 00:45:11,797
how we'll fail.
so it kind of made them

898
00:45:11,902 --> 00:45:14,268
go towards other students more

899
00:45:14,371 --> 00:45:18,603
and gave them a little bit more
help than they would give us.

900
00:45:18,709 --> 00:45:21,007
ROBERT: Can you remember some
of the things that were said.

901
00:45:21,111 --> 00:45:22,601
teachers would say?

902
00:45:22,713 --> 00:45:25,773
ASHEEN: Actually.
to be honest.

903
00:45:25,883 --> 00:45:29,011
the teachers really didn't even
communicate with us too much.

904
00:45:29,119 --> 00:45:34,386
Just was sort of like a sense
that we were on our own.

905
00:45:34,491 --> 00:45:35,958
ROBERT: Do you remember
any of that?

906
00:45:36,059 --> 00:45:37,390
You were younger.

907
00:45:37,494 --> 00:45:39,985
KlHlLEE: l was really young.
but l mean. l remember enough

908
00:45:40,097 --> 00:45:43,225
to know that l wasn't
being treated the same way

909
00:45:43,333 --> 00:45:45,062
as all the other kids
in the class.

910
00:45:45,169 --> 00:45:46,830
a lot of other kids. you know.

911
00:45:46,937 --> 00:45:48,700
That's the irony of it all.

912
00:45:48,806 --> 00:45:50,000
lt's Martin Luther King School.

913
00:45:50,107 --> 00:45:52,735
and. you know. they haven't
learned anything

914
00:45:52,843 --> 00:45:53,832
from Martin Luther King--

915
00:45:53,944 --> 00:45:54,876
well. hopefully they learned it.

916
00:45:54,978 --> 00:45:58,470
but they didn't learn it
back then.

917
00:45:58,582 --> 00:46:00,482
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Three mothers refused

918
00:46:00,584 --> 00:46:04,247
to accept second best
for their sons.

919
00:46:04,354 --> 00:46:09,223
Annie. what was it that got you
and other parents upset enough

920
00:46:09,326 --> 00:46:12,659
to bring a lawsuit
against the school?

921
00:46:12,763 --> 00:46:15,630
ANNlE: My kids was tested
and was tested

922
00:46:15,732 --> 00:46:18,200
and was put
into special ed classes.

923
00:46:18,302 --> 00:46:21,635
And l felt like that
they were not getting educated

924
00:46:21,738 --> 00:46:24,104
and was not treated equally.

925
00:46:24,208 --> 00:46:26,506
and l felt like that
shouldn't be a barrier

926
00:46:26,610 --> 00:46:30,569
because of the language to stop
them from being educated.

927
00:46:32,516 --> 00:46:34,609
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Ruth Z weifler is a social worker

928
00:46:34,718 --> 00:46:38,654
familiar with the housing
project the boys came from.

929
00:46:38,755 --> 00:46:40,086
Listening to Annie tell

930
00:46:40,190 --> 00:46:43,091
how her son and his friends
were failing at school.

931
00:46:43,193 --> 00:46:45,821
she knew something was wrong.

932
00:46:45,929 --> 00:46:50,298
RUTH: There were maybe
24 poor black children

933
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:54,029
in a sea
of affluent white families.

934
00:46:54,137 --> 00:46:57,732
and they really were having
a very hard time.

935
00:46:57,841 --> 00:46:59,035
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Ruth became convinced

936
00:46:59,142 --> 00:47:01,110
that the kids were being
discriminated against

937
00:47:01,211 --> 00:47:04,703
because of their
African American English.

938
00:47:04,815 --> 00:47:11,118
RUTH: Language is the marker
for assumed attitudes.

939
00:47:11,221 --> 00:47:14,418
Coming with
an implied criticism.

940
00:47:14,524 --> 00:47:18,961
which is what l think
a black child carries with him.

941
00:47:19,062 --> 00:47:23,999
we--as adults. as mainstream
society. as Americans--

942
00:47:24,101 --> 00:47:26,797
have really done
bad by these little kids.

943
00:47:26,904 --> 00:47:28,428
KEN:
Hi. Ruth. how are you?

944
00:47:28,538 --> 00:47:29,835
RUTH: How good to see you.

945
00:47:29,940 --> 00:47:31,100
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Unable to make any headway

946
00:47:31,208 --> 00:47:32,505
with the school administrators.

947
00:47:32,609 --> 00:47:34,042
Ruth went to Detroit.

948
00:47:34,144 --> 00:47:38,376
One of the lawyers she consulted
was Ken Lewis.

949
00:47:38,482 --> 00:47:41,178
The legal strategy they
and others thrashed out

950
00:47:41,285 --> 00:47:45,187
led to a landmark court decision
on black English.

951
00:47:45,289 --> 00:47:46,847
KEN: Our job was to see

952
00:47:46,957 --> 00:47:49,892
if we could come up with some
legal theories that made sense

953
00:47:49,993 --> 00:47:52,621
that we could pursue
on their behalf.

954
00:47:52,729 --> 00:47:54,697
The initial thrust of the case

955
00:47:54,798 --> 00:47:57,699
was to deal with
the children's poverty

956
00:47:57,801 --> 00:48:02,101
as the reason why they
were not being educated.

957
00:48:02,205 --> 00:48:03,866
There was really
no constitutional right

958
00:48:03,974 --> 00:48:05,703
not to be poor in this country.

959
00:48:05,809 --> 00:48:08,642
and so trying to find
some constitutional provision

960
00:48:08,745 --> 00:48:10,110
that would help us
along those lines

961
00:48:10,213 --> 00:48:11,703
was a futile effort.

962
00:48:11,815 --> 00:48:14,147
so language became
a part of it.

963
00:48:14,251 --> 00:48:18,153
and since that language barrier
seemed to impact adversely

964
00:48:18,255 --> 00:48:20,086
only on black youngsters.

965
00:48:20,190 --> 00:48:23,990
we were able to tie in
the race issue.

966
00:48:24,094 --> 00:48:25,493
JOHN: The most significant thing

967
00:48:25,595 --> 00:48:28,462
that l believe was raised
during that trial

968
00:48:28,565 --> 00:48:32,262
was that you had a federal judge
acknowledge formally

969
00:48:32,369 --> 00:48:35,429
that African American
Vernacular English

970
00:48:35,539 --> 00:48:38,531
represented a significant
linguistic barrier

971
00:48:38,642 --> 00:48:41,236
to academic achievement
and success.

972
00:48:41,345 --> 00:48:43,279
He confirmed
that the school district

973
00:48:43,380 --> 00:48:46,838
was really insensitive
to the linguistic background

974
00:48:46,950 --> 00:48:49,748
of the vast majority
of African American students

975
00:48:49,853 --> 00:48:51,844
within the school district.

976
00:48:51,955 --> 00:48:54,048
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Years later. the argument
Ken Lewis used

977
00:48:54,157 --> 00:48:55,181
in this courthouse

978
00:48:55,292 --> 00:48:58,318
was raised by educators
in Oakland. California.

979
00:48:58,428 --> 00:49:02,159
but they claimed black English.
which they called ''Ebonics.''

980
00:49:02,265 --> 00:49:04,324
was a separate language.

981
00:49:04,434 --> 00:49:07,562
That caused a national storm.
and as we'll see.

982
00:49:07,671 --> 00:49:10,799
it's an issue school boards
are still grappling with.

983
00:49:10,907 --> 00:49:12,841
KEN: One of the things

984
00:49:12,943 --> 00:49:16,401
that l remember Judge Joiner
indicating in his opinion

985
00:49:16,513 --> 00:49:19,209
was the need to help youngsters
appreciate the difference

986
00:49:19,316 --> 00:49:22,149
between the language
of the majority.

987
00:49:22,252 --> 00:49:26,780
how it would impact upon
your being perceived by others.

988
00:49:26,890 --> 00:49:29,916
That was part of the discussion
we had to wrestle with

989
00:49:30,027 --> 00:49:31,289
in the black English case.

990
00:49:31,395 --> 00:49:32,987
because we thought
that the teachers

991
00:49:33,096 --> 00:49:36,532
were not respecting the language
as it should have been.

992
00:49:36,633 --> 00:49:39,295
ROBERT: lf a young black
who talked like Puff Daddy

993
00:49:39,403 --> 00:49:41,928
applied for a job
in this law firm.

994
00:49:42,039 --> 00:49:43,904
would he get it?

995
00:49:44,007 --> 00:49:46,976
KEN: The reality is
he has to fit the criteria.

996
00:49:47,077 --> 00:49:50,638
the skills that are required
for this particular job.

997
00:49:50,747 --> 00:49:53,011
Just like if l wanted
to go on to radio

998
00:49:53,116 --> 00:49:58,110
and become the commentator for
the R&B. rap. hip hop station.

999
00:49:58,221 --> 00:50:00,086
l'm going to have to change
my language skills

1000
00:50:00,190 --> 00:50:03,284
because l got a different
audience l'm appealing to.

1001
00:50:03,393 --> 00:50:05,987
l'm wrestling with it now
with my own 1 5-year-old.

1002
00:50:06,096 --> 00:50:08,724
who. you know.
communicates to me

1003
00:50:08,832 --> 00:50:11,630
in language that l'm not
necessarily sure l understand.

1004
00:50:11,735 --> 00:50:12,929
but l'm working on it.

1005
00:50:13,036 --> 00:50:15,300
l'm finding l'm coming
full circle

1006
00:50:15,405 --> 00:50:17,839
with this thing
called black English.

1007
00:50:24,614 --> 00:50:28,072
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
This is the hip hop crew
Athletic Mic League.

1008
00:50:28,185 --> 00:50:31,120
Some are college kids
who can talk Standard American.

1009
00:50:31,221 --> 00:50:34,213
but among themselves
they speak street talk.

1010
00:50:34,324 --> 00:50:36,189
ln language.
as in music and fashion.

1011
00:50:36,293 --> 00:50:39,057
it's the street that influences
the mainstream.

1012
00:50:39,162 --> 00:50:43,428
[rappers rapping]

1013
00:50:50,607 --> 00:50:52,507
WESLE Y: Everything follows
the streets in America.

1014
00:50:52,609 --> 00:50:56,875
so whatever's going on there.
it goes from here to here.

1015
00:50:56,980 --> 00:50:58,379
then eventually
mainstream America.

1016
00:50:58,482 --> 00:51:00,973
which is. you know.
which is white America.

1017
00:51:02,586 --> 00:51:04,645
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
Before they go on stage

1018
00:51:04,754 --> 00:51:07,484
the crew rehearse bits
of their routine.

1019
00:51:07,591 --> 00:51:13,029
[rapping]

1020
00:51:13,130 --> 00:51:15,064
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Classic
features of urban black English

1021
00:51:15,165 --> 00:51:18,259
include ''we going.''
instead of ''we are going.''

1022
00:51:18,368 --> 00:51:20,734
''he start.''
instead of ''he starts.''

1023
00:51:20,837 --> 00:51:24,637
and ''we be going''
for a habitual action.

1024
00:51:24,741 --> 00:51:27,505
[vocal percussion]

1025
00:51:27,611 --> 00:51:29,408
But another characteristic
of black English

1026
00:51:29,513 --> 00:51:32,277
is its love
of playing with words.

1027
00:51:32,382 --> 00:51:33,906
spinning new meanings
out of words

1028
00:51:34,017 --> 00:51:38,181
like ''stacked.'' ''live.''
''vibing.'' ''sick'' and ''ill.''

1029
00:51:40,423 --> 00:51:42,152
TRES: Coming down. l'm edgy

1030
00:51:42,259 --> 00:51:44,352
about what l'm about
to walk into.

1031
00:51:44,461 --> 00:51:46,053
l hope the place is stacked.

1032
00:51:46,163 --> 00:51:48,859
l hope that
the audience is live.

1033
00:51:48,965 --> 00:51:51,058
l hope when l step
out this door

1034
00:51:51,168 --> 00:51:54,296
that they are ready and anxious.
you know.

1035
00:51:54,404 --> 00:51:56,372
to hear us do
what we gotta do.

1036
00:51:56,473 --> 00:51:58,998
They gonna feel us.
are they gonna connect with us?

1037
00:51:59,109 --> 00:52:00,576
MC: Y'all gotta represent
up here for the Mike League.

1038
00:52:00,677 --> 00:52:01,803
Y'all can't be back there.

1039
00:52:01,912 --> 00:52:03,402
TRES: We got to come out there
confident.

1040
00:52:03,513 --> 00:52:05,981
For me it's almost on
the borderline of being cocky.

1041
00:52:06,082 --> 00:52:07,481
get on stage and all of a sudden

1042
00:52:07,584 --> 00:52:11,577
you've got that connection.
you're vibing.

1043
00:52:11,688 --> 00:52:12,985
Let me see you in that crowd

1044
00:52:13,089 --> 00:52:14,215
Put your hands up

1045
00:52:14,324 --> 00:52:15,586
lt's about to go down

1046
00:52:15,692 --> 00:52:17,023
Say ''A''

1047
00:52:17,127 --> 00:52:18,185
''M''

1048
00:52:18,295 --> 00:52:19,319
''L''

1049
00:52:19,429 --> 00:52:21,590
Say who. what. where.
oh. stand up

1050
00:52:21,698 --> 00:52:23,666
WESLE Y: This whole game
is based

1051
00:52:23,767 --> 00:52:27,999
on how ill you are.
or how sick a cat can be.

1052
00:52:28,104 --> 00:52:29,332
Sometimes it's about finesse.

1053
00:52:29,439 --> 00:52:30,838
sometimes we're just
on there spitting

1054
00:52:30,941 --> 00:52:34,104
and just trying to be
raw as we can be on stage.

1055
00:52:34,211 --> 00:52:37,578
And so you have to rock
as hard as you can. so you--

1056
00:52:37,681 --> 00:52:39,774
you're recognized as the best.

1057
00:52:39,883 --> 00:52:42,317
you got to look.
listen. move.

1058
00:52:42,419 --> 00:52:43,943
and. yeah. really feel it.

1059
00:52:44,054 --> 00:52:47,251
and that's. that's when we.
that's how we judge crowds.

1060
00:52:47,357 --> 00:52:51,293
Other people would judge
a crowd different.

1061
00:52:51,394 --> 00:52:52,861
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ):
These hip hop artists

1062
00:52:52,963 --> 00:52:56,763
draw on local street talk
for their lyrics and poetry.

1063
00:52:56,866 --> 00:53:01,929
[rapping]

1064
00:53:17,087 --> 00:53:19,021
WESLE Y: We use
the word ''nasty'' for everything.

1065
00:53:19,122 --> 00:53:22,387
When somebody was on stage
and they were really. you know.

1066
00:53:22,492 --> 00:53:24,221
they were really gettin' off.
they were rockin' the crowd.

1067
00:53:24,327 --> 00:53:27,490
it was like he was nasty.
his flow was nasty.

1068
00:53:27,597 --> 00:53:33,832
[rapping]

1069
00:53:33,937 --> 00:53:35,632
TRES: We have a saying.
''pro nasty.''

1070
00:53:35,739 --> 00:53:38,105
professionally nasty.

1071
00:53:38,208 --> 00:53:39,971
lt means it's quality.

1072
00:53:40,076 --> 00:53:42,636
This is. this is not
just good.

1073
00:53:42,746 --> 00:53:46,375
WESLE Y: That's our grade A.
that's our professional grade.

1074
00:53:46,483 --> 00:53:48,883
TRES: lf you want the best
and you want the top.

1075
00:53:48,985 --> 00:53:51,954
you want something from us
that's pro nasty.

1076
00:53:52,055 --> 00:53:55,047
ROBERT MACNElL (VO ): Nasty.
pro nasty. sick. and raw.

1077
00:53:55,158 --> 00:53:59,458
hip hop and rap are forcing new
meanings into American English.

1078
00:53:59,562 --> 00:54:00,927
And if you've never heard
these words

1079
00:54:01,031 --> 00:54:02,658
used like this before.

1080
00:54:02,766 --> 00:54:05,326
you probably will soon.

1081
00:54:05,435 --> 00:54:13,342
[rapping]

1082
00:54:25,488 --> 00:54:27,956
ANNOUNCER: Next time
on ''Do You Speak American?''

1083
00:54:28,058 --> 00:54:30,549
mosey on down
to the heart of the South.

1084
00:54:30,660 --> 00:54:31,786
MAN: Down home where l'm from.

1085
00:54:31,895 --> 00:54:34,022
Tennessee and Kentucky
both claim me.

1086
00:54:34,130 --> 00:54:35,791
Tennessee claims
l'm from Kentucky.

1087
00:54:35,899 --> 00:54:38,561
and Kentucky claims
l'm from Tennessee.

1088
00:54:38,668 --> 00:54:43,469
ANNOUNCER: Here. you
can sample some spicy Cajun...

1089
00:54:43,573 --> 00:54:46,736
or try some straight-shootin'
Texas talk.

1090
00:54:46,843 --> 00:54:48,333
WOMAN: His pants was so tight.
if he'd have farted

1091
00:54:48,445 --> 00:54:50,276
it would have blowed
his boots off.

1092
00:54:50,380 --> 00:54:51,870
ANNOUNCER:
So saddle on up.

1093
00:54:51,981 --> 00:54:54,040
lt's a journey like no other.

1094
00:54:54,150 --> 00:54:57,483
Next time on
''Do You Speak American?''

1095
00:54:59,522 --> 00:55:02,252
For the downlow. the skinny.
and the 4-1 -1

1096
00:55:02,359 --> 00:55:04,020
on how you speak American.

1097
00:55:04,127 --> 00:55:05,992
visit us at pbs.org.

1098
00:55:06,096 --> 00:55:07,256
While you're there.

1099
00:55:07,364 --> 00:55:09,594
get tips for starting
your own PBS program club

1100
00:55:09,699 --> 00:55:11,428
so you can continue
to speak American

1101
00:55:11,534 --> 00:55:12,967
with your friends and family.

1102
00:55:15,605 --> 00:55:19,302
''Do You Speak American?''
is available on DVD for $69.95

1103
00:55:19,409 --> 00:55:21,570
or VHS for $59.95.

1104
00:55:21,678 --> 00:55:24,875
A companion book is available
for $24.95 plus shipping.

1105
00:55:24,981 --> 00:55:27,745
To order. call 1 -800-336-1 91 7

1106
00:55:27,851 --> 00:55:29,842
or write to the address
on your screen.

1107
00:56:17,534 --> 00:56:18,762
ANNOUNCER:
''Do You Speak American?''

1108
00:56:18,868 --> 00:56:20,631
has been made possible in part

1109
00:56:20,737 --> 00:56:23,297
by the National Endowment
for the Humanities.

1110
00:56:23,406 --> 00:56:27,274
promoting excellence
in the humanities.

1111
00:56:27,377 --> 00:56:31,108
Additional funding
is provided by...

1112
00:56:42,725 --> 00:56:45,159
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