In Class - American Tongues

1. If you were to re-do this project today, at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, what might you as a researcher do differently? What would you do the same?

I like the way this research is done a lot. They have so many different types of language and people with their opinions. It's very real and deep into thought of how people think about speech. Most people don't really think about prejudice against speakers, but it's obvious that people always do it. Everyone expresses themselves differently and I think that this show really distinguishes that. It's an appropriate length and everything is done really nicely, it's cut dry in how people really act and their opinions. 

2. Flaws? Are there any groups that are under-represented? Over-represented? How might you make the study more appealing to an audience?

I believe that Northerners are more under-represented than Southerners. There were a lot of people talking from the South and they spoke their opinion so much about how they are perceived as uneducated by movies and t.v. shows. I would maybe add more Northerners, even though they don't have a very distinct accent like Southerners. I would probably also add more people from Boston because I like their accents, people from California, New York, and even Hispanic people coming to the USA and people from London. 

3. In your opinion, how important is language in terms of how we perceive others? What is revealed about us when we talk?

Language from this film is very important in how we are perceived. For example, if you have a very heavy accident, it's hard to understand you and others may think that your talking jibberish. People assume that the way a person talks reflects back on how they are as a person. For example, Southerners believe that they talk with eloquence and add nice things like darling and sweetheart while Northerners would just say, nice to see you. Also, some people are very blunt when it comes to speech and believe that prejudice forms with speech and that some people think that they way you talk makes you seem uneducated or smarter, etc. One man even says that the way his younger brother talks makes him cringe, that's a large feeling against someone's speech.