SPN 308 - People Server at UNCW

1
SPN 308
Sociolinguistic Project Instructions
Overview
This assignment is designed to give you experience conducting a sociolinguistic field interview.
You will interview a native speaker of any dialect of Spanish in order to perform a linguistic
analysis of his/her dialect and investigate the speaker's attitudes toward specific linguistic issues
relevant to the use of Spanish in his/her U.S. community.
Finding a Participant
Your interviewee, or informant, must be at least 18 years of age and a native speaker of Spanish.
Potential informants include parents or other relatives, friends, classmates people who live in
your residence, and co-workers (again, only native speakers of Spanish will do). You might also
be able to find a willing participant through your church or the Centro Latino (1516 Market
Street, 341-0007). If possible, try to find a participant who does not speak a dialect of Mexican
Spanish. This may be difficult given Wilmington's demographics, but the idea here is the more
"exotic" the better (e.g., Chilean, Costa Rican, Salvadoran, Peruvian, Argentinian, Andalusian,
Castilian [from Castilla], Ecuadorian, Cuban, etc.). You may not interview any UNCW
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures faculty member for this project.
Procedure
Your interview should last about an hour (although it might be longer or shorter) and must be
recorded on tape. Use a tape recorder with a good microphone. (The instructor has a couple of
"loaners" if you need one.) If you are knowledgeable and have the technology, you may also
record directly into a laptop computer. Although you will be recording the interview, you should
also take written notes, which will provide invaluble assistance when writing your final essay.
Obtain permission to tape record your informant. Tell your speaker that you are conducting an
interview for a Spanish class and do not reveal (at least at the beginning) that the object of inquiry
is the speaker's language. Tell your interviewee that his/her identity will remain confidential.
As you start the interview, try to make the informant feel as comfortable as possible. First collect
information regarding the person's background (see questions in the Interview Format).
Remember, you don't want your participant to be conscious of the language s/he uses. At this
point, you would like to elicit a neutral or non-emotional style of speech. Feel free to interact
with the interviewee. Smile and nod while pretending to take notes on the content of the
conversation. What you are really writing down are any dialectal features that call your attention.
Once you have gathered enough background information, see if you can get the interviewee to
"style shift" by introducing a more emotional topic. For example, ask him/her to discuss the
difficulties integrating into American society and culture. Alternatively, you could pursue other
controversial or emotional topics such as the war in Irak, the up-coming presidential elections,
illegal immigration, same-sex marriages, etc. You could even ask your informant to recount a
near-death experience s/he may have had (see Labov for details). Spend the first 20 minutes or
longer on this part of the interview.
For the next part of the interview, directly ask questions regarding Spanish dialects. (See
Interview Format.) This is NOT meant to teach the interviewee what a dialect is but to get an
idea of what people think or know about dialects in general.
2
Continue your interview with the sections on language use and language in the family. Finalize
the interview by giving your interviewee a chance to include anything else s/he feels is important
for you to know.
Writing Your Paper
Write the results of your interview in the form of an essay. Do not do a question and answer
format--that is your transcript, which will be a word-for-word record of the interview in standard
orthography and which will be appended to your essay.
Your essay should provide insight and analysis of the interview and the informant. (Do not use
the participant's real name; use initials or a pseudonym.) Begin with a brief sketch of your
participant's life story (gender, ethnicity, social background, provenance, etc.). Describe the
setting of the interview, including when and where it took place, and state that it was tape
recorded.
Perform a linguistic analysis of the language the informant used in the interview. What are the
most salient features characteristic of the participant's dialect? Did s/he use any non-standard
forms, any distinctive lexical items, or unusual non-verbal communication, etc.? See if you can
relate this to the social and/or background origin of the interviewee.
Present your results from the dialect, language use, and language in the family sections of the
interview. You may use direct quotations from the transcript, anecdotes, or anything else that is
relevant. Avoid simply summarizing or retelling the facts of the interview. Instead, try to
interpret the interview in order to arrive at some conclusions regarding the interviewees' dialect
and use of language as well as what beliefs and attitudes s/he holds towards English and Spanish.
Close your essay with your general reflections on this experience.
Paper Format
Your paper is to be typed, titled, page numbered, double-spaced with one-inch margins using a
12-point font (e.g. New Times Roman). Use the MLA format and include a cover sheet but no
folder. Be sure to include your name and the course number on the cover sheet. If your essay
includes any citations, make sure you identify them in a "List of Work Cited." The essay should
be from 5-10 pages in length, not including your transcript. Your transript should appear as an
appendix to your essay.
Oral Presentation
At the end of the semester you will present your most important and interesting results to the
class in a brief oral presentation (no more than 10 minutes). PowerPoint is encouraged. In your
presentation, briefly describe who you interviewed (again, no real names) and anything
interesting regarding the speaker's dialect, language use, or attitudes toward the use of English
and Spanish. You might also choose to talk about what the experience was like for you as the
researcher. (Remember, the oral presentation is supposed to be "fun" not torture. Try to have fun
with it!)
3
INTERVIEW FORMAT
Datos Personales (utilice "tú" o "Ud." según las circunstancias)
1. ¿Dónde naciste? ¿Dónde te criaste? Ciudad y país.
2. ¿Cuántos años tienes?
3. Sexo
4. ¿Dónde resides actualmente?
5. ¿Años de escolaridad? ¿Nivel de educación?
5. ¿Cuál es tu profesión u ocupación?
6. ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas viviendo en los Estados Unidos?
7. ¿En qué lugares has vivido en los Estados Unidos? (ciudades)
8. Conocimiento de español:
nativo
muy bueno
bueno
pobre
muy pobre
bueno
pobre
muy pobre
9. Conocimiento de inglés:
nativo
muy bueno
10. ¿En qué país nació su madre?
11. ¿En qué país nació su padre?
(Once you've obtained enough background information, see if you can get your interviewee to
"style shift" by introducing a more emotional or controversial topic.)
Cuéntame un poco acerca del proceso de tu asimilación a la vida y cultura norteamericanas.
¿Ha sido difícil o fácil? Explica.
Los Dialectos
1. ¿Para ti qué es un dialecto? ¿Te has fijado alguna vez en las personas que hablan un dialecto
distinto del tuyo? ¿Tú hablas un dialecto del español? (Again, this is NOT meant to teach
what a dialect is.)
2. ¿Crees que tu pronunciación difiere de la de otros hispanos? ¿Cuáles son las diferencias?
4
3. ¿Notas alguna diferencia entre las palabras que usas tú y las que usan otros hispanos? Por
ejemplo, tú empleas cierta palabra para decir una cosa y llegas a otra zona del país y la gente usa
otra palabra.
El Uso del Lenguaje
1. ¿Hay ocasiones en que uno debe hablar únicamente en español o únicamente en inglés?
Explica.
2. ¿Cambias del inglés al español o viceversa? ¿Por qué crees que lo haces? ¿Qué te parece el
hacer esto?
3. ¿Qué dicen los hablantes de inglés que no saben español cuando tú usas el español? ¿Cómo te
hace sentir esto?
El Lenguaje y la Familia
Si el informante tiene hijos:
1. ¿Qué lengua normalmente se habla en tu casa ahora? Explica.
2. ¿Tus hijos hablan español? ¿Hablan inglés? Explica.
3. ¿Si quieres que tus hijos hablen en español, cómo logras esto?
4. ¿Si quieres que tus hijos hablen en ingés, cómo logras esto?
5. ¿Qué es más importante para ti: que tus hijos hablen inglés o español? Explica.
Si el informante no tiene hijos pero piensa tenerlos quizás algún día:
1. ¿Si tienes hijos algún día querrás que hablen el español? Explica.
2. ¿Cómo piensas lograr esto?
3. ¿Si tienes hijos algún día querrás que hablen el inglés? Explica.
4. ¿Cómo piensas lograr esto?