# data[].attributes.body
The biggest overlay between Lippi-Green and McWhorter is the idea that language is forever evolving. This is the first idea presented at the beginning of chapter 1, where Lippi-Green discusses the fact that some people may disagree with the idea that language is in a constant state of evolution. In McWhorter’s talk, he discusses the use of “LOL” in texting, and talk about the fact that it used to be used in a literal sense of “laughing out loud”, but now it is being used in texts as a form of endearment and accommodation, even in cases where no one is laughing. This directly supports the idea from Lippi-Green that language and its use and meaning are constantly changing.
- Gillian Hurd

# data[].attributes.body
I do not agree with the idea that the way we speak and how we speak language is always the choice of the speaker. Language is so innate in humans, and it is something we begin learning about the moment we are born until the day that we die. This allows for our use of language to be influenced by inner and outer forces that we do not always have control over. When we speak, most of us do not spend five minutes thinking about the proper diction or syntax of what we are about to say, we just say it as it comes naturally to us from what we have learned throughout our lives, and it is completely justifiable to say that humans say things, certain ways, that are in a sense, out of our control.
- Gillian Hurd

# data[].attributes.body
In my opinion, the biggest social identity people can enact through texting is what region they are from and what dialect they speak. For one, McWhorter says that texting is people writing like they speak. So as Lippi-Green mentions, people in the South say things like "ya'll" when they speak, or people from Pennsylvania say "yousns". So, it would be reasonable to think that texting someone who uses "ya'll", their identity of being in Southern regions containing that dialect.
- Gillian Hurd

# data[].attributes.body
"The dictionary is regarded as the highest authority in matters of language. Few people ever stop to ask how it is that the dictionary has taken - or has been given - such absolute authority" (Lippi-Green 49)

I chose this quote because I have always found this to be an interesting concept. The debate around why humans create certain social constructs such as this one is fascinating. Who decided that something like the dictionary would be like The Bible of the English language, and why is that idea not challenged enough? I've also always wondered what gave these people the right to decide what are words and what are not words, and how they should or should not be pronounced. I wanted to share this quote just because I think it is very thought provoking.
- Gillian Hurd

# data[].attributes.body
There is a large overlap of the discussion of written language versus spoken language in both Lippi-Green's textbook and McWhorter's Ted Talk. Lippi-Green states that, "Writing systems are a strategy developed in response to demands arising from social, technological and economic change. The purpose of writing systems is to convey decontextualized information" (18). Working in tandem with this, McWhorter's Ted Talk  points out that speech came first, and writing came second, and that while writing is important, "Language is speech." This discourse works to inform against preconceived notions about linguistics, and gives room for contemporary forms of writing like blogs (Lippi-Green, 20), and texting (McWhorter) to be seen as valid means of communication because of the evolution of language between the two mediums.

# data[].attributes.body
I don't think that language is always a choice. Looking at the English language, it has been manipulated by those in power, like William Caxton publishing the Bible (Lippi-Green, 15), to condition the masses to think of one version of English as the standard, and oppressing variation. People use the language they are exposed to, and you don't always have a say in what life experience, socioeconomic status, etc. you experience that influences your use of language.

# data[].attributes.body
Generally speaking, texting is a new language variation. McWhorter states in the Ted Talk that texting is an "evolution of language" that is essentially spoken language, but typed. We take on informal identities that still find a way to convey emotion and empathy (ex. the evolution of "LOL" is McWhorter's video). McWhorter also states that no matter the time period, there will always be people that think the new language variations are ruining language as they know it. This is then validated with Lippi-Green's notion that "people will still take up the battle cry and declare war on language change. All those attempts... are doomed for failure"(8). Texting is embracing the contemporary, and any time the contemporary has evolved, it has been met with backlash.

# data[].attributes.body
"Language is incredibly flexible and responsive; we make or borrow what we do not have" (Lippi-Green, 8).

I think this quote is important to discuss because it points out the malleability of language. While much of the discussion in the course materials this week have interacted with having to defend contemporary language, it has been shown that regardless of this defense, language continues to evolve for the majority no matter what, even if there are people looking at this evolution negatively.

# data[].attributes.body
The quote you used was actually my first choice. I agree with your statement. One cannot say that there is a right or wrong way to use language as it is constantly evolving. I find it amazing how people can take words from other languages and incorporate them to fit the needs of their home language.
~Rachelle Gallman~

# data[].attributes.body
Each person maintains their own biases when it comes to language; both written and spoken. As it is noted in the text, “each language changes in pace as that community and the demands of the speakers evolve.” (Lippi-Green 9) As we know that language is constantly evolving, because our world is constantly being enhanced. Though some people like the standardized approach to language, I feel that standardization is an option. When listening to different dialects, one understands that there’s usually languages within languages which provide evidence that language doesn’t stand still. It’s a constant gear that maintains movement and it's able to be adjusted when needed.

# data[].attributes.body
The quote I'm choosing is actually one the Lippi-Green was quoting in the chapter:
"Furthermore, critical theorists insist that ordinary people who do not share White supremacist beliefs can still talk and behave in ways that advance the projects of of White racism." (Hill qtd. in Lippi-Green 7)
I chose this one because this is something I've often thought about or noticed in life around me. It was also the topic of discussion in a different class of mine recently. How the policing of language/grammar can quickly become ostracizing for someone who speaks with an accent or a different dialect. And how this "proper" English can be linked to whiteness, and the idea that all other forms of English spoken or written are not proper and speak to a lower social status or inferiority.
People may not realize that when they correct other's on how to speak "properly," or when that Governor of Texas says that English was good enough for Jesus so it's good enough for Texas, they are maintaining a White supremacist ideal that foreign accents are bad, foreign languages are bad, other dialects are bad, and all we need is the good old King's English.

# data[].attributes.body
I think we can construct social identities in texting through the amount of shortened/ abbreviated words we use, the amount of "lols" and "hahas," or even the amount of emojis. There are people who write out long texts where they are speaking in almost full sentences, and there are those who speak much more like the conversation McWhorter showed in his talk between the two young girls. There are people who still use the texting function on their phones, yet take pride in not knowing or using texting lingo because they think it improper. Even with texting, we see the attempt at language standardization that Lippi-Green speaks of, people trying to stop the language from straying too much even while it's in text form. And people attributing their "correct" way of speaking in a text to a higher social status.The way that one texts, and the use of word choice, punctuation or no punctuation, "lols" or the lack thereof, all contribute to ones social identity.

# data[].attributes.body
I think in certain instances, people do make choices about how or when they will speak a certain language. As said in the chapter, "we can choose to be polite or obtuse, to use forms of address which will flatter or insult, to use gender neutral language or language that is inflammatory" (Lippi-Green 3). People also can choose to clean up their everyday speech for formal situations such as job interviews or presentations. As someone who works retail, I have my customer service voice and way of using language which is vastly different than the way I speak to my friends and family. People will clean up their language for fear of making a bad impression, or, because of engrained societal stigmas, to try and seem more educated or proper depending on their audience. So there is an element of choice and control there. But the way we are brought up speaking, the language we learn naturally from our environment, these are things we can't control. Our regional differences, our cultural and racial differences, our familial differences, these are all things that affect our language but are beyond our control.

# data[].attributes.body
An area of overlap between these two sources is the mention of language standardization. I don't recall if that exact phrase is mentioned in the TED talk, but McWhorter does talk about people who are upset over texting and the way that it is changing language, which is essentially what language standardization is. Lippi-Green describes it as "an attempt to stop language change, or at least, to fossilize language by means of controlling variation" (8). I think this is a fear held by a number of different people in regards to their own languages. Everyone knows the French have the Académie française, which is the council who presides over the French language, dictating how it is allowed to evolve. Language standardization can be naturally occurring, or it can be formalized into an actual organization.

# data[].attributes.headline
Response to Mackenzie from Lillie Watson

# data[].attributes.subject
Response to Mackenzie from Lillie Watson

# data[].attributes.body
I agree with you, that people don't always have a say in life or how they acquire their language skills. For example, there are people, perhaps born in a very rural area far away from any big city, who may never learn to write, but they can speak and communicate perfectly fine in their language. Not being able to write in the language they speak doesn't necessarily mean anything about their intelligence. And it certainly wasn't their choice to not learn to write. It's just a product of their life. People who speak with a certain dialect may be looked down on, when their dialect is not their choice, it's a product of their life.

# data[].attributes.body
I liked the quote you chose to share, it was also one that stuck out to me from the reading. I'm one of those people who is constantly pulling out my phone and opening my dictionary app to look up words, whether they're new words to me or just caught my attention for the moment. I sometimes find that words I may use or hear being used have a very different definition from what I thought the word to mean and from the way it's being used in common speech. I wonder if this is mine and societies own mistake, or if the dictionary hasn't caught up to all the nuance that words can have and different ways they can be used.

# data[].attributes.headline
Question to Gillian and class from Lillie Watson

# data[].attributes.subject
Question to Gillian and class from Lillie Watson

# data[].attributes.body
Gillian, I liked that you pointed out people will use language in text to make it sound how they actually talk, or how their regional dialect is. I find that I often elongate words in texts like how I would say it real life, for example texting "Duuuuuuuude," or "Yaaaaas." Does anyone else have examples of texting things they do to replicate their own personal speech patterns?

# data[].attributes.headline
Language is a choice...somewhat. by Alexander Riddle

# data[].attributes.subject
Language is a choice...somewhat. by Alexander Riddle

# data[].attributes.body
In her example, Lippi-Green compared height and weight with language. She explains that height and weight, for the most part, is not a choice and that it is primarily a genetic result. She then says that language is a choice, independent from genetics and such. I agree that height, for example isn't as controllable as language but nevertheless I don't this language is so much of a choice as she does. I believe that all of these things, high weight, language are all on a spectrum of human will and control. While language might be closer to the willed side I don't think it is a choice like what to have for lunch.

# data[].attributes.body
In both Lippi-Green's introduction and McWhorter's Ted talk, they concerns themselves with language as it is spoken. While Mcwhorter clearly stated the language is spoken, Lippi-Green inferred it. Both insinuate that, yet there are many interesting phenomena when it comes to written language e.g., texting, spoken language is where a lot of sociolinguists lie their main concerns.

# data[].attributes.body
Lippi Green expresses her idea on how language coveys social identity through her science fictional introduction. She highlights how weird and uncomfortable it would be if everyone woke up one day being "physically" identical to the gender they were assigned. Like your body, Lippi-Green believes that language is a marker of who you are and how close to "social norms" you want to be. McWhorter, on the other hand, focused more on the text or written speech aspect of identity. He gave examples of people using "lol" not to express their genuine physical reaction to a response, but a mutual sympathy the texters  had for one anther. In my texting I am often brief and right to the point. on the surface they may not seem like much of an expression of self. Yet, the more I think about it, it is! I have always liked and admired simplicity, wether it be my minimalistic apartment, my simple and humble fashion choices, or my obsession with the design of my first iPod. This maybe looking to deeply into it, but my straightforward texting style established a tone that isn't interested in embellishment. Instead, it takes comfort in being easily understood.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose the quote, "All language changes over time.."(LG) because it was exactly what McWhoter's point was in his Ted Talk. What I found even more interesting was that later in the chapel the idea of texts come up and how it people often dismiss text language as childish and even harmful to language. Nevertheless both agree that it is just the new form or evolution that language is taking today.

# data[].attributes.body
I never knew that the French were actively trying to guide or rather control the evolution of their language. do you think that it is working? do you think that what they are doing or want to do is even possible?

# data[].attributes.body
I agree that it is very peculiar for the dictionary to have so much, often unquestioned, authority. The creation of the Oxford dictionary is quite a fascinating one as it shoes that most of it was sourced by a "madman" in England yet it has so much esteem in academia today.

# data[].attributes.body
I find it fascinating that with every generation the one or two before it condemns what they "do" to the language. Sometimes I feel like its just older people feeling left out and instead or try to adapt they become resentful. This is just my opinion, yet I finds this resentment in may others departments other that sociolinguistics.

# data[].attributes.body
Hi Rachelle,

I agree with your comment about standardization not being necessary. With various dialects and the evolution of language, what really is the standard anyway? Since chapter 1 of Lippi-Green discussed standardization as a tool  for those in power/wealth to herd the masses, I'm also curious about what you think of standardization in tandem with classism?

# data[].attributes.body
Hi Lillie,

Great point about l'Académie Française. In my French class last semester, I learned that even slang techniques like verlan have strict rules and guidelines that don't really transfer into English because of how it plays with language. While we're a class that seems to primarily speak English, I appreciate you throwing in another language into the mix for discussion.

# data[].attributes.body
Hi Alexander,
Thanks for the reply. I also find it fascinating that each generation finds a way to speak negatively of the oncoming generation, both socially and linguistically, making it an extra interesting topic within sociolinguistics. Your point about the previous generation trying to adapt to new language patterns and becoming resentful is a really great point. It reminds me of when I see older relatives on social media sites like Facebook using emojis between each sentence lol. I wonder where the line is between accepting the language and resenting it, and where that line gets blurred.