Prof. Jessica Penner | OL12 | Fall 2021
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Think about language and the different ways you communicate or speak. Choose a word or phrase that you use with one group of people (family, friends, co-workers, etc.) that would not be understood by a different group of people in your life. What is the meaning of this word or phrase and how would you explain it to someone who is an outsider to the group who uses it?
Professor: Jessica Penner
Email: eng1121.citytech2@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 AM ā 1 PM. Iāll be available through Zoom and will send an invitation via email that you should keep all semester. Try to join my meeting at the start of the hour, not at the endāsince I may be talking to other students or have another appointment after the hour is up. If those times donāt work with your schedule, we can schedule a different time.Ā This means youāll have to schedule an appointment in advance via email. I suggest you haveĀ multipleĀ timesĀ in mind, since your schedule may not mesh with mine!
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For me personally I don’t really use words that people wouldn’t understand but when in things like formal situations I tend to talk more proper and tame and with less robust and explicit language.
I do a lot of code switching when I talk to my friends, family and social life. I also do a lot of code switching when I speak my native language Spanish.
A term that’s pretty common that I occasionally use is “flake” with some groups, it expresses that someone didn’t show up or didn’t do what they stated they would do. If I were to explain the term to my coworkers (a group I do not use it with) I would explain it as a substitute for no-show which the EMR applies to patients that don’t show up to their appointments.
I find myself code-switching in different circumstances I find myself, especially with my fellow African peers, I used the broken English phrase such as āI dey comeā meaning āI am comingā in a proper English language. Hence, when speaking to a different group that does not understand my broken English, I automatically use more proper English with them, in other to encourage effective communication. Code switching for me is a way of creating a comfortable and friendly environment. For instance, there is a great sense of connection I observe from people when I speak in a language they are accustomed to.
For me, it depends on who I m talking to. With my family or coworker, I would definitely not interact with them like how I m with my friends because there is a boundary and respect you have to give the elders and talk more formally with them.
I agree with you, I usually do the same. When I’m with my friends I talk in a free way, but when I’m with older people I talk more formally.
I agree, it mostly who talk to you when it comes to the language and how you talk to people.
In my experience, I tend to use code switching when it comes down to who I am talking to and what type of connection I have with that person. Mostly, when it comes to my family and friends I tend to not use it but talk with respect because of the respect and relationship that I have with them.
Hi, Alvin. I see that you as well as me, can spot the most difference in way of speaking between, conversations with your friends and family.
Personally, the way I talk to my friends and my professors or my parents is not the same. For example, with my professor I talk with them in a respectful way but my friends I can talk in a comfortable and free way. I can use any term or word with my friend but some words I canāt use with other people. Honstelly. I never use a word or sentence that people donāt understand. Maybe I use a different language to talk with them, for example, I switch to Arabic to talk with my family, or my friends in this way others canāt understand what I want to say to them.
I’m an immigrant from Poland. I live and work among Polish people, so I don’t have any particular English word that I can use for purpose of this assignment. Although in general, I can say that I personally change my way of speaking accordingly to the audience. I speak more freely with my friends than with my parents. Also, I try to speak more politely and respectfully when I communicate with clients at work.
it totally depends on the surrounding. The way I talk to my friends like cursing out and all I definitely can not do it with my family members because there’s this limitations that we all need to stick with.
I think every intelligent adult code switches depending on the company and the situation at hand. I believe that even at a young age, children learn to code-switch. Iāve seen very young children speak to a baby or a younger child in a very different manner than to an adult.
Iām mainly doing it unconsciously when I do it. And Iām not going by any strict definition of code-switching as just two or more languages in one conversation.
My interpretation of why I do it is perhaps that itās a way of attempting to be diplomatic and relate more closely to someone else, or, alternately, as a way of making myself seem āless different.ā
I code switch with my parents and the outside world. My parent’s don’t know English that well so with them I tend to talk in Spanish. When speaking to someone other than my family I automatically switch to English because I know they’ll understand it.
A phrase that my family and I commonly use is ” is ya father a glass maker?”. I come from a country called Guyana and this phrase is used a lot. So to explain it I would have to use a scenario. Say you are minding your own business watching TV and someone has the audacity to come and stand in your line of vision. They are blocking the whole screen so you would say “is ya father a glass maker?”. The reason you are asking is because you want to know if they’re made of glass because they think that you can see through them.
Iām not sure how unique this is, but my husband and I adapted two new suffixes to indicate something/someone is way too fancy or trying too hard. The suffixes are āworthā and āingtonā and the resulting words are still funny, 4 years later. We try to mix in some Sheakspearian English but neither of us is very good at that.
For example, our cat Chaps is a picky eater and when we buy his food one of us will go āso do you think Ser Chapsworth will like this tuna-flavored Fancy Feastington?ā āhm, Lord Chapington does quite enjoy his feastworths, but His Grace prefers the taste of ocean whitefishington.ā
We were ācaughtā doing this at a family gathering, so we tried explaining the suffixes, but the only person who understood right away was my 14-year-old nephew. It took a while to explain what an inside joke is and why we thought worth-ington sounds funny.
A phrase that I use is an idiom in Hindi that is ādaal mein kuch kaala haiā which literally translates to āthere is something black in the lentil soupā. My friend and family would understand this but not someone who doesnāt speak Hindi. It wouldnāt make sense to them. So I have to explain to them that it actually means that there is something fishy, thereās something wrong.