Dirty Words, Pig Latin, and the Structure of Language
Transcript of Dirty Words, Pig Latin, and the Structure of Language
Dirty Words, Pig Latin, and the Structure ofLanguage
Michael Hammond
Dept. of Linguistics, U. of Arizona
Dirty Words/Hammond – p.1/24
What do linguists do?
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What do linguists do?
� We want to understand people.
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What do linguists do?
� We want to understand people.
� What makes people unique?
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What do linguists do?
� We want to understand people.
� What makes people unique? Our minds
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What do linguists do?
� We want to understand people.
� What makes people unique? Our minds
� What makes our minds unique?
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What do linguists do?
� We want to understand people.
� What makes people unique? Our minds
� What makes our minds unique? Language
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Ernie
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Ernie
Birds, bees, dogs, etc. all “communicate”
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Ernie
Birds, bees, dogs, etc. all “communicate”. . . but is it language?
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Whatdon’t linguists do?
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Whatdon’t linguists do?
� We don’t tell people how they should talk.
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Whatdon’t linguists do?
� We don’t tell people how they should talk.
� We don’t tell people what the rules oflanguage should be.
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Whatdon’t linguists do?
� We don’t tell people how they should talk.
� We don’t tell people what the rules oflanguage should be.
� . . . and we do not necessarily speak a lot oflanguages.
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So whatdo linguists do?
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So whatdo linguists do?
� We look at how languages work and how theyvary.
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So whatdo linguists do?
We look at how languages work and how theyvary.
These tell us how the mind works.
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So whatdo linguists do?
We look at how languages work and how theyvary.
These tell us how the mind works.
In particular that there is a rich invisiblestructure underlying language that revealsitself in different ways
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So whatdo linguists do?
� We look at how languages work and how theyvary.
� These tell us how the mind works.
� In particular that there is a rich invisiblestructure underlying language that revealsitself in different ways, even in languagegames and dirty words.
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High tech
Time (s)0 2.36898
0
5000
Fre
qu
en
cy (
Hz)
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High tech
Time (s)0 2.36898
0
5000
Fre
qu
en
cy (
Hz)
“Ernie, Ernie, bo-bernie. . . Dirty Words/Hammond – p.6/24
Low tech?
Two language systems that tell us about that“invisible” structure:
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Low tech?
Two language systems that tell us about that“invisible” structure:
� the “Name Game”
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Low tech?
Two language systems that tell us about that“invisible” structure:
the “Name Game”
Expletive Infixation
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The “Name Game”
Ernie
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The “Name Game”
Ernie, Ernie, bo-Bernie,
Banana, fana, fo-Fernie,
Me, my, mo-Mernie,
Er-nie.
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Another name
Jonah
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Another name
Jonah, Jonah, bo-bonah,
Banana, fana, fo-Fonah,
Me, my, mo-Monah,
Jo-nah.
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How to play
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How to play
� Replace any word-initial consonants with [b],[f], and [m].
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How to play
� Replace any word-initial consonants with [b],[f], and [m].
� If there’s no word-initial consonant:Ernie/Anna bernie/banna
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How to play
� Replace any word-initial consonants with [b],[f], and [m].
� If there’s no word-initial consonant:Ernie/Anna bernie/banna
� If there’s just one consonant, replace it:Todd/Bonnie bodd/bonnie
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More than one consonant
If there’s more than one consonant, replace themall:
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More than one consonant
If there’s more than one consonant, replace themall:Steve/Stella beve/bellaBrad/Brenda bad/bendaDwight/Gwen bight/benStrom/Sprague bom/bag
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More than one consonant
If there’s more than one consonant, replace themall:Steve/Stella beve/bellaBrad/Brenda bad/bendaDwight/Gwen bight/benStrom/Sprague bom/bag
But:Beula/Buford b[y]eula/b[y]uford
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Names that work fine
one syllable two syllables three syllablesBob Joseph ChrıstopherAnne Robert MadelineStrom Jonah CatherineEd Mıchael Sergio
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Stress matters
one syllable two syllables three syllablesBób Jóseph ChrístopherÁnne Róbert MádelineStróm Jónah CátherineÉd Míchael Sérgio
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Names that don’t work!
� Two syllables (final stress): Daniélle
� Three syllables (second syllable stress):Amánda
� Three syllables (third syllable stress):Adriénne
� Four syllables+ (any stress): Agamémnon,Ábernathy
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Names that don’t work!
� Two syllables (final stress): Daniélle (cf.Dániel)
� Three syllables (second syllable stress):Amánda (cf. Ágatha)
� Three syllables (third syllable stress):Adriénne (cf. Ádrian)
� Four syllables+ (any stress): Agamémnon,Ábernathy
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The generalization
The game can be played with names that arecomposed of a “stressed” syllable followed by atmost two (unstressed) syllables.
yes noBób DaniélleJóseph AmándaChrístopher Adriénne
AgamémnonÁbernathy
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The generalization
The game can be played with names that arecomposed of a “stressed” syllable followed by atmost two (unstressed) syllables.
yes noBób DaniélleJóseph AmándaChrístopher Adriénne
AgamémnonÁbernathy
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Don’t be offended!
Minnesota
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Don’t be offended!
Minnesota
Minne–f*–sota
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Don’t be offended!
Minnesota
Minne–f*–sotaNot: *Mi(n)–f*–nesotaNot: *Minneso–f*–ta
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Some more
Tennessee
Montana
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Some more
Tennessee
Tenne–f*–ssee
Montana
Mon–f*–tana
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Some more
Tennessee
Tenne–f*–sseeNot: *Te(n)–f*–nessee
Montana
Mon–f*–tanaNot: *Monta–f*–na
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Multiple options
Timbuktu
Apalachicola
Alamagordo
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Multiple options
Timbuktu
Tim–f*–buktu and Timbuk–f*–tu
Apalachicola
Apa–f*–lachicola and Apalachi–f*–cola
Alamagordo
Ala–f*–magordo and Alama–f*–gordo
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Some words don’t work at all!
These work but these don’tMınne–sota MissouriTenne–ssee FloridaMon–tana GeorgiaTım–buk–tu ConnecticutApa–lachi–colaAla–ma–gordo
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Stress patterns
These work but these don’tMìnne–sóta MissóuriTènne–ssée FlóridaMòn–tána GeórgiaTìm–bùk–tú ConnécticutÀpa–làchi–cólaÀla–ma–górdo
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What’s the pattern?
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What’s the pattern?
� The expletive must have at least one stressedsyllable on either side.
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What’s the pattern?
� The expletive must have at least one stressedsyllable on either side.
� If there’s one or more stressless syllables inbetween, at least one of those must be to theleft of the infix.
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The trochaic foot
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The trochaic foot
� There is an invisible grouping of syllables thatcontrols the “Name Game” and ExpletiveInfixation.
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The trochaic foot
� There is an invisible grouping of syllables thatcontrols the “Name Game” and ExpletiveInfixation.
� This invisible grouping includes a singlestressed syllable and up to two followingstressless syllables.
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The trochaic foot
� There is an invisible grouping of syllables thatcontrols the “Name Game” and ExpletiveInfixation.
� This invisible grouping includes a singlestressed syllable and up to two followingstressless syllables.
� This is called the trochaic foot.
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Confirmation
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Confirmation
� Nicknames tend to be of this form as well,e.g. Bóbbie, Cáthy, Jóey, etc.
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Confirmation
� Nicknames tend to be of this form as well,e.g. Bóbbie, Cáthy, Jóey, etc.
� Children tend to reduce longer words to justthis pattern as well, e.g. banána ’nána(Gerken, Carter).
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Conclusions
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Conclusions
� There are hidden structures in language.
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Conclusions
� There are hidden structures in language.
� These can only be detected by looking at howlanguage works in various contexts.
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Conclusions
� There are hidden structures in language.
� These can only be detected by looking at howlanguage works in various contexts.
� Here a language game and dirty wordsconverge on the same hidden structure.
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Conclusions
� There are hidden structures in language.
� These can only be detected by looking at howlanguage works in various contexts.
� Here a language game and dirty wordsconverge on the same hidden structure.
� People don’t learn how to play this game orinsert the expletive in school.
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Conclusions
� There are hidden structures in language.
� These can only be detected by looking at howlanguage works in various contexts.
� Here a language game and dirty wordsconverge on the same hidden structure.
� People don’t learn how to play this game orinsert the expletive in school.
� Poetry and literature may be satisfying toread, but sometimes the most revealinglanguage is of a very different sort.
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