| Julie Berman: | |
| Name: | Julie Berman |
| Academic Institution: | University of Louisville |
| email: | julie.berman@louisville.edu |
| Country: | Estados Unidos/United States |
| Paper Title | Understanding Language Across the Racial Divide |
| Abstract: | Everyday discourse between African Americans and Caucasians in the United States is not often something discussed; we live in (relative) proximity to each other and all speak the same basic language. Yet, because of cultural differences, there is a particular need for ongoing maintenance in the realm of everyday conversation between the races. Today, conversation has an intertextual quality because of the mass media’s influence. A linguistic symbol from a song or television show can catapult around the internet to quickly become part of our popular culture cache. Thus I studied African American vernacular—specifically tropes—through the medium of popular film. Two student focus groups, one African American and one Caucasian, reacted to excerpts from the films that contained examples of African American tropes. The African American group enjoyed the process of exacting the meaning of the tropes in context, often expressing empathy for the characters. The Caucasian group had disparate opinions of the meanings and didn’t empathize as often with the characters. This group also took a more analytic approach that sometimes had a hegemonic tinge, hinting that the language was less than standard—coming from “the wrong side of the tracks.” Yet they seemed mildly offended when asked if they’d heard of the tropes—insinuating that knowing them was part of being “hip” or “in.” The African American group concluded that tropes were creative expressions of a culture—not merely slang—and decried their negative associations and assumptions that users lacked intelligence. |