"You Call This English?!?!": An Anthropological Study of Conversational Style in Jewish Children's Literature

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1990
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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en_US
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Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
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Abstract
According to the semantic approach, meaning resides in the structure of linguistic forms. In the view from pragmatics, meaning derives from context. If one were to conceive of language as a beam of light, a study of semantic meaning would involve an examination of the particles or waves of which the beam consists. Meaning would be internal to the beam. However, much can be learned about the light from studying its projection onto a screen, that is, by considering its context. In this paper I will explore the assumptions underlying these two approaches in linguistics, and then discuss previous research on the relationship between language and cultural context in the case of Jewish English spoken by New York Jews. Then, in an attempt to both extend the sociolinguistic paradigm, and further illustrate the limits of formal linguistics, I turn to Jewish children's literature to see whether the findings of previous research are borne out in written language. Written language is treated as a layer that is removed from culture. The distinction made between spoken and written language is informed by the philosophical assumptions underlying traditional approaches to language. Further, the forms of Jewish English may be traced to the influence of Yiddish. Within a framework which considers the relation of form to social meaning, linguistic continuity between Yiddish and English reflects a cultural continuity. I will explore the possibility of a broader cultural continuity, first by discussing the social significance of Hebrew, and finally by discussing Jewish values more generally. Thus, this research will broaden the scope of what is meant by language by focusing on the pragmatic aspects of Jewish language.
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