Language

American Tongues (57 min.)
PE2841.A73 1986
Summary: Portrays some of the regional, social and ethnic differences in American speech and presents various attitudes that people have about these differences.

Breaking the Accent Barrier (60 min.)
PE1137 .B73 1991
Summary: By using this helpful video, you can overcome the accent barriers that keep you from being heard, understood, and respected. Your teacher on this video is David Alan Stern, Ph. D., a leading accent/dialect coach and instructor.

Journey to Yiddish Land (29 min.)
PJ5111.J68 1999
Summary: Describes renewed interest in Israel and Germany to keep Yiddish alive and shows the effort being made through Yiddish theatre, song, and dance.

Men, Women, and Language (58 min.)
PE1072.L364 1981
Summary: Men, women, and language discusses the sexist nature of the English language and suggests both advantages and drawbacks to modifying current practices. The written word examines the process of writing and the links between writing and thinking.

Sexism in Language: Thief of Honor, Shaper of Lies: a Lecture (30 min.)
P120.S48S475 1995
Summary: Lynn T. Lovdal explores sexism in both the syntax and semantics of language and shows how it is often unintentional or even unrecognized. She explores four key areas: "female" words that are dependent on a "male" version, words that are more positive for men than for women, words for women that carry negative sexual connotations, and "neutral" words that become inferior when applied to women.

The Shape of Language(58 min.)
PE1072.L362 1981
Summary: The shape of language discusses the problem of defining language and its components: phonology, morphology, and syntax. Communities of speech examines dialects and the social judgments made about them. Briefly examines the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Talking 9 to 5: Women and Men in the Workplace (30 min.)
HF 5718.T365 1995
Summary: Discusses how understanding conversational gender differences in style can improve communication in the workplace.

A Word in Edgewise (26 min.)
P120.S48W67 1986
Summary: Looks at everyday language and historical developments of English to explore how unconscious use of biased language affects our perception of the world and promotes inequality between the sexes.

Yeah You Rite! (29 min.)
PE 3101.L68Y43 1990
Summary: The English language as spoken in New Orleans has been influenced by the city's rich and varied history, leaving it with dozens of unique words and phrases that all New Orleanians understand but which frequently baffle visitors.

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