<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Here is a partial list of films and television shows I've used in my courses in the last couple of years (sorry I don't have them annotated)--most of these are not fundamentally about language, but they all have interesting linguistic components. <DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>For teaching about language in the US, I think "Crash" is probably one of the best films out there right now. "Children of a Lesser God" is also good (though much older) if you want to discuss ASL and/or multilingualism. Animated films almost all have great linguistic examples--especially Shrek and Shark Tale (though these might be more difficult for ESL students to pick up on because of the animation). Also the comedians Margaret Cho, Chris Rock, George Lopez and others often riff on language and some of that is easily available for download (video and audio). Thanks to Lisa Del Torto and Katherine Chen for finding most of these.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Cheers</DIV><DIV>Robin<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Firefly (TV show set in future where the shared language is a mix of English and Cantonese)</DIV><DIV>Airplane! (great scene of "jive" translations)</DIV><DIV>8 Mile (nice rapping--works very well set in contrast to the rapping in Malibu's Most Wanted)</DIV><DIV><DIV><DIV>Fast Times at Ridgemont HIgh</DIV><DIV>Rain man </DIV><DIV>Whose LIne is it Anyway (improv TV show--great examples of linguistic indexicality)</DIV><DIV>Mean Girls </DIV><DIV>Coming to America</DIV><DIV>Good Will Hunting (there's a great scene in a bar that shows different rates of r-less and r-fullness in Boston)</DIV><DIV>Dave Chapelle (often does "whitey" voice)</DIV><DIV>Dr. Doolittle (all the speaking animals use different sociolinguistic indexes)</DIV><DIV>South Park (especially for "taboo" language)</DIV><DIV>Undercover Brother</DIV><DIV>Malibu's most wanted</DIV><DIV>My big fat Greek wedding</DIV><DIV>King of the Hill (TV show)</DIV><DIV>Mambo Italiano</DIV><DIV>American HIstory X</DIV><DIV>Life of Brian</DIV><DIV>Crazy in Alabama</DIV><DIV>Malcolm X</DIV><DIV>Jungle Fever</DIV><DIV>Escanaba in da Moolight (regional variation from the upper Penisula of Michigan)</DIV><DIV>Fargo (Upper Midwest juxtaposed against New York)</DIV><DIV>Bring it On</DIV><DIV>Barbershop</DIV><DIV>Rush Hour</DIV><DIV>Traffic</DIV><DIV>Chasing Amy</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Aug 17, 2006, at 10:20 AM, Dr. Mark Peterson wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> I've done three columns on this for the SLA based on member contributions, over the years but Anthrosource doesn't archive Anthro Newsletter back that far. Here are the films that were mentioned in the columns, along with credit where possible:<BR><BR> <BR> <H4><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Bambi</FONT></H4><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">Has anyone watched Bambi's language acquisition process recently? B-b-b-birds? Kate Riley <BR><BR> </FONT><H4><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Beavis and Butthead Do America</FONT></H4><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">Contains a humorous scene based on the prescription against using a preposition to end a sentence with. Ronald Kephart, University of North Florida. <BR><BR> Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid <BR><BR> There are wonderful moments when the protagonists struggle with the Spanish language, which they need in order to flee to Mexico. Once there they manage to rob a bank with their obviously limited Spanish, but these limits become painfully obvious when they encounter real Mexican bandidos. A great excuse for linguists to see this classic again. Marie-Lucie Tarpent, Mount Saint Vincent University. <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Canadian Bacon</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">And there's the scene from "Canadian Bacon" between John Candy and Stephen Wright. Stephen Wright, playing a Canadian, says "What's this aboot?" and John<BR> Candy (or somebody else) says "We're going to knock that 'oot' out of your speech!" Very funny. Shana Walton<BR><BR> Dances with Wolves<BR><BR> Kevin Costner, oops I mean Lt. Dunbar, learns Lakota in absolutely no elapsed time between scenes. Hal Schiffman, University of Pennsylvania. <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Dead Dog Cafe</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">On a slightly different tack, CBC Radio One in Canada has a First Nations satire program called Dead Dog Cafe. Usually there is a segment called Conversational Creein which the hosts teach non-Cree speakers useful Cree phrases like Please ask the chauffeur to bring the car around. Amusing for the dabbler and a spring-off point for undergrads who aren't ready to handle things like Hill's mock Spanish article right off the bat. For the one or two of you who may not live in Canada, text & Real Audio files available at the Dead Dog Cafe website: <A href="http://radio.cbc.ca/programs/deaddog/">http://radio.cbc.ca/programs/deaddog/</A><BR> Jeff Deby, Georgetown University<BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Encino Man</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">Funny scenes of the caveman guy learning English after having been dug up (I'm told; I haven't actually seen this one). Hal Schiffman, University of Pennsylvania. <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">The Funeral</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">In this Japanese film by director Itami Juzo a couple views a video on "How to Have a Funeral" to learn the proper things to say. Laura Miller. <BR><BR> I Cento Passi<BR> A recent Italian film I Cento Passi,(directed by Marco Tullio Giordana) has quite a bit of dialect-standard Italian codeswitching as well as some English codeswitching. Petek Kurtboke. <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Phenomenon</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">John Travolta learns Portuguese in about 10 minutes, after being struck by lightning. Hal Schiffman, University of Pennsylvania. <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Tampopo</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">In this Japanese film by director Itami Juzo you find a noodle masterusing high-register tea-ceremony-like language and gestures to instruct a truck driver in the art of eating ramen. Laura Miller <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Tas Notika Riga</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">Codeswitching of Latvian and Russian is characteristic to Latvian TV film Tas notika<BR> Riga('It has happened in Riga'). Rita Urneziute, Vilnius, Lithuania<BR><BR> Taxing Woman<BR><BR> This Japanese film by director Itami Juzo has samples of Yakuza speechas well as a woman using so-called masculinespeech. Laura Miller. <BR><BR> The 13<SUP>th</SUP> Warrior <BR><BR> If you haven't seen The 13<SUP>th</SUP> Warrior, it's worth seeing the movie just to see Antonio Banderas learn a second language by just sitting around a campfire, no assistance from the native speakers, and immediately produces complex forms! I first saw this movie because a fellow linguist called and said, hey, you've got to come see this... Shana Walton <BR><BR> The 25<SUP>th</SUP> Hour<BR> Many years ago I saw The 25th Hour,a movie about Europe in the turmoil and aftermath of WWII. The main character, a simple man who is uprooted by the war and thrown about by circumstances totally beyond his control, gave me the impression of being almost an idiot. I was quite young when i saw this film and later realized that this impression was given because there should have been 5 or 6 languages spoken in this film, and of course the hero, played by Anthony Quinn, could not understand them, but since the same language (with varied accents, but all understandable) was spoken by all the characters in the film, it did not make sense that he, unlike the audience, could not understand what was being said. An object lesson in how to gloss over language difficulties. Marie-Lucie Tarpent, Mount Saint Vincent University. <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">Wayne's World</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">And then there's the scene from Wayne's Worldwhere Wayne is having a conversation about relationships with pop-star love-interest Cassandra. She is a native Cantonese speaker and Wayne has (rapidly) mastered Cantonese. In the scene, their deeply serious and reflective conversation is about the psychology of relationships and dependence, but the very lengthy English subtitles are co-ordinated with maybe only one or two words in Cantonese. It's a great take on linguistic relativity. Dr. Claire Cowie, University of Sheffield <BR><BR> </FONT><H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color="#330099">The Wild Child</FONT></H3><FONT face="Trebuchet MS">In Truffaut's The Wild Child / L'Enfant Sauvage the issue is the acquisition of speech, period. Students love it [though it is a bit slow, in parts] and there are humorous / heart rending moments. Maria-Luisa Achino-Loeb, N.Y.U./Gallatin.<BR><BR> <BR> </FONT>Mark Allen Peterson and James Stanlaw<BR><BR> Linguistic Moments in the Movies<BR><BR> We are again approaching the end of the school year, when the strain of final projects, term papers and grading brings on exhaustion for professors and students alike. Its time to break out the montage of movie clips you have cobbled together based on last years May SLA column, presenting films and television programs that feature sublime and ridiculous representations of human speech.<BR><BR> Whats that? Youve already shown those clips? Not to worry. The following film and television suggestions should meet your needs for some time to come. <BR><BR> <H3>Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) <BR><BR> <BR> Dr. Evil, who has traveled back in time 30 years, uses 1990s slang of African American origin (talk to the hand,you ain't all that,gansta rap) while extorting money from the president of the United States in 1969.<BR><BR> <BR> Enterprise Two Days and Two Nights(May 15, 2002)<BR><BR> <BR> On leave, Hoshi Sato, the communications officer (who speaks 40 languages) meets a stranger who shares her passion for language. After 24 hours with Hoshi, the stranger <BR> speaks impeccable English. Hoshi fails to learn his native language, though -- she asks him to speak a little more slowly and he says that if he spoke more slowly that would change the meaning. They end up having a one-night stand, thus communicating on a nonverbal level.<BR> The Limey (1999)<BR><BR> <BR> Terrance Stamp is a British criminal who travels to California to avenge his daughters death. His Cockney is unintelligible to most Americans. At one point, he tries to convince a California police chief that they are after the same thing but from different directions, employing some Cockney rhyming slang like "china" for mate (china plate = mate). After his speech the chief confesses he couldn't understand a word he said.<BR> Never Been Kissed (1999) <BR><BR> <BR> David Arquette, the cutest boy in school, coins a new slang word and tries to get his friends to use it. These scenes offer a good way to illustrate the difference between slang and dialect, which many students have difficulty teasing apart.<BR> Sesame Street <BR><BR> <BR> Theres a scene that makes a great discussion starter on language acquisition in which Ernie tries to teach a baby to say his name, and it does not work. I cant locate the episode number, but the clip is used in Acquiring the Human Language: Playing the Language Game,the second volume of PBS program The Human Language, now available as a video series. <BR><BR> <BR> Star Trek: "Metamorphosis" (Nov. 10, 1967)<BR><BR> <BR> This episode introduced the concept of the universal translator. This handy device renders linguists unnecessary, as it automatically translates every nuance of language on the basis of a set of "universal" concepts (one of which is the distinction between male and female, which even sapient energy clouds apparently share). <BR><BR> <BR> Star Trek: The Next Generation: Darmok(Sept. 30, 1991)<BR><BR> <BR> The universal translators dont work on the Tamarians in this episode, which is built entirely around an effort to communicate. It turns out the Tamarians communicate entirely by metaphors that refer to their own myth cycles (how does one construct a myth cycle without a language? Its a Tamarian secret). The Tamarian captain Darmok teaches Enterprise Captain Picard this language of metaphor through the interesting pedagogical technique of kidnapping him and forcing him to ritually act out one of the myths (unfortunately, it is one in which two heroes become friends by defeating a monstrous beast with just their knives). Once Picard gets the hang of it, he teaches the alien the myth of Enkidu and Gilgamesh. <BR><BR> <BR> What Planet Are You From? (2000)<BR><BR> This film about an alien from an all-male planet come to earth to attempt to impregnate an earth woman may not be top-notch comedy but it includes a number of great scenes about male-female language differences. There is a scene of alien men being trained how to pretend to be listening to earth women. Later in the film is a scene in which a revised course (based on fieldwork) is presented. The film also includes several scenes of the alien on earth applying compliments in inappropriate contexts. </H3>Thanks to William O. Beeman (Brown University), Carol Hayman (Austin Community College), April Leininger (UCLA), and Leslie C. Moore (UCLA) for suggestions. <BR><BR> <BR><BR> At 02:19 PM 8/15/2006 +0800, Kerim Friedman wrote:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite" class="cite" cite="">Teaching in Taiwan, I find my students do not have the English ability<BR> necessary to follow films like "American Tongues" and "Cross Talk" -<BR> but many Hollywood films, and some documentaries from the Discovery<BR> Channel and National Geographic, etc. are available here with Chinese<BR> subtitles at the night market. Which brings me to my question: Can<BR> anyone think of popular films (contemporary or classics, US or<BR> foreign) with language related themes that might be suitable for<BR> teaching? I've thought of a few, but I'm not too happy with the list<BR> so far:<BR><BR> Windtalkers (2002)<BR> Pygmalion (1938)<BR> The Unconquered (1954)<BR> Enfant sauvage, L' (1970) (many more such films about feral children<BR> are listed at <A href="http://www.feralchildren.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.feralchildren.com</A> )<BR> Children of a Lesser God (1986)<BR> Ishi: The Last Yahi (1992)<BR> Lost in Translation (2003)<BR> The Conversation (1974)<BR><BR> I almost added Blazing Saddles for the Yiddish-speaking Indian chief,<BR> but then thought better of it...<BR><BR> Obviously some of these films are better than others (as far as<BR> teaching is concerned) - but I just wanted to put something out to jog<BR> people's minds. Send your suggestions to me at this address (off<BR> list): oxusnet [at] gmail [dot] com.<BR><BR> I'm traveling for a while, but I'll edit together all the suggestions<BR> and mail it back to the list (and on the web) when I get back. When<BR> you send your suggestions please state how I should list your name and<BR> affiliation if I post this list publicly on the web.<BR><BR> Thanks!<BR><BR> Kerim<BR><BR> -- <BR> ____________________________________<BR> P. Kerim Friedman<BR> Department of Indigenous Cultures<BR> College of Indigenous Studies<BR> National DongHwa University, TAIWAN<BR> <A href="http://kerim.oxus.net/" eudora="autourl">http://kerim.oxus.net/</A><BR> ______________________________</BLOCKQUOTE> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>