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Hello, welcome to Bad Linguistics Takes!
This thread will explain several things about this account. Please read if you'd like!
Any corrections or additions will be at the end of the thread.
Suggestions for improvement should be sent as DMs.
Hello, welcome to Bad Linguistics Takes!
This thread will explain several things about this account. Please read if you'd like!
Any corrections or additions will be at the end of the thread.
Suggestions for improvement should be sent as DMs.
1. Content
As you are aware, this account is about bad linguistics takes. This doesn't mean I exclusively feature linguistics-related content, however. Some posts featured here may also contain racism (slurs, etc), homophobia, or transphobia. These will be tagged accordingly.
As you are aware, this account is about bad linguistics takes. This doesn't mean I exclusively feature linguistics-related content, however. Some posts featured here may also contain racism (slurs, etc), homophobia, or transphobia. These will be tagged accordingly.
2. Terminology
I will try to make my explanations of why a take is bad as simple as possible, but there are a few bits of jargon I use to be specific about things.
The following posts will detail some of the linguistic terms I will use in explanations.
I will try to make my explanations of why a take is bad as simple as possible, but there are a few bits of jargon I use to be specific about things.
The following posts will detail some of the linguistic terms I will use in explanations.
Comparatively Reconstructed Languages
CRLs are ancient dead languages which have been reconstructed by linguists through the comparative method (ie comparing their descendants - more on this later). Usually these are marked with the prefix "Proto", as in "proto-Germanic".
CRLs are ancient dead languages which have been reconstructed by linguists through the comparative method (ie comparing their descendants - more on this later). Usually these are marked with the prefix "Proto", as in "proto-Germanic".
Words in these languages will be marked with an asterisk (*) to show that they're not really attested and are the best reconstruction we can come up with given the amount of evidence.
Examples: *lewbʰ-, the Proto-Indo-European for "love".
Examples: *lewbʰ-, the Proto-Indo-European for "love".
AAVE
AAVE or Aave stands for African American Vernacular English, a group of dialects of American English spoken mostly by Black Americans. AAVE has influenced American English significantly and is an integral part of North American Black culture.
AAVE or Aave stands for African American Vernacular English, a group of dialects of American English spoken mostly by Black Americans. AAVE has influenced American English significantly and is an integral part of North American Black culture.
IPA
IPA, or the International Phonetic Alphabet, is an alphabet devised in the 19th century by linguists to transcribe sounds phonetically. I will use IPA liberally, but you don't need to know it to enjoy the content I post.
Example: "love" is /'lʌv/ in IPA.
IPA, or the International Phonetic Alphabet, is an alphabet devised in the 19th century by linguists to transcribe sounds phonetically. I will use IPA liberally, but you don't need to know it to enjoy the content I post.
Example: "love" is /'lʌv/ in IPA.
Language Family
A language family is a group of languages that descended from one language. Usually the parent language is a reconstructed one since it'd have to be pretty old to spawn descendants. Language families are genetic in nature like human families.
A language family is a group of languages that descended from one language. Usually the parent language is a reconstructed one since it'd have to be pretty old to spawn descendants. Language families are genetic in nature like human families.
No matter how different the descendant languages are from the parent language, we still count them as part of the family. English has a pretty significant number of loanwords from Romance languages, but it's still Germanic because it descended from proto-West Germanic.
Strong/Weak Sapir Whorf Hypothesis
The strong Sapir Whorf Hypothesis essentially says "what words you use determines what you think". It's been disproven and is generally a gateway to racism.
The strong Sapir Whorf Hypothesis essentially says "what words you use determines what you think". It's been disproven and is generally a gateway to racism.
The weak Hypothesis says "what words you use influences what you think". This is true, but only in very trivial contexts like noun grouping.
Since this account is going the Sinology route, here are some Sinology terms to familiarize yourself with!
SNM (Standard Northern Mandarin)
AKA: PTH (Putonghua), Huayu, Guoyu, Standard Chinese, 普通話，華語，or 國語.
This is the official language of the PRC, based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. Note that while this language is called Mandarin, it is distinct from...
AKA: PTH (Putonghua), Huayu, Guoyu, Standard Chinese, 普通話，華語，or 國語.
This is the official language of the PRC, based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. Note that while this language is called Mandarin, it is distinct from...
Beijing Mandarin, usually called 北京話 (Beijinghua) or 北京官話 (Beijing guanhua). Beijing Mandarin is a dialect of Mandarin (官話), of which SNM is not.
HYPY (Hanyu Pinyin)
AKA: 漢語拼音, Pinyin.
The official Romanization system used by the PRC, and recently, Taiwan. It was originally designed to be the final goal for the evolution of Chinese orthogtaphy, but serves a complementary role today. Also very unintuitive for learners.
AKA: 漢語拼音, Pinyin.
The official Romanization system used by the PRC, and recently, Taiwan. It was originally designed to be the final goal for the evolution of Chinese orthogtaphy, but serves a complementary role today. Also very unintuitive for learners.
Fangyan
AKA: Topolects, (incorrectly) "dialects", Sinitic varities, 方言.
The different non-SNM Sinitic languages (or language groups) spoken by Chinese people. Includes languages such as Hokkien, Wenchang, Haikou (part of the Hainanese group), Cantonese, Teochew, et al.
AKA: Topolects, (incorrectly) "dialects", Sinitic varities, 方言.
The different non-SNM Sinitic languages (or language groups) spoken by Chinese people. Includes languages such as Hokkien, Wenchang, Haikou (part of the Hainanese group), Cantonese, Teochew, et al.
Fangyan are NOT dialects of Mandarin, or "dialects of Chinese". They are full-fledged languages of their own, with their own phonologies, phonotactics, morphology, and in some cases, orthography.
Taiwanese
AKA: Taiwanese Hokkien, Taigi, 臺語.
Taiwanese is the variety of Hokkien spoken in Taiwan. It is distinct from other varieties of Hokkien and serves as an auxiliary language after being displaced by SNM as the lingua franca of Taiwan.
AKA: Taiwanese Hokkien, Taigi, 臺語.
Taiwanese is the variety of Hokkien spoken in Taiwan. It is distinct from other varieties of Hokkien and serves as an auxiliary language after being displaced by SNM as the lingua franca of Taiwan.
It's mostly based on the Amoy dialect of Hokkien (as are most varieties of Hokkien spoken overseas), but is distinct because of lexical differences due to colonization.
Gwoyeu Romatzyh
AKA: GR, Guoyu Luomazi, 國語羅馬字.
A Romanization system developed for SNM in the 1920s which incorporates tonal spelling (ie tonal differences are reflected orthographically).
AKA: GR, Guoyu Luomazi, 國語羅馬字.
A Romanization system developed for SNM in the 1920s which incorporates tonal spelling (ie tonal differences are reflected orthographically).
Yale Romanization of Mandarin
AKA: Yale
A Romanization system developed in the late 30s for the purpose of teaching SNM to American soldiers.
AKA: Yale
A Romanization system developed in the late 30s for the purpose of teaching SNM to American soldiers.
