Richard Anthony Torres
English 220
Paper #3
I really like this paper the most out of all of those, which I have selected. Primarily, I regard this paper as the first step towards the vision of dialect reality. I wrote this paper in my English 220 course and took it with the utmost seriousness. It was the first time I ever truly analyzed the way people speak in relationship to their geographic location of origin. For this particular piece of composition, I researched with a subtle difference, which pulled me away from the textbook and drove me more toward people for information. I began my investigation over the common phrases, "You know what I mean?" and "You hear what I'm saying?" This investigation led me to conduct a survey using the student body at Ball State University. The information gathered was quite surprising and logical once I analyzed the supposedly honest responses given to me. The following is the final result from this information, which I feel in very enlighting and fun to read.
"You Know What I Mean?"
"Here you are the Top Ten List for the evening. Tonight’s Top Ten, Rejected TV show ideas to replace Seinfeld. If you know what I mean? Ha Ha!" (The Late Show 1998). As a student at Ball State University I come across many different people daily within a term. These individuals come from numerous locations within the state and beyond our identified state boundaries or even regional area of the nation. Considering the vast diversity, the common student will at a majority of the time encounter many different dialects in various conversational situations. These regional standard dialects are all brought together at an institution for higher learning. This leads to issues pertaining to the idea of dialect area and dialect variation involving the factors of Dialectic Region. If these issues exist then would it not be logical that dialect mixing would then be relevant. In this case then the idea of repentance of a certain phrase would then become an incorporation into one’s own dialect after a certain period of exposure. Yet, is this exposure just limited to environment or does the mass technological revolution have a word in otherwise with the television and the music industry.
These questions were the basic motivation for the research I conducted in order to find a better understanding to the issue pertaining to the environment in which I am trying to benefit from higher learning. On the 24th of April in 1998, at Bracken Library I issued a ‘Regional Standard Dialect Questionnaire’. The outcome of the survey was quite interesting and insightful when considering the issue at hand.
The survey consisted of fifty random students entering Bracken Library. These students were split into two basic categories by gender. The two groups answered multiple questions in reference to the notion of, "You hear what I’m saying" and "You know what I mean?". The questions were aimed toward the aspect of usage and knowledge of the sayings themselves. The age range of the participants was between seventeen and twenty-four. Though other age ranges were offered the only area gathered was in the context of traditional undergraduate students.
The males were sufficient in covering all aspects of the survey. The results of the questionnaire are as followed:
8% "You hear what I’m saying?"
36% used both expressions
4% used none of the above
From these results the aspect of regional dialect was examined. The following percentages portray the number of participants, which are from out of state.
7% "You know what I mean?"
50% "You hear what I’m saying?"
22% used both expressions
0% used none of the above
The female results, however, covered only three aspects of the examined area of the survey. The following information was retrieved through the questionnaire.
52% "You know what I mean?"
44% used both expressions
4% used none of the above
Again the aspect of regional dialect was examined. The following percentages were calculated for out of state female students using the questionnaire answers.
23% "You know what I mean?"
27% used both expressions
100% used none of the above
"This data indicates to us that the claim of the existence of the Midland dialect area as a distinct entity is tenuous indeed" (American Speech 67). This quote emphasizes the idea that there is no solid evidence that a Midland dialect exists in the laid out regions of dialect. However, I feel the aspect of region is not the area to be considered when thinking of Midland. The university in its own way is a Midland dialect area. This is because to the diversity concerning dialect and the constant and yet the obvious dialect mixing which occurs on campuses across the nation. The universities house multiple regional standard dialects and with that is a perfect example of what the Midland dialect is defined as according to linguists. "The Midland Dialect is a transitional one between the North and the South. The relatively ‘pure’ or unmixed Northern and Southern dialects overlap into the Midlands" (American Speech 67). If this statement is considered sound then the theory in which university campuses are Midland dialect areas seems inevitably valid in terms. This is due to the multiple dialects, which come to one area bringing forth Northern, and Southern styles which through time proceed into a transitional period where dialects are mixed and incorporated.
Other then just the factor of collaboration one would also agree that the location of the university is quite a primary factor in the aspect of Midland dialect.
When viewing the layout for the regional dialects we can see that the majority of belief feels that there consists mainly of a Northern and Southern dialect. This is further broken down into groups of lower and upper regions of dialect. These areas of dialect are witnessed throughout the campus here in Muncie, Indiana.
This statement therefore brings us to another issue concerning the question of area dialect at Ball State University. According to the survey conducted I feel the answer to the question is still uncertain and could be considered in either direction. Many students use the phrases "You know what I mean?" and "You hear what I’m saying?" in their everyday conversational strategies. It is mainly used in informal situations in terms of directness. This directness is to emphasize a point or to relate information to the listener. The other main focus for usage is to plainly see if the listener understands what has been stated and to await response. This I witnessed after a conversation I was involved in with a male student from Columbus, Indiana.
Rich: "So what happened at the party over on Calvert after I left?"
Eric: "Well you know that one girl named Keri that went out with Mark. You know
what I mean?"
Rich: "Yeah, I remember her, she was pretty hammered at the party."
Eric: "That ain’t the half of it dogg. She got real weird man, kinda goofy, if you
know what I mean."
Rich: "Goofy like how?"
Eric: "You see she got even more ripped by doing some upside down margaritas
and was dancing on the living room table, if you know what I mean."
Rich: "What?!"
Eric: "Yeah and then she fell off the table and puked all over the couch, if you hear
what I’m saying!"
Rich: "Nasty, nasty!"
As we can plainly see in the usage in this conversation the expressions have multiple aspects to them. In a few instances they are used to get a point across to the listener. However, there are a couple of times in which the expressions are used to clarify the two are on the same level with each other. Yet the majority of the usage is for directness of point and to continue the flow of conversation. The idea that the phrases are meant for the other to interrupt seems illogical considering the conversation being analyzed. The interruption of course is allowed do to the basic rules, which govern male speech, but the idea of the phrase being a pause or break can’t be necessarily seen as true or false, considering the nature of the individual and his or her regional standard dialect rules, which neither the less govern their conversational strategy.
After reviewing the surveys in more detail the theory of media influence came to mind. Does the media and music industry have a major role in the act of dialect mixing? The local media such as the regional news coming out of Indianapolis is standard to the dialect area of central Indiana. However, when viewing the mass media of MTV we aren’t exposed to such basic standards. The individuals, which work on the programming, are from multiple areas covering many regions in accordance to dialect. This is even seen further when in relation to the music video phenomenon. The videos which are shown on media productions such as MTV present various artist which offer many insights into cultural, dialectal and points of expression which influence the audiences perceptions and understandings of other people. This led to the question of musical interest and to see if it had some form of influence on the responses given on the questionnaire. The theory, which I hypothesized upon, was that the majority of people who used the expressions would listen to primarily rap/R&B music, considering many artists in this area of musical interest use the expressions. According to the survey and the collected results I discovered the following for the male participants:
88% used both expressions and listened to rap music
77% "You know what I mean?" and listened to rap music
100% "You hear what I’m saying?" and listened to rap music
0% none of the above and didn’t listen to rap music
These results in the male category definitely raise some questions concerning musical influence on speech and dialect style for individuals. The numbers do show a concern in relation to the issue and requires further study.
However, the numbers collected from the female questionnaires doesn’t seem so convincing as the previous information.
23% "You know what I mean?" and listened to rap music
45% used both expressions and listened to rap music
0% none of the above and didn’t listen to rap music
This collection of results again similar to the males has some influence by musical interests. The key area of focus should be placed upon the aspect of those who do not listen to rap music and do not use either one of the expressions. This reveals that the theory of musical influence may not be irrelevant when considering dialect mixing and incorporation.
When talking to most people on campus I find that many students feel they are different from each other by the way they speak and the usage of language.
"To give one admittedly anecdotal example, this very phenomenon occurs
regularly at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. When students from the northern
tier of Indiana counties, especially those abutting the Chicago area, encounter their east-
central and southern Indiana peers, they mark the latter as ‘southern’, despite the latter’s
numerical superiority. And these ‘southern’ students report their dismay at being labeled
‘southern’ by their upstate peers" (Davis 371-372).
When hearing this statement one must challenge the issue in relation to its validity. If we all speak so differently then why are we similar in our dialect usage considering we come from multiple regional standard dialects? We may not be as different as we think now that the influences of the media and the aspect of dialect mixing come into play at the university level. This issue needs further study but seems obviously relevant in accordance to the idea of Midland Dialect. However, the issue of Midland Dialect should be re-examined at the level of universities. This is a place of higher learning and understanding, yet we as students are learning from each other without even knowing or noticing it the incorporation process around us into our daily lives and conversational habits.
Works Cited
Davis, Lawrence M. and Houck, Charles L. "What determines a dialect area? Evidence from the
linguistic atlas of the upper Midwest." American Speech 70.4 (1995): 371-376.
"Is there a Midland dialect area? -Again." American Speech 67.1 (1992): 61-71.
The Late Show with David Letterman. CBS, New York. 27 April 1998.
Questionaire
1) What is the location of your birth and adolescence? (State and County)
2) Your age would range in the following category:
17-24 25-33 34-42 43-55 56-65 and above
3) Your sex? M F
4) "Have you ever used the expression: "You know what I mean?" or "You hear what I’m saying?"
If so, which one?
5) In what type of situation would you use one of these verbal expressions?
6) Have you ever heard anyone use one of these expressions? If so, which one and in what
situation was the expression used?
7) What are your musical interests: (Choose all that apply)
Hard Rock Classical Rap/R&B Metal/Industrial Electronica/Techno
Classic Rock Pop Blues/Jazz S.K.A Alternative
(Thank you for your Time and Cooperation.)