Interview with Sali Tagliamonte

Summary

Dr. Sally Tagliamonte, a leading sociolinguist and professor at the University of Toronto, discusses her groundbreaking research on language change, particularly focusing on adolescent speech. She explains how teenagers are at the forefront of linguistic evolution, challenging common misconceptions about 'bad' language. Dr. Tagliamonte also explores the role of online communication in language change, comparing it to spoken language, and emphasizes the importance of understanding linguistic variations across different social groups. Through her work, she highlights how language adapts, with young women playing a key role in driving these changes.

Takeaways

• 😀 Dr. Sally Tagliamonte is a full professor at the University of Toronto, specializing in sociolinguistics and language variation.
• 😀 Her research focuses on how language changes over time, with particular attention to adolescent language as a key driver of linguistic change.
• 😀 Teenagers are often at the forefront of language change, yet their language is frequently misunderstood and unfairly criticized by society.
• 😀 Dr. Tagliamonte's book, 'Teen Talk: The Language of Adolescents,' advocates for a positive view of adolescent language as an important part of linguistic evolution.
• 😀 Adjective use is a key area where generational differences in language can be seen, with teens favoring terms like 'weird' over older terms like 'uncanny'.
• 😀 Online language is also an area of interest, with Dr. Tagliamonte's research comparing spoken language with typed language to understand linguistic shifts in digital communication.
• 😀 Gender differences are noticeable in online language use, with women often leading linguistic change even in internet communication.
• 😀 Dr. Tagliamonte's Toronto English project analyzes language evolution in Toronto over several generations, showing how linguistic features change over time.
• 😀 There is ongoing research questioning the idea that language remains stable across an individual's lifetime, with evidence suggesting changes can still occur in adulthood.
• 😀 Social media is an important platform for linguists to study new forms of language, as young people creatively navigate different communication registers online.

Q & A

Why did Dr. Tagliamonte choose to focus on adolescent language for her book, *Teen Talk*?

Dr. Tagliamonte was motivated by two main factors: first, having teenagers in her own home made it personally relevant, and second, teenagers are key drivers of language change. She wanted to challenge the negative perceptions of adolescent language and demonstrate that teenagers are often at the forefront of linguistic innovation.

What does Dr. Tagliamonte mean when she says teenagers are the 'movers and shakers' of language change?

Dr. Tagliamonte suggests that teenagers are critical to the evolution of language because they introduce new linguistic features and slang that often become mainstream over time. These features typically start with younger populations before spreading to older generations.

How does Dr. Tagliamonte address the common criticism of adolescent language, such as their use of slang and informal words?

Dr. Tagliamonte challenges the view that adolescent language is 'bad' or 'incorrect'. She argues that many of the words and phrases criticized in teenage speech, like 'stuff' and 'like', are part of a natural language evolution and can eventually become standard in the language.

What role does comparison play in Dr. Tagliamonte’s sociolinguistic research?

Dr. Tagliamonte emphasizes the importance of comparing different sectors of the population when studying language. To understand how language functions across a community, it's essential to look at a variety of groups (e.g., teenagers, adults, women, men) in relation to each other, rather than focusing on one group in isolation.

What interesting findings did Dr. Tagliamonte's study on online vs. spoken language reveal?

The study found that women, who are known to lead linguistic change, also displayed a greater degree of innovation in online language. Although typing tends to be more formal than spoken language, the increased use of innovative forms by women online suggests that digital communication could be pushing language forward more quickly than spoken language.

What is the Toronto English project, and how does it contribute to Dr. Tagliamonte's research on language change?

The Toronto English project studies language variation across different generations in Toronto. By tracking language use from children to octogenarians, Dr. Tagliamonte is able to observe long-term language shifts in the city. One interesting case study involved following a woman’s language over 14 years, showing how individual language use can change over time.

Does an individual's language remain stable over the course of their life, according to Dr. Tagliamonte’s research?

While it was previously believed that language stabilizes after adolescence, Dr. Tagliamonte’s research suggests that language can still evolve into early adulthood. Her study of one individual’s language over 14 years demonstrated how certain linguistic features, like the use of 'be like', can change or stabilize over time.

How does Dr. Tagliamonte predict language will evolve in the future?

Dr. Tagliamonte believes that language will continue to change as it always has, with younger generations leading the way. She points out that linguistic features that are seen as 'innovative' or 'incorrect' today may become standard in the future, just as older forms of language have evolved over time.

What is Dr. Tagliamonte’s perspective on language change in the context of social media?

Dr. Tagliamonte sees social media as a valuable space for studying language innovation. Young people are creatively using digital platforms like Twitter and Snapchat to experiment with language. She believes these forms of communication are rich with linguistic change and should be studied for their potential to shape the future of language.

How does Dr. Tagliamonte use social media to disseminate her own research?

Dr. Tagliamonte actively uses social media to share her research with a broader audience. She recognizes that while young people may not be reading traditional academic articles, they are engaging with social media, making it a powerful tool for spreading knowledge and raising awareness about linguistic change.