Interwoven
Jenna Trupp
ABSTRACT
Interwoven is a two-part art work that challenges perspectives about languages,accents, and dialects.One part is a painted representation of different languages that depicts different featuresthey possess, and the other is a series of sketches of and statements from individualsregarding their linguistic identity.As a whole, Interwovenshows people that they, and that all people, are art. It demonstrates that our linguistic identity, one that we often consider only on a subconscious level, is an attribute of that art, and should be accepted in all different forms.It examineshow we perceive ourselves and others based on manner of speaking, as well asformation of our languages.
INTRODUCTION
Both consciously and subconsciously, we continuallyjudge people. We have an innate desire to find patterns andto categorize, so when we interact with or even observe someone new, we oftendraw conclusions about them from their clothing, their facial features, posture, what we first hear them say, and often more importantly, how they speak.Whether we realize it or not, we take into account people’s accents and dialects, and make judgments accordingly.
My Capstone Project is a two-part art project. The first part is more of a visualization, one that represents different languages spoken artistically based on features such as sounds used and rhythmic patterns.The second part is a series of sketchesof different people that I interviewwho have different accents or dialects, paired with testimony about how they feel about the way they speak and what it means to them.
Interwovenaims to increase appreciation of diversity in where we come from and how we speak. The way we speak is so intimately tied to who we are and where we come from. It really is an integral part of our identity. I also hope, with it, to make people realize how senselessdiscriminatory snap judgments are, and to recognize that they occur. Hopefully, I can change some mindsets with this project.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
My Capstone is an attempt to increase appreciation of linguistic diversity with art.Between the two parts, I will explore and represent the forms of different languages, and look at sociolinguistics with respect to accent and dialect.
For the first part of the project, the visualization, I plan to use a physical art medium, probably paint on canvas, to create a work that represents, and characteristically compares and contrasts,different languages.The work will be inspired bydifferent components and features of a selected few languages. Itwill likely draw from phonology tone, phoneme inventory, and rhythm type; from morphology, the use of productive reduplication; and from both, formation based on lexical category.
For the second part, I will interview different people on campus who consent to having their testimony shared and likeness recreated for the project.The sample will be linguistically diverse, with different dialects and accents being represented. I will ask the interviewees about how they think the way they speakconnects to their identity, how they have been perceived because of it, and if they have felt the need to modify it, and when, if so. After my data is collected, I will select the three most compelling stories to share, and sketch them to go with the typed and printed stories.
Together, the project will be an installation with one of two setups. In one, using a wall, part one is displayed centered above the three works of part two. In the other, using a table, part one will be on the table, while the three of part two are hanging off the front.
HISTORY
Linguistics, the study of languages scientifically as formal structures, has been studied for almost 3000 years (“Studying Linguistics”). It is nothing new, althoughit has been expanding as we delve into the technological realm of computational linguistics. A lot of work needs to be done to facilitate the human-computer interaction that is increasingly permeating every aspect of our society.
There are various existing data visualizations for features and uses of different languages, from vowel sounds(“Linguistic Data Analysis), to structure of color names (Lee), or tolinks on the Internet (Mühleisen). I want to draw inspiration and knowledge from these, but ultimately create something a little more abstract.
A large part of our culture is shifting to addressand break down prejudice and intolerance, and sociolinguistics, “the study of the relationship between [language varieties] and social structures” (Mihalic̆ek, 409) comes heavily into play there.For reference, accents are “systematic phonological variations” when speaking a language (Mihalic̆ek, 409). Dialects are “varieties of [spoken language by a group,] characterized by systematic [structural or lexical] differences from other varieties of the same language” (Mihalic̆ek, 409).
Until a couple of decades ago, in American education,having a non-English native languagewas predominantly perceived as “an indicator of poverty and questionable academic potential” (Pearson et al. 98), and an accent demonstrated that. While we shifted to change that perception, it failed to entirely diminish, and is one that extends to dialects of English as well. It is a common misconception that there is a “correct” standard dialect, used widely by members of high socioeconomic classes and people in power, and that anything else is inferior (Mihalic̆ek, 412-413).That means that in the U.S., a country with “176 languages spoken” (Mihalic̆ek, 502) and a wide plethora of geographic and social dialects, there is still partiality to a small handful of ways to speak, and individuals feel pressured to change to match those in order to gain respect. However, there is nothing more or less complex, logical, or correct about any one dialect over another, according to linguistics (Mihalic̆ek, 412-413).
These ideas are ones that I have considered before, but that really persisted in my mind after a discussion held in my Introduction to Linguistics course, and that transformed into inspiration for my overall Capstone idea. The discussion was heldafter, and about, watching a video created by graduate students at UMBC called “Voices of UMBC: Students discuss linguistic diversity on campus,” in which students and faculty of the University discuss their linguistic identities and how they feel that connects to their overall identity and place on campus.
Opposing the old educational notions about linguistic diversity, professors at UMBC believe in “diversity as a means for better educating” (UMBCTube). As one individual put it, it gives you “access to whole other ways of knowing and other perspectives…that you wouldn’t have access to if you only hung around” people of one language (UMBCTube). These ideas foster a positive outlook on ways of speaking different from one’s own, and that is something I hope to do with my project as well.
SIGNIFICANCE AND DISTINCTION
DCC challenges its students to think divergently, withas many perspectives as possible.It challenges us to reconsider things we think we know and think of new ways to examine and represent them.
When it comes to depicting languages, there are plenty of technical or geographical visualizations, and there is art using language. But, I have failed to findanything that emphasizes language as the art itself and that takes a more abstract approach to visualization, like I am striving for.
An idea I have really grasped onto throughout my time in DCC is the profound and often subconscious effect language has on us.As explored especially in my 106 class, Gender, Race, and Labor, but also in 208: Art and Environmental Practices, language has the capacity to drasticallyinfluence interpretation and overallideology with respect to the subject at hand. What I have newly shifted a focus onto is the fact that when it comes to spoken language, the voice of the speaker introduces another dimension to that phenomenon. When we hear an English accent and mentally label the speaker sophisticated, or certainSouthern American dialects or varieties of African American English and are automatically inclined to judge the speakers as uneducated or disrespectful,we impose onto themarbitraryidentity markers.These attributescan reinforce racism and classism, topics focused on in 106, and impedeour willingness to accept people different from us while abetting dehumanization.
Well, every single person speaks a language with an accent and in a dialect. As one student described in the UMBC Linguistic Diversity video, accents or dialects are “the signature of each person,” an integral part of our identity.
And how we feel about specific different ones is rooted in social and geographical structures, and our own positions within them.The matter of linguistic tolerance is so innately connected to tolerance as a whole. It is connected to our social ecology, as I have learned about in 208, which relates to our interaction with the natural world. How are we supposed to appreciate and respect biodiversity if we cannot accept our own as a species? My project turns human language, and the intersections of different ones into art, as well as people and their stories.
EXPERTISE AND SKILLS
I have a good basis of understanding of the linguistic concepts being utilized in my Capstone, but I will need to do further academic reading and research about the concepts’ applications in the specific languages I choose to work with. I have worked with sketching, but less so with paint and Part 1’s style of art, so I anticipate that taking creative risks and multiple trials. If I choose to incorporate any strict data visualizations that I make myself, I may have to familiarize myself with the D3 JavaScript library, building upon my small amount of JS experience.
APPROACH (aka “methods”)
For further research about the linguistic concepts’ applications for Part 1, I will need to read books, academic papers, and use online databases, mappings, and other tools.The rest of the research will consist of accumulating testimony from individuals in various interviews.
WORK PLAN AND TIMELINE
Objective & Steps to Accomplish / Time PeriodFurther Research & Materials Acquisition
Purchase any books and continue reading/researching. Go to Michaels or another art supply store to purchase materials over Break while I still have a car. Take notes about the linguistic concepts and their applications in English and other languages. Further considerthe setup of the installation. / Winter Break – Feb.8
Interview (Part 2)
Visit different departments and offices on campus and contact friends and acquaintances to set up and conduct interviews. Record audio in interviews and take photos of interviewees. / Feb. 1 – March 1
Draft Artistic Visualization (Part 1)
Select languages to use. Experiment with different ideas on small scale to determine favorite stylistic approach. Choose approach. / Feb. 8 - Feb.28
Select Testimony (Part 2)
Sort through interview material and select the three individuals to use for the project. Select specific parts of the interview to use as the printed testimony to pair with the sketches. / March 1 – March 8
Sketch (Part 2)
Work on sketching the individuals, each on their own poster board. / March 8 – April 12
Spring Break – Review Progress and Brainstorm
Take photos of progress on phone to bring on Spring Break with my A Cappella group, along with a small sketchpad. Get feedback. Continue thinking about progress, write down idea notes or sketch small ideas if/as they come. Once home,have/prepare final small-scale draft of Part 1. / March 19 – March 26
Create Representative Visualization (Part 1)
Paint the artistic visualization of my chosen languages. / March 29 – April 26
Edit Sketches (Part 2)
Review the sketches, add any additional shading and correct any blaring mistakes. / April 12 – April 19
Finalize
Look over and add or tweak any last touches. Share with friends in and outside of DCC to get feedback and discern if any small changes should be made. Update blog, prepare installation setup. / April 26 – Capstone Fair
AUDIENCE
This project is designed foreveryone. It is for people of all ages, races, genders,andethnic and linguistic identities.Language is something we utilize every day, and we exist at a University and in a country full of people from different experiences and backgrounds.The whole point is to celebratethese differences, to celebrate diversity, so the greater and more varied theaudience, the better.
BUDGET
Due to the nature of the project, the only costs will be for the full versions of books I have read sections of or would want to read for Part 1, and art supplies.
I would estimate:
Books: $12.99-$18.99
16x20 Canvas (1): $13.99
White 11x14 Poster Board (3): $5.97
Paint/Gouache (4-8):$23.96-$59.95
OUTCOMES
Language is something I have been passionate about ever since I started learningSpanish in middle school. Since high school, I have known I love studying foreign languages, and more recently that I also love linguistics, and that I want tosomehow integrate it into my career path.My new major is Hearing & Speech Sciences, and I was drawn to it by my love of people and desire to better their lives, as well as the heavilylinguistic base to the discipline.I am also an advocate for universal respectand equality of human beings, so the subfield of sociolinguistics has especially resonated with me.This project allows me to connect the social issues I explored in HDCC106to another topic I am passionate about.It allows me to make art from and addressing linguistic and culturaldiversity. I am demonstrating how these different languages and identities are interwoven and separate, but all beautiful and all coming from the same place.And I am doing so in a waythat I have yet to find elsewhere.
Later on in my linguistic studies, I would enjoy adding to the complexity of my project by adding additional language components and features, and additional languages, to the visualization.I also would find a campus-wide celebration of linguistic diversityto be a beautiful, necessary plus, and would eventuallylove to produce something akin to the UMBC video on linguistic diversity for our own campus and surrounding area.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Smith, Jennifer L. "Lexical category and phonological contrast." Papers in experimental and theoretical linguistics 6: Workshop on the Lexicon in Phonetics and Phonology. 2001.
Lippi-Green, Rosina. English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States. London: Routledge, 1997. Print.
Mihalic̆ek, Vedrana., and Christin. Wilson. Language Files: Materials for an Introduction to Language and Linguistics. 11th ed. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2011. Print.
Pearson, P. David., Rebecca Barr, and Michael L. Kamil. "Linguistic Diversity and Reading in American Society." Handbook of Reading Research. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Routledge, 2015. N. pag. Print.
Wolfram, Walt, and Ben Ward. "When Linguistic Worlds Collide (African American English)." American Voices: How Dialects Differ from Coast to Coast. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2006. N. pag. Print.
Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) 2013.
The World Atlas of Language Structures Online.
Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
UMBCTube. “Voices of UMBC: Students discuss linguistic diversity on campus.” Online video clip. YouTube. Youtube, 8 February 2016. Web. 15 November 2016.
Moran, Steven & McCloy, Daniel & Wright, Richard (eds.) 2014.
PHOIBLE Online.
Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
(Available online at Accessed on 2016-11-18.)
"Studying Language." Linguistic Society of America | Advancing the Scientific Study of Language. Linguistic Society of America, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.
"Linguistic Data Analysis." Data Analysis and Visualization. Data Analysis and Visualization Group, 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.
Lee, Muyueh. "Green Honey." Green Honey. N.p., 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.
Mühleisen, Hannes. "Babel 2012 Web Based Connections." GitHub, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.
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