Monday, December 16, 2013

Blog 25: First Draft

 RESEARCH QUESTION REPHRASED:
What are the discursive features that influence how multilingual family members negotiate language?


Introduction:

Within academia, there is much talk about multiligualism with domestic contexts.

More and more, students are encouraged to learn more than one language. As a result, multilingual homes will become more of a norm. Around the world, there are families who speak multiple languages. Educators need to be aware of this fact in order to effectively communicate to their students. Discourse analysis not only involves speaking two forms of the same language but also two completely different languages. There are several cases where a student may have knowledge of a language when heard but is unable to respond or vice versa. Or can understand the language on paper. Aside of the various forms fluency and proficiency can take, my paper focuses on the features for language negotiation within multilingual families. Many studies have focused on multilingual businesses but not multilingual homes. I will add to the discussion by publishing my research. Add to the already ongoing discussion.
There is writing out there from multilingual authors that incorporate all of the languages they know to whatever level of proficiency they know it. Understanding the features of language negotiation may aide in understanding why the author chose to do that. Or better yet, should a writer consider to do so in an effective, true to life manner, understanding these features may aide in that realistic quality.
This is a case study. I used focused a recording in which the participants were relaxed in their own home. Therefore, there was no worry about an interviewer interfering with the data. This is why the transcript has raw data in which the participants were aware that they were being recorded but certainly were not being interviewed. Given the difference in context, previous features defined may not be appropriate.
Through this research, it was found that the categories given my researchers studying features for language negotiation in a business context did not satisfactorily encompass the all of the language features in the multilingual home context. This is because the data collected was based on interviews, the people within the business are all highly proficiency in the languages they speak, and the context allows for a specific discourse to be the norm, hence new categories were made. The topics of a business setting are much more structured than those of a domestic setting. Domestic settings allow for a less rigid use of language, due to the context and intimacy of those present in conversations.
Literature Review:
The article used for this study was "Multilingual Organizations as 'linguascapes': Negotiating the position of English through discursive practices" by Chris Steyaert, Anja Ostendorp, Claudine Gaibrois. The purpose of this study was to utilize discursive analysis to identify six different features that dictate language negotiation in a two multilingual organizations. The researchers also wanted to further understand why English was chosen as the dominant language in those organizations and how that choice effected language negotiation.

The six categories were as follows:
1. Adaptation to the viable language of a certain location
·                     the local, national or even global space indicates which language should be spoken
2. Adaptation to the language of the other
·                     what informs one's language use is not the language, which is provided as almost a baseline by one's living or working location, but the more temporary notion of aligning oneself with the language spoken by the person one is interacting with
3. Collective negotiation of a common language
·                     depending on the even and person's involved, there is an active moment of negotiating about the question of which common language to use
4. Languages can be used simultaneously
·                     everyone replies in his or her language; a situation occurs where several languages are mixed.
5. Finding a compromise through a third language
·                     adopt a new language other than the mother tongue of both interlocutors involved in the communication.
6. Improvisation 
·                     cannot possibly find a common language and they will need to improvise and actively mix several languages.

The article mentioned above assumes that the speakers want to communicate to one another directly, that language is being use to facilitate the exchange of ideas so that all participants in a conversation can understand those ideas. However, sometimes language is used to marginalize or isolate certain participants, whether it is the speaker or others. This limitation will be addressed through my research. Also, the speaker can have their own agenda, such as to make a joke in a particular language. Finally, this article assumes that all the participants who speaking a certain language are fluent in the language. However, in the context of the family used for this research project, there are varying degrees of fluency/proficiency. To conclude, although these features can apply to the multilingual domestic contexts, it fails to account for many of the characteristics, and hence possibilities, that can influence language negotiation.
Methods:
This research is a case study of a Portuguese-American family living in New Jersey. The five participants were chosen because they are all multilingual (to varying degrees), actively use multiple languages when speaking to one another, and live with one another, which facilitates intimate familiarity with one another’s linguistic abilities. Upon being given consent, a video recording of a recent family gathering was used as data collection. The transcription for this recording is mostly in English and Portuguese with the Portuguese sections translated into English for the purposes of this paper. In order to maintain confidentiality, each participant was given a pseudo name that does not resemble their actual name.  
CONTEXT
GIGAS' birthday party. Celebrated in their own home in the evening. Every member of this family is aware of the other's linguistic knowledge.
•           RELATIONSHIPS
•           ZE is the mother in the family [50s]
•           SECA is the father [60s]
•           CLEO is the older sister, not SECA’s daughter, ZE’s daughter [20s]
•           GIGAS is the middle child, brother, ZE’s and SECA’s son [teens]
•           AL is the little sister, ZE’s and SECA’s daughter. [teens]
•           LANGUAGES [in order according to proficiency languages]
•           CLEO – High Proficiency in English and Portuguese, Proficient in Spanish and French, low proficiency in Japanese
•           ZE – High Proficiency in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, medium proficiency in French
•           AL – High Proficiency in English and Portuguese, medium proficiency in Spanish
•           GIGAS – High Proficiency in English, medium proficiency in Portuguese and Spanish
•           SECA – High Proficiency in Portuguese, medium proficiency in Spanish, low proficiency in English
My definition for Proficiency:
High proficiency - able to communicate clearly and functionally in any setting. Fully understands language when being spoken to.
Medium proficiency - able to communicate clearly and functionally in some settings. Mostly understands language when being  spoken to.
Low proficiency - able to communicate in very few settings or simply knows a few words or phrases. Has a lot of trouble understanding the language when being spoken to.
Data Analysis:
New Categories for Analysis:
POWER: Manipulation vs. consideration [about audience and purpose]
Exclude certain listeners:
[Add example]

Branch off/standout/ diverge
The English version of the birthday song has been sung. SECA is repeatedly encouraging everyone to sing in English now. However, only seconds after the switch is made, he decided to sing in Portuguese again!
SECA: Em Ingles. Ahora em Ingles. [In English. Now in English.]
ZE: Hahaha! Happy Birthday
SECA: Em Ingles. [In English.]
ZE, SECA: To you.
ZE: In tune.
ZE, SECA: Happy Birthday to you.
ZE: Canta, CLEO! [Sing, CLEO!]
SECA: Neste dia de festa. [On this day of festivity]
ZE, AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Para o menino GIGAS-inhos [To our little boy GIGA-inhos]
ZE: Hahaha!
AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Uma salva de palmas [A round of applause.]
ZE: How old are you now?
Also, the speaker can have their own agenda, such as to make a joke in a particular language. therefore I will also add:
SOUND: phonological
At this point, the family is still singing the birthday song in Portuguese. 
ZE: Muitos anos de vida. [Many years of life.]
SECA: Muitos anos de desgrenha. [Many years of chaos.]
SECA decides to make a pun with the words de vida [of life] by instead saying de degrenha [of chaos]. As can be seen through the translation, such a pun would never work in English because life and chaos are very different in sounds. Furthermore, desgrenha is a slang term meaning chaos, thus heightening the need to use Portuguese for this joke rather than English.
SECA: Para o rato chato [To the annoying rat]
Here, SECA is rhyming to make a joke about GIGAS. The rhyming doesn't work in English.

INTIMACY: formal/informal
ZE: Para nosso GIGAS-inhos [variation of GIGAS; term of endearment] [To our GIGA-inhos]
Here, ZE is using the ending -inhos in order to show endearment to GIGAS. -inhos and -inhas are added to the end of people's names in order to make it cute, like saying little before someone's name [e.g. little Mary; little Tara]. These endings are also added to the end of other nouns to make them seem smaller [e.g. I have a little time to talk. 
Eu tenho um tempinho para falar.] This is very informal.



PROFICIENCY: Status, fluency, comprehension
Whenever any of the other speakers talk to SECA, they speak in Portuguese. Whenever the speakers speak to GIGAS, they tend to speak in English.
SECA: Happy beert- [suppose to be birth]
Language Proficiency of the listener
SECA and GIGAS are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but GIGAS has more English than SECA has Portuguese.
SECA: [singing] Esta quietinho, o levas no focinho. Sabes o que e focinho? [Stay still, or you'll get hit in the snout. You know what snout is?]
Here, SECA prefers Portuguese, but because he is aware that GIGAS is not as fluent in the language, he asks GIGAS if he know what focinho [snout] is in Portuguese.
GIGAS: Alright, mom this part is for you

AL: As long as you don’t blow the cake anymore.

ZE: [giggles]
CLEO: Ainda ‘tas a cantar? [Are ya still singing?]
The conversation was in English. CLEO changes it to Portuguese. CLEO is addressing SECA so she used Portuguese to address him.
ZE is more comfortable with Portuguese than English. For most of the transcript, she is speaking in Portuguese.

AL prefers English so she speaks English for most of the transcript.
CLEO jumps between both according to need.

CONTEXT: who is there, occasion [overall nature of the event]
The context was a birthday party. Very informal. This means that the environment is lighthearted and laid back. Furthermore, in this case, the parents, who are the heads of the family, both speak Portuguese more fluently than English. Therefore, the lingua franca of this household is Portuguese. Nonetheless, in being in the United States and having high-proficiency English-speaking children, English is the other main language of the household. Therefore, when the birthday song is sung, both languages are used.

GIGAS, ZE: Parabens [Happy Birthday]
AL: Happy bir-
[01:30] GIGAS, ZE: A você. Esta data querida. [To you. On this special date.]
SECA: Pom pom pom pom.
[gibberish][musical]
[giggles]
GIGAS, ZE, SECA, AL: Muitas Felicidades. [Much happiness.]
ZE: Muitos anos de vida. [Many years of life.]
SECA: Muitos anos de desgrenha. [Many years of chaos.]
GIGAS: You forgot your flat
ZE: Hoje a dia [Today is the day]
SECA: Agora em inglês [Now in English]
ZE: De festa. [Of festivities]
SECA: Happy beert- [suppose to be birth]
ZE, SECA: Cantao as nossas almas. [Our souls are singing]
SECA: Para o rato chato [To the annoying rat]
ZE: Para nosso GIGAS-inhos [variation of GIGAS; term of endearment] [To our GIGA-inhos]
[02:00] ZE, SECA: Uma salva de palmas
ZE: Hahaha!
SECA: Em Ingles. Ahora em Ingles. [In English. Now in English.]
ZE: Hahaha! Happy Birthday
SECA: Em Ingles. [In English.]
ZE, SECA: To you.
ZE: In tune.
ZE, SECA: Happy Birthday to you.
ZE: Canta, CLEO![Sing, CLEO!]
SECA: Neste dia de festa [On this day of festivity]
ZE, AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Para o menino GIGAS-inhos [To our little boy GIGA-inhos]
ZE: Hahaha!
AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Uma salva de palmas [A round of applause.]
ZE: How old are you now?
[02:30] GIGAS: E isse. [That’s it.] Ha ha.
ZE, AL: How old are you now?
SECA: Na na naaaa na na na naaa!
ZE, AL: How old are you now? How old are you now?
ZE: How old are you now?

Furthermore, through the event, the main languages used will be Portuguese and English because of the context created in this multilingual home. Furthermore, since all members had at least some knowledge of both languages, and the participants were aware of the proficiency of each of the other participants, they were comfortable to speak whatever language they chose. Sometimes, because of the context, certain members even quickly switch between or mix the languages together:

ZE: Apaga a luz GIGAS. Não. [Turn off the light. No.] It’s your birthday. You don’t do anything.  
ZE: Já tiraste a picture do cake? [Did you take a picture of the cake?]
·                     English and Portuguese are being fused together. Only happens when speaking to either CLEO, GIGAS, or AL.
The multilingual informal domestic context allows for this meshing to occur.

Conclusion/Limitations:

To conclude, further research needs to investigate the domestic context with regards to multilingual family members negotiating language within those contexts. This research did not investigate the factors that affect language proficiency, such as attitudes towards certain languages, willingness to learn another language, reasons behind language proficiency, years together as a family, etc. in other words, not enough information was provided about the contextual factors surrounding this family, which is why the data was analyzed using an ontological approach to discourse analysis. Also, to better support the claim that birthday-party context was responsible for the language moves made by the participants, data would need to be collected in another context so that a proper comparison can be made. Nonetheless, insofar as comparing a domestic context to a business context, this data successfully distinguishes the features that were not extrapolated from previous studies. With the categories from previous research and the new research presented here as a foundation, future research can apply this data to better understand the domestic and multilingual contexts

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Blog 24: Work in Progress

1. State your research question:

What are the features of the discursive rules for language negotiation between members of a family in which there are at least two languages being spoken [Portuguese and English primarily]?

2. Give a brief summary of the research that your project responds to/comments on/is based on

+No research has really focused on this context [family]
+language negotiation is key to writing studies across the board. [education and other social contexts] Also, there is writing that incorporates two languages. How effective is that? Why did the author use more than one language? 
+based on anthropological studies on language usage. The study I used focused used loosely structured interviews. I have raw data in which the participants were aware that they were being recorded but certainly were not being interviewed. Given the difference in context, previous features defined may not be appropriate
+ Because the domestic context is different from a business context, there are new features that arise. However, the features from the business context can still apply.

3. Direct classmates to the section of your work you want feedback on

FOCUS ON CATEGORIES FOR ANALYSIS, BOTH THE ONES FROM THE ARTICLE AND THE ONES I MADE.

4. Give your classmates some indication of what you want help with (e.g. you might ask for help relating the categories you have marked in your transcript to your research question, or for help with the organization /development of a posted draft, and so on).

I've written out quite a bit of information below. What I would like to get feedback on is: should I use the categories of analysis from the article and the new categories I would add OR just talk about the categories from the article and focus more on the new categories I have made?



CONTEXT
GIGAS' birthday party. Celebrated in their own home in the evening. Every member of this family is aware of the other's linguistic knowledge.
  • RELATIONSHIPS
    • ZE is the mother in the family [50s]
    • SECA is the father [60s]
    • CLEO is the older sister, not SECA’s daughter, ZE’s daughter [20s]
    • GIGAS is the middle child, brother, ZE’s and SECA’s son [teens]
    • AL is the little sister, ZE’s and SECA’s daughter. [teens]
  • LANGUAGES [in order according to proficiency languages]
    • CLEO – High Proficiency in English and Portuguese, Proficient in Spanish and French, low proficiency in Japanese
    • ZE – High Proficiency in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, medium proficiency in French
    • AL – High Proficiency in English and Portuguese, medium proficiency in Spanish
    • GIGAS – High Proficiency in English, medium proficiency in Portuguese and Spanish
    • SECA – High Proficiency in Portuguese, medium proficiency in Spanish, low proficiency in English
My definition for Proficiency:
High proficiency - able to communicate clearly and functionally in any setting. Fully understands language when being spoken to.
Medium proficiency - able to communicate clearly and functionally in some settings. Mostly understands language when being  spoken to.
Low proficiency - able to communicate in very few settings or simply knows a few words or phrases. Has a lot of trouble understanding the language when being spoken to.


Categories of Analysis:

From the article titled "Multilingual Organizations as 'linguascapes': Negotiating the position of English through discursive practices":

"Through discourse analysis, we identify six different ways of accounting for language use. Furthermore, we map the various tensions between these accounts through which we can understand how the rise of English afters the discursive negotiation in two different organizational contexts."


1. Adaptation to the viable language of a certain location

  • the local, national or even global space indicates which language should be spoken
ZE: Qual e a parte que tu queres GIGAS? [What's the part you want GIGAS?]
GIGAS: All of it.
AL: [laughs]
ZE: All of it!
SECA: [?].. Sorry!
  • In this case, it is not about the location in terms of the country but rather the fact that this is a Portuguese home. The parents, who are the heads of the family, both speak Portuguese more fluently than English. Therefore, the lingua franca of this household is Portuguese.
2. Adaptation to the language of the other
  • what informs one's language use is not the language, which is provided as almost a baseline by one's living or working location, but the more temporary notion of aligning oneself with the language spoken by the person one is interacting with
CLEO: Yo we’re fucking crazy. You hear this man singing.
[03:30] SECA: Aii, regresso a vida! [claps] [Return to life!]
[laughter, clapping, cheering]
CLEO: Esto e uma casa de locos.[This is a house for crazy people.]
GIGAS: I don’t think anybody else wants …[?]
CLEO: Ele a assoprar a vela a cuspir tudo em cima. Estas duas a rir e este a cantar parece que e um funeral. [He's blowing the candle and spitting everything all over, these two, laughing, and this one, singing, it's like it's a funeral.]

3. Collective negotiation of a common language
  • depending on the even and person's involved, there is an active moment of negotiating about the question of which common language to use
CLEO: Yo we’re fucking crazy. You hear this man singing.
[03:30] SECA: Aii, regresso a vida! [claps] [Return to life!]
[laughter, clapping, cheering]
CLEO: Esto e uma casa de locos. [This is a house for crazy people.]
GIGAS: I don’t think anybody else wants …[?]
CLEO: Ele a assoprar a vela a cuspir tudo em cima. Estas duas a rir e este a cantar parece que e um funeral. [He's blowing the candle and spitting everything all over, these two, laughing, and this one, singing, it's lik
e it's a funeral.]


[04:30] ZE: Okay. Eu vou te dar o prato mais bonito. [I'm going to give the most beautiful plate]
SECA: Ouviste o que e que eu disse? [Did you hear what I said?]
GIGAS: I want two flores [flowers]. Nah. I want that part and that part and yeah.
ZE: Ahhh to hard. Eu vou por “CAR”. [I'm going to put CAR.]
AL: So you can get a car in the future.
ZE: Car.

4. Languages can be used simultaneously
  • everyone replies in his or her language; a situation occurs where several languages are mixed.
AL: Say hi to the camera, mommy.
ZE: Eh?
AL: Say hi.
ZE: Hi.
AL: [giggles]
GIGAS: Siiiirrrr!

ZE: Não sabia que estavas a toucar. [I didn't know you were playing]
AL: See CLEO. I told you it would be more epic.ZE: Estas a filmar? [Are you recording?]
SECA: Vai. Vamos la. Mãe. Podemos organizar o não? [Let's go. Come on. Mother. Can we organize or not?]
AL: Yeah.
  • First they sang the birthday song in Portuguese, then in English. Both main languages are present and respected.
ZE: Qual e a parte que tu queres GIGAS? [What's the part you want GIGAS?]
GIGAS: All of it.
  • GIGAS responds in an language different from ZE.
5. Finding a compromise through a third language
  • adopt a new language other than the mother tongue of both interlocutors involved in the communication.
  • [add example]
6. Improvisation 
  • cannot possibly find a common language and they will need to improvise and actively mix several languages.
ZE: Apaga a luz GIGAS. Não. [Turn off the light. No.] It’s your birthday. You don’t do anything.  
ZE: Já tiraste a picture do cake? [Did you take a picture of the cake?]
  • English and Portuguese are being fused together. Only happens when speaking to either CLEO, GIGAS, or AL.


The article mentioned above assumes that the speakers want to communicate to one another directly, that language is being use to facilitate the exchange of ideas so that all participants in a conversation can understand those ideas. However, sometimes language is used to marginalize or isolate certain participants, whether it be the speaker or others. Therefore, I will add to these categories by suggesting the following:

Exclude certain listeners:

[Add example]

Branch off/standout/ diverge
The English version of the birthday song has been sung. SECA is repeatedly encouraging everyone to sing in English now. However, only seconds after the switch is made, he decided to sing in Portuguese again!


SECA: Em Ingles. Ahora em Ingles. [In English. Now in English.]
ZE: Hahaha! Happy Birthday
SECA: Em Ingles. [In English.]
ZE, SECA: To you.
ZE: In tune.
ZE, SECA: Happy Birthday to you.
ZE: Canta, CLEO! [Sing, CLEO!]
SECA: Neste dia de festa. [On this day of festivity]
ZE, AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Para o menino GIGAS-inhos [To our little boy GIGA-inhos]
ZE: Hahaha!
AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Uma salva de palmas [A round of applause.]
ZE: How old are you now?




Also, the speaker can have their own agenda, such as to make a joke in a particular language. therefore I will also add:

Idiomatic phrases/ puns - leads to humor
At this point, the family is still singing the birthday song in Portuguese. 


ZE: Muitos anos de vida. [Many years of life.]
SECA: Muitos anos de desgrenha. [Many years of chaos.]

SECA decides to make a pun with the words de vida [of life] by instead saying de degrenha [of chaos]. As can be seen through the translation, such a pun would never work in English because life and chaos are very different in sounds. Furthermore, desgrenha is a slang term meaning chaos, thus heightening the need to use Portuguese for this joke rather than English.





SECA: Para o rato chato [To the annoying rat]

Here, SECA is rhyming to make a joke about GIGAS. The rhyming doesn't work in English.

ZE: Para nosso GIGAS-inhos [variation of GIGAS; term of endearment] [To our GIGA-inhos]

Here, ZE is using the ending -inhos in order to show endearment to GIGAS. -inhos and -inhas are added to the end of people's names in order to make it cute, like saying little before someone's name [e.g. little Mary; little Tara]. These endings are also added to the end of other nouns to make them seem smaller [e.g. I have a little time to talk. Eu tenho um tempinho para falar.] This is very informal.


Finally, this article assumes that all the participants who speaking a certain language are fluent in the language. However, in the context of the family used for this research project, there are varying degrees of fluency/proficiency. Therefore, I will add:

Language proficiency of the speaker
Whenever any of the other speakers talk to SECA, they speak in Portuguese. Whenever the speakers speak to GIGAS, they tend to speak in English.

SECA: Happy beert- [suppose to be birth]


Language Proficiency of the listener

SECA and GIGAS are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but GIGAS has more English than SECA has Portuguese.


SECA: [singing] Esta quietinho, o levas no focinho. Sabes o que e focinho? [Stay still, or you'll get hit in the snout. You know what snout is?]

Here, SECA prefers Portuguese, but because he is aware that GIGAS is not as fluent in the language, he asks GIGAS if he know what focinho [snout] is in Portuguese.


GIGAS: Alright, mom this part is for you

AL: As long as you don’t blow the cake anymore.

ZE: [giggles]
CLEO: Ainda ‘tas a cantar? [Are ya still singing?]

The conversation was in English. CLEO changes it to Portuguese. CLEO is addressing SECA so she used Portuguese to address him.

ZE is more comfortable with Portuguese than English. For most of the transcript, she is speaking in Portuguese.

AL prefers English so she speaks English for most of the transcript.

CLEO jumps between both according to need.

Blog 23: Basic Outline of Presentation

1. State your research question:

What are the features of the discursive rules between members of a family in which there are at least two languages being spoken [Portuguese and English primarily]?

2. Give a brief summary of the research that your project responds to/comments on/is based on

+No research has really focused on this context [family]
+language negotiation is key to writing studies across the board. [education and other social contexts]
+based on anthropological studies on language usage. Raw data. Given the difference in context, previous features defined were not specifically used [may not be appropriate]
+ Because the domestic context is different from a business context, there are new features that arise. However, the features from the business context can still apply.

3. Direct classmates to the section of your work you want feedback on


FOCUS ON CATEGORIES FOR ANALYSIS, BOTH THE ONES FROM THE ARTICLE AND THE ONES I MADE.

4. Give your classmates some indication of what you want help with (e.g. you might ask for help relating the categories you have marked in your transcript to your research question, or for help with the organization /development of a posted draft, and so on).

I've written out quite a bit of information below. What I would like to get feedback on is should I use the categories of analysis from the article and the new categories I would add OR just talk about the categories from the article and focus more on the new categories I have made.

Categories of Analysis
1. Language proficiency of the speaker
2. Language Proficiency of the listener
3. Idiomatic phrases/ puns - leads to humor
4. Rephrasing/ clarity [for listenters]
5. Exclude certain listeners
6. Branch off/ standout/ diverge

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Blog 21: MORE DATA!


[CLEO plays piano in the background.]
[00:30] AL: Say hi to the camera, mommy.
ZE: Eh?
AL: Say hi.
ZE: Hi.
AL: [giggles]
GIGAS: Siiiirrrr!
ZE: Não sabia que estavas a toucar
AL: See CLEO. I told you it would be more epic.
ZE: Estas a filmar?
SECA: Vai. Vamos la. Mãe. Podemos organizar o não?
AL: Yeah.
GIGAS: Organiza a defensa.
SECA: A mãe não tem.. tems a e as coisas para cortar o bolo?
ZE: Tudo.
SECA: Como e que se faz?
ZE: Vá!
SECA: Calma. Isto e a ultima coisa.
ZE: Paga a luz GIGAS. Não. It’s your birthday. You don’t do anything.
[luisa giggles]
SECA: O bolo cortado.
[01:00] GIGAS: I was going to get that first.
SECA: Isto esta bom. Secondo parece.
AL: Ahhhhhh. [musical]
SECA: Esta quetinho, o levas no focinho. Sabes o que e focinho?
IRMA: Ahhhhhh [musical] Tun tun tun tun.
ZE: Já tiraste a picture do cake?
AL: CLEO already took the picture.
ZE: Vá!
AL: Oh my god!
SECA: [taps knife on glass]
AL: Ahhhhh [Musical]
GIGAS: Maaaaaa [musical, nasal]
ZE: One, two, three!
GIGAS, ZE: Para bens
AL: Happy bir-
[01:30] GIGAS, ZE: A você. Esta data querida.
SECA: Pom pom pom pom.
[gibberish][musical]
[giggles]
GIGAS, ZE, SECA, AL: Felicidades.
ZE: Muitos anos de vida.
SECA: Muitos anos de desgrenha.
GIGAS: You forgot your flat
ZE: Hoje a dia
SECA: Agora em inglês
ZE: De festa.
SECA: Happy beart-
ZE, SECA: Cantao as nossas almas.
SECA: Para o rato chato
ZE: Para nosso GIGAS-inhos [variation of GIGAS; term of indearment]
[02:00] ZE, SECA: Uma salva de palmas
ZE: Hahaha!
SECA: Em Ingles. Ahora em Ingles.
ZE: Hahaha! Happy Birthday
SECA: Em Ingles.
ZE, SECA: To you.
ZE: In tune.
ZE, SECA: Happy Birthday to you.
ZE: Canta, CLEO!
SECA: Neste dia de festa
ZE, AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Para o menino GIGAS-inhos
ZE: Hahaha!
AL: Happy Birthday to you.
SECA: Uma salva de palmas
ZE: How old are you now?
[02:30] GIGAS: E isse. Ha ha.
ZE, AL: How old are you now?
SECA: Na na naaaa na na na naaa!
ZE, AL: How old are you now? How old are you now?
ZE: How old are you now?
GIGAS: I don’t remember.
ZE: HAHAHA! He’s too old!
CLEO: He was born today.
GIGAS: Let me count my candles. One, two
ZE: Ok let’s give him 16 punches
GIGAS: Five!
CLEO: Seventeen! One for good luck!
SECA: Se quimbra consegir,
ZE: One, two, tree, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine
[03:00] GIGAS: OW! Stop it! Oh, so much pain!
ZE: Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
AL: Wow,CLEO, CLEO take the camera now, take the camera now
ZE: Sixteen seventeen
SECA: GIGAS-inhos.
CLEO: GIGAS blow the candles!
GIGAS: I can’t.
ZE: Blow the candles!
GIGAS: I don’t blow things.
AL: hahaha!
CLEO: Learn!
GIGAS: [Blowing, puffing, puffing, struggling noises]
ZE, CLEO, AL: [laughter]
CLEO: GIGAS!
AL: Oh my god!
SECA: Na croa de brillante. [?]
CLEO: Yo we’re fucking crazy. You hear this man singing.
[03:30] SECA: Aii, regresso a vida! [claps]
[laughter, clapping, cheering]
CLEO: Esto e uma casa de locos.
GIGAS: I don’t think anybody else wants …[?]
CLEO: Ele a assoprar a vela a cuspir tudo emsima. Estas duas a rir e este a cantar parece que e um funeral.
ZE: Cada um no seu mundo.
CLEO: No mesmo mundo ao mesmo tempo.
ZE: Cada um no seu mundo.
GIGAS: Okay. Vamos organizar a defensa.
[04:00] ZE: Vamos.
GIGAS: Alright, mom this part is for you
AL: As long as you don’t blow the cake anymore.
ZE: [giggles]
CLEO: Ainda ‘tas a cantar?
AL: [giggles]
SECA: Eu cantava mais o Anibal a beber umas cerveginhas ao El Pastor.
CLEO: Claro. Tinha que ser com cerveja. [?]
AL: Oh my god. Your gonna kill me. Go ask CLEO. [?]
ZE: Qual e a parte que tu queres GIGAS?
GIGAS: All of it.
AL: [laughs]
ZE: All of it!
SECA: [?].. Sorry!
ZE: Queres uma flore?
GIGAS: Nao!
SECA: E a coxa? [?]
[04:30] ZE: Okay eu vou te dar o prato mais bonito.
SECA: Ouviste o que e que eu disse?
GIGAS: I want two flores. Nah. I want that part and that part and yeah.
ZE: Ahhh to hard. Eu vou por “C-A-R”.
AL: So you can get a car in the future.
ZE: Car.


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Blog 20: Transcription

[CLEO plays piano in the background.]

[00:30] AL: Say hi to the camera, mommy.

ZE: Eh?

AL: Say hi.

ZE: Hi.

AL: [giggles]

GIGAS: Siiiirrrr!

ZE: Não sabia que estavas a toucar

AL: See CLEO. I told you it would be more epic.

ZE: Estas a filmar?

SECA: Vai. Vamos la. Mãe. Podemos organizar o não?

AL: Yeah.

GIGAS: Organiza a defensa.

SECA: A mãe não tem.. tems a e as coisas para cortar o bolo?

ZE: Tudo.

SECA: Como e que se faz?

ZE: Vá!

SECA: Calma. Isto e a ultima coisa.

ZE: Paga a luz GIGAS. Não. It’s your birthday. You don’t do anything.

[luisa giggles]

SECA: O bolo cortado.

[01:00] IRMAO: I was going to get that first.

SECA: Isto esta bom. Secondo parece.

AL: Ahhhhhh. [musical]

SECA: Esta quetinho, o levas no focinho. Sabes o que e focinho?

IRMA: Ahhhhhh [musical] Tun tun tun tun.

ZE: Já tiraste a picture do cake?

AL: CLEO already took the picture.

ZE: Vá!

AL: Oh my god!

SECA: [taps knife on glass]

AL: Ahhhhh [Musical]

GIGAS: Maaaaaa [musical, nasal]

ZE: One, two, three!

GIGAS, ZE: Para bens

AL: Happy bir-

[01:30] GIGAS, ZE: A você. Esta data querida.

SECA: Pom pom pom pom.

[gibberish][musical]

[giggles]

GIGAS, ZE, SECA, AL: Felicidades.

ZE: Muitos anos de vida.

SECA: Muitos anos de desgrenha.

You forgot your flat

Hoje a dia

PAI: Agora em inglês

De festa. Cantao as nossas almas.

Para o rato

Para nosso Carlinhos

Uma salva de palmas

Hahaha!

Em Ingles. Ahora em Ingles.

Hahaha!

Happy Birthday

Em Ingles.

To you.

In tune.

Happy Birthday to you.

Canta, CLEO!

Hoje e dia de festa

Happy Birthday to you.

Para o menino Carlinhos

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Blog 19: Planning a Workshop

In light of today's class, what do think you need to work on for the workshop on Thursday? Make a plan!

To be perfectly honest [interesting phrase lol], I did not have much difficulty with the short analysis paper nor am I worried about being able to write my research paper for this class. As long as I have my information and time, I can write this essay, no problems, guaranteed. However, from the concerns I usually get from tutoring for these kinds of assignments as well as the commentary I have overheard in class, it seems like people are having trouble with creating a research question themselves as well as the appropriate categories of analysis. Moreover, they seem to not understand how this entire class has been building up to this particular point; everything we have done has been in preparation for the ideas, concepts, and language necessary to talk about our research. The way most of the class was talking about categories of analysis was like we never talked about before. Scary and disturbing. (>_<)!

These comments I am making are general statements that do not necessarily apply to everyone in the class. Rather, this applies for the majority. Why is this happening you ask? Well, in my humble opinion, I think too many people are distracted when they are in class and/or do not see the relevance of the information presented to them until they are forced to use the information themselves. Therefore, my suggestion for a "plan" is to have people actually create parts of the paper. Have them put the information to use. Also, I think too much of this class has been group work, and although I do understand the value of collaboration, I do not think the people I have been working with care to really engage until they know they will be graded individually. Therefore, I propose individual work that can allows for people to talk to each other if they need to discuss it, but pushing each person to work on their own. Maybe something along the lines of peer response. Not sure.

I realize this is not much of "plan", but that may be because I really want to create my own plan for this. I want to research and get started on this and ask relevant questions as they occur to me. I want to create a plan for myself. Maybe that's the plan for Thursday: individually create research plans. Yes. Lovely.