full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Anna Babel: Who counts as a speaker of a language?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


This isn't just some fnnuy thing that only happens in Bolivia. Research has been carried out in the United States, in Canada, in New Zealand, showing exactly the same thing. We incorporate social categories into our understanding of lagaunge. There have even been studies carried out with American cellgoe students who listen to a university lecture. Half of the students were sohwn a pircute of a Caucasian face as the instructor. Half of the students were shown a picture of an Asian face as the instructor. And students who saw the Asian face reported that the lecture was less celar and harder to understand, even though everybody listened to the same recording.

Open Cloze


This isn't just some _____ thing that only happens in Bolivia. Research has been carried out in the United States, in Canada, in New Zealand, showing exactly the same thing. We incorporate social categories into our understanding of ________. There have even been studies carried out with American _______ students who listen to a university lecture. Half of the students were _____ a _______ of a Caucasian face as the instructor. Half of the students were shown a picture of an Asian face as the instructor. And students who saw the Asian face reported that the lecture was less _____ and harder to understand, even though everybody listened to the same recording.

Solution


  1. picture
  2. college
  3. language
  4. shown
  5. clear
  6. funny

Original Text


This isn't just some funny thing that only happens in Bolivia. Research has been carried out in the United States, in Canada, in New Zealand, showing exactly the same thing. We incorporate social categories into our understanding of language. There have even been studies carried out with American college students who listen to a university lecture. Half of the students were shown a picture of a Caucasian face as the instructor. Half of the students were shown a picture of an Asian face as the instructor. And students who saw the Asian face reported that the lecture was less clear and harder to understand, even though everybody listened to the same recording.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
social categories 6
speak spanish 5
spanish speaker 4
quechua speaker 3
clear differences 3
feel fully 2
fully comfortable 2
ethnic categories 2
quechua speakers 2
making clear 2
asian face 2
understand language 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
feel fully comfortable 2

Important Words


  1. american
  2. asian
  3. bolivia
  4. canada
  5. carried
  6. categories
  7. caucasian
  8. clear
  9. college
  10. face
  11. funny
  12. harder
  13. incorporate
  14. instructor
  15. language
  16. lecture
  17. listen
  18. listened
  19. picture
  20. recording
  21. reported
  22. research
  23. showing
  24. shown
  25. social
  26. states
  27. students
  28. studies
  29. understand
  30. understanding
  31. united
  32. university
  33. zealand