Concept Studies on "English"

Reading only papers like Lupyan's "The paradox of the universal triangle", it is really easy to forget that linguistics exists in a cultural space.  Though linguistics is a science and is subject to experiments as described in the aforementioned article, it is a study of language as spoken by humans in social and cultural contexts.  The second article, “Unequal partnership: Sociolinguistics and the African American speech community,” is so important in an Introduction to Linguistics class because it cautions us to fight against the standard biases and to be aware of problematic aspects of the field.

Rickford bring up some fascinating research studies.  One study that specifically stuck with me was the study that showed that job candidates are less likely to get a job if they speak AAVE in their interview, and that they will likely have a shorter interview time than a candidate speaking SE.  I was reminded of the study that showed that someone who spoke SE with an American accent was more likely to be able to rent an apartment than someone who spoke SE with a foreign accent.  I think it would be interesting to do a follow-up study and determine the extent to which a candidate speaking AAVE in a telephone interview affects their chances of getting the job.  This would help isolate the results coming from the actual language used, rather than related visual biases.

I am curious about the results of studies that could be framed in the same way as Lupyan’s tests, but are studying the abstract concept “English”.  In the triangle study, people were asked to first define triangle, and then to draw or identify triangles.  The researchers found that there was an archetypal triangle that most people would be more likely to draw or identify quicker.  Though most people may define English in a generalized way that could include both SE and AAVE, I highly suspect that the vernacular that the test subjects speaks would completely influence the concrete examples they would provide when asked to write examples of English.  I also suspect they would also be slower to identify examples of English they are not used to speaking.