Language and Communication
- Adventure of English: 500 A.D. to 2000 A.D.
- 2004.
Program 1: Birth of a Language. Melvyn Bragg begins the story of English in Holland, finding ancestral echoes in the Frisian dialect. What follows is a chapter on survival as the English language weathers Viking and Norman invasions, vying with and eventually absorbing rival tongues. Lively settings such as village pubs and markets bring home the lasting influence of Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, and Old French. The connection between Christianity, Latin, and an alphabet is explored, as well as the role of the language's first champion, King Alfred the Great. Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney reads from and discusses the first epic in English, Beowulf. 51 min. DVD 2947
English goes underground
Program 2: English Goes Underground. With the Norman invasion, English became a third language in its own country, behind French and Latin. In this program, Melvyn Bragg examines the impact of Old French on the development of English. Manuscripts, tapestries, and dozens of curious etymologies help illustrate a tremendous influx of vocabulary pertaining to romance, chivalry, and, of course, food. The influence of Eleanor of Aquitaine's partronage is heard in works of poets and troubadours as the cult of courtly love flourished in England.
50 min. DVD 2948
Program 3: The Battle for the Language of the Bible. In late medieval England, English quietly ousted French in law and government, but the move to make it God's language meant bloodshed. This film looks at the battle for a Bible in English, a struggle with huge impact on the language itself. Dramatic readings from successive English Bibles show the language's evolution. Location footage and original manuscripts illustrate key figures and events, such as John Wycliffe, the Lollards, and the first English Bible; William Langland's Piers Plowman; Henry V's official letters, the role of the Chancery or the English civil service; William Caxton's printing press; William Tyndale's translation; and the King James Bible. 50 min. DVD 2949
Program 4: This Earth, This Realm, This England.No single person has shaped English more than William Shakespeare. This menu-powered DVD uses unparalleled access to some of the greatest English texts, including the first English dictionary and a rare first folio of Shakespeare's plays, to illustrate the great Bard's influence. John Barton, honorary associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, discusses the sound and accessibility of Shakespeare's words. His impact is also examined in the larger context of Elizabethan England and the Renaissance. 50 min. DVD 2950
Program 5: English in America.When Massasoit hailed the Plymouth settlers in their own language, they might have taken it as a sign that English would dominate the New World. Packed with surprising etymologies and intriguing stories, this enhanced DVD traces the dynamic relationship between English and America, exploring the linguistic influence of westward expansion, cowboy culture, slave culture, and encounters with the French and Spanish languages. Key works examined include The New England Primer and Webster's The American Spelling Book. 50 min. DVD 2951
Program 6:Speaking Proper. This menu-driven DVD follows English through the 18th and 19th centuries, from attempts at reforming and standardizing the tongue in the Age of Reason to the soaring verse of Romanticism and the verbal prudishness of the Victorian era. Linguistic milestones are highlighted by original editions of critical texts, including Newton's Opticks, Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, Thomas Sheridan's British Education, and George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. Other key figures discussed include Jonathan Swift, Robert Burns, Jane Austen, And William Wordsworth. 50 min. DVD 2952
The Language of Empire. "Amok," "boomerang," "bungalow," "bangle," "dumdum," "plonk," "assassin" -- These are some of the many words that have entered English by way of colonial expansion. This enhanced DVD explores how the British Empire exported its language around the globe and how different forms of speech and vocabulary, as well as different attitudes to English, developed out of colonial expansion. Rich variations of dialect, accent, and slang are heard in many samples from India, the Caribbean, and Australia. 50 min. DVD 2953
Many Tongues Called English, One World Language. Explores how America's rise as an economic power made it the driving force behind the spread of English in the 20th century. A world tour illustrates how English has mixed with other languages - from "Franglais" in France to "Singlish" in Singapore - and how the dollar's power, coupled with the lure of consumerism, has made English the international trade language. Bringing it full circle, host Melvyn Bragg returns to the British Isles to survey English as it is spoken now, measuring the influence of American slang and vocabulary from other languages. 50 min. DVD 2954
- American Tongues
- Illustrates various dialects of the English language within the United States and various attitudes about regional, social, and ethnic differences in American speech. A videotape by Andrew Kolker and Louis Alvarez. 57 min. DVD 7571; vhs Video/C 993
- Angst & Nirvana: A Film About Two Words.
- Utilizing personal narratives, lighthearted irony and mockery, film explores the limits/potential of language by examining the meaning of two words: Angst [and] Nirvana. 1990. 12 min. Video/C 3200
- Are We Different?: Young African Americans Talk About Cultural Difference and Race in America.
- Film gives voice to African-American students around the country as they articulate issues of race, racisim, and race relations. The discussion ranges from whether stylistic differences between whites and blacks are superficial or profound, and the causes and nature of anger and frustration in the black community. Students also question why "blackness" is suddenly so fashionable and talk about black culture with its special speech patterns and gestures and black sprituality and energy. 30 min. Video/C 3967
- Best Storytellers in the West. (UCB student film)
- Examines the role of storytelling in deaf culture and shows deaf storytellers signing stories. 1994. 22 min. Video/C 3754
- Bilingual Education.
- This program examines efforts to increase literacy levels and English language skills among Latinos. It also looks at both the use of non-Spanish speakers as bilingual education teachers and the increasing opportunities for Spanish speakers in the workforce. 1991. 30 min. Video/C 2870
- Border Brujo.
- A performance art monolog which examines linguistic and cultural stereotypes that create "borders" between people. 52 min. Video/C 3455
- A Brief History of Slang
- Slang expert, Jonathon Green, explores the history of English slang and its use around the world including many varieties of slang languages for example the insider language of the American mafia and the development of "rap" lyrics. 1996. 26 min. Video/C 7382
- Chimp Talk.
- Paul Hoffman, editor of Discover magazine, explores the issue of language use by apes with primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Laura Ann Petitto. Their 20 year study with chimpanzees reveal that they can use language with the accuracy of a two-year-old human, which includes a rudimentary syntactical ability. 14 min. Video/C 6220
- Communication: The Nonverbal Agenda
- hows the value of understanding nonverbal content in communication by analyzing and interpreting nonverbal messages by employees in a work environment. Originally produced in 1974 by Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., revised in 1998. 30 min. Video/C 9887
- Counseling and Advice Across Cultures
- First segment: Extracts from live interviews videotaped in a neighborhood Advice Office and an Asian Resource Center in the United Kingdom. Second segment: Examines samples of crosscultural communication in a banking transaction and in job recruitment interviews with West Indian candidates to analyze communication difficulties which can arise even when both sides start with goodwill. Third segment: Two University professors comment on multicultural communication. 1991. 78 min. DVD 8808 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 6622
- Crosstalk (Counseling and Advice Across Cultures)
- First segment: Extracts from live interviews videotaped in a neighborhood Advice Office and an Asian Resource Center in the United Kingdom. Second segment: Examines samples of crosscultural communication in a banking transaction and in job recruitment interviews with West Indian candidates to analyze communication difficulties which can arise even when both sides start with goodwill. Third segment: Two University professors comment on multicultural communication. 1991. 78 min. Video/C 6622
- Crosstalk at Work
- Part 1. Performance appraising across cultures; Part 2. Recruitment interviewing across cultures. This program looks at misunderstandings and communication failures in business caused by cultural differences. It focuses on problems in America for those of Chinese and Korean origin. Using footage of performance assessment in the Bank of America, it explains how different cultural outlooks can lead to unconscious communication breakdown. [2 videocassettes]. 54 min. Video/C 6135
- Crosstalk, Multi-racial Britain
- This film explores some of the differences and difficulties involved in cross-cultural communication in Britain with particular emphasis on South Asians. It looks at the different types of misunderstandings which result from the different ways people from different ethnic groups use the English language. c1979. 30 min. DVD 7101 [preservation copy]; Video/C 9942
- Deaf Culture Series.
- 40 min. each installment
An Introduction to American Deaf Culture, 3. Language and Traditions. This program discusses the use of special vocabularies in sign language and the relationship between language of the deaf and culture. Video/C 3145
An Introduction to American Deaf Culture, 4. Group Norms. Discusses deaf culture and how deaf individuals interact with the environment. Video/C 3146
An Introduction to American Deaf Culture, 5. Identity. Discusses group membership in a deaf culture and identity as a deaf person. Video/C 3147
- The Developing Child. Language Development. (Discovering Psychology; 5-6).
- Details the impact of heredity and environment on children's development as it explores the nature vs. nurture debate. Program 6 describes how psychologists search for truths about the mind, society, and culture by studying how children develop complex language skills and use language in social communication. 56 min. Video/C 3953:5-6
- Diverted to Delhi
- The toll-free telephone numbers used to place orders are often answered thousands of miles away by Indians trained to speak and think like Americans, or Brits or Australians. This film follows a group of university graduates through a rigorous 3-week course which they hope will prepare them for prestigious, well paying positions in these call centers. Over 200 of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies now choose to service their clients via Indian call centers where labor and set-up costs are low and the staff highly educated. c2002. 55 min. Video/C 9721
- Do You Speak American?
- Episode 1: Up North. Robert MacNeil canvasses the North to learn firsthand about linguistic dialect zones, the tension between prescriptivism and descriptivism, the impact on dialect, the northern cities vowel shift, the roots of African-American English, minority linguistic profiling, biases against nonstandard speech, and the general perception of the U.S. Midland dialect as "normal American." Hip-hop street talk, IM slang, Pittsburghese, and Gullah and Geechee are sampled. Features Bill Labov, the dean of American linguists; Jesse Sheidlower, American editor of the august OED, plus other authorities on the English language. 2005. 57 min. DVD 3602
Episode 2: Down South. Follows Robert MacNeil as he travels down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to Appalachia, Louisiana Cajun country, and the Tex-Mex border to examine Southern dialects and accents and the influences of French and Spanish on American English. Linguist Walt Wolfram, columnist Molly Ivins, pop country singer Cody James, and others talk about regional differences in vernacular, the steady displacement of Southern coastal dialect by inland dialect, the accents of JFK and LBJ, and the Texas border town of El Cenizo, where Spanish is the official language. Includes recordings of Eudora Welty and Appalachian storyteller Ray Hicks, as well as WPA recordings from around 1940. 2005. 57 min. DVD 3602
Episode 3: Out West. In this program, Robert MacNeil heads to California to take part in meaningful dialogues on Spanglish, Chicano, Ebonics, and "Surfer Dude" before going to Seattle to consider the implications of voice-activation technology. Linguist Carmen Fought, Stanford University's Cliff Nass, screenwriters Amy Heckerling and Winnie Holtzman, and others speak their minds about Spanish in America, why teens create their own language, gay self-empowerment by redefining discriminatory terms and whether technology will reinforce or weaken racial/regional stereotypes. The teaching of English without devaluing or denigrating cultural linguistic differences is addressed. 2005. 57 min. DVD 3602
- The English-speaking Amendment.
- This program examines a proposed amendment which would mandate that English be the official language of the United States; guests presented arguments pro and con on this issue. 1986. 28 min. Video/C1920
- Family Across the Sea.
- Film examines how scholars have uncovered the remarkable connections between the Gullah people of South Carolina and the people of Sierra Leone and how the Gullahs incorporated many aspects of African culture including the language into the daily life of the plantations. Film concludes with a delegation of Gullah people traveling from the United States to Sierra Leone to trace the roots of their heritage. 56 min. Video/C 3782
CINE Film & Video Awards 1991 (Golden Eagle).
American Film & Video Festival 1992 (Blue Ribbon).
National Educational Film & Video Festival 1991 (Silver Apple).
- The First Signs of Washoe
- Alan and Trixie Gardner work with a baby chimpanzee who has been taught to communicate through sign language. Research with other chimpanzees is shown and it is suggested that from this research into the learning process, new approaches will be learned for teaching the disabled and retarded. 60 min. Video/C 89
- Gender and Communication: Male-Female Differences in Language and Nonverbal Behavior
- Explores male-female differences in communication and the impact that gender has on both verbal messages including speech, language, and vocabulary, as well as on nonverbal channels of communication such as touch, movement, and gesture. Directed by Dane Archer. c2001. 42 min. DVD 8344; vhs Video/C 9099
- The Global Tongue: English
- English is now the dominant language spoken by over a billion people with nearly as many speaking English as a second language as there are native speakers. This program looks at the different contexts and countries in which the English language dominates education, pop music, advertising, and the Internet. It explores the pros and cons of this dominance and the ways in which it is actually changing the English language. 1997. 25 min. Video/C 5607
- Glossolalie
- Examines language and communication, and looks at "imaginary languages." A film by Erik Bullot. DVD 8814
- Gullah Tales
- Gullah tales is a film fable set in 1830's in Southern Georgia and South Carolina and is based on folklore of peoples of African descent. 30 min. Video/C 2880
- Hablas Ingles?
- Examines bilingual education in the U.S., focusing on the arguments for and against a constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the United States. Includes interviews with Linda Chavez, president of U.S. English, and Juan Cartagena, of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. 26 min. Video/C1922
- History of the English Language: Over a Thousand Years.
- Compares the differing versions of the story Solomon's Wisdom, from the 450 A.D. version to 1976. 1991. 28 min. Video/C 2418
- The Human Language Series.
- Explores human language, its origins, acquisition and evolution. Contents: Pt. 1. Discovering the human language: Colorless green ideas. --Pt. 2. Acquiring the human language: Playing the language game. -- pt. 3. The human language evolves: With and without words. Video/C 3505
- The Human Face
- A four-part television documentary combining interviews and humorous sketches to explore the human face from every angle -- cultural, historical, biological, physiological and psychological. Special features: Photo gallery ; deleted scenes ; fact files ; interactive menus ; scene selection ; interviews from the series ; biographies. John Cleese, presenter; featuring guest appearances by Elizabeth Hurley, Michael Palin, Pierce Brosnan, Candice Bergen. 2 discs. 195 min. DVD 826
- The Human Face: Emotions, Identities and Masks.
- Contents: The organ of emotion -- True emotion vs. masks -- Culture and the face -- The Face as it ages -- Identity -- Pupil size -- Reading the face -- Facial mythology -- Hair -- Beauty -- Manufactured beauty -- Piercing the face.
The face is the 'organ of emotion,' and we constantly read facial expressions to understand what others are feeling. The face also contains other powerful clues. Our identity is captured in our features. Our eyes can reveal important truths about us, even those we would prefer to conceal. Our face also plays a critical role in physical attractiveness. Created and produced by Dane Archer, 1996. 31 min. DVD 8357; vhs Video/C 5934
- The Human Voice: Exploring Vocal Paralanguage.
- Contents: Biographic clues in our voices -- Our paralanguage identity -- Can paralanguage be stolen? -- My English, your English, and standard English -- Changing accents -- Emotion and the human voice -- Famous paralanguage -- Sarcastic paralanguage -- Motherese and fatherese -- Lies, liars, and lying -- Dysfluent paralanguage -- Other 'dialects' in paralanguage.
Explores the voice as an extraordinary human instrument. When we speak, our voice reveals our gender, age, geographic background, level of education, emotional state, and our relationship with the person spoken to. All these clues (and many more) are contained in even small fragments of speech, because our voices can be interpreted with remarkable accuracy. This video, explores the power, dimensions, and facets of this uniquely human instrument. Created and produced by Dane Archer, 1993. 30 min. DVD 8358; vhs Video/C 3505
- The Ideas of Chomsky.
- Linguist and political activist Chomsky challenges accepted notions of the way in which language is learned, examines the relationship of language to experience, and discusses the philosophical nature of knowledge. 47 min. DVD 2102; also on VHS Video/C 8346
- In the Land of the Deaf
- Documentary explores deaf life and culture in France, and the growning controversy involving "curing" deafness. Includes portraits of a charismatic sign language teacher and a women treated as mentally ill because her hearing problem was misdiagnosed, a young man who remembers the first horrifying experience of hearing with an aid, and a newlywed deaf couple trying to communicate with a real estate agent. 99 min. Video/C 4866
- In Search of the First Language. (NOVA)
- Discusses the research that has been done on tracing the roots and families of languages, specifically the Indo-European and the Sino-Tibetan. Shows how certain words, through their sound and grammar can be considered part of a common family, and the evolution or death of a language through time. 54 min. Video/C 4334
- The Interpersonal perception task (IPT))
- A test designed to find out how people form perceptions of others. Consists of thirty brief scenes showing people in various interactions. Each scene is preceded by a question about the interaction taking place. Based on a research approach developed for the Social Interpretation Task (SIT) by Dane Archer and Robin Akert. c1986. 40 min. DVD 8365
- The Interpersonal Perception Task-15 (IPT-15)
- A "self-test" of nonverbal communication and social perception skills which allows viewers a chance to interpret verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Film shows 15 brief scenes of common social interactions each followed by a multiple-choice question, giving the viewer the chance to "decode" something important about the interaction. There is an objectively correct answer for each of the inferences tested and viewers can see how accurate their own interpretations are. 1993. 20 min. DVD 8366; vhs Video/C 3620
- Into the Future: On the Preservation of Knowledge in the Electronic Age
- Discusses the hidden crisis of digital information. Will the information stored electronically still be accessible in the future? Will humans twenty, fifty, one hundred years from now have access to the electronically recorded history of our time? Surveys what has happened to other forms of information storage such as reel to reel, magnetic tapes and other obsolete formats. c1997. 30 min. Video/C 5391
- An Introduction to American Deaf Culture, 1. Rules of Social Interaction.
- Provides an introduction to social interaction among deaf people. Includes introductions, attention-getting behavior, leave-taking behaviors, and information about TTY's. Each topic is introduced through the use of demonstrations, role playing, and interviews. 34 min. Video/C 3143
- An Introduction to American Deaf Culture, 2. Values.
- Describes some of the unique values subscribed to by deaf people and the deaf community. 40 min. Video/C 3144
- An Introduction to the Deaf Community.
- Provides a basic overview of the culture of deaf people and American sign language in America. Explores stereotypes of deaf persons, provides tips and pointers to hearing individuals on communicating with deaf persons, provides information about national and international organizations of and for deaf people, and suggests employment opportunities. 25 min. Video/C 3142
- Invisible Walls.
- Records an experiment in proxemic-behavior, demonstrating how unsuspecting subjects react when their personal space is violated. Shows how American patterns of social interaction depend on non-verbal communication and the assumptions people make about each other. Focuses on common American beliefs about personal space, showing that people encase themselves in invisible walls which they erect about 18 inches from their bodies. 1990? 12 min. Video/C MM747
- Italian Hand Gestures: How to Speak Italian Without Saying a Word!
- Presents 30 easy lessons for learning Italian hand gestures and their meanings. "Now you can understand, celebrate, gesticulate and commemorate our American-Italian heritage." 1998. 40 min. Video/C 8638
- Journey to Yiddish Land
- When the state of Israel was established the Yiddish language was abandoned in favor of modern hebrew, except by the Hasisim. But now renewed efforts are being made in Israel and even Germany to keep the language alive. Including commentary by the director of the Yiddish Theatre in Tel Aviv, this lively film presents Yiddish theater, song and dance, demonstrating how language and cultural identity are intertwinded. c1999. 29 min. Video/C 7936
- Koko: A Talking Gorilla
- Presents Koko, a six-year-old gorilla who is the subject of a controversial Stanford University research project. A perceptive simian who communicates with humans via sign language, Koko knows more than 300 signs and can combine them to make new hybrid descriptions. The film also investigates the contradictions that arise when scientific experiments are used to graph human behavior onto animals. 2001. 81 min. Video/C 8195
- Language.
- This program demonstrates that language is a powerful medium and one that has an impact on nearly every corner of our culture. Host: Victor Borge. 1982. 30 min. 3/4" UMATIC format. Video/C 409
- Language and Communication(Faces of Culture)
- Shows how language, the primary means of human communication, is expressed in the sounds and movements of every culture to express feelings and aspirations. Discusses the structure and development of human language and its relationship to thought, as well as the significance of body language. Compares dialects and the language of Black Americans, Hopi Indians, African Nuers and other cultural groups to investigate whether thought reflects or influences culture. 1983. 29 min. Video/C MM11
- The Language of the Body. (Human Animal: A Natural History of the Human Species, 1).
- Although humans can make more than 3,000 hand gestures, even the simplest have numerous variations and interpretations. This program, filmed on five continents, examines not only hand gestures, but facial expressions, head shakes and body distance as well--and the misunderstandings that can occur when body language is transported across cultural lines. Supression of body language is also discussed, along with "nonverbal leakage," in which the body's language can belie a speaker's words. 1994. 50 min. Video/C 6237
- The Language of War.
- Examines the government and military language used to discuss military actions and plans.1990. 29 min. Video/C 3142
- Literature: From Words, Truth.
- Part of a series of programs on the humanities stressing the relationship between the arts and human emotions. This segment looks at the influences of poetry, literature and the alphabet in the quest for human understanding. Host: Maya Angelou. Originally presented as a segment on the television program Humanities through the arts in 1978. 30 min. Video/C MM587
- Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media.
- Explores the political life and times of the controversial author, linguist and radical philosopher, Noam Chomsky. Highlighting his analysis of media, Chomsky focuses on democratic societies where populations not disciplined by force are subject to more subtle forms of ideological control. 167 min. DVD 2211; also VHS Video/C 3440
- Herman, Edward S. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
New York: Pantheon Books, 1988. Main Stack P95.82.U6.H471 1988)
- Alster, Laurence.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (video recording reviews)Times Educational Supplement, n4077 (August 19, 1994):23.
Antush, John C.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews)Monthly Review v45, n9 (Feb, 1994):47 (6 pages).
Breeden, Kathy.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (video recording reviews)Library Journal v119, n18 (Nov 1, 1994):121.
Canby, Vincent.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews)New York Times v142 (Wed, March 17, 1993):B3(N), C17(L), col 1, 13 col in.
Darke, Chris.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews)Sight and Sound v3, n11 (Nov, 1993):45 (2 pages).
Jaehne, Karen.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews)Film Quarterly v47, n1 (Fall, 1993):36 (3 pages).
Klawans, Stuart.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews)Nation v256, n13 (April 5, 1993):461 (4 pages).
Mattick, Paul, Jr.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews)Cineaste v20, n1 (Wntr, 1993):42 (2 pages).
Perry, Steve.
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (video recording reviews)Utne Reader, n58 (July-August, 1993):128.
Pevere, Geoff. "Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews) Canadian Forum v71, n817 (March, 1993):25
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media." (movie reviews) Progressive v57, n4 (April, 1993):14.
- Materialien zur kontrastiven Grammatik DGS-Deutsch I: Singular Plural Ubereinstimmung bei Verben
- A presentation of German sign language with a teacher and puppet demonstrating the signs. In German. PAL format. 1998. 18 min. Video/C 9079
- The Mind (series): Language
- Examines the evolution of human language, the degree to which language shapes human thought, what happens when speech and hearing are absent, and whether animals use language. 60 min. Video/C 1301:7
- Multilingual Hong Kong: A Sociolinguistic Case Study of Code-switching.
- A case study of code-switching in a bicultural community: Hong Kong. Interviews with dozens of Hong Kong residents reveals how and why they intermix Cantonese and English, and much about cultural identity in cosmopolitan populations. 2005. 33 min. DVD 5403
- Naturalism and Dualism in the Study of Language and Mind.
- Noam Chomsky, noted professor of linguistics, expounds upon the unification of linguistics with the natural sciences and dualism versus the scientific approach in the philosophy of language. Lecture, U.C. Berkeley, April 5, 1994. 100 min. Video/C 2696
- The N Word: Divided We Stand.
- Features commentary from celebrities, journalists, historians and everyday people regarding their personal history with and society's use of the N word ("nigger"). Explores the history and relevance of the word and the social status within and between the races. Writer & director, Todd Larkins. 2004. 85 min. DVD 6438
- Nu-Shu: A Hidden Language of Women in China
- Nu-Shu is a secret written language used only by women in the Hunan Province of China. Using fans, tapestries and quilts as their blank pages, the women of the Yao people managed to discuss issues of the day in a semi-phonetic script that is now centuries, if not millennia, old. Passed down from generation to generation, it was "discovered" in the 1960s and nearly destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and finally was given serious study in the late 1980s. c1999. This tape contains both 58 min. and 47 min. versions of the same program. Video/C 7846
- The Performed Word
- The power of the Afro-American performed word, particularly that of black preachers, is examined services and interviews with Bishop E. E. Cleveland of Berkeley, California, esteemed as the embodiment of his culture and the bearer of Afro-American tradition. Directors, Ernest Shinagawa, Carlos de Jesus. 1982. 60 min. DVD 7460 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 3209
- Personal Sace: Exploring Human Proxemics
- Presenter: Dane Archer. Space is a silent language, and we all speak it, whether consciously or not. Discusses the concept of personal space and the interpersonal and cultural issues that define it. Students from a variety of cultural backgrounds demonstrate how culture defines the use of space, territory and touching. Contents: Spatial relations -- Space habits: habitual seating -- Territorial defense -- Space invaders: breaking proxemic rules -- Reactions and assumptions -- Why didn't you say something? -- Space affects everything -- The power of culture -- Cultural differences: space, touch -- Symbolic touch -- Architecture: a profession of space. DVD 8342; vhs Video/C 7457
- The Philosophy of Language
- Berkeley philosopher of language John Searle discusses the question: "How does language relate to thought and to reality?" Searle explores the use of language to clarify experience as fundamental to the acquisition of knowledge. He then describes the various uses of language in the philosophies of Plato, Descartes, Frege, Mills and others. 1997. 46 min. DVD 2101; also on VHS Video/C 8350
- Reading People: The Unwritten Language of the Body
- Explores how people communicate through body movements, gestures and through use of personal space. 1998. 22 min. Video/C 2825
- Sexism in Language
- Presents closely-analyzed examples that show how sexism and anti-sexism may be contained in language use in song lyrics, everyday conversation, news reports, written conventions, and satire. 25 min. Video/C 2825
- Sexism in Language: Thief of Honor, Shaper of Lies: A Lecture
- Lynn T. Lovdal explores sexism in both the syntax and semantics of language and shows how it is often unintentional or even unrecognized. She explores four key areas: "female" words that are dependent on a "male" version, words that are more positive for men than for women, words for women that carry negative sexual connotations, and "neutral" words that become inferior when applied to women. 29 min. Video/C 4115
- The Signed English Video Learning System.
- For the hearing impaired, people with normal hearing who are experiencing developmental difficulties or anyone who uses sign language to communicate. Presents a communication system which uses written, spoken and signed language, as well as illustrations where applicable, to communicate words and phrases to the viewer. Over 400 signs are arranged in logical sequence groups for effective learning. 117 min. Video/C 1187
- Signing Naturally: Student Videotext Level 1.
- 118 min. Video/C 3418
- Signs of the Apes, Songs of the Whales
- A segment from the television program: Nova. Investigates various research into language development in apes and whales, and explores the way animals and man may communicate. 57 min. NRLF B 4 175 402
- Spanish-speakers and Bilingualism.
- Film focuses on the different kinds of Spanish spoken in the U.S. and on the interchangeable use, or code switching, of English and Spanish by bilinguals in South Texas. 19 min Video/C 2867
Speaking in Tongues
- Dist.: Films Media Group. 2006.
Let There Be Words. What is language? -- Early evolution of language -- The brain -- Photo world and Nostratic -- First words.
What precisely is language, and how did humans acquire it? In an effort to answer those essential questions, this program journeys back to prehistoric times in search of language's origin. Additional topics include distinguishing features of human communication and what humankind's first utterances may have been. The early evolution and migration of humans is also considered. 48 min. DVD 9171
Constant Change. Language creation -- Fox P2 and language change -- Dialects and fully modern language -- The linguists. This program examines factors that contributed to the diversification and spread of languages, including early migration, the introduction of agriculture, and genes. Language transfer from mother to child and from one population to the next is also investigated, along with the concept of dialects and commonalities among the world's more than 6,000 languages. 48 min. DVD 9172
Mother Tongues. Languages of Africa -- Languages of Oceania -- Languages of Asia -- Languages of Europe -- Languages of the Americas. Moving from Africa to Oceania and up to Asia and then west to Europe and across the ocean to the Americas, this program assesses how many languages are spoken in each region, the characteristics they share, and misconceptions about them. Historical background on some of the key languages of the regions is included as well. 45 min. DVD 9173
Civilization to Colonization. History of writing -- Language and society -- Creoles and Pidgins. Writing is a relative latecomer to the history of language. This program tracks its emergence in Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica and its spread down through the millennia via conquest -- usually violent, sometimes benign -- and colonization. The creation of creoles and pidgins resulting from the interaction of specific populations is also addressed, and speculation is made about the first things written down. 45 min. DVD 9174
- Dist.: Films Media Group. 2006.
- The Spell of Linguistic.
- Bernard Williams discusses linguistic philosophy--an
off-shoot of logical positivism--which argues that sentences can have no meaning beyond that which humans give them because language is a human invention. 1997. 46 min. DVD 2109
- Spellbound
- Follows the lives of eight young Americans who share one goal: to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The Bee is as intense a competition as any Olympic match, for both the spellers and their families. The unbearable pressure becomes even more extraordinary when it is felt by ordinary teenagers. Directed by Jeffrey Blitz. 2002. 97 min. DVD 7594
- Story of English 60 min. each
- An English Speaking World. Explores the development of the English language, and how it became the language of choice for technology, diplomacy, business, and popular culture for many nations. Video/C 917 The Mother Tongue. Surveys the history of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon invasion and its impact on the language to the Norman French influence on Chaucer. Video/C 918 A Muse of Fire. Focuses on the emergence of the English nation in the 1500's during the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and James I. Describes the spread of its language into the New World and examines the lifestyle of the colonists who came to the United States in the 1600's. Video/C 919 The Guid Scots Tongue. Traces the influence of Scottish and Irish Gaelic on the English language. Discusses the English spoken in the Appalachian region of the U.S. Video/C 919 Black on White. Probes the roots of Black English, including the American slave trade, plantation life, the Creole influence, and Harlem's jive talk. Discusses the influence of this variety of English on white American speech and literature. Video/C 920 Pioneers o Pioneers! Describes the evolution of American English from the Revolutionary War through the 1920's and the contribution of slang terms from segments of the population (riverboat men, gamblers, cowboys, etc.) along with the foreign influence of the 1900's immigrants. Points out differences between American and Canadian English. Video/C 920 The Muvver Tongue. Discusses the development of Cockney English and its influence on Australian and New Zealand English. Video/C 921 The Loaded Weapon. Discusses the influence of Irish Gaelic on the English language in Ireland and describes how these linguistic differences produce the cultural and political differences with England.
Video/C 921 Next Year's Words. Explores the usage of English in the languages of other countries and illustrates how Pidgin English, patois and other dialects have altered and enriched the English language. Video/C 922
- Trials of Life: pt.10. Talking to Strangers.
- Discussion of various modes of animal communication. 60 min. Video/C 2390 pt. 10.
- Transitions: Destruction of a Mother Tongue
- This film by Blackfeet producers explores the relationship between language, thought, and culture, and examines the impact of language loss in Native American communities. The film chronicles the disappearance of the Blackfeet tribal language during the period of 1890-1990, with analysis of why the Mother tongue was destroyed. 1991. 30 min. Video/C 7226
- Unlocking Language
- A group of experts discuss the birth, development, and transmission of language in humans as opposed to communication within animal species. Topics include the role of evolution; language as an innately guided behavior in babies and young children; the relationship between genes and language disorders; and the isolation of the Speech 1 gene through research of the KE family in London. 29 min. Video/C 6221
- Voices in a Deaf Theater
- This unusually perceptive documentary chronicles the rehearsal process of four hearing actors and four deaf actors as they collaborate on a production of The Glass Menagerie at Gallaudet University. The deaf actors on-stage perform in American Sign Language while hearing actors provide a simultaneous voice
version. For the play to work dramatically, the two sets of players must achieve a shared interpretation of the characters and a common style and cadence. This production was filmed at Gallaudet University. 1996. 26 min. Video/C 5804
- Washoe: The Monkey Who Communicates through Sign Language.
- Using film footage from 1965 on, this documentary traces the life and unique accomplishments of Washoe, the first chimpanzee to communicate with humans and other monkeys in American sign language. Shows Washoe as she was raised like a child by two psychologists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner, who were studying the influence of human interaction on simians. 53 min. Video/C 6219
- When the Mind Hears.
- When the Mind Hears: An Interview with Harlan Lane An in-depth interview with the author of the book When the Mind Hears. Some of the topics discussed include information that Harlan gathered doing his research but did not or could not include in the book, personal insights and observations, and implications for the present and future. 55 min. Video/C 3129 My New Family In this film the story of the childhood and education of Laurent Clerc, a pioneer of deaf education, is described. When he was twelve, after being deprived of the opportunity to attend school, he went with his uncle on a week long journey to the National Institute for Deaf-Mutes in Paris. It was here that Laurent Clerc spent the next twenty years and met a young deaf man, Jean Massieu. "I knew that I would learn this new deaf language and that these people, this society of the deaf, would become my new family. 36 min. Video/C 3130 The Shepherd and the Symbol.
This film examines the life and work of Jean Massieu. Describes Massieu's frustrated pleas to his father to be allowed to attend school, the kindness of a stranger that lead to his early education in Bordeau under the abbe Sicard and several dramatic examples of Massieu's decades-long friendship with and loyalty to the abbe Sicard. Jean Massieu was not only a friend and mentor of Laurent Clerc, but he was also "the first deaf teacher ever and a symbol worldwide of what a deaf man could achieve through education." 29 min. Video/C 3131
High Theater. This film tells the story of Abbe Roch-Ambroise Sicard, the teacher of Jean Massieu. As the successor to the Abbe de l'Epee, Sicard, along with Massieu, presented a petition to the French National Assembly and obtained a permanent home for the school--Saint-Jacques. Sicard eagerly continued the tradition of public demonstrations and exhibits started by the Abbe de l'Epee. In 1815 Sicard undertook a demonstration tour to London with Massieu, Clerc, and another students. According to Clerc "thus it was that I first came to meet Rev. Thomas Gallaudet." 33 min. Video/C 3132
The Secret. This film concerns the history of the false education of deaf people. Focus is upon oralism, the concept that the only proper route for educating deaf students is oral instruction. A central figure in the oralist controversy is Jacob Rodrigue Pereire. He claimed to have a secret method for teaching deaf children to speak. This episode is "a record of the efforts of hearing people to supplant the language of the deaf with their language, to replace signs with speech." 33 min. Video/C 3134
A Tale Based on Fact. This film focuses on Abbe de L'Epee, and the beginning of world wide education for deaf people. The chance encounter between Abbe de L'Epee and two deaf sisters launched him on his career with deaf students and inspired the abbe to begin his school. What is remarkable is that this occurred in an age when the majority view was that deaf people had no abstract ideas, no memory and, of course, no language. "Fortunately, Eppe's independence of spirit kept him from adopting the prevailing views uncritically." 28 min. Video/C 3133
Success and Failure. This film centers around two men, Jean-Marc Itard and Baron Joseph Marie De Gerando, who expended great time and energy in futile efforts to transform deaf students into pseudo-hearing students. There were, fortunately, outspoken critics of these efforts...men such as Ferdinand Berthier and Roch-Ambroise Bebian. In the end, both Itard and De Gerando learned the lessons of their failed experiments. 40 min. Video/C 3135
Fortune and Misfortune. This film centers on events that lead to the founding of education for deaf students in the United States. Thomas Gallaudet, encouraged by Mason Cogswell to learn the European methods of educating deaf students, enrolls at Saint-Jacques. It is here that Gallaudet convinces Laurent Clerc to accompany him to Hartford to assist in founding a school for the deaf in the United States. "You will be a living proof that what has been believed impossible--the education of those born deaf--is indeed possible." 30 min. Video/C 3136
Spreading the Word.This film centers around the efforts of Gallaudet and Clerc to establish the American Asylum, recruit students and seek funding for the school and its programs. These efforts involved extensive travel and public lectures not only to solicit funds but also to recruit students so the school would flourish. Within a dozen years of its founding the school was receiving students from half the states in the Union. "This assembly of much of the deaf youth of America in one place was one of the main forces that created a true society of the deaf with a single language serving to bind them together." 24 min. Video/C 3137
Concerning Women. In this film four women who made significant contributions to the education of the deaf are discussed: Alice Cogswell, Julia Brace, Eliza Boardman Clerc, and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet. Alice Cogswell was the deaf daughter of Mason Cogswell, and the source of the motivation of this pioneer educator; Julia Brace was the first educated deaf-blind person in America; Eliza Boardman, a student at the American Asylum, married Laurent Clerc, in what was the first deaf marriage in America; Sophia Fowler was the fourteen student to enter the school and eventually married Thomas Gallaudet. Their fourth son became president of the National Deaf-Mute College in Washington, D.C. 19 min. Video/C 3138
A Dangerous Incursion. Describes attempts to eradicate and eliminate the language and society of the deaf that had been nurtured at the American Asylum in Hartford. Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe, self-proclaimed social reformers, squandered time, effort and money on the surface appearance of oral language rather than on the true bedrock of intellectual development. "Powerful hearing people want to replace our language, to educate us in a foreign tongue, to disperse our gatherings, to ban our marriages." 18 min. Video/C 3139
The Denial. This film centers upon the opposed viewpoints concerning signed and oral languages between Alexander Graham Bell and Laurent Clerc. Bell was a firm believer in oralism while Clerc favored a deaf community and sign language. Clerc believed that the overriding purpose of education was personal fulfillment, while for Bell it was integration of deaf persons with the hearing majority. 37 min. Video/C 3140
The Incurable Deafness. This final film of the series is reported from the perspective of Harlan Lane concerning his views on the current situation for deaf persons. He believes that the congress held by the Pereire Society in 1880 in Milan was "the single most critical event which released a tidal wave or oralism which resulted in the submersion of sign language and signing communities. He feels the dominance of oralism and the supression of signing have resulted in the limited educational achievement of today's deaf men and women, 80% of whom, in America, are engaged in manual or unskilled labor." 24 min. Video/C 3141
- A Word in Edgewise.
- Film explains the role of language in shaping behavior and explores sex bias in everyday speech and writing.Cites illustrations of abuses as well as suggestions to improve awareness of our use and abuse of language. Video/C 3363
- A World of Differences: Understanding Cross-cultural Communication.
- Highlights the potentials for misunderstanding when different cultures interact. Examines problem areas of food, gestures, idioms, ritual and courtesy, touch and personal space, emotion, parents and children, courtship and marriage, and intercultural couples. Directed by Dane Archer. 35 min. DVD 8349; vhs Video/C 4716
- A World of Gestures: Culture & Nonverbal Communication.
- Gestures from different cultures around the world are explored. People from many nations are shown performing all kinds of gestures pecular to their culture. Also explored are the meaning, function and origin of gestures. Directed by Dane Archer. 27 min. DVD 8350; vhs Video/C 2429
- Yeah You Rite!
- The English language as spoken in New Orleans has been influenced by the city's rich and varied history, leaving it with dozens of unique words and phrases that all New Orleanians understand but which frequently baffle visitors. 29 min. Video/C 2902
- Yiddish, the Mame-Loshn (Yiddish, the Mother Tongue).
- Filmed in Los Angeles and New York, documentary examining the importance of the Yiddish language and culture to American Jews today through interviews, films, poetry and Yiddish music. 58 min. Video/C 3197
- Zoll Zeyn
- Presents the state of Yiddish culture in contemporary Israel through interviews with Yiddish-speaking people from many different walks of life, from socialist Bundists in Tel Aviv to the Orthodox in Jerusalem, from people in the street to poets, singers, revolutionaries, journalists and actors for whom Yiddish is a living language in the midst of Hebrew. They share stories and vignettes of their experiences, their love of Yiddish language and literature and the attitude in Israel toward Yiddish. 1989. 135 min. Video/C 9590
To the top
