Village English |
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Definition |
Village English (VE) is a linguistic variety of English. VE, in our region of Western Alaska, uses English words but follows some of the Yugtun grammatical structures. Steven Jacobsen calls this Yup’ik influenced English (1984). VE is its own variety of English that follows consistent rules just like Standard American English, British English or any other language. VE is another vernacular of English (Jacobsen, 1984).
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Nonverbal Communication |
Other functions of meaning in Village English include multi-modalities such as gestures, sounds, and body language. For example, a quick subtle raise of the eyebrows communicates, “yes” or agreement. A slurping sound communicates that the food mentioned in conversation sounds delicious to eat, or the thought of it is making them in the mood to eat it. Looking at the ground when being corrected is a sign of respect.
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Challenges in learning SAE |
One common SAE grammatical structure that challenges VE speakers is the use of the past tense in SAE. Past tense in VE is known by context using what would be considered present tense SAE verbs. Typical journal entries by first graders about what they did yesterday, for example, included, “I play out” or “I go store.” Another example is “I slide down,” referring to sledding or sliding down a snow bank on their bottom. To address this challenge, my project focused on having students retell elder stories using past tense verbs in SAE. Past tense is a very difficult concept for my students to apply since they use VE in their everyday speech. |
Teacher Awareness |
As a teacher from another culture, becoming aware of the many different aspects of meaning within the culture helped me to understand my students. When I finally understood that VE was a valid dialect of English that my students spoke fluently, I realized that my students were not handicapped linguistically. And that they were not “caught between English and Yup'ik without knowing any language,” as I heard different teachers state sadly. My students were very capable of learning language. I explained to students that, in school, we needed to practice speaking and writing using academic English. At home and around town people speak VE and that is another way to talk.
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Further Explanation |
If you want a more comprehensive explanation of Village English developed by the Alaska Department of Education Bilingual/Bicultural Education Programs
CENTRAL YUP'IK AND THE SCHOOLS A Handbook for Teachers Written by Steven A. Jacobson |