Re: Language Subtag Registration

I object to this proposal.

The registration makes the claim that Philadelphia English is "not a
simple accent or set of colloquialisms", but then provides evidence that
suggests just the opposite. No source has been provided that supports
the notion that Philadelphia English is any more than a distinctive
collection of phonological patterns and lexicon, a concept that is
prevalent throughout English (and other languages), and I don't see why
we would need a variant tag for each of them. In addition, many of the
cited patterns and vocabulary are not unique to Philadelphia; each has
its own gradient of use up and down the East Coast of the United States.

In addition, one of the citations in the "other relevant information"
section is about ASL, which is a distinct language from English and
therefore not in fact relevant to the proposal.

I recommend that this proposal be rejected.

Gordon P. Hemsley
[email protected]
http://gphemsley.org/

On 08/21/2018 03:06 PM, Nicholas Felker wrote:
>    1. Name of requester: Nick Felker
>    2. E-mail address of requester: nickfelker at gmail dot com
>    3. Record Requested:
> 
>       Type: variant
>       Subtag: philly
>       Description: Philadelphia dialect of US English
>       Prefix: en-US
> 
>    4. Intended meaning of the subtag: 
> 
> The specific dialect of English as people speak in Philadelphia and the
> surrounding neighborhoods. This is not a simple accent or set of
> colloquialisms. I would argue that it is a unique variant of standard US
> English which has its own set of vocabulary, grammatical rules, and
> pronunciations that make it distinct in comparison to language used in
> other regions.
> 
> It is a blend of language which has evolved due to the cultural
> diversity of the city, with a mix of African American Vernacular English
> along with European immigrants from varying nations over several centuries.
> 
> As stated in section 3.6 of the RFC 5646, "variations within a
> language...or distinguishing variation MAY be registered as variant
> subtags". I believe that there is sufficient evidence to state that
> Philadelphia English is considered a distinguishing variation. This
> language variant has received ample study over the past several decades
> in both a colloquial setting as well as from professional linguists.
> 
>    5. Reference to published description
>       of the language (book or article):
> 
> The role of African Americans in Philadelphia sound change - William Labov
> https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-variation-and-change/article/role-of-african-americans-in-philadelphia-sound-change/9685036E424DB63B70D06FF8A66AA67F
> 
> A Jawn by Any Other Name: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Philadelphia
> Dialect - Ryan Hall
> https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=honors_projects
> 
>    6. Any other relevant information:
> 
> Philadelphia English - Wikipedia
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_English
> 
> Project by Penn linguists documents Philadelphia accent in ASL
> https://penntoday.upenn.edu/2016-01-21/research/project-penn-linguists-documents-philadelphia-accent-asl
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Ietf-languages mailing list
> [email protected]
> https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf-languages
> 

_______________________________________________
Ietf-languages mailing list
[email protected]
https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf-languages