The Assignment
Junk language is a representation of one language or dialect inside another usually for humorous effect. Junk languages can be written or spoken. For this assignment we will be focusing on written versions.
Junk language artifacts usually include stereotyped characteristics of the language being portrayed. These characteristics can relate to intonation, morphology, lexicon (words that “represent” a whole language) or syntax, among other linguistic features. For example, Junk Italian (“Thasa spicy meataball!”), Junk Japanese (“Flied lice”) or Junk Hindi (“Namaste in bed!”).
When junk language is written down, it sometimes employs forms of pseudoscript associated with a particular system of writing such as the example above. Pseudoscripts are fake versions of systems of writing. Examples of junk writing and pseudoscript would include distorted or meaningless Japanese on baseball caps, made-up Mayan glyphs on chocolate wrappers, meaningless Greek on a restaurant sign, or mangled Chinese characters as tattoos. Examples of junk language and pseudoscript such as advertisements, t-shirts, signage, menus, coffee cups, or other printed material. They might also be from comics, billboards, restaurant names, or other media. Characteristics of junk language and pseudoscript often reflect attitudes toward a culture, a language, and/or its speakers.
For this assignment you are to find two examples of junk language and write a description and analysis of them. You should find your own examples and not use examples from published sources or those included in this assignment prompt. Your two examples should be of appropriated artifacts of junk language, junk writing or pseudoscript. Of course you are free to find these examples using the Internet. You must include images of both of your examples with your paper.
After locating these examples (your data), write a short 400 word paper exploring the meanings of the junk language artifacts you collected. What are their characteristics? What makes them junk language? What meanings are transferred to mundane objects and media through the use of appropriated language and/or fake writing? What attitudes toward languages, cultures, and peoples do they reflect? To what degree are these representations of “Other” language artifacts or scripts really about the display and verification of difference? What non-linguistic functions do the artifacts address (symbolic, aesthetic, indexical, decorative, iconographic, humor, etc)? What is their relationship to consumer culture?
