Using language – Assignment 1

Use of language in “Blood diamond” from a sociolinguistic perspective

Tôn Nữ Hoàng Anh
Ho Chi Minh City Open University
USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 1

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2

Ethnicity.......................................................................................................................................................2

Speech accommodation processes..............................................................................................................3

Relative social status....................................................................................................................................6

Speech act analysis.......................................................................................................................................7

Conclusion and implications.........................................................................................................................8

References...................................................................................................................................................9
USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 2

Introduction
It goes without saying there is a significant correlation between the society and the language
used in it. Holmes (2013) stated that:
Examining the way people use language in different social contexts provides a wealth of
information about the way language works, as well as about the social relationships in a
community, and the way people convey and construct aspects of their social identity through their
language. (p. 1)
Apparently, there are so many underlying reasons behind the difference in language use in
various circumstances. All the work and studies conducted to cast light on such aspects are called
sociolinguistics. The different uses of language in the society are not only recorded in researches and
articles, but also expressed in many forms of arts and entertainment. In this paper, several variables of
sociolinguistics will be shown and analyzed through many examples taken from the movie “Blood
diamond”, which was a political war thriller movie released in 2006 and inspired by actual events
happening in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. Set in the Civil War of Sierra Leone in 1999, the
movie depicts the country torn apart in political unrest where the government and the RUF
(Revolutionary United Front) fought for the right to rule the country. During this chaotic period, Solomon
Vandy, a Mende fisherman, and Danny Archer, a Rhodesian diamond smuggler, with the help of the
American journalist Maddy Bowen, embarked on a quest for a precious pink rough diamond which had
the power to change their lives forever. According to the draft of the screenplay written by Edward Zwick
and Marshall Herskovitz (2005), the languages used in the movie include English, Mende and Krio.
Through the action-packed scenes, the movie illustrated very vibrantly how the different languages were
used in each context, which will be analyzed in detail in the following sections.

Ethnicity
Anzaldúa (1987) once claimed in her piece: “So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about
my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity. I am my language.” In fact, Fought (2011)
put special emphasis on ethnicity more than other social factors like social class, age or gender. Holmes
(2013) also added that when there are a number of languages available for use, an individual will be able
to reveal their ethnicity by their choice of language. According to Sesay, Nicol and Fyfe (2017), in Sierra
Leone, the Mende is one of the two largest ethnic groups and they speak Mende language. Besides, Krio
is a creole language which derived from English and various African languages, and is also the country’s
lingua franca. English is the country’s official language and is used in education, business and
USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 3

administration. This might explain why Dia, Solomon’s son, speaks English throughout the movie. The
verbal repertoire of Solomon includes Mende (he comes from the Mende ethnic group) and English, and
that of Archer includes English (his nationality is Rhodesian) and Krio, Maddy only speaks American
English (she is a journalist from the USA). Each character makes their linguistic choice depending on their
own reasons and certain context.

Speech accommodation processes

Giles & Powesland (1975) proposed the theory of speech accommodation. In this theory, they
suggested that there are two patterns of behavior, namely convergence (where an individual will try to
accommodate towards the speech style of another person so as to minimize the differences between
them or to communicate more effectively) and divergence (where the individual wants to maintain or
extend the distance with the other person). Le Page (1997) further defines the terms by stating that an
individual does not necessarily accommodate to the other speakers, but rather to his/her perceived
image of himself/herself to them. Throughout the movie, there are scenes in which the characters’
choice of language use shifts from one to another, and in other scenes, their choice remains unchanged.
Table 1 and 2 below illustrate two dialogues between Solomon and his son, Dia.
Table 1
Conversation between Solomon and Dia (at home)
(Timeline: 00:01:09)
Speaker Lines
Solomon (in Mende) Dia.
(in Mende) Don't want to be late.
Dia English boys don't go to school every day.
Solomon (in Mende) Every day. Just like you.
(in Mende) So you can become a doctor, not mend the nets like your father...
(in Mende) Now get out of bed before I tan your back with my fishing rod.
In this scene, Solomon keeps his first language when talking to his son, which is a divergence
behavior. One of the reasons may be he wants to appear stricter towards his son so as to get him to go
to school. He wants his son to have a better life than him and the only way is to go to school to study and
become a doctor.
Table 2
Conversation between Solomon and Dia (on their way home after school)
(Timeline: 00:02:48)
Speaker Lines
Dia Teacher say this country was founded as a utopia.
USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 4

Do you know what that word means, Papa?

Well, she says someday when the war is over...our world will be a paradise.
Solomon (in English) And all this you learn in one day?
Dia And math and science.
Solomon (in English) This is too much learning. Tomorrow, you will stay home and mend the
nets, yes?
Dia No, Papa.
Solomon (in English) What? So now you want to go to school every day?
In the next scene, Solomon changes from Mende to English. The language Dia uses at school and
most of the time is English; therefore, it can be more effective for Solomon to have a conversation about
school in this language. Moreover, this is a moment of closeness between a father and his son, so
speaking in English helps Solomon share deeper feelings with Dia. This shift is considered to be a
convergence behavior.
Table 3 below illustrates a conversation between Archer and Captain Rambo.
Table 3
Conversation between Archer and Captain Rambo
(Timeline: 00:09:53)
Speaker Lines
Archer Where is Commander Zero?
Captain Rambo I am Captain Rambo.
Archer Right. Right, I've seen your films, huh?
I'm looking for Commander Zero, huh?
Captain Rambo He's inside. You talk to me.
You are here to help us in our struggle against the government.
Archer I'm here to do business with Commander Zero, all right?
All right. You are the man, huh? You are the man.
Here, huh?
Captain Rambo Hey. I'm talking to you! Stop!
Archer Commander Zero
Captain Rambo (in Krio) Hey. I go kill you, eh?
Archer It's fine, huh? It's fine.
At first, Captain Rambo accommodates towards Archer by using English, which is convergence
behavior, but as Archer walks inside, Captain Rambo switches to Krio in order to threaten Archer, which
now turns into a divergence behavior. Later, a convergence behavior is conducted by Archer towards
Commander Zero, as shown in the table below.
Table 4
Conversation between Archer and Commander Zero (in Krio language)
(Timeline: 00:11:08)
Speaker Lines
Commander Zero You get something for me?
USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 5

Archer And yourself get something for me, huh?

Commander Zero You bring the plane come first.
Archer Are you craze? You get to pay me first for them.
This no fine, huh? This no fine.
Commander Zero This no more you get!
Archer Then your boys then can use one ol' rotten AK them against them government
troop and their new weapons them, huh?
Commander Zero Maybe I could just kill you and take away what you bring back!
Archer Then you get one more dead body instead of aeroplane way full with grenade
launchers. So I think I go to them government then, huh? Them government, at
least them go pay me, huh?
Commander Zero Wait, wait. Wait, my friend. This the thing you want? Here.
So many I not know what do with them all.
Hey, Archer, next time, you bring satellite TV, eh? I wanna see Baywatch.
As can be clearly seen from the script, so as to become a friendlier partner of Commander Zero
and ask for his own benefits, Archer chooses to speak to him in Krio, a language whose grammar and
vocabulary have unique features and, to some extent, are different from that of English. For example,
there is an omission of the verb “be” in the sentence structure, and the word “craze” is used, which is
grammatically incorrect in English, instead of “crazy”.

Relative social status

Wardhaugh and Fuller (2015) suggested that “how languages are evaluated usually has very little
to do with their linguistic features, and much more to do with the social status of the groups associated
with them” (p. 74), and individuals not only use language to make themselves become part of a specific
group, but they are also categorized by that language use. Meyerhoff (2006) mentioned that an
individual’s social status is oftentimes indicated by the wealth of property and his/her profession. Guy
(2011) also commented that the nature of social group classification is the differences in “status and
power”, which need to be investigated in depth so as to understand the differences in language use
among classes. Among the four social dimensions put forward by Holmes (2013), the status scale, as
illustrated below, points out the relationship between social status and the language choice.
Figure 1
The status scale by Holmes (2013)
Superior High status

Subordinate Low status

In the movie, there is a scene in which Archer talks to his employer, Colonel Coetzee. In this
scene, the way Archer address Colonel is very different from that he uses for others.
Table 5
USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 6

Conversation between Archer and Colonel Coetzee

(Timeline: 00:32:03)
Speaker Lines
Archer So you sell the rebels weapons, the government hires you when they use
them? Nice, sir.
I assume you're asking for mining concessions, huh?
Colonel Coetzee We save the government, they show their gratitude.
Archer And you get rich, right?
Colonel Coetzee How long have I known you, Danny?
Archer I was... I was 19, sir.
Colonel Coetzee And you survived. A lot of boys didn't. Why is that?
Archer Just lucky, I guess.
Colonel Coetzee No, you were a good soldier. But I made you better, didn't I?
Archer Yes, sir. Yes, you did.
While Archer calls others by their names or even, in some cases, “bru” which is a South African
slang for “brother”, in this dialogue, “sir” is the form of address that Archer uses for Colonel. This signals
that Archer is aware that Colonel is at a higher social status than him as Colonel is his employer and the
leader of a military company.

Speech act analysis

The initial idea of speech act was put forward by Austin (1962). In his theory, he suggested that
utterances can be made to perform locutionary acts, perlocutionary acts, or illocutionary acts. Searle
(1999) introduced a taxonomy based on Austin’s “illocutionary point”, as shown in the table below.
Table 6
Searle’s speech act taxonomy
Categories Usage
Assertives To commit the addressee to a truth
Directives To try to get the addressee to do something
Commissives To commit the addressee to doing something in the future
Expressives To express the attitude of the speaker to an object
Declaratives To make the change of the world
Throughout the movie, a large number of directive speech act are carried out.
Table 7
Conversation between Archer and RUF Colonel
(Timeline: 00:32:03)
Speaker Lines
RUF Colonel Bring forward the next one. Bring him forward. Bring him forward.
RUF Colonel’s assistant Long sleeve or short sleeve?
USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 7

RUF Colonel Short sleeve! Chop him!

Hold on, hold on. Wait, wait, wait.
Not this one. Look at him.
Put him in the truck. Let's go.
Bring him to the mines.
He can work. He can work. Move, move, move.

Within just a few seconds of the scene, the RUF Colonel gave a lot of commands to the RUF
rebels. Not just the direct orders are given, threats by the RUF head are also expressed indirectly: “Any
bastard think he would joke with me diamond, I go cut he throat. (Timeline: 00:08:12). His illocutionary
force is not just to inform, but also to warn the miners not to try to find ways to steal the diamonds. The
RUF heads are the rebels who are in control of the diamond mines and are equipped with weapons.
Therefore, they have a higher status than the poor villagers and give themselves the right to make those
commands. It can be inferred from the speech acts that an utterance can have more than just one effect.

Conclusion and implications

Taking all of the aforementioned aspects into consideration, it can be concluded that linguistic
choices and aspects of any society are inseparable. They all need to be carefully considered so that one
can fully understand how each element works and has an influence on one another. The study of
sociolinguistics helps me have a deeper insight into any linguistic phenomena, which will be a priceless
resource of information and knowledge that I can deliver to my students. As for the “Blood diamond”
movie, in specific, I can introduce the analyses on ethnicity, speech accommodation processes, social
status and speech act to my classroom, helping them understand more about Sierra Leoneans’
ethnographic background and the underlying motives behind their language use. Above all, the most
crucial thing I would like my students to bear in mind is that it takes not just the linguistic system and
skills but also the understanding of the native culture to truly acquire a language.

Word count: 2242

USE OF LANGUAGE IN “BLOOD DIAMOND” FROM A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE 8

References
Anzaldúa, G. (1987). How to tame a wild tongue. Borderlands/la frontera: The new mestizo. Aunt Lute
Books.
Austin, J. (1962). How to Do Things with Words. Oxford University Press.
Fought, C. (2011). Language and ethnicity. In R. Mesthrie (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of
Sociolinguistics. Cambridge University Press.
Giles, H. and Powesland, P. (1975). Speech Style and Social Evaluation. Academic Press.
Guy, G. (2011). Language, social class, and status. In R. Mesthrie (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of
Sociolinguistics .Cambridge University Press.
Holmes, J. (2013). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Routledge.
Le Page, R. B. (1997). The Evolution of a Sociolinguistic Theory of Language. In F. Coulmas (ed.), The
Handbook of Sociolinguistics. Blackwell.
Meyerhoff, M. (2006). Introducing sociolinguistics (3rd ed.). Routledge
Sesay, S. M., Nicol, D. S. & Fyfe, C. (2017). Sierra Leone. https://www.britannica.com/place/Sierra-Leone
Searle, J. R. (1999). Mind, language and society. Philosophy in the real world. Basic Books.
Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2015). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Wiley Blackwell.
Zwick, E. & Herskovitz, M. (2005). Blood diamond. https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Blood
%20Diamond_July_27_2005_draft).pdf