Demonstration of multilingualism

One of the ways to demonstrate knowledge is to show knowledge of foreign

languages. In the United States, where monolingualism is the norm, multilingualists

are thought to be capable and intelligent if he or she knows certain languages other

than English. For example, knowing French or Latin is great symbolic capital (see

Bourdieu 1991) in American society because they are symbols of knowledge. Trying

hard to impress the ladies, Howard often demonstrates his knowledge of foreign

languages. However, in this sitcom, audience does not know for sure his foreign

language ability; we can only judge this from his self-report (in episode 101, where he

claims to speak seven languages) and his decorative code-mixing:

Example 32 (from 202)

At the corridor, Penny and a handsome, tall man named Eric, greet with the four men, who just came back from the Renaissance fair in period costumes.

TC 3

Penny: Okay, fine, whatever, um, you guys, this is my friend Eric.

Howard: Hello.

Leonard: Hi.

Eric: Hey.

Leonard: So, yeah, good to see you.

Penny: Yeah, yeah, it’s good to see you too. (to Eric) We should really go.

Eric: Yeah.

Penny: (leaving) Bye, guys.

Eric: (leaving, to Howard) Like your hat.

=> Howard: Thanks, my mom made it. (laughter) sub-TC 3 Penny with a new guy, très awkward. (laughter)

The humor at the place of the first laughter is rooted from Jewish stereotypes,

and it will be discussed in sections to come. The laughter is partly due to the

awkwardness of the scene (Penny and Leonard broke up after just one date in the last

episode), and partly due to Howard’s decorative code-mixing. “Très” is a French word

meaning “very,” and it is not necessary to borrow this word from French. In fact,

Howard can just say, “Penny with a new guy, very awkward.” The French adverb très

does not carry the sentiment of prestige and formality or the function of irony and

dramatic effects, as with the case of “au contraire” and “on the contrary”. Perhaps it

reinforces the intensity of emphasis to some degree, but this unnecessary code-mixing

is incongruous with normal situation, hence the laughter.

In the following example, Sheldon opts to speak the sentence he intends to

emphasize in Latin. Different from the decorative code-mixing from the last example,

this instance of code-mixing has its significance:

Example 33 (from 322)

Seven years ago. Sheldon was interviewing Leonard before he was allowed to move in to live with him.

TC 6

Sheldon: Have a seat.

Leonard: OK.

(Leonard tries to sit on one of the chairs) Sheldon: No, that’s where I sit! (laughter) Leonard: What’s the difference?

Sheldon: This seat is ideally located both in relation to the heat source in the winter and the cross breeze in the summer. It also faces the television in the direct angle, allowing me to immerse myself in entertainment or game-play without being subjected to conversation. As a result, I’ve placed it in the state of the eternal dips. (laughter)

Leonard: Can you do that?

=> Sheldon: Cathedra mea, regulae meae. (laughter) That's Latin for “my chair, my rules.” (laughter)

Sheldon chooses Latin to announce his rules because Latin has been a powerful

language. It was the language of Roman Empire and medieval Catholic Church, and

its authority and symbolic power continues to today, despite the fact that Latin has

been pronounced as a dead language. One of the most famous Latin quotes is “Veni,

vidi, vici”, to which Sheldon tries to parallel his “rules”. The Latin sentence sounds

comical because Sheldon tries to demonstrate that he is more intelligent (his

knowledge of Latin) and more powerful (the symbolic power of Latin in Occidental

culture) than Leonard by using Latin; however, it does not justify his reason, only

intensifies his tyrannical attitude. The Latin sentence somehow backfires and

highlights Sheldon’s being unreasonable and obstinate, and it triggers laughter. The

translation that follows the Latin phrase is unnecessary because the true meaning of

this sentence diminishes the “power” and “intelligence” of the Latin sentence, hence

another laughter.

Not only they have the knowledge of many languages, but they also speak a

constructed language, Klingon.

Example 34 (from 207)

At Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment. The four guys are playing Klingon boggles.

TC 1

Sheldon: Time. Alright Klingons, pencils down.

=> Leonard: Okay, I have pokh. (laughter) All: Have it./Got it.

=> Leonard: Potl. (laughter) All: Yup./Have it.

=> Leonard: Pukhpa. (laughter) All: Have it./Yup.

=> Howard: I have Chorrr. (laughter) Raj & Sheldon: Got it.

=> Howard: Nekhmakh. (laughter) Raj & Sheldon: Yeah.

Howard: And Kreplach.

Raj: Hold on a second. Kreplach?

Howard: Yeah.

Raj: That isn’t Klingon; it’s Yiddish for meat-filled dumpling. (laughter) Howard: Well, as it turns out, it’s also a Klingon word.

Leonard: Really? Define it.

Howard: Kreplach, A hearty Klingon (pause) dumpling. (laughter) Raj: Judge’s ruling?

=> Sheldon: (thumb down) Bilurrrbe. (laughter)

The four nerds are competing on the knowledge of vocabulary of Klingon

language, a constructed language created by American linguist Marc Okrand

specifically for the popular sci-fi enterprise, Star Trek. In the series, it is spoken by the

Klingons, a race of humanoid aliens. The Klingon language has its own orthography,

also created by Okrand. The fact that all four nerds can speak Klingon demonstrates

that they are Star Trek fans, which is a common stereotype for nerds; also, they are

capable of speaking another language and pronouncing sounds that are foreign to

mainstream Americans, who are mostly monolingual. Multilingualism among

Americans is less common in other parts of the world, thus, American people who can

speak more than one language are considered stereotypically as more intelligent.

Therefore, demonstrating multilingualism is a way to show that one is intellectually

superior. The unusual pronunciation of Klingon, which employs many phonemes

non-existent in English, also contributes to humor because of its peculiarity. The

competition is not easy to begin with, but the fact that Raj has the ability of tell

Yiddish from Klingon further demonstrates his multilingualism, and stereotypically

smarter.

In the following example, we can see that not every language is as valuable as French or Latin does in American society:

Example 35 (from 309)

TC 10

Raj: I was on the radio once. I called in to Fever 104 FM New Delhi and was the fourth person to say the phrase that pays, “Fever 104, ashkenay ke chish ka’a kat” (laughter) That means: “Fever 104, home of the really good current music.” (silence) (laughter) It’s much catchier in Hindi. (laughter)

Raj brings about an anecdote that he once called a radio station in New Delhi. He

says a sentence in Hindi, and it evokes laughter of the audience. To American

audience who does not speak Hindi, this sentence sounds exotic and interesting. But

to keep the conversation going, Raj is required to explain what it means since the

other three guys do not speak Hindi. However, after the explanation is given, the

“aura” and the exotic feeling of the sentence are gone, leading to the silence after the

explanation, thus concludes Raj, “it’s much catchier in Hindi.” This example tells us

that Hindi lacks the force of French and Latin does in the U.S. The audience does not

laugh because of the “extra factor” that speaking Hindi brings, but the silence that

follows it.