Part I: The Language of Starbucks

            As taught by Dalton Conley, each culture has its own language and way of organizing experiences that are lost in translation upon attempting to convey such ideas to a nonmember of that culture.  Starbucks is not an exception to this idea and in fact, the company and its customers’ use of a unique, blended language indecipherable to those unfamiliar with the subculture is what contributes to its distinctive, exclusive nature. 

            Initially in its beginning years, Starbucks’ drink sizes were categorized into two groups: Short and Tall, for the eight-ounce and twelve-ounce sizes, respectively.  This language is typical of American cultural use of the words with short designated as a quantity less than tall, just as the two drinks vary in size this way.  With the growth of Starbucks, sizes Grande (“large in Italian), Venti (“twenty” in Italian), and Trenta (“thirty” in Italian) were added to the menu while the language deviated entirely from English and adopted an Italian flare.  The three represent the sixteen-ounce, twenty-ounce, and thirty-ounce servings in this way.  Why use this complicated naming system?  According author and entrepreneur, Nathan W. Morris, Starbucks implements this “proprietary language” to add novelty to a simple task while also adding a sense of exclusivity to the brand and overall “Starbucks experience”.  For example, by removing the standard “small”, “medium”, and “large” choices used at most other fast food retailers in America and designating completely novel names to the same size options, Starbucks makes ordering a unique and distinctive experience.  Even with an understanding of the Italian language, any outsider to the subculture would still not be able to infer which sizes represent the different volumes of servings merely through direct translation.  Therefore, Starbucks goers are able to distinguish themselves from nonmembers and create a sense of elite exclusiveness to the subculture merely through language usage (Morris, n.d.: 1). 

            In an article, Sean Durham elaborates on how Starbucks is able to draw in new customers while keeping the old through a systematic and individual way to use specific language in ordering custom drinks.  Besides using distinct words to denote cup sizes, the drinks themselves are in Italian, and even so, differ in some ways from the drinks these words represent in Italy.  For example, an Italian “Macchiato” “refers to an espresso shot marked with foam on top” (Durham, 2007: 2).  However, at Starbucks, this word is linked to a drink with foam marked by pouring espresso through it.  Though this seems like a small deviation, the drink resulting is entirely new with its own unique characteristics.  For a beginner and newcomer to the store, ordering may seem like a daunting task, however, this is a purposeful act on the part of the company.  Durham explains that, “Starbucks has set up a process for teaching it—
and having customers teach each other” (Durham, 2007: 1).  By creating a way for people to enter the culture through linguistic interaction with other members, Starbucks creates both unity and exclusiveness to entry.  Neglecting to include some items from the menu while still offering them for purchase, such as the Short and Trenta serving sizes, reinforces Starbucks’ “insider” mentality by allowing only those customers familiar with the culture to access these options.  By implementing an exclusive language, Starbucks opens the door for newcomers to learn said language and become empowered by a sense of accomplishment and belonging to the subculture.  Having this “insider knowledge and status” not only helps customers to return to the store to continue this membership, but also breeds desire in others to gain access to the culture, as well.

A traditional café in Italy

            Additionally, coffee was first brought to Egypt through Venice, as this was a center of trade between the European and Arabic people, and was originally only accessible to the exclusively wealthy population.  From its beginnings coffee and the café was tied eliteness and romance, yet paradoxically comfortable and social.  It is no surprise, then, that in choosing its novel language, Starbucks incorporated some Italian influence in its naming choices.  According to Sapir-Whorf theory, “the language we speak directly influences (and reflects) the way we think about and experience the world” (Conley, 2013: 82).  Starbucks implements Italian words in order to influence people to believe they are exclusive in their belonging to the subculture.  Additionally, through use of this unique language, Starbucks goers are inclined to believe they too are personally unique and elite, continuing to capitalize on this feeling by returning to the store. 

Entire websites and articles have been denoted to simply aiding outsiders in learning how to “get inside” and order a certain drink at the store:

How to Order at Starbucks 

Shown in Ellen DeGeneres’ sketch, many use comedic satire to discuss both the unique language system utilized by the retailer and the seemingly obsessive nature of Starbucks’ customers.