Phonology


Phonology is to do with sounds. It describes the way sounds function within a language or across languages to encode meaning into words. Phonology is to do with the system of language rather than the act of speech.


What children may find difficult to say:


Some children of different ages may have difficulties pronouncing specific words or sounds due to their age or just being less confident speakers than others. 'S' and 'Z' may be difficult for some children to pronounce especially if they have a lisp. The 'sha' sound in some words like 'especially' may also be difficult for children to say. Children learn sounds that use little thought or effort to pronounce earlier on for example 'P' and 'K' however sounds that use different areas of their voice at once to create a word may be more complicated and take longer for children to learn eg. 'that'. Words like 'juice' that require similar sounds from other letters like 'd' in the 'ju' part may also cause difficulties for children to learn.

 Zach drawing a banana transcript

Z begins by drawing a banana in his pad. He then begins to describe to H what he is drawing and H tries to engage him more in conversation by asking him many open questions like "what have you eaten today?" and "what happened though?". These types of questions allow Z to give H as much or as little detail as possible depending on whether he would like to engage in the conversation to a higher level or not. H used fifteen open-ended questions and around fourteen closed-ended however some of these closed-ended questions may have just been used for H to clarify the information to herself and not needing Z to confirm it for example "are the skins off are they?". H also asks a question and then continues speaking following this with another question for example "are the skins off are they? ready(.) so the bananas ready to eat?" this could be a cause for the little difference between the number of open and closed-ended questions. As some of the questions H asks probably wont get an answer as it may be too complicated for Z to have to remember both questions or the first one simply just does not needan answer.

HR magazine extract

Men and women are known to talk differently and there have been many different theories and claims that have tried to discover why. Is it due to society and the way people assume men and women should talk or is it purely biological? These differences in speech occur in the workplace as well as everyday life and employers, whether male or female, need to make more of an effort to understand the differences between their employees.

Women have been known to society as the "weaker" communicators. Their speech has been claimed as trying to please others. However it has also been found that women are more supportive speakers; they tend to listen whilst others are speaking and they wait for their turn, they have been found to interrupt less during conversations and they encourage others to continue speaking. Men on the other hand have been found to interrupt during conversations especially when it is a mixed sex conversation and they have been criticised for being highly dominant in conversation. This can create an uncomfortable atmosphere in the workplace as some women may not appreciate, especially in this day and age, men trying to dominate them whilst they are working at the same level and completing the same job as them. However the differences in the way men and women talk can be highly beneficial to employers as well as they will be able to assign specific roles to their employees based on how well they will be able to complete the tasks for example, men may be better at upselling their products as they are more able to dominate the conversation and the customers may be more likely to listen to them.


Commentry:


I wanted to show the differences that have been found in male and female talk and I wanted to show how this can cause difficulties, especially in the workplace. I wanted to show how later on in the article it was going to talk more about how the difference in men and womens speech could cause problems in the workplace so that the readers would be able to recognise the whole time whilst reading the article that it was based around employers valuing diverse speech.


I wanted to give examples of how the different ways in which men and women speak could also be beneficial to employers and show how they can make the best use of these differences. Including this at the end of the paragraph may persuade the reader to continue reading to find out more about the benefits of this diversity in their workforce. I also tried to be quite tentative in these examples as it is not often true that men are better at some things and women are better at others, they can be equally as good at the same things it just depends on the individual so by being tentative I have managed to allow more room for people to read into it the way they want to and to be able to apply it to their own situation.

Language change - Methodology task


Has the language in cookbooks changed since they first began?


- Look at one specific cookbook or chef eg. Jamie Oliver
- Look at specific areas of the cookbooks eg. healthy eating
- Collect samples from different years
- Select every third sample to examine
- Compare the different ways he describes the instructions eg. add one teaspoon of baking powder/one teaspoon of baking powder is added here

My ideas for my coursework:


I was thinking of doing some questionnaires and asking people with children how they used to get their children to do housework and tidy their rooms etc. and whether they had to bribe them at all or not and how they would go about getting them to do what they wanted. I was thinking of asking a range of parents that I know that have different gender and aged children, also I was thinking of having a range of parents so young, older, single etc. and compare the difference between the language they chose to use for different aged and gendered children.

Homework

 

I learnt that new words come into the English language through many different ways. For example people can name a product something and if it is used in everyday life then that name is then associated with the product and eventually becomes a word in the English language. Also words can come into the English language from other languages which we have adapted to make our own eg. Jusqu’au boutiste is a French word but during the war it was adapted to the English language as is means diehard. This could also suggest that words can enter the English language through events. As we adapt to using new words through experiences and many words we come across by accident and tend to continue using them or we change a certain word to become a new one.

 

I looked up the word Napoo which means gone/non-existent. This came into the English language from the French phrase "il n'y en a plus" meaning "There is (are) no more....."

 

Maconochie is another word that I looked up which is actually the name of a soup that they used to eat in the war. It was made by two brothers called Archibald and James Maconochie and so I believe they named their soup after themselves. This soup was apparently very disgusting when eaten cold however it tasted quite nice when heated up but most of the time it was eaten cold due to the conditions that they were in as they did not have enough time to heat it up.

 

The oxford English dictionary editors arrange the lists under the subheadings in alphabetical order and it seems to me that they almost listed the subheadings in chronological order as if to tell a story. This is interesting as it is almost telling the reader the little stories within all the wars and it continues through other wars to show how language as developed and changed throughout them all.

 

You could use this collection of words to investigate how some words came about and how they adapted and changed overtime to fit the new and evolving societies that it encounters. You could also investigate the amount of times the words are used in different eras or periods of history for example some words may be used more during wars as they are specifically related to war zones and can’t really be applied to everyday life eg. Foxhole.

You could link this to different time periods in history and see how language has evolved and how it differs to previous and possibly future generations.

 

YouTuber – why women should not vote

It’s your friend James the preacher here urrr why women should(.) not be allowed to vote (2) number one (1)  just because it would get em angry these feminists need to be outraged by men (2) and these women are outta control they’re outta their place and there’s some godly holy women I’m not talking about them I’m talking about the rest the 99 per cent of the others that urm (2) rebellious uhh just uh loud mouthed outspoken (2) uhh they think they’re in control they think they’re equal with a man (.) gods place (.) uh  is for a women to be (.) uhh  in submission but again point number one is uh its worth telling women they shouldn’t vote just to see them go (5) you know if they do that long enough I’ve told a female a couple of times they were stunned you know they’re mouth was open (1) if you do that for another 45 seconds you’ll break the world’s record for a woman being quiet ha call the new York times halleluiah uh (.) so it’s worth it just to see the look on their face and number two they need to be told no (2) most women aren’t told no so it’s a good thing secondly though the bibles place for a woman is to be in submission I know there was queens and all that but that’s that’s the exception  folks in fact in the new testament church (.) says that a woman is to be silent in the assembly so I know that just puts a jab into you feminists (.) so it’s worth saying it twice so women are to be silent in the assembly first with its 1434 they’re not to give a testimony not to even ask a question the bible says of their own husbands they have to ask at home ha I love it isn’t that great

“James the preacher” tends to use a lot of breaks during his speech of why women should not vote. This could suggest that he feels slightly awkward talking about this subject. Even though he clearly thinks he is right, he might also understand that many others across the world do not feel the same way as he does about women and their position in society. He knows whilst he is saying all of these things about women and slating them that he will be causing a lot of complaints and making a lot of people angry. This may make him slightly nervous in case he gets a lot of hate from women and possibly men with their own views on whether women should be able to vote or not. He could also just be taking a breath or thinking about what he is going to say next. Possibly thinking about what insults he can use or how he can cleverly word what he would like to say to create the most impact on the audience and their feelings of him and his views.

 

Taylor swift – you belong with me

You’re on the phone with your girlfriend she’s upset she’s goin off about somethin that you said cus she doesn’t (.) get your humour like I do (3)

I’m in my room it’s a typical Tuesday night I’m listenin to the kinda music she doesn’t like and she’ll never (.) know your story like I do (4)

But she’d wear short skirts I wear  t-shirts she’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers dreaming bout the day (.) when you wake up and find that what you’re (.) looking for has been here the whole time

If you could see that I’m the one who understands you been here all along so why can’t you see^ (2) you belong with me you belong with me (4)

Walk in the streets with you an your (.) worn out jeans I can’t help thinkin this is how it (.) ought to be(.) laughin on a park bench thinkin to myself (.) hey isn’t this easy ^(.) an you’ve got a smile that could light up (.) this whole town I haven’t seen it in a while since she brought you down(.) you say your fine I know you better than that (.) so watcha doin with a girl like that^

Taylor also uses pauses and slight breaks during her song. Some of them are just for her to catch her breath but some of them are added for effect. Possibly done to add emphasis on the words or phrases surrounding it for example “you belong with me” this is her main message through the song and repeating it straight after and then adding a long pause before she continues to her next verse I think places a lot of emphasis on the phrase and makes the audience remember it a lot more. She also adds a slight break after a question “so why can’t you see” this could be leaving room for the target audience (the man she is talking to/about) to fill it with an answer or to think about what she is saying and giving them time to realise that she is right and that he really does love her instead. However it could also just have been done so that it goes well with the tune of the song and fits into place with the music.

The YouTuber uses pauses to emphasise his own feelings and create strong feelings in the audience whereas Taylor uses pauses to add emphasis on particular phrases to add emotion to the song and true meaning to the song and the words that she is singing. She also is aiming her song at one particular person (the man that she wants to love her) so her lyrics are much more personal however the YouTuber is aiming his speech at anyone who has strong feelings about women being able to vote, this will most likely be feminists as they like change towards women’s strength and independence. His speech is also very personal however this is more to do with feelings and opinions whereas Taylors is about a specific individual, others may be able to relate to this but not fully as they are not her and the man.

Discussion in class:

 

My group chose to have a discussion about the Twitter text because we all shared an interest in Twitter and the way people choose to communicate on it. The interesting thing about communicating through Twitter is that it has a very unique style. It invented the “hash tag” which is now a very common thing that it is even used in every day speech and not just through social networks. Other social networking sites have adapted to the new Twitter language as well and so now you find hash tags on things like Facebook.

 

Throughout our discussion we chose to focus on a specific quote “Shh! Game of thrones” this is a very short sentence which is also associated with Twitter as everything on there is meant to be short - it even has a word limit for each tweet! This tweet links to the power theory as it is a famous man using his influential power through the use of the imperative “Shh!” this catches your attention as one you are not talking you are tweeting and two you are on a social networking site, you do not expect to be shushed. He is almost telling his followers that he doesn’t want any spoilers so if they have already seen that episode don’t tell him but he may also be saying “don’t talk to me unless it is about Game of thrones”. However almost an hour later he starts talking about the episode. This would suggest he had finished watching it and was inviting his followers to express their opinions on it. However this could be seen as an act of enforcing power as it is almost as if he is “allowing” them to speak/tweet again as the episode is now finished. It is almost as if he is controlling them and they are not allowed to do anything if he does not wish it.  

DOMINANCE

MALES tend to dominate females in conversation. They do this through the use of interruptions.

1975 Don Zimmerman and Candace West produced a study and found that throughout 11 mixed-sex conversations, men interrupted 46 times whereas women only interrupted 2 times. They concluded that since men interrupted more they are/are attempting to dominate the women.

Dale Spender said that patriarchal systems make it hard to challenge this power system that has always been there as everything we do or say reinforces this idea of male power.

Lakoff suggests that women asking questions is a sign of their insecurities and weakness in conversation.

However Fishman said that women ask questions because of the power of the question not their personality weaknesses.  Also in mixed-sex conversations men tend to speak for twice the length of women.

Dominance can appear throughout different ranges of communication. It can appear in conversations and also written form. In plays, books and films one character may dominate another but also in articles the writer may hold some form of dominance over the reader.

It has been suggested and is a widely known stereotype that women tend to talk more and men struggle to get a word in edgeways however there has been evidence like Zimmerman, West and Fishman to suggest that when men and women are together men tend to talk the most.

Zoe Williams – the guardian – Thursday 20^th march 2014

Into the be-snaked swamp that is the equal pay debate comes an interesting case from the US. You will recall that women are accused – particularly by a certain type of free-market, the-answer-is-within-you, rabid possessive individualist (Sheryl Sandberg) – of failing to negotiate properly for themselves.

 

With that in mind we turn to New York's Nazareth college, which offered a job to a female academic whom we're calling W. She replied with a set of demands, including an increase in pay. Perhaps I'm already being sexist, calling them demands; maybe if W were a man I would have called them requests. You can read the full text of her demands/requests here.

 

It seems obvious that most salary offers are starting points and it's perfectly natural to ask for more money. Does it sound unenthusiastic to raise a sabbatical and postpone your start date for a year before you've even begun? Possibly. Is there something tragic about having to ask, hypothetically, for one term of maternity leave as part of your opening position, to be negotiated downwards, rather than expect it from a civilised nation as a human right? I think so.

Zoe is aware of the differences between men and women and she is comfortable enough to speak up about it but even she is scared to ask for things that she wants and feels she is entitled to because of the way society is and the dominance that others have over her.

Text A, B and C all uses graphological images to assist their meaning. Text A has a large image of the centre of a building it dominates the page and could make the reader feel overwhelmed and quite small. It is for “one of the UKs top 50 FTSE companies” so the image makes the reader automatically realise that the company is bigger and holds the power over them completely as they are the experts.  This assists the writing as it says “all-round performer” and it is a circular building and it looks like an image coming straight from someone’s mind of them looking up at it; possibly the performers eyes.

Text B uses an image of a chocolate mousse cake to assist a recipe. They put the image there to show the reader the outcome of the recipe and perhaps to entice them to actually make the cake. The image is probably meant to be the first thing that you are drawn to on the page especially if you love chocolate. I think it was paired with the text to attract the reader to that specific recipe to interest them to make it. The image looks like the cake is quite gooey and indulgent and in the recipe it says “melty and gooey” this reinforces the readers idea that the cake will turn out like that for them.

Text C uses an image of the Mr men to assist the text by telling the story through the image possibly to help the reader visualise it easily as it is aimed at young children.

Task: To find a text on language and power, analyse it and plan the structure and terminology I would need to include in my answer. I did this to improve my planning skills as I tend to just go straight into it and also to remember to include more terminology in my pieces of writing.

I am going to learn more terminology and then write a paragraph on the question we were given using the new terminology that i have learnt and including lots of context and quotes.

Interview with Kardashian sisters and Piers Morgan:

 

MORGAN: To me, you're kind of like the new Brady Bunch.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: Yes. We get that a lot.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: We're a wild Brady Bunch.

 

 MORGAN: You know what I mean? Yes.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: We're a modern day Brady Bunch.

 

 (CROSSTALK)

 

 MORGAN: -- version of the Brady Bunch. Yes

 

 Is there anything you wouldn't do for the cameras?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: Absolutely. There's a lot that we wouldn't do.

 

 MORGAN: Well, we've seen you giving birth. I mean, would you -- would you record your own death?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: Yes. No.

 

 MORGAN: Would you?

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Absolutely not.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: How would you know when you're --

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Yes, how would you know? Are you getting killed?

 

 MORGAN: Well, really, who's going to care? You're going to die anyway.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Yes.

 

 MORGAN: Why not?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: There's a lot that we wouldn't show. I mean, I'm really particular on what I show about, you know, any relationship that I may have. Or there are so many personal things. And what's so cool is our relationship with the show is from the start, they've always said we have, you know, the right to edit and to approve all the footage. And so far, there hasn't been anything that we've taken out.

 

 MORGAN: Really?

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Like, I know in our New York season, I didn't feel comfortable having my son on the show. And I said -- and I don't know why. Like -- like you said, it's like I show giving birth. It's just, like, a personal thing. And I --

 

 MORGAN: Because that poor little mate, when he grows up, he may want to be private.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Right. That's what I said. He doesn't have the option.

 

 MORGAN: Mummy -- Mummy stuck him on national TV --

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Right.

 

 MORGAN: -- from the -- from the second he's alive.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Exactly. And so, that's what -- how I felt. For the New York show, I said, he doesn't have the decision to -- you know, he can't make the decision if he wants to be on it or not.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: It was a very, you know, different atmosphere than what he -- you know, it wasn't his home.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: New York was crazy, a lot of paparazzi, a lot of madness. So, I'm glad we made that decision. I think it was better for him.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: And you never know. If you change your mind or, you know, on the Kardashian Show, it might be better in his home family environment.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Like, when we're at home filming --

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: She picks and chooses.

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: -- we're in our house, and it's a safe, comfortable environment. So, in the past, I've been OK with it. But now, sometimes, when I even see old episodes, it kind of weirds me out.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: But --

 

 MORGAN: OK, look. We're going to -- we're going to come back after the break. We're going to talk to you both about love, romance and sex.

 

 (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

 

 MORGAN: So, Kim, let me cut to the quick here. There are reports that you have now moved in with Chris Humphries, who is the Jersey Nets player. Is that true?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: I would never move in with anyone unless I was engaged or married. I think Kourtney and I --

 

 MORGAN: Have I stumbled upon a bigger scoop?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: No.

 

 MORGAN: You're not engaged?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: No, I'm not.

 

 MORGAN: So, you're not moving in with him?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: No. Kourtney and I are definitely looking around. Kourtney's boyfriend is from New York, so he's here and they split time. So, we think it would be a good decision for our store and everything to look for a more permanent residence here in New York City and split the time between the two.

 

 MORGAN: You, just together?

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Well, Scott has his -- our place here, so --

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: Kourtney's here more than I am and I think it would be better, probably, to help out with the store more and, hopefully, start filming again -- to possibly have a place here in New York.

 

 MORGAN: So, what do you want to say about this chap, Chris? This lucky boy.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: I'm having a good time and he's a really good person. And I think this time around, you know, I've learned to be a little bit more low key and private.

 

 MORGAN: Can you trust men, given what's happened to you?

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: I think that the way that I am -- I'm such a hopeless romantic --

 

 KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: I was just going to say that.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: I like to believe and trust in anybody. And sometimes I think that's been my downfall. And that has been my issue, but yes. I think that I can still trust men.

 

 MORGAN: I mean, you were -- I know you don't want to talk about this and I'm not going to labor the point, but the only interesting parts of it is -- obviously a very intimate part of your life was splattered all over the Internet. I mean, 20 years ago, that wouldn't have happened.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: Exactly.

 

 MORGAN: So you were the victim of this modern kind of curse of the Internet, which can be very useful, and a terrible enemy when it wants to be, like it was with you. And I sort of think, if I had been in that position that you found yourself in, apart from being appallingly invasive, also very hard to then go out on the dating scene.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: Yes.

 

 MORGAN: Partly thinking, "Has this guy watched it? Has that guy watched it?" I mean, not a place I'd want to find myself.

 

 KIM KARDASHIAN: Absolutely. No, absolutely. I mean, there's this, you know, embarrassment and shame and so much that comes along with it. And I think that I was so lucky to find a boyfriend at that time in Reggie -- that we were together for four years -- and that was something that he really helped me through. He picked me up when I couldn't pick myself up. And he, you know, and that's what my family was for as well.

 

 So, I feel like I've dealt with it and now, I move on from it, and I don't really go there.

 

Script from Outnumbered:

 

1. EXT. HOUSE. DAY – D1

BEN (starts OOV)

I could be handcuffed and suspended from a crane, in a block of ice.

2. INT. KITCHEN. DAY – D1

Dad is clearing up breakfast stuff with a phone tucked under his chin.

DAD

That feels like a lot of work for a school talent competition

(He speaks into the phone with exaggerated pronunciation

you use when you are speaking to a machine) Y-e-s. But it’s

great you’re taking part, y-e-s…..(mutters) stupid machine.

BEN

I could do the magic trick I did with, Gran. Her face when

she thought I’d smashed her watch with that hammer.

DAD

Well….you had.

BEN

Yeh…..I still don’t know what went wrong there.

DAD (into phone)

Y-e-s

BEN

I think it was the wrong kind of hammer

DAD

No, I said y-e-s.

BEN

Still, Gran likes her new watch.

MUM enters shouting behind her.

Outnumbered IV – Episode 5 – Shooting Script – 17th March 2011 2

MUM

Look Karen, if both socks have got holes in, they match, just

put them on! (She starts tidying up)

DAD

I didn’t say No….

JAKE

Yeh, just now. You said ‘No I said ‘Yes’.

2A. INT LIVING ROOM. DAY – D1

KAREN for some reason, has a washing-up bowl full of water and is cutting a shape

out of some cardboard.

2B. INT KITCHEN DAY – D1

As before

BEN

I could always sing… (sings in his deep voice)

‘And I said to myself…..’

DAD (still to phone)

‘Go back’

BEN

‘What a wonderful world’

DAD

‘Go back’

JAKE

Yeh, the only disadvantage to singing is….that you can’t.

BEN

OK I’ve got loads more ideas here.

(He hands a list to DAD)

DAD

Er… impractical… illegal… suicidal, Ben, you don’t even

know what the ‘Wall of Death’ is…

 

Broadsheet where they use experts: winter olympics:

 

Winter Olympics 2014: Eve Muirhead out to win curling gold for GB

 

Great Britain's women skip is heading for Sochi fired by the example of Jesica Ennis at London 2012

 

Owen Gibson 

 

The Observer, Saturday 1 February 2014 23.00 GMT          

 

Eve Muirhead

Eve Muirhead, the skip of Great Britain's women's curling team, is heading for Sochi in determined mood. Photograph: Janerik Henrikkson/AFP/Getty Images

 

You get the impression Eve Muirhead, world champion curler and part-time piper, does not suffer fools gladly. While she will happily, and enthusiastically, talk up her sport and her bold ambitions, her steely blue eyes are liable to fall on anyone who asks a daft question.

 

Ask her to run through the roles of her team-mates and she looks less than impressed. Ask her what makes a good curler and she will tell you, with a mildly exasperated air: "I have no idea."

 

No wonder Rhona Howie, who most will recall as the skip of the 2002 team (when she was called Rhona Martin)that kept more than six million viewers gripped beyond midnight in winning curling gold, Britain's solitary Olympic title in Salt Lake City, describes her as perfect leadership material. "She's focused, she's determined, she always wants to be better and wants to improve. She calls a really good game. She's definitely what we're looking for in skip material," says Howie, now the head coach of the women's curling team, who has worked closely with them for the past three years.

 

Muirhead, about to head to her second Winter Olympics as skip of the British women's curling rink despite being only 23, lights up when she talks about leading her young team to Sochi. Of the quartet – the rink (or team) is completed by Vicki Adams, Claire Hamilton and Anna Sloan – only Muirhead has been to an Olympics.

 

"It's huge that we get on. We are with each other all the time. We eat together, we share rooms with each other, we travel with each other," says Muirhead. "We know each other inside out, know how people deal with different things, which is really good, and it is great that we are such great friends as well."

 

Having just returned from a tournament in Las Vegas, where Muirhead piped them on to the ice in front of thousands before they beat all of their most likely challengers in Sochi, she believes they are well set. The dramatic finale to their world championship victory in Riga last year, when they defeated Sweden 6-5 with Muirhead sealing the dramatic last-stone victory, had echoes of Howie's Salt Lake City triumph.

 

If there is a repeat in Sochi, Muirhead is convinced she will not be fazed. At its most competitive, curling is as much an exercise in handling mental pressure as anything else. "I love playing under pressure. That is the part of the game I love doing well at. So many people have asked what were you thinking before that stone – I have no real idea, it was just like another shot to me. I guess that is why we practise four hours every day – for that one key shot," she says.

 

Ask Howie to recall once more her gold medal-winning "stone of destiny" in Salt Lake City and you get a remarkably similar answer. "I don't remember the crowd or what people were shouting. I don't remember any of that because I was really focused," she says. She remained unaware of the huge story she had become until their return to Scotland, whereupon she opened a mountain of mail. "One woman jumped out of bed and landed on the cat and killed it. Stories like that. You read it thinking: 'Oh wow.' I had loads of them," says Howie.

 

For all the pre-Sochi hoopla, Muirhead, who turned her back on a potential career as a professional golfer to dedicate herself to curling, was at a low ebb in 2012 when the sport had its funding cut by 50% after "only" claiming silver at that year's European Championship.

 

It was watching Jessica Ennis compete in London and seeing the "face of the Games" deal with pressure with such aplomb that redoubled her resolve to carry on with the early starts and gruelling gym sessions that curling now requires. "It was the bit of a boost I needed. When I went there and watched all these athletes and saw the amount of work they put in it really did open my eyes. So I went back and I really busted a gut – after seeing that, you want to do what these guys are doing," she says.

 

"You want to win medals. The Olympic medal is the one medal I am missing right now. London was definitely a huge inspiration for me and to watch Jessica in that stadium – the pressure she was under was unbelievable."

 

In Scotland, where they have had little to shout about in international football for some time, the comparison is not too far wide of the mark. When Muirhead's team won the World Championship, she featured on the front page of eight out of 10 national newspapers. Expect Alex Salmond to take an interest should they make the podium in Sochi.

 

A "gutted" Muirhead collapsed in tears when her team fell short in Vancouver four years ago but believes she is much better equipped to deal with the demands of the Games this time. "You train hard for a lot of years leading up to that and when your dreams are crushed in the Olympic Games it is tough. But you know what? It is a lesson learned. I learned a lot. I went back and thought about a lot. I changed a lot," she says. "We know how to win major tournaments. We're looking forward to it."

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