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.