https://www.ted.com/talks/john_mcwhorter_txtng_is_killing_language_jk
"If language was around for 24 hours, writing came along at 11:07pm"
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
Steven Pinker - What Our Language Habits Reveal
- language change:
- descriptive attitudes - you can't discriminate against words, all language is vital
- prescriptive attitudes - only one way, standard English is the only thing that should be used
- descriptivism/prescriptivism
- language is a window onto human nature:
- language emerges from human minds interacting with one another
- visible in unstoppable language changes
- slang&jargon, historical change, dialect divergence, language formation
- communication model:
- sender - message - receiver
- euphemistic language to talk about topics that are hard to discuss
- social, historical and cultural context
Form, Purpose, Audience
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/31/neither-mr-mrs-or-ms-but-mx
Form: newspaper article (broadsheet)
Purpose: to educate
Audience: people interested in topical issues
http://www.4music.com/news/news/youll-never-guess-why-gandalf-says-hes-not-taylor-swifts-squad
Form: web article
Purpose: to entertain
Audience: teenagers, mostly female
http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/Scripts/script.aspx?iSS=1800
Form: play script
Purpose: to entertain
Audience: theatre/drama enthusiasts
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23524610-one?from_search=true&search_version=service
Form: review
Purpose: to inform and entertain
Audience: teenagers, fans of literature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk
Form: video
Purpose: to educate and raise awareness
Audience: people interested in topical issues, feminists
Form: newspaper article (broadsheet)
Purpose: to educate
Audience: people interested in topical issues
http://www.4music.com/news/news/youll-never-guess-why-gandalf-says-hes-not-taylor-swifts-squad
Form: web article
Purpose: to entertain
Audience: teenagers, mostly female
http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/Scripts/script.aspx?iSS=1800
Form: play script
Purpose: to entertain
Audience: theatre/drama enthusiasts
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23524610-one?from_search=true&search_version=service
Form: review
Purpose: to inform and entertain
Audience: teenagers, fans of literature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk
Form: video
Purpose: to educate and raise awareness
Audience: people interested in topical issues, feminists
Wednesday, 9 September 2015
Terminology
Lexis - words; meaning at word and phrase level
Grammar - the structure and rules around which language and sentences are constructed
Phonology - the sounds we use within language to create certain effexts (e.g. rhythm, rhyme, intonation, stress and pauses)
Pragmatics - how we know what language means in different contexts ('reading between the lines')
Discourse - how longer texts are organised; the way texts create identities for individuals, groups or institutions
Graphology - how the textual design can contribute to meaning; including fonts, colours, emojis etc
Register - the variation of language in terms of audience, purpose and context
Mode - how language varies according the the channel of communication
Idiolect - an individual's unique way of expressing themselves; influenced by their personality, belief systems and social experiences
Sociolect - ways of a social group expressing themselves, e.g. generalising the way teenagers talk
Dialect - variations of word choice and grammatical structures based on the area someone lives
Grammar - the structure and rules around which language and sentences are constructed
Phonology - the sounds we use within language to create certain effexts (e.g. rhythm, rhyme, intonation, stress and pauses)
Pragmatics - how we know what language means in different contexts ('reading between the lines')
Discourse - how longer texts are organised; the way texts create identities for individuals, groups or institutions
Graphology - how the textual design can contribute to meaning; including fonts, colours, emojis etc
Register - the variation of language in terms of audience, purpose and context
Mode - how language varies according the the channel of communication
Idiolect - an individual's unique way of expressing themselves; influenced by their personality, belief systems and social experiences
Sociolect - ways of a social group expressing themselves, e.g. generalising the way teenagers talk
Dialect - variations of word choice and grammatical structures based on the area someone lives
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Technology Effects
Is technology ruining the English language? Or are the effects minor?
http://www.alphr.com/life-culture/1001443/wow-so-language-very-technology-much-changing
http://www.alphr.com/life-culture/1001443/wow-so-language-very-technology-much-changing
Friday, 4 September 2015
Frameworks
- Phonetics, phonology and prosodics:
- sounds and effects
- Graphology:
- textual design and appearance
- Lexis and semantics:
- words and meanings
- Grammar, including morphology:
- structural patterns
- Pragmatics:
- context and meaning
- Discourse:
- genres, modes and contexts
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Article Summary/Comparison
All raait! It's a new black-white lingo
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/article209405.ece
This article discussed the multi-ethnic dialect that has been emerging. First identified in east London, the dialect has started to be used in other multicultural cities by a number of people, mostly teenagers. The article states that the dialect will continually become more popular until it eventually becomes mainstream, seeing as it is viewed as 'cool and fashionable'. Many people are also using it as a way to bridge social and cultural gaps between ethnicities.
The article also tells us about a London school who are correcting their students' language use if it is not considered to be standard English. This could viewed as an attempt to eradicate slang from society and raises questions such as: do individuals have the right to correct another's dialect? Or is this simply telling the person that their dialect is inferior when in reality society should be trying to promote equality?
In a similar way to the previous article, this one mentions the origin of the dialect (with influences including Jamaican, Afro-Caribbean, Indian, West African and Australian). It also states that the dialect is used by teenagers with a range of ethnic backgrounds including Arab, South American, Ghanaian, Portuguese and white Anglo-Saxon – again suggesting that teenagers use the dialect as a way of creating equality and a sense of identity between a number of cultures and ethnicities.
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/article209405.ece
This article discussed the multi-ethnic dialect that has been emerging. First identified in east London, the dialect has started to be used in other multicultural cities by a number of people, mostly teenagers. The article states that the dialect will continually become more popular until it eventually becomes mainstream, seeing as it is viewed as 'cool and fashionable'. Many people are also using it as a way to bridge social and cultural gaps between ethnicities.
The article also tells us about a London school who are correcting their students' language use if it is not considered to be standard English. This could viewed as an attempt to eradicate slang from society and raises questions such as: do individuals have the right to correct another's dialect? Or is this simply telling the person that their dialect is inferior when in reality society should be trying to promote equality?
From the mouths of teens
This article focuses more on the dialect itself as opposed to the
people who use it and the areas it is present in. It gives
'translations' of some slang terms which have emerged as part of the
multi-ethnic dialect, which is referred to as MLE (Multicultural
London English) in this article.
In a similar way to the previous article, this one mentions the origin of the dialect (with influences including Jamaican, Afro-Caribbean, Indian, West African and Australian). It also states that the dialect is used by teenagers with a range of ethnic backgrounds including Arab, South American, Ghanaian, Portuguese and white Anglo-Saxon – again suggesting that teenagers use the dialect as a way of creating equality and a sense of identity between a number of cultures and ethnicities.
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