Language and Gender.
Language and Gender. The English language is continually changing in order to meet the needs of the people using it. The ever-changing culture we live in affects the way language develops and the way it is used by different people in society. The ideology of a society is reflected in its use of language, and because children learn their values, assumptions and expectations from their parents and the words that they have to learn, this ideology is passed down from generation to generation. For centuries we have lived in a male-dominated society where language has been biased towards men. Men are viewed as being the superior sex and this is reinforced by the use of biased generic terms such as 'mankind´, which infact refers to the whole human race. Bias towards men is very often unconscious, thus demonstrating that sexist attitudes are fundamentally ingrained into our way of thinking. Sex is the biological categorization of people whereas gender is the interpreted identity that males and females choose to take on. Because language teaches individuals to behave in a certain way and describe the behavior of others in such as way that is appropriate for their sex, over time society has created stereotypical male and female gender identities. For example men are seen to be logical, rational and objective whereas woman are emotional, intuitive and subjective. This stereotyping has
Language and gender
Language and gender It is unquestionable that, generally speaking, men and women communicate differently. They always have done, and still do today, use the English language in very different ways. After looking at two writers, Deborah Tannen and Jenny Cheshire; both of which have performed various studies to observe the different conversational style patterns between genders, I will summarise their findings. Deborah Tannen claims that there are gender differences in ways of speaking, and this can sometimes be overlooked causing arguments and damaging relationships; "because boys and girls grow up in what are essentially different cultures...talk between women and men is cross-cultural communication" For her language and gender studies, she traced patterns of speech in past studies and looked at videotapes of men and women talking together to observe how each sex acted, and what main differences there were. Tannen found that women and men had very different speech styles. She refers to womens style of conversation as "rapport-talk", as she believes women today use language for intimacy. Women are taught to believe from a very early age that "talk is the glue that holds relationships together", and carry this state of mind with them through life, using language for closeness, to give and receive support, to negotiate and reach consensus. Overall she found; women talk a
Short Story Analysis
After you, my dear Alphonse By: Adam Breitkopf "After you, my dear Alphonse" is a short story written by Shirley Jackson for the 'New Yorker' in 1943. The story was very popular at the time and explored many problems that the people faced in society at the time, racism. It had a very straightforward theme; don't make assumptions on how someone looks. "After you, me dear Alphonse" is about a young boy named Johnny and his friend, named Boyd, who he brought home one afternoon for lunch. Boyd is in fact African-American. Johnny's mum, who is known only as Mrs. Wilson, has just finished baking gingerbread for lunch when she yells out for Johnny to come inside and eat. Johnny brings along his friend Boyd as well. Upon Mrs. Wilson meeting Boyd she realises that he is African-American, and then her attitude changes. Johnny and Boyd act naturally with each other, but Johnny's mum consistently inquires about Boyd's family, and without hesitation. Mrs. Wilson seems very sweet and innocent but later shows a prejudice towards African-Americans. As the boys are eating lunch, Mrs. Wilson starts making assumptions on Boyd. "There's plenty of food here for you to have all you want...Boyd will eat anything" she said, assuming that Boyd's family are poor and that they couldn't afford to eat. So never stops to think that maybe Boyd's family are different. Although this seems plain to the
Original Writing
Original Writing Yay! Another blissful day at school, (hint my sarcasm). I hate the way the bell assaults my ears in the morning, especially when I have to attend this "temple" of learning. (As I like to call it). I should really be on my way to registration but I like the thought of walking slowly, gives me time to think, to think what the day might bring, but I like the thought of walking slowly and being late, after all it is only Mr Miles reading out notices that don't concern or interest me in any shape or form. Its only Thursday, I have actually managed to last most of the week in this "temple" of learning. Most of the teachers aggravate me in ways that are indescribable but I cope, though at times they have drove me to the end of my infinite patience! First lesson is art, I enjoy art it's the only subject where I can let my anger, aggression and what are really think of people out without thinking before I speak actually without even having to speak. I love to put a lot of effort into my art I'm very passionate about it, there's so much depth to it and it's the only lesson I really do enjoy. For second lesson I have support also known as CLS. In there they treat me as some sort of invalid, I hate it! The only reason I'm in there is to catch up with my coursework, and before you ask, the reason I didn't do my coursework is because I was unable to do it, due to the
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo & Juliet The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was pre-ordained by fate there was nothing that any of the characters could do to prevent their deaths. Fate is a thing that nobody can run hide or escape from it is just going to happen. The author refers to things like "star cross'd lovers". This shows the reader that they were "made" to fall in love and death mark'd love which suggests that they were made to die if they fell in love, which is also a warning of what might happen. However, there are also references to 'ancient grudge' and to 'parents rage' which suggests that it is not only fate that has a part in their deaths but also human intervention. Actually the part played by some of the characters directly resulted in the deaths of the two principal characters. Romeo's friend, Benvolio, has a great deal to answer for. He knew perfectly well that it was wrong to gate crash Lord Capulet's party. He must have known that the discovery of his friend's presence there would cause serious disquiet, especially to Tybalt. Nevertheless, he encouraged Romeo to go because he had become morbid after his break up with Rosaline and therefore needed cheering up by meeting other girls and as such compare his "lady's love against some other maid That I will show you shining at this feast," (Act 1, Scene 2, lines 97 and 98). We know that the party was a masquerade, but the probability
persuasive analysis
Getting a cat's bum mouth analysis. The genre of the text is an advertisement with the key purpose to persuade and inform the reader about the certain physical effects of smoking through the NHS, this is done primarily through the use of a written mode which imitates the effect of speech using an informal, colloquial register. The audience that this particular text is aimed at is early middle aged females who smoke, but at the same time, who take pride in their appearance. Throughout the text, an informal use of lexis, including colloquialisms, dominates the text. "Fags..." this is done repetitively throughout to give the impression of chatty language and also to give off a sense of repulse and not a nice association with the noun fags, but at the same time building an association with the reader about the subject of the text, to get the purpose across. The text is filled with deictic expressions to emphasize that the text is written but mimics speech. " they make your..." this can be associated to the readers by the way in which it is spoken as it maintains the flow of the text and the fact that speech itself is made up mainly of deictic expressions. The use of syllabics are also shown in the text as this is again is something in which the audience can associate with in informal speech yet still maintains the texts informative nature on a serious note. "you know all that
The social, cultural and economic influences on the learning and use of language
(1,512 words) The social, cultural and economic influences on the learning and use of language Introduction It is estimated that approximately one in five adults have low literacy skills. Low levels of literacy have been linked to poor acquisition of language skills at an early age and this in turn has been directly linked to social exclusion. This study will start by looking at the context in which we use language and how this shapes what we say and how we say it. It will also look at dialect and accent and examine their relationship with society. This raises questions about 'Standard English' and how attitudes to this have developed over time. The study will conclude by examining the direct link between poor literacy/language skills and social exclusion and how this impacts on society both in terms of the individual and the economy as a whole. The importance of context in language use The situation in which we find ourselves, who we are with, where we are, what we have to say and how we have to say it are all massive influences on our spoken and written language. This will differ enormously in any given situation. For example we are likely to adopt a far more relaxed informal use of language when chatting with friends as opposed to a more formal tone when attending an interview. Similarly when writing a note or email to a family member we are likely to use a chatty,
The Sound and the Fury
Jaclyn Markowitz 1-16-09 Question 1- Sexuality/Gender Faulkner concentrates on the internal lives of his characters, their memories, and their stream of consciousness, to draw the reader into the specific world the characters create for themselves. Although Faulkner does not give Caddy a voice in the novel, by conjuring her presence through memories, her brothers revel the depth and destructiveness of her sexuality on the family. Caddy's role in the novel is to disrupt the brothers' narratives and challenge the underlying southern social and gender constructs that imbue them. Faulkner uses Caddy to demonstrate the effects of female sexuality on the Compson brother's own sexuality. In this manner, even after Caddy leaves the house, Miss Quentin remains a physical reminder of Caddy's role in the family's demise. Consequently, Caddy remains inevitably connected to all the characters and her presence helped define the rest of these characters themselves. However, the void of her own narrative demonstrates how women's social existence was dependent on male acknowledgement. But to the reader, Caddy remains an elusive mystery whose enforced silence prevents her from ever being known. To her three brothers, she is a source of obsession and irritation that cannot be forgotten or overcome. Faulkner places Caddy at the center of the novel to demonstrate that it remains impossible to
thomas hardy
Comparisons of "I look into my glass" and "mirror". I have compared the two poems "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath and "I look into my glass" by Thomas Hardy. I believe "Mirror" is about a mirror describing an old woman's reflection, she can't accept they way that she looks "whatever I see I swallow immediately" and is sad. "I look into my glass" is about an old man who looks at himself and believes he is dieing, he knows he has grown old. "Mirror" is about an old woman's reflection and how the mirror thinks she looks unhappy and depressed. "In me she has drowned a young girl," here she says her young self has drowned, which implies it's died and only the old in her is left. Sylvia also says that the little girl who used to look into the mirror is gone and her old self rises to the mirror "like a terrible fish". This shows how much Sylvia hates her self. In the poem we get a sense of time like she has been sat looking at the mirror for a while as the poem says things like "over and over" and "day after day". While reading "Mirror" the audience considers the mental state Sylvia was in when she split up with her husband, Ted Hughes and how she was on the edge from her father's death as a child. This makes the reader believe that the poem is about Sylvia Plath's life. I believe that the beginning of the poem describes Sylvia as a young woman who is beautiful and popular. "unmisted
To what extent are beliefs, thoughts and knowledge restricted or helped by the language which can be used to express them?
TOK: To what extent are beliefs, thoughts and knowledge restricted or helped by the language which can be used to express them? Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (Language and Thought) "We cut nature up, organise it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organise it in this way - an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language" (Sapir-Whorf) This quote is showing that each thing in nature is divided up and given a name that everyone in the community needs to agree with. The fact that they have names emphasizes the use of language to allow an easier organisation of thoughts therefore allowing easier communication. This proves that thought is still dependant on language, as names are given to certain things, which enhances our memory and clarity of them. This idea can also be illustrated through imagery. For instance, I personally find it much easier to remember a phrase, in any language, if I have previously conjured an image so that I have something to relate it to when I think of it. This simply allows a more natural process, as I am able to match a name to an image. A person who is really interested in something or someone will have such passion for this thing that they will use as many positive and detailed descriptions as possible. This can be due to people's
