Investigation into Gender Differences in the Language of Personal Profiles on Dating Websites

Investigation into Gender Differences in the Language of Personal Profiles on Dating Websites Hypothesis: Are there differences in the language used in personal profiles on dating websites based on gender, and are the genders represented differently? Introduction For my language investigation I will be looking at gender differences in internet dating profiles. I will consider differences in lexical choices, in particular whether there is evidence of the gender differences in language use claimed by Robin Lakoff in her publication Language and a Woman's Place (1975). Also, whether there are greater or lesser differences in lexical choices between the genders depending on age. It was speculated at the time Lakoff's research was published that as women became more equal to men, gender differences would not be as noticeable in language, as they were the result of inequalities between the sexes in other areas. I will also consider what whether the content of the profiles in my sample show evidence of differences in what is desirable in men and women. Past studies into newspaper lonely hearts ads, which internet dating profiles could be considered a modern manifestation of in many ways, found men and women were more likely to request and advertise about themselves different things. I will investigate whether these same differences are evident today in internet dating profiles,

  • Word count: 12508
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Creative writing and commentary. It was the year 2015 and Earth was exploring outer space when they discovered a new planet. The planet was very similar to Earth, the air was breathable, it had clear and clean running rivers and streams,

Language & Creative Writing .1a, 1.1d, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3. Andrew Barker 50128485 The Trip to Floggolopia It was the year 2015 and Earth was exploring outer space when they discovered a new planet. The planet was very similar to Earth, the air was breathable, it had clear and clean running rivers and streams, the seas and oceans were crystal clear where you could see right down to the bed where the sand was a beautiful white colour and had beautiful brightly coloured fish and other life swimming all around. They met people that lived on the planet and they were very much like humans from looking like them right down to eating like them. The planet and Earth took the next few years learning about each other, their languages, cultures to the way of everyday life and became really close friends; one of the first things learned was the name of the planet which was called Floggolopia. In the year 2020 the two planets were able to visit each other and started to build state of the art holiday resorts for each other to stay in, with the floggolopians running the hotels on Floggolopia and humans running the hotels on Earth which gave all visitors more of an insight to each other's planets. Thirteen years on in the year 2033 there was the Lisbon family in the Isle of White. Daniel the father who was 46 and owned a highly established multi-planeterial technology company selling

  • Word count: 7859
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Investigating how language has changed in children's literature; in relation to interaction between children and characters of authority in a boarding school setting.

Contents Contents Page Number Introduction 3 Hypothesis 3 Methodology 3 Initial description of 'The Doctor' 4 Initial description of 'Miss Loy' 4 Initial description of 'Miss Potts' 4 Initial description of 'Albus Dumbledore' 4 Discourse 5 Grammar 5 Semantics 7 Phonology 8 Graphology 9 Speech extract from Tom Brown's School Days 0 Speech extract from School Girl Chums 1 Speech extract from Malory Towers 1 Speech extract from Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone 2 Comparison between extracts involving exchanges between lead characters, and characters of authority 2 Conclusion 5 References 6 List of Tables Table Number Name of Table Page Number Books chosen for comparison 3 2 Acknowledged frameworks 3 List of Figures Figure Number Name of Figure Page Number Comparison of sentence type in initial description of character 5 2 Number of adjectives in the initial description of character 7 3 Word count demonstrating conversation dominance 3 4 Number of adjectives in the speech exchange 4 Introduction Stories of children at boarding schools have always been a popular genre choice amongst both young and young adult readers. They emulate scenarios that children can identify with, more specifically the relationships between the students and their teachers/head teachers. As a result the language used

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How do Politicians gain support through language? AQA English coursework

How do Politicians gain support through language? Word Count: 6262 INTRODUCTION Politics is concerned with power, and the language that politicians use reflects their craving for it. Through language politicians hope to make decisions that will influence other people's behaviour and even their values. Power can be gained in many ways, in a dictatorship by force, in a democracy through law, or often a much more successful technique; through the power of persuasion. This method is often found in political speeches, and is used to coerce people into embracing a politician's goals. Much background reading was done into politics and the English language, including "The Language of Politics" by Adrian Beard and George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language", in order to gain a deeper insight into this distinct style of language. "The Language of Politics" highlights the different stances that political parties may take e.g. left or right wing, and this is often reflected in the politician's speeches. Left wing parties such as Labour are often socialist or radical groups, and right wing parties, such as the Conservatives are often conservative or nationalist. Both types of party have very different values. Beard also points out some of the techniques that politicians use in speeches in order to be persuasive. For example: metaphors, contrastive pairs and tripartite

  • Word count: 6367
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Lone Wolf. He reached into a pocket. BANG! Goraz the ape man had been struck! Jonah blew the smoke from the barrel of his golden revolver. Dont say I didnt warn you, he said smugly.

Lone Wolf PROLOUGE "Hmm its no good, there is no way this will work. She's still only a young girl. We'll have to inform the boss, we've failed!" the surgeon looked dejected, staring intensely at his partner. "Yes, you are most correct, shall I make preparations then?" "Make it so." The two, doctors made their way out of the room and down into the endless hallway to alert their leader. However waiting for them in the shadows of the night was certain doom... CHAPTER 1: A VILLAGE CALLED DONN'LO The hospital was cold, dark and lonely; the surgical tools casting frightful shadows upon the walls. "Yet another day passes and I still cant remember anything. How did I get here? Ahh! I wish it all made sense." That patient was a young girl who had lost all of her memory three months ago. Footsteps were creeping down the corridor. They were getting closer to her. "Who's there?" said the girl, her voice quivering like a frightened puppy. The door opened. An ominous figure began to approach her. She screamed, but no one heard her. "Hey, hey, calm down missy, is that any way to greet your knight in shining armour?" The man wore a long trench coat darker than a raven's wing with his snow white hair which gleamed in the moonlight "Who exactly would you be?" asked the girl. "Can you answer that for yourself?" "...No... I have amnesia and as a result have forgotten everything

  • Word count: 6150
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Semantic Processing in Advertising

Semantic Processing in Advertising Introduction Having learnt about levels of processing in Psychology it has made me think more about the meaning of words and how we decipher that meaning. Levels of Processing suggests that stimuli can be encoded and processed at varying levels/depths from shallow to deep. It shows that the long term memory store is not just a simple storage unit but a complex processing system. There are at least three levels of processing, visual, acoustic and semantic. Visual processing involves analysing the visual appearance (orthography components) of a word. Acoustic processing is about the sound (based on the phonemic components) of the word for example 'does it rhyme'? And semantic processing analyses the meaning of the word. I am particularly interested in semantic processing and how it links with memory. I am interested to find out what features make words stand out and make a word/sentence memorable and to see how these techniques are used in advertising in that they have a lasting affect on the person reading the advert. To avoid transgressing which limits boundaries and to achieve more significant results, this experiment will focus on two levels, visual and semantic as these are the extremes (shallowest and deepest level of processing). Does semantically processing a word increase recall? What other features increase recall? To

  • Word count: 5707
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Language Aquisition Notes

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Theorists * Cognitive - Jean Piaget - can only understand lang when you understand concept (e.g. can talk in past tense when you know about time) * Behaviourist - Skinner learn through imitation - doesn't explain where new sentences come from * Nativist - Chomsky - Language Acquisition Device (LAD) - works out what is/isn't acceptable lang use using innate programmed patterns (which are general). exact rules learnt through trial and error. His theory supports the fact that children around the world seem to develop at a similar pace, irrespective of race/culture/mother tongue. (This also 'defies' Skinner's model) Also, the fact that there is a universal grammar amongst all languages of the world. & the fact that children consistently create new forms of language that they would not have heard before. * Conversely, John Macnamara - said that rather than having an in-built language device, children have an innate capacity to read meaning into social situations. It is this capacity that makes them capable of understanding and learning language, not the LAD. * Interactive - caretaker, motherese etc - slower pace than adult convo, simplified, repetition, short sentences, often caretaker asking 'where is___?', 'that's a___', tag questions to involve child ('isn't it?') * Example for importance of social interaction: Bard and Sachs. Studied a boy

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Hamlet essay

"How successful was Claudius likely to be as a replacement for Hamlet Senior?" In what ways does Shakespeare present the central antagonist to Hamlet in this play? It is argued among many critics that Claudius, no matter what his redeeming features may be within his psychological make-up, his failure to be a replacement as a father, Monarch and Courtier, are testament to the fact that he could never actually replace Hamlet Senior. Counteracting this viewpoint, though the court fails to be a place where justice overthrows all else, and becomes what can only be described as a "slaughter house", Claudius committed regicide for the reason that he was sure of what he wanted, which was to be everything that his brother was; a husband, father and Monarch. Having his desires fulfilled before his very eyes, Claudius would automatically look for qualities he posesses which are parallel to 'Old Hamlet's', in order to gain respect from Hamlet. These qualities to a certain extent already exist through his character's trait as a natural leader whereby he uses his skilled opportunism and his bold plotting; "Now must your conscience my acquittance seal, and you must put me in your heart for friend" These traits of character could be taught to Hamlet and Claudius could therefore succeed as a father figure. However, to succeed as a father figure Claudius would have to be supportive of his

  • Word count: 5454
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The topic of religious language has many facets for exploration. The area of research for this coursework revolves around a recording taken in the due course of an evangelical church service. This section is known as the sermon.

Introduction The topic of religious language has many facets for exploration. The area of research for this coursework revolves around a recording taken in the due course of an evangelical church service. This section is known as the sermon. The recording was drawn from the first part of the sermon. In this, the pastor, the leader of the service, set up the ideas of what the talk would involve and made reference to various texts from the Christian religion's book of authority, the Bible. Parts of the transcription are spoken from notes, others from memory or improvisation, while other parts are read aloud from a written text. The differences between these are of interest as they incur changes and variations in tone, emphasis, speed, volume and other areas of prosodics. Factors inherent to the type of language, audience and purpose will be the focus of the study. It will also be necessary to include comments on persuasion, inference and the overall aim of the sermon. All these will be able to be identified from the various grammatical, lexical and phonological markers. I decided to use this topic as the basis of my work as I am interested both in the content of religious language and the transmission of such. I have spent several years hearing sermons by varying speakers and have found that the styles and techniques, although different, primarily result in comparable

  • Word count: 5293
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Influence of English Mass Culture on Estonia

My paper considers the influence of 'Western' mass culture on Estonia. While each culture draws from its own roots, I believe that it may fail to blossom without contact with other cultures. A better understanding of how cultural systems are shaped, reproduced, and changed gives me more power to participate in that process of negotiation - between the impact and the impacted. I feel that writing about these processes is one of the best ways to work toward that enhanced understanding. My search for answers is taking me to study the essence of my own faith, culture and civilization, and the faiths, cultures and civilizations of my fellow human beings in a world that I see is becoming increasingly inter-dependent. When you contribute your own voice to the discussion, you should be aware of the implications that follow from your position. When you listen to the voices of others, you should listen with awareness, deciding for yourself what is at stake and how their positions relate to your own. For many people, the 'what is at stake' is the character of Estonian national identity. Some argue that this identity needs to become less culturally fragmented; others argue that the national character gets its strength from cultural diversity, from the freedom at home and in schools to celebrate, honor, and reproduce different cultural traditions. In any discussion of Western ideas of

  • Word count: 5179
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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