"Judgements about dialects are often essentially judgements about the speakers of those dialects. Discuss."

Sociolinguistics Coursework. LG 102, Week 16. N.B.: All Sources referenced in Footnotes, full details of each source expounded in the Bibliography, see page 12. "Judgements about dialects are often essentially judgements about the speakers of those dialects. Discuss." Language is primarily considered to perform two major functions in society. It is designed to convey information to those around us as well as establish and maintain relationships. However, linguistically (albeit from social stereotypes) certain paradigms relating to class, social and financial status are attributed to dialects - a consensus that has been perpetuated in recent times due to the diversity of today's society and the integration of many differing dialects and languages in cities and countryside alike. Indeed, a stereotype regarding a dialect usually derives from the views held on the characteristics of its speakers. Although a direct correlation between the aforemented stereotypes and linguistic fact has little scientific basis in reality it has not served to reduce the almost established dialect prejudice rife in the media, judiciary and education systems. In the early 20th Century, the 'Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis' advanced the theory that the derivative of language we use is respective of our social, cultural and ideological background, and ever since various linguists and

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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"Live by the foma (harmless untruths) that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy."- The Books of Bokonon. I:5

Erika Hartley August 20, 2003 Period 2 "Live by the foma (harmless untruths) that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy."- The Books of Bokonon. I:5 Foma, are an everyday part of life. No one knows if there truly was a person who created the earth and all its inhabitants, or if one person can start a whole new way of life with just one idea. One must live by certain foma, but at the same time a person must know which ones not to live by. America itself is one giant foma. There are untruths about religion, family life, war, and society in general spread all across America today. Religions are foma in themselves, for it is not certain what a religion is based on, or if the stories of that religion are even true. People, not just in America, but all around the world believe in something that has not been proved. The family lives in America are also foma. There has not been an American family found in any historical account, in which the children were perfect. Humans are, and will never be perfect. The next major crisis in America is war. Terrorists are trying to attack the country, and they expect to do so just because the country is distracted by a few anti-war protests. No matter how hard people try to argue against war, it always happens, just like no matter how hard soldiers train, they will never be fully prepared for war. Lastly, society is one large

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Ideals and ideology imprinted on society by the media: Sport Journalism, a view of the world, or a view generated by the dominant male supremacy?

Ideals and ideology imprinted on society by the media: Sport Journalism, a view of the world, or a view generated by the dominant male supremacy? Sport Journalism Bias: The media is a powerful tool, which shapes the views and ideas of society, 'the print media is an influential socializing agent in that it informs and entertains the reader and encourages social integration and social change by values, ideas and attitudes it presents' (Eitzen and Sage, 1995, p78). When the media has such an important effect on society, is it right that male journalists dominate the media, in a sense serving to maintain and preserve patriarchal relationships. Although there have been many changes in the treatment of females in society in the past, many females are still excluded from numerous professions. Certain institutions frown upon the entry of females, as advancements made by females in society decreases the amount of men in dominant positions in society. This is shown by the small number of 'male preserves' (Elias & Dunning, 1986, p268) left in today's modern society. However, one institution that seems unable to accommodate change, for the sake of protecting its 'male preserve' (Elias & Dunning, 1986, p268) is the print media. The media is increasingly becoming more of a male preserve, due to ever-growing equality females strive for; many men's clubs have vanished, as they would

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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In what way have contemporary philosophers and sociologists of science challenged the view that science is objective, based upon fact, and progresses cumulatively?

In what way have contemporary philosophers and sociologists of science challenged the view that science is objective, based upon fact, and progresses cumulatively? The realisation that humans could think rationally and therefore scientifically was the defining moment in the history of human thought known as the enlightenment, the shift from pre-modern society towards modernity. According to rationalists, it was during the enlightenment that humans crossed the 'Great Divide' and moved from ignorance and faith to certainty and truth. With modernity comes the new search for the ultimate truth using methods of investigation centred on objectivity, reason and predictability. With industrialisation came technology, urbanisation and capitalism. Bilton (1997) suggested that rational forms of thought and organisation may be defining features of modernity but our relationships with them are far from straight forward. This essay will highlight some of the major theorists in contemporary sociology and philosophy who challenge the view that science is objective, based on fact and progresses cumulatively. "consider people's experiences of an area of modern social life often said to epitomise the triumph of reason and rationality - science and technology" (Bilton 1997 p39) In contrast relativism suggests that a close inspection of scientific thinking and practices reveal that they are

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Abortion Laws in the UK

Abortion Laws in the UK Why we need reform - Whose Choice? It is a popular misconception that the current law allows for abortion at the request of the women concerned. In fact, abortion is legal only if two doctors certify that it is necessary under the terms of the 1967 Act; unwanted pregnancy is not one of these terms. Some doctors accept that an unwanted pregnancy is potentially harmful and will support her request for this reason They are legally permitted to do this Other doctors may be judgemental, obstructive and unhelpful, delaying women or turning them away in circumstances where another doctor would consider an abortion to be warranted They are legally permitted to do this By allowing doctors to exercise wide discretion and make personal judgements over women, the 1967 Abortion Act creates a climate of uncertainty and potential for unfair and arbitary discrimination. It places and additional, unjust emotioanl burden on women who may already be facing one of the most difficult and traumatic decisions of their lives The law must be amended to recognise that the only person capable of deciding whether or not a pregnancy should continue is the person most affected by that decision - the woman herself Why we need reform - Barriers to access Recent studies in the United Kingdom have demonstrated the wide disparity in the provision of NHS abortion

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Long term relationship with the people of Britain Asians- The first Asians coming in to Britain were liked because they brought new life to Britain, different ideas from their culture which were interesting to the people of Britain.

Multicultural society A multicultural society is a society of people from different religions and backgrounds living in an area. These people many be different skin colours or from a different country. Race Race is a group of people with a similar biological background, similar beliefs in their community and in most cases similar skin colour, with additional similar features. They are ethnic groups that are defines on the basis of both physical and cultural characteristics. Comparing the two These two are similar to each other because they live in the same area and have the same reason for living in the area as everyone else that lives there. They all want the same goal and to live in the best way they can. These two are different because they have different beliefs and they have different cultures, they may also speak different languages. Society Society basically means an area of a place where people live, it's a structured community of people bound together by similar traditions, institutions or nationality. Race/Culture Date they came to England Reason for Migrating Asians 960's+ Work, and a better way of life, Chinese 960'S+ For work and a better way of life, Caribbean 950's+ To find work, escape poverty, better way of life Eastern European 2004+ Came for work Long term relationship with the people of Britain Asians- The first Asians coming

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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The Beauty Myth

The Beauty Myth Before Kate Moss there was Twiggy, and before Twiggy, well, women weren't expected to look so slim-not at least, if we judge by Marilyn Monroe. And for Naomi Wolf (b.1962), that's exactly the problem. Contemporary standards of feminine beauty have devolved to a point that can only be described as anorexic, and America's young women are paying the price through a near epidemic of bulimia and anorexia. The most effective way to combat this epidemic, Wolf argues, is to show how what we call "beautiful" is a cultural myth that has been framed for certain purposes-essentially, Wolf believes, to keep women under control by imprisoning them in their bodies. A prominent figure in feminist and neofeminist circles, Naomi Wolf is the author of The Beauty Myth (1991), from which this selection is excerpted, and Fire with Fire (1993). At last, after a long silence, women took to the streets. In the two decades of radical action that followed the rebirth of feminism in the early 1970's, Western women gained legal and reproductive rights, pursued higher education, entered the trades and the professions, and overturned ancient and revered beliefs about their social role. A generation on, do women feel free? The affluent, educated, liberated woman of the first world, who can enjoy freedoms unavailable to any woman ever before, do not feel as free as they want to. And

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Choose TWO STORIES that show divisions or conflicts within communities - 'The train from Rhodesia' and 'Leela's Friend'.

Choose TWO STORIES that show divisions or conflicts within communities. For each story write about: - What these actual divisions/conflicts are - How the divisions/conflicts occur - How the writer describes the effects on the people involved. Both of the stories 'The train from Rhodesia' and 'Leela's Friend' illustrate divisions of classes and some of them result in conflicts. 'The train from Rhodesia' is in an allegory form to convey the deep hatred of the author towards her racially divided home country - apartheid. 'Leela's Friend' shows the class division by demonstrating the prejudice that people have on those who are low in hierarchy. 'The train from Rhodesia' is about a train from Rhodesia 'calling' into the station with all the white passengers on it and there are the vendors who crowd round the train trying to sell their wares. The train is personified by using verbs such as 'creaking, jerking, jostling, gasping' and saying it has 'a dwindling body behind it'. This emphasizes the classes divisions between the rich passengers on the train and the poor sellers in the station. The poverty of black people seems to be the reason for division. The 'creases' in stationmaster's uniform and his 'barefoot children' all give the impression of scarcity in the people inside the station. However, the girl on the train was 'throwing' a 'hard kind' chocolate to the dogs. This

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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As sociology coursework - effects of a fatherless childhood

Aim My aim is to find out the effects of a fatherless upbringing on a child's behaviour, emotional stability and educational attainment. I chose this area of study because I noticed that compared with personal knowledge, the New Right Ideology appears to exaggerate how fatherless upbringings affect children. Amongst my peers there are people raised in lone parent and nuclear families, and members of both groups experience similar amounts of problems and share similar social values, unlike Rebecca O'Neill's conclusion that children from lone parent families are more likely to have underage sex due to a lack of parental control. (100 words) Contexts and Concepts In 1993, Olson and Haynes conducted a study of American lone parent families. The results led to them identifying seven strengths of these families, six were relevant to my research. The first was that lone parents accepted the responsibilities of their roles and problems were always solved. The second was prioritisation of the parental role, meaning parents did not have to split attention. The third strength was discipline, proving children did not go without discipline and they knew how to behave in society. The fourth was open communication, meaning children would feel able to talk to parents, preventing long term emotional problems. Parental self nurturance was the fifth strength. The final relevant strength was

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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John Updike's A&P.

John Updike's A&P Many of the events that take place in John Updike's "A&P" would not have happened had the town lived under a Marxist society. Marxism is a socio-economic ideal where all people work for the good of the community and is characterized by not having any social class distinctions. The division of Classes in "A&P" is very apparent, especially between Sammy, the protagonist and first person narrator, and the three girls, one of the three antagonists, who walk into the store during the exposition. There is also a cast disparity between Sammy and Lengel, the store manager and another antagonist (along with society, who complete the three). A distinction is also noticeable between the three girls and the rest of the shoppers in the convenience store. The story is told entirely in flashback and is set in a grocery store in a town north of Boston, Massachusetts during one Thursday in summer. During the exposition we learn that Sammy is working one of the cash registers. Later in the story we are told that he is 19 years old and by his description of how his parents treat company we can assume he comes from a middle class family. We are lead to believe during Sammys narration that the three girls, on the other hand, come from a rich or high societal background. The way Queenie is described by Sammy as having prima-donna legs and walking slow while holding

  • Word count: 879
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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