Cursing the bite of morning from atop his throne, as it prickles at his vulnerable ears, he pulls the collar of his jacket tighter

TWO HOURS STARGAZING By Theo Eze ♔ Cursing the bite of morning from atop his throne, as it prickles at his vulnerable ears, he pulls the collar of his jacket tighter, just to feel it retreat further down his neck, cowering from the cold. Senseless fingers withdraw up into folds of unsympathising` polyester, as toes wriggle feebly in his trainers, in a vain attempt to generate warmth. He scans the outlines of those who currently inhabit the expanse of the park; and he hates them. Before blurs become features, before assumptions become personalities; he hates them. There is no beauty in this place, he thinks. Beauty is something instantaneous. Beauty is captured in a moment and preserved infinitely. An object’s beauty should be obvious, unavoidable. Undeniable. A woman is attractive instantly, she is not a project of the mind in which one moulds their idea of her to be somehow preferable, scratching away any undesirable traits. If this is necessary then she isn’t beautiful at all. Not really, not wholly. A body moves into his range of focus, or at least reluctant interest; some overweight guy moving parallel to the bench at what looked an uncomfortable pace. — Oh of course Marianne… yah, I’ll be at the office in no time darling, he babbles making a point of pursuing the limits of just how camp a grown mans voice can possibly be. He allows his arm fall into a

  • Word count: 1242
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Linguistics biasness amongst men and women in Malaysia

Linguistics biasness amongst men and women in Malaysia Introduction The feminist movement in the 1970s has paved the way for reform of the use of sexist language. Traditionally, the word ‘he’ or ‘man’ as in ‘mankind’ has been used to describe both sexes. Pauwels (2001) conducted a study on the use of gender pronouns in Australian public speech and found that the masculine generic pronoun ‘he’ was used extensively and almost exclusively (approximately 95%) in the pre-reform era (1960s and 1970s). The language used portrayed a very androcentric world. Feminist argued that women’s rights and equality were at stake when their identity fell under the blanket of a male symbol (Spenders, 1980 as cited in Holmes & Meyerhoff, 2003). As men were traditionally in organisational roles, they were prominent in language planning and policy making (Pauwels, 2001). In the pre-reform era, the generic ‘he’ and ‘man’ still evoked a mental imaginary of the male sex and masculinity (Pauwels, 2001). A few studies have showed that sex bias in language elicits sex bias in attitudes and thoughts (Pauwels 1998). Through time, women have continued to challenge the boundaries of their role in society, breaking beyond the identity of a homemaker. Hence feminist commentators called for a need for language reform and gender-neutral pronouns.

  • Word count: 2468
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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A Sociolinguistic study. Is there such a thing as mens and womens language? Discuss these issues with detailed reference to one sociolinguistic study in this area.

9. Is there such a thing as men’s and women’s language? Discuss these issues with detailed reference to one sociolinguistic study in this area. . Introduction “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?”(Holmes, 2008, p.164). From the end of 1960s to the beginning of 1970s, the study of “language and gender” has drawn people’s attention in developed countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan. During the second-wave feminism movement, women tried to reconsider the male-dominated society, culture and attitudes toward any areas such as media, education and communication. To improve women’s status in society, they paid attention to the language everyone uses in terms of communication. It was proven that there were some differences between women’s and men’s talk in points such as how they speak, who they communicate with and what vocabularies and phrases they tend to use. These cannot be explained simply because of sex differences but instead come from the deep background and history of women and men’s position in our society. Though people use a language without thinking, some stereotypes will also develop unconsciously. However, there should not be strict rules of how women and men should speak from the aspect of femininity and masculinity. In this essay, I shall consider features of men’s and women’s talk and what cultural background is

  • Word count: 3200
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea is a story about a man named Santiago who must face many obstacles in order to obtain and keep his prize, which is a marlin. Santiago, in Ernest Hemingway's The Old man and the Sea, faces many overwhelming obstacles; however, it is through the overcoming of these obstacles that Santiago achieves inner success. At the beginning of his journey, Santiago's main objective was to simply catch a fish, a huge marlin but unforeseen difficulties forced Santiago to look at himself in a different light. With great persistence, Santiago triumphed over his own self-doubt, self-defeat and pride and ends his journey with an enormous sense of accomplishment and many lessons learned. There were many times Santiago was in situations in which he did not believe in himself but triumphing over those situations is what gave him his success over self-doubt. When Santiago was alone out at sea he constantly longed for Manolin's help to catch the marlin because Manolin had always helped him out with everything. When Santiago was at home, he was hardly ever alone because Manolin usually spent most of his free time with Santiago. "' . . . I wish I had the boy.' But you haven't got the boy, he thought. You have only yourself and you had better work back to the last line now, in the dark or not in the dark and cut it away and hook up two reserve coils'" (51-52). This statement

  • Word count: 1706
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Leaving Home

Leaving Home "Quickly now, do we have everything you need in the car? Hurry! The bus is going to leave without you!" Those were the words that my mother said to me just before I rushed off to the Bus Depot. On that night I would be leaving Omagh to go to Tucson, Arizona, with the Ulster Project. An overnight bus journey to Dublin, three flights and twelve people was what we were about to endure. Up to this, the furthest I'd been away from home was France, and the furthest I'd been on my own - England. This was a big step for me - 4 weeks in a foreign country, 4000 miles away, with only friends for support. I could tell this was going to be an experience for me. So I arrived at the Bus Depot at midnight in great anticipation of the journey ahead. My friends greeted me on my arrival, and by their faces I could tell that they were as anxious about leaving home as I was. The thought of leaving my family behind for 4 weeks was prominent in my mind. As I stood talking to my family and friends, waiting for others to arrive, there was an air of excitement among everyone. People were tugging suitcases out of cars and transferring them to buses, over-protective parents were questioning the leaders and many of us teenagers were getting ready to say our farewells to our family and friends who had gathered to see us leave. Fifteen minutes had passed since I

  • Word count: 524
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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"Mid Term Break" by Seamus Heaney

Lianne D Haymer 16 January 2002 "Mid Term Break" by Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney was born on April 13, 1939 to Patrick and Margaret Heaney, and was the eldest of nine children. They lived on a family farm in Mossbawn, County Derry in Northern Ireland. His work; which has won many prestigious awards, reflects his life, family, and culture during his childhood years and adult life, and sells by the tens of thousands. He is undoubtedly the most popular poet writing in English today. The poem "Mid Term Break" is based on an experience, which Seamus Heaney went through as a child. He was taken from his class, and put in the schools sick bay to wait for his neighbours to arrive, as they were taking him home. The first stanza uses assonance and alliteration to emphasise the funeral sound of "counting the bells knelling classes to a close". The word knelling (portent of doom), was used to describe how Seamus Heaney felt waiting, hearing each class come to a close, as the hours passed by; for him it was a daunting experience. The poet chose the title for the poem, as it reflects his circumstances at the time of his brother's death. The poem's title is an allegory as the poem has two levels of meaning, which is not fully delivered until the last, one lined, stanza. The poet Seamus Heaney was away at

  • Word count: 1625
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Original Writing

Original Writing Maybe if I didn't give in too early, then it might have been different. Mum always told me to watch out. I didn't listen. I just didn't listen. As I reluctantly woke up that morning feeling extremely tired. The scent of the honeysuckle floated dreamily through the air. Beaming in through my window, the sun's rays danced like a flickering candle on the wall. It's been so long. It felt good. Outside, the birds were singing like a choir to welcome the day. Downstairs, my mother was preparing breakfast. How I wish I could have told her. Why didn't I? What could she have done? The aroma of freshly cooked bacon jolted me back to reality. Rolling over, I made an attempt to block out the inevitable. I felt uneasy. Why? Today was going to be different. Leaving smiling faces behind me, I enveloped myself in defenseless feelings. My tiresome eyes fixed to the ground in front, as I strolled unwillingly towards what the day had to bring. The smell of fresh air eased my pain, while I gazed up into the smiling sun. It was as if my life was about to change but I wasn't too sure how. Was this going to be an ordinary day? A few minutes later, I stepped through the double oak doors where I spent most of my day. The decrepit structure looked at me menacingly. Feeling as if I was passing through hell, I saw the devil himself. Peter. Well known around this part of town,

  • Word count: 886
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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