Dr Robert Winston

Dr Robert Winston

After watching a short video discussing how your language develops when you’re growing up I discovered some interesting facts. Children use a different area of the brain to adults, this area of the brain is brilliant with picking up language easily, and this is also why children find it easier to learn a second language than adults. Children also have a lowered larynx than adults, this is an advantage as it lowers the risk of choking however this leaves less space for sound making it harder to communicate as language was developed to survive. The Larynx naturally drops but 3 cm around the age of 1.

A 16 month old has to use 30 muscles for them to make these sounds. When the larynx drops and the child goes into the toddler stage (2 and a half) they learn around 10 words on average a day. Also through this period children start to learn self-awareness as a child of 2 couldn’t recognise herself in the mirror.  When they get this self-awareness they demonstrate this through the use of 1st personal pronouns, this is when the children realises its needs and knows how to have them met. Children have an instinct for language as they are able to learn new words but also guess what they are. However they struggle with words such as “mice”, a child would think its “mouses” this only happens when its irregular and haven’t learnt that rule yet.

The art of cookery

The art of cookery

This text is an instruction manual for servants on how to get rid of insects from 1700s hundreds, the book was aimed to help the lady of the house as she doesn’t have to instruct the maids tedious duty. The text has a lot of archaric language using language such as Earthen-pan which is an item used within the kitchen back in the 1700s hundreds, or mixt which is the past tense for mix. Throughout the text there is an archaric “S”, words such as Chafflindifh, poffible, fhake or reft are just a few words indicating that this text is from the 1700 hundreds. Other indications showing that this is a dated text is that theirs words such as “anoint” which is a semantic shift called narrowing as its been formed from another word.

The sentence structure also shows the time period as we would consider them to be grammatically incorrect. Examples such as “it will take away your breath” or “let the door stand open an hour before you open the window”. In the modern day these sentences would be “it will take your breath away” and “Open the door for an hour before you open the window”, these show how language has changed as the modern day equivalents are in slightly different orders making the sentence flow differently than today. The spelling of words has also changed, words such as mixt, buggs and finis show that. These showing the time period how language has changed throughout ghe years as this could have been influenced by germantic, Flemish or even French and Latin causing things like this to happen.

the text used is a clear typeface of the times. After the title there is always a bold first letter and the rest of the word. This is a characteristic of texts from this time and is sometimes still found in books today.

is the english langauge sexist

Is the English language inherently sexiest

 

Word and word meaning have changed over the long history of the English language but how the language has changed to fit sociality has shaped a very inherently sexist language. With words taking on new means over offence or due to the sexist history of the English language the same term for a male is normally not offensives and viewed as a good thing. Id also like to point out their isn’t female equivalent to certain words and have to use the masculine words when there should be a word which is of equal worth, I believe all these changes occur because middle aged white males became the most powerful class in the country which influenced all these changes which lead the English down a sexist path.

One example is the word of this change over time is the word “Mistress”. The original meaning “Mistress” is authority of a particular women, this showed the power than a normal women. Over the centuries the word meaning changed from a powerful word to common word and became reference to as a women having regular sex with a married man or men. This shows how sexist the English has become because  of the influence of males in Britain they were able to take the power away from the word and was able to demote the word to a word which is offensive as it describes you as someone who sleeps around. The original equivalent for males was the term “Master” which means a male which has obtained power, overtime the word has be altered so women can also be classed as a master. However as “mistress” was an equal term it shows that men have the ability to demote women, the fact that women must use “master” to show their power also shows the English language is sexist as their no longer an equivalent and now have to use a word designed to represent a powerful man which has been altered to incorporated women. If the English language wasn’t sexist the word mistress wouldn’t have lost all its meaning in the first place as women wouldn’t use the word in a negative fashion to change the meaning to something negative. 

Another example of sexism in the English language is that theirs only 35 words which are designed to offend men compared to 200 which are offensive to women. This is shown in words such as “slag” and “Hoe” which are taboo language designed to offend women while their isn’t a male equivalent to these words. Words such as “spinster” which have been made offensive by men. The first meaning was who spun yarn in the 13^th century, the meaning later developed into a term for an unmarried women and later the word was adapted in the 17th century, women were expected to be married by a certain age, when being old and unmarried was considered wrong. This is due to a lifestyle which women must follow in society, if not followed sociality would frown upon them. The equivalent word for men is the word “Bachelor” which has positive connotations compared to spinster which has negative connotations. The first use of “bachelor” was in the 14th century when the word described a low-ranking knights. Later it was used in the Victorian period to describe a unmarried man, this showed have negative connotations as the equivalent word “ spinster” has negative connation’s however bachelor’ is most commonly known as a ‘free’ man, living the desired life of most men. Simple phrases such as “Trophy wife” which consider women as prizes to men and not individuals, also phrases such as “Grow some balls” Which tell a women to “man up” as it describes a women as weak.

  Muriel Schulz work discusses the semantic degrodation within sexes. Schulz' investigation showed there is more negative connotations with words that are associated with women compared to those with men. This is backed up by Julie Stanley, as she recorded various negative connotations which were aimed at men and women, this extended Schulz theory as it provides how lexis has shifted between positive and negative through identifying their collocations as she did the study for offensive words towards women compared to men. This shows how sexist the English language is as there is more negatives words aimed at women and there are few equivalents aimed at men, this show women haven’t got any power with in the English language as they are unable to make many words of offense towards men in the past in present. An example is the word/ term “fuck boy” which was created by women to describe someone who sleeps around however without men using this term to describe each other I don’t believe that the word would of stuck. Even with words such as “fuck boy” the comparison of words is staggering as there is so many more words describing women than men.

Another example of sexism in the English language is the different in vocab in how a women and men speak. Due to sociality women have been told to act in the proper ways by talking just as they have been instructed as sociality expected women to talk, dressing and acted correctly for a good and classy social image. Women also use cosmetics which is their choice however it’s to help portray an image corrected by men, also act in other “feminine” kinds of behaviour. This “proper” speech style is expected by women meanwhile men have different English language with a different speech style. Deborah Cameron studied how men and women have a different English language due to social expectations on women. Cameron states in her study that women speech style “verbal hygiene” to it this is because it has been influenced for certain phrases such as "Be more ladylike" as this was the previous normal in sociality and expected women to be like this. Even though times have changed and women have bigger role in sociality and can be their selves to some extent. Expectation of Victorian times when women were seen but not heard have moved on but women are still expected as I’ve stated to talk, dressing and acted correctly for a good and classy social image or beauty. Cameron believes that their sound be an English language for all and not a separate language due to social expectations, however I see this to be very unlikely. I believe this because the English language has a long history and due to the role of men in creating the language and creating social expectations in Victorian times as example it will be hard to escape something so solidified in our language. The sexism is highlighted within the English language in Cameron studies as it shows the expectations of women compared to men where their speech style, language use is affected by this social expectations laid down by men. Also is highlighted as men also have social expectations of their language, if there was an English language without social barriers sexism wouldn’t be such a problem in the English language.

In conclusion the English language is very sexist, this is because the history of the English language has been moulded by men as their most powerful out of the two in history. Because of this they are able to change words of important such as  mistress as I’ve explained to negative meanings. Also the English language is sexist simply because of the amount of words which are designed to offend women compared to men is unbelievable simply because women are targeted. This shows the English language is sexist as men have been able to change the language to be offensive to women

 

 

 

The student room question A

English revision essay Text A is a student chat room designed to inform and to entertain by allowing someone to ask a question and other students to reply with concerning the question. This is a very informal texted as each segment of writing is wrote on the spot as it is a comment. The mode of this piece is a website and text A is a certain page from this, the audience for the website is students as the website is designed to supply a chat room and revision sources on one website. The Graphology of the piece is fairly simple, this is because it all links to a website as the page layout is a website. There is a header on top of the page which allows you to search up what you want by going through categories. There is links where other chats are being disused next to the texted, this allows the students to switch chat room to another topic which interests them. There is other features such as the “share this discussion” at the bottom of the page which allows the students to share their discussion onto their social network sights. Even simply the tittle of the website which is in the top left corner of the texted which tells you that it’s for students as the website is titled “ The Student Room” In the texted there is also graphology such as the emoji’s in the bottom comment which indicates a feeling without a word written responses which may enhance the comment as writing the comparison to the emoji might in fact not fit the sentences or just show how she felt be for explaining here feeling which she does “ emoji* I was so embarrassed” . As this is transactional language because the layout is a question an answer basis, there is a lot of interrogatives in the texted. An interrogative is a statement and doesn’t allow any other point of view on the matter due to the tone which an interrogative normally is. In this texted The Phelps states “No idea why you would walk into the side of a moving car” this is interrogative as he’s making a statement about why would you do that not from a distance, this means he could be doing a stupid thing due to the tone of that sentence or that he confused by the decision and disagrees with it. These types of sentences could be due to the format of the texted where it’s in a transactional language. As this is four different students commenting there are changes of writing styles, wikiellie comment on her friend could fit a stereotype of women can’t drive as her comment states “ she actually drove the wrong way round the entire circuit” as her friends a female and the stereotype from males in the world that women can’t drive her, her comment could be linked to this. However due to their friendship and her gender she could just be describing the incident and trying to show her disbelief. There is also a semantic field of motoring as it uses words such as moving, car,road,mirror,signal,maneuver,handbrakes and neutral to name a few. This is because all the comments of are linked to the same topic and will uses similar words throughout the pieces these words are needed to describe the topic or to (in this case) enhance the story for the audience. There is also a lot of first person pronouns such as “I” and first person plural such as “my” through the piece. This is because the comments are normally relating to themselves or a close friend so first person is needed to describe themselves in their comment.

Langauage and power

Language and Power

In this piece I will talk about the tone, audience and purpose of the texted and how the page is laid out and presented to the readers. I will look at the language and power of the piece and how this texted demands power. The audiences of texted H is the candidates taking the test and are reading the exam rules on to how perform the test.

The list format of the pieces demands power as its giving you a set of instructions in an organised manner. The list is issued as a warning however how the Graphology of the piece is very organised and is shown as rules by the format, this demands respect and power as the rules are demanding power from the candidates reading it to follow or fail the exam.  The images near the bottom also show power as its telling the candidates you can’t uses these certain equipment in the exam. Both of these are influences the reader as they have a choice to follow the rules of the exam, however the candidates chooses to as the instructions format states that you have to follow the rules or fail the exam. Without the Graphology looking respectable and easy to read, the rule sheet for the exam would loose that level of respected and candidates might dismiss the rules as they will feel it isn’t important due to the Graphology. Without the bold writing in the piece e,g the date of the exam and all the musts, these are highlighted for the candidates to show important information for quick skim reading. The boldness of the texted also is there as it tells the candidates that you must follow these rules.

The lexis choice is very demanding in this piece especially the “must not” and “Must” as these words demand respected because must is an auxiliary modal verb it gives the candidates no option but to follow the rules, combined with  the bold writing which highlights the fact they have no choice but to follow. The word “must” is powerful as it talks down to the candidates as it turns a normal sentences to a demand. The word “must” also is scatted throughout the texted seven times which shows tagin every rule needs to be followed. The heading of the piece “Warning to all candidates” is interesting as the word warning really sets the tone of the piece. The word “warning” tells the candidate’s that you must follow the rules but in a completely different way than the “musts” this is because it’s telling the candidates that if you don’t follow these rules it’s your fault that you failed. The word “warning” draws attention from the reader and gets them to read through the rules as they don’t want the failure that the heading warns them about. The term “criminal offence” again really tells the reader that failure to abide by the warning to follow the rules, consequences will happen. All of these three words are in the same semantic field, also words like “misconduct”, “dishonest”, “unfair” and words which explain consequence such as “serious offence”, “ disqualified” and “debarred”, all tell the candidate that following the rules isn’t a choice if they want to succeed and that consequences may take place if need be. There are a lot of imperatives sentences in this texted e.g “Remember: you must not become involved in any unfair or dishonest practices in any part of the examination”. The imperatives part of the sentences is “you must” as imperatives are sentences that are commanding. The word “must” I commanding as it doesn’t allow you to do anything else as you must do it that way but adding “you” personalises it and directs it to the reader reading it. Instead of using word such as “can” giving an option to the reader the words such as “must “make a texted forceful as it tells the reader who’s in charge as “must” and “have” are deontic modal verbs. while “can”, “may” and “might” is a epistemic modal verb  gives someone an option  follow the rules, this tells them that they themselves must follow these rules.  The grammar of the piece is very formal which fits the format of the piece and is very professional. As this is in an exam it needs to sound professional to fit the forceful nature of the texted

In conclusion I believe that the texted is very forceful and powerful. From a graphology view the texted looks very militarised as it’s in an organised fashion with a set instructions. The boldness of writing allows the the reader to pick up on that if you don’t follow the examination rules your setting yourself up to fail. The lexis choice of “must” and words from that semantic field tells the reader again follow the rules or you’re setting yourself up to fail. Without these words the texted wouldn’t be forceful enough however and would allow candidate’s to disregard the rules. Without the theme of power the grammar had to sound professional to fit with the criterial of a power set of rules which doesn’t allow candidate’s to disregard them. I believe that texted H is forceful because of the deontic modal verbs which doesn’t allow the readers any room to change the rules.

questonaire answer

When looking over my results from my questionnaire various questions helped me build a picture on people attitudes towards each other and how they are viewed. My first question “Do you think people judge you on your accent?” 70% of people said no. I found this very interesting as answers were simply “you should judge someone on their personality nothing else” but when tired in with the next question this answer is strange. When asking “Do you make decisions on someone’s accents when speaking to them?” around 60% of the answers where yes, a gentleman answered “ you can learn a lot about them just from listening to the way they speak, how they speak, how they acted, friendship groups and other things” Because of the first question with most people saying you judge someone on their personality and the over half of the participants agree with the second question stating they do judge someone from the accent. I believe that people don’t realise their being judged on the way speak and that your building a mental image on someone’s lifestyle of the way they sound tired in with other aspects such as appearance. I hear great examples when being rude to someone such as “ you sound like a chav” your applying they live like one and have a lifestyle like a “chav” or personal experiences where my friend has a proper “laddish ”Essex accent  but I could tell by the way he speaks he would work and now does work as a builder simply because of the way him and his family sound as they sound like most of their conversations are around similar people to get a similar sound. Most people by the way they sound can guess their social group and how intelligent they are, however they are intelligent but because of the way they sound most people wouldn’t expect it.

Another interesting answer I gathered from this questionnaire is from the two following questions “Would you prefer your child to speak in a regional accent or nonstandard English?” and “Would you respect someone more with a non-standard English accent than a scouse accent?” most people answered that they prefer someone with a posher way of speaking than a regional accent. This tells me that speaking “posher” gets you further as the answers state that people would respected someone because of how well-spoken they a regional accent . Everyone wanted the children to speak non-standard English as one answer stated “it’s easier to succeed with a posher accent” this shows that nationally it’s easier to be successful as everyone in my question believe that speaking more clearly than an accent. This tells me that people think speaking with an accent are judged as if people didn’t judge on accents no one would care if they spoke cockney or non-standard English.

 My last question drew up an interesting point “Does your change when speaking to your family and Friends? What are changes do you notice?” most people said yes “I change to my audience” this tell me that social groups effect accent as everyone stated that they change when speaking to others. This also tells me regional accents effect the area however social groups especially in children between 15 to 18 and how “popular” they accent can be different but everyone’s accent is based around the same basis.

accent questionaire

 

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Ethnicity:

First spoken Language:

What region of England do you live:

Have you lived in any other countries:

 

Do you think people judge you on your accent? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Do you make decisions on someone’s accents when speaking to them?

 

 

 

 

Would you prefer your child to speak in a regional accent or nonstandard English? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Would you respect someone more with a non-standard English accent than a scouse accent?  __________________________________________________________________________________

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Do you think accents effect your employment chances e.g preferring to employ someone who speaks in nonstandard English than someone from a cockney background? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Would you say “The Queens English” is proper English and regional accents and slang are wrong? Why do you think this? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Would you say your region effects your dialect and lexis for the better or worse e.g created words, word meanings? __________________________________________________________________________________

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Does your change when speaking to your family and Friends? What are changes do you notice? __________________________________________________________________________________

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