Essentials of the English Language

In conclusion, the power of advertising today what's become very effective through TV, and unfortunately children are mainly victims of these previous techniques. As Ellen Goodman explains in “Family Counterculture”, the parents have to fight the cultural imposition that affect the integrity of children. They slowly raise consumerist children that won't have the same perks of those who weren't raised with today’s ads. For these reasons, it is important to notice this ads that slow the kids’ critical thinking should be fought, even though it is the challenge of 21st century

Through the manipulation of language, deception and control are facilitated. A clear demonstration is uttered by Syme to Smith: “Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?...Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?” (Orwell 46). The attenuating language represents an additional barrier preventing contradictory thoughts from even existing. With a limited and insufficient language, the complexity of thought is considerably reduced along with a person's aptitude to formulate or express ideas thus preventing threats to the all-powerful government. As a result of the shrinking language, the future will be affected in such a way that “By 2050- earlier, probably- all real knowledge of Oldspeak will have disappeared. The whole literature of the past will have been destroyed” (Orwell 47). The changing of the language would have serious repercussions in any future, real or fictitious. Without knowledge of a different world, people will know no better than to blindly and obediently follow their strict, totalitarian government, never becoming aware of the power it holds over them. The...

As the result of deregulation, children have been exposed the mass amount of commercial messages every day. Marketers even employ scientific marketing strategies that are not ethical for a single purpose: to sell products as effectively as possible (Consuming Kid). While it is impossible for parents to monitor their children consistently, children become very familiar with the items in the store. As a matter of fact, parents buy these things for their children to keep their children happy even though these items have no educational value. During my observation at the toy store, a grandfather told me that he promised his 4-year-old grandson toys during their “boys day out.” Beside of educational expenses, food and other materials are ranked very high in children’s budgets, about 30%. (Hicken). Media promotes materialistic values in children.

Language always conveys a message. Language can convey a message that is full of manipulation. In Robin Lakoff’s essay, “Everybody’s a Politician”, she discusses how manipulation is used in day to day conversations, even if one is not intentionally trying to manipulate. Language can be used to dominate others. In the essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he explains the power of using names to define others. Language can change the way a person thinks. In the same essay, “the Language of Oppression” by Haig A. Bosmajian, he also discusses the way someone thinks can be changed by language. Lastly, language has the power to degrade an individual. In another essay, by Robin Lakoff, “You Are What You Say”, she explains how

Children’s shows run the gamut from programs such as Power Rangers to Sesame Street. Few would argue that shows such as Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood are damaging our youth. With a little parental supervision the harmful aspects of television can be avoided, there are useful and educational shows available for children to watch. Some of my nephew’s favorite shows are Arthur, Blue’s Clue’s, Sesame Street, he’s even at an age now where he will tell me to change the channel when it’s time for Arthur to come on. Some critics have said that advertisers are brainwashing our children, that may be true on some level. However, ultimately it’s not the child that runs out to Toy’s R Us and purchases the toys that are hocked constantly on television; the parents have control of the checkbook and should therefore establish some rules about commercials. Unfortunatley, advertisements are unavoidable these day’s, they are everywhere, not just TV, they can be heard on the radio, there are billboards everywhere you look.

In 1987, when I was 5, I discovered television commercials. I would watch television for hours, and every time a new toy would be advertised I would run to my mother. "Mommy! Mommy! I want that!" I would tell her. I always received the same response. "Maybe Santa will bring you one." One day, shortly after preschool, I was watching my favorite show, when a commercial came on for a doll. The commercial showed little cartoon babies sleeping between cabbages. A little girl and her mother came to the patch and picked out the baby she wanted. The doll was a Cabbage Patch Kid, and I knew I had to have it.

The authors go on to describe the large amounts of marketing that targets children. Their T.V shows are used as advertisements and schools display company logos in exchange for money and materials. I've always had an idea that children's T.V shows double as marketing tools. One step into my niece's bedroom tells me that Disney must make a fortune on merchandise and toys. My niece watches a cartoon, and then when she is in a store she is surrounded by products that have the images of her favorite cartoons on them. She has a Disney Princess bed set, purse, poster, dress, backpack... the list goes on.

Aldous Huxley once wrote, “Thanks to words, we have been able to rise above the brutes; and thanks to words, we have often sunk to the level of the demons” (299). The latter seems to be the situation in which we find ourselves today—with language being manipulated in the realms of media and politics, to the ultimate advantage of those doing the manipulating. In 1984, Orwell warns his readers of this very problem using his concepts of Newspeak and doublethink. In Winston’s world, Newspeak is the language that is used in Oceania, and is the only language in the world that is shrinking. By getting

(Ruddick, 2003, pg 350) Children might have been led to be active consumers when advertisers started aiming at children instead of focusing on parents’ desire to be influenced by certain childhood standards to buy children’s toys. (Buckingham, 2011) Toy manufacturers also understood from the early twentieth century till now, that they could make more sales if they emphasized on the child as a purchaser rather than an adult who has noble intentions for the child. (Cunningham, 2006, pg 230) For instance, after the Disney movie “Frozen” was released in theatres worldwide, merchandise related to the movie became trendy because the children liked the movie characters, storyline and songs. Some of the popular merchandise that children would want their parents to buy for them were dolls, toys, bags and costumes.(Berr, 2014; Cunningham, 2006, pg 230) The appeal of watching “Frozen” was not gender restricted to girls who liked watching princesses, as it seemed even boys were convinced enough to be its audience due to the action sequences and comedy (Barnes,

Language is a very powerful tool. It is a means of basic communication, and has been around for centuries. Just like any other tool, language can be powerful in a positive or negative way, and can either work to one's advantage or can result in negative effects. Certain words can touch a certain chord inside someone, so they can be easily influenced by the language. A good example of this is George Orwell's Animal Farm, a fable in which a multitude of gullible animals are exploited by a group of power mongering pigs. Words can appeal to a persons basic needs and desires and conjure up hope or even fear in his or her mind. These emotions can be manipulated by others to their own advantage, and clever use of language can be used to cheat, deceive, spread rumors. In Animal Farm, Orwell shows how the pig's use of influential language manipulates and enslaves the animals.