Sociolinguistics of Snowboarding
I recently went home to Alaska for a weekend and decided that it was time I learn how to snowboard, so off I headed to the closest resort to try my luck freeriding the powder (snowboarding on freshly fallen snow just for fun). In a small ski town in Girdwood, Alaska, two hundred young adults were gathered in a confined day lodge at the Alyeska Ski Resort. The air had the foul odor of wet, moldy shoes and my arms and legs still ached from my first attempt to make a run (to go down the course). As I tried to weave my way through the disarrayed chairs, tables, and groups of mingling teenagers, I realized that I could not understand anything they were saying to each other. I quickly found my friend, Adam, and asked him why everyone was talking in a way that I did not understand. The words they used sounded like street-slang sometimes, and at other times, were of such technicality that I could not even guess the meanings. Not only did I want to find out what they were talking about, I also wanted to discover where this jargon came from, what purpose it serves, and if snowboarders are labeled negatively because of it.
Adam is nineteen-years-old and has been riding for four-years and fills every spare second of his life sleeping, breathing, and sweating snowboarding. He grew up in Alaska and we have known one another for many years, although we have never been really close friends because throughout high school, we belonged to two different groups. Adam participates in many different, local big-air snowboarding competitions, where he gets judged on how well he can do certain tricks off of jumps. If he does well, then he pulled (executed, did) a flick, sometimes he'll even tweak the tricks a...
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...speech and word use influence the way society views a group of people? Of course. This can be seen in other sub-cultures such as people in the south talking slow or with a drawl, therefore there are sometimes viewed as lazy or dim-witted or African-American ethnic groups talking in ebonics, therefore they are sometimes thought of as less intelligent. Both of these ethnocentric views are from the truth, yet many people still hold these prejudices, and just as those sub-cultures, it is not any different from viewing snowboarders as druggies or delinquents just because they might use funny sounding words and phrases that other people have not heard before. So even though one might hear a boarder say, "In the sticks we bombed the backcountry booter and bombshelled the landing in the cherry cherry pow pow," it doesn't mean they went to the country and did drugs.
The movie 'Ethnic Notions' describes different ways in which African-Americans were presented during the 19th and 20th centuries. It traces and presents the evolution of the rooted stereotypes which have created prejudice towards African-Americans. This documentary movie is narrated to take the spectator back to the antebellum roots of African-American stereotypical names such as boy, girl, auntie, uncle, Sprinkling Sambo, Mammy Yams, the Salt and Pepper Shakers, etc. It does so by presenting us with multiple dehumanized characters and cartons portraying African-Americans as carefree Sambos, faithful Mammies, savage Brutes, and wide-eyed Pickaninnies. These representations of African-Americans roll across the screen in popular songs, children's rhymes, household artifacts and advertisements. These various ways to depict the African ?American society through countless decades rooted stereotypes in the American society. I think that many of these still prevail in the contemporary society, decades after the civil rights movement occurred.
In the text “The Meaning of a Word” by Gloria Naylor, the author discloses on how her personal experiences altered her life and presented another perspective on how words can have different effects depending on its context or the situation. She emphasizes and outlines how a racial term can adopt a positive connotation by those whom it is being used against. The second text “Being a Chink” is about a woman who _____. The anecdote also provides experiences where the narrator focused on the existence of a racial term that remained effective throughout her childhood. The meaning of the word varies from ____. Naylor’s story shares similarities with “Being a Chink” by Christine Leong in regards to discussing the essence of a racial term. Both individuals demonstrate how racial acts can ________. Yes, racist language can be
Throughout history society has created many stereotypes and assumptions based on race and nationality to confine us into categories. The reality is, not every individual fits a specific category because we are unique even within the same ethnic group. In “On Being Told I Don’t Speak Like a Black person” Allison Joseph illustrates some speech stereotypes that come hand in hand with her racial background and how even people from the same racial background and house hold don’t all sound alike. The author portrays that race and linguistic has such a huge impact on our daily life and how society sees her differently to others when they see she does not fit in the stereotype of sounding “like a black person” and feels frustration to being compared
In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? by James Baldwin and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan both shows idea of uses of slang and language in different context. In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? Baldwin states that how language has changed and evolved overtime, Baldwin describes how black English were used as white English, in civil rights movement where blacks were treated as slaves and the used slang language to communicate so that the whites won’t understand. This slang was taken from black language and now everyone uses to make the communication short. In the essay Mother Tongue Tan explains that how language could affect people from different culture. Tan states that how Asian students in America struggle in English. Tan also states that her mother is smart but she couldn’t communicate in English. Tan thinks that’s a big disadvantage for her mother and people coming from different countries cannot show their talent because of their weakness in communication.
This conversation actually took place during my first semester of college. However, being quite accustomed to the questions that I am frequently asked about the place I call home, this conversation somehow made me more upset than usual. This conversation made me realize just how blind society can be towards other groups in society. Different stereotypes are placed on groups for various reasons-race, sex, occupations, and geographical locations-just to name a few. The last of these four different classifications is the one that distinguishes me from most of society. Growing up in Appalachia has made me a minority (different from the rest of society), and also plagued me with many stereotypes. Everyone in society has heard the stereotypes. However, I would like to focus on the how's and why's of them. How they came to be. Why society does perceive...
Throughout time, the progression and evolution of snowboarding has increased greatly. It has gone from non existence in the late 1970’s, to one of the most watched action sports in a matter of thirty-five years. The upward takeoff and popularity of snowboarding relies on two people, Jake Burton and Shaun White. Jake Burton back in 1977 had the vision for what snowboarding would be, but Shaun White had what it took to manifest that vision. Evidence has shown that time brings change in sports, history has repeated itself with snowboarding, this history reflects the time & changes that has occurred in America.
Bissoondath says, that these terms are not easy to use or not easy to describe. They hurt people in every decent way. He stated in his story, once he met a person who said racial words to describe a particular race. Although, he says that the use of those kinds of words are not always indication of disapproval of their comfort wi...
Imagine being on the top of the world, on a bitter cold mountain, over top of an enormous crowd. Below where you stand, the lustrous lights are shining on a massive jump, that seems larger than the mountain itself, created for the professional snowboard competition. This gargantuan jump will decide whether you win or lose the competition. Becoming a professional snowboarder has been a dream to me ever since I first was beginning to snowboard. Being on top of the enormous slope and strapping into my bindings instantly made me relaxed and put a grin larger than the slope itself on my face. Everytime I glide down the face of the mountain I become focused and dialed in on my riding. When becoming a professional snowboarder as an occupation, I would
Interestingly enough, snowboarding was invented by Sherman Poppen in North Muskegon, Michigan, back in 1965. Nowadays, snowboarding is considered one of the most popular winter sports among teenagers. On the other hand, there are many people that don’t have the slightest idea how to ride a snowboard straight down a hill. There are four steps to learn the basic skills of snowboarding.
Snowboarding is a new sport that is very challenging and exhilarating and is attracting new fans all around the world. Snowboarding has really changed since it was first invented. It has become one of the fastest growing sports in America and the world.
For instance, in the show Freaks and Geeks, we find individuals, calling themselves freaks, because they do not belong in the ‘status quo,’ and live or desire to live alternative lifestyles. Would this be disrespectful to individuals who according to 19th and 20th century lingo, were called freaks? I think it is highly disrespectful indeed, because in the show, we find these kids who are not disabled, and are all white using a term which has caused so much pain to others,used it in such a free way, to be different and alternate. It goes back to what he was saying about how individuals who identify with the pink triangle and the term freak, need to also be a witness to the pain that other individuals suffered, like the gay POC and non-disabled POC. And it is worse because these kids in no way bear any semblance with either of the categories mentioned. It’s becoming some sort of norm, in which white people of years passed create words which are meant to relegate different individuals to the outside, and then after this relegation is done, choose to use it as freely as they want. For instance the use of the word ‘nigger’, white people want to include this word in their vocabulary so bad, because slavery happened more than 300 years ago. But they forget the pain that comes with this word, but you cannot truly forget what
The first characteristic of stereotyping is over-generalisation. A number of studies conducted found that different combinations of traits were associated with groups of different ethnic and national origin (Katz and Braly, 1933). However, stereotyping does not imply that all members of a group are judged in these ways, just that a typical member of a group can be categorised in such judgements, that they possess the characteristics of the group. Still, when we talk of a group, we do so by imagining a member of that group.
Instead, the people are actually deceiving themselves into thinking that a certain group acts in a certain manner. This is done so that a group is able to fit a particular stereotype so that ironically the people placing the stereotypes are not perceived in a ce...
At the age of 15, Amy Purdy decided that she loved to snowboard. When she started snowboarding, she learned to have confidence in herself and love all the great things about life. When Amy was 19, she was excited about her future and what was ahead, but never thought about what happened next. At the age of 19, Amy had Neisseria meningitis, which led to the failure of her kidneys and the removal of her spleen. But, it also caused the amputation of both of her legs when her body went into shock. Her body stopped the blood flow to her legs to help save her organs. But, she is very healthy to this day. Before, during, and after this tragedy popped into her life, she knew that snowboarding would always be a part of her life forever. When she was in the hospital, all she could think about is how she’s going to snowboard again and what it’s going to take to get back on a board. Before Amy lost her legs, she was a massage therapist who loved to snowboard and wanted to see the world. With her future changed, Amy was still determined to do the same things she did before, but just differently. She knew she couldn’t quit, because quitting meant giving up things that were most important in her life. While Amy was in the hospital, she claims her doctor said, whatever you believe in, think about it right now. When that happened, Amy thought in her head about love. She believed in loving life, loving each other, and loving to snowboard. Now, this is what inspires her today. Even though she loved snowboarding, she never thought about going to the Olympics until after she lost her legs. She went to the 2014 Sochi Paralympics and won a bronze medal. She also started Adaptive Action Sports to create opportunities for people with physical disabilities...
Most seventeen year olds participate in a winter sport, myself included. Most started participating in their sport when they’re young, myself included. Most seventeen year old’s sport doesn’t take them to competitions in Main, Quebec, or Alaska, but mine did and still does. I race sled dogs. My parents met at a dog race in Chugiak, Alaska, a suburb of Anchorage. I’ve grown up playing with puppies, helping my parents to the start line, and racing my own team. I would go to my parent-teacher conference every year in elementary school and listen to my mom explain that we would be going to Alaska for two and a half months, and that I would need my work before we left. We experienced different reactions every year. For example, my second grade teacher exclaimed “So are you running the Iditarod? That’s so cool!” This reaction is common. Most people don’t know how the sport of dog racing works. Most people think a sled dog is a fluffy dog that logs hundreds of miles because their heartless owners forcing them to, but unfortunately this stereotype