The Unfettered Language
In advancing through the stages of one’s life, one also advances through different levels and styles of speaking. One’s personal style of language is adapted to fit these distinct periods of life. In citing a language and using words that others are unfamiliar with, many can be left in a state of confusion. Over time there have been many styles of language that we find difficult to understand and relate to. In Keywords, Raymond Williams is able to take a certain language or group of words and show the reader the different forms of the word/language by giving examples and background, thus clarifying some of the confusion that new languages and words can have. One’s whole life is spent around the same types of people and languages, then all of the sudden when leaving that comfort zone that you had developed you feel like you’re lost. To comprehend the different styles of speaking in our society today, one must understand their origins and the context of their use. The language (group of words) that I am going to discuss in this paper is the one that we speak here at Duke. It is the vocabulary that many students here at Duke speak, as we have matured past our young teen years, but still search for our adult maturity and lifestyle. I will show how the primary language spoken here at Duke is a much more mature and respectful than that of high school language, but explain how it still lacks in maturity compared to adults way of speech.
Teenagers growing up in Northern California, like myself, are known for using “hella”; it’s a word that I have used for as long as I can remember. But when I came to North Carolina for the first time, I said it to someone who in turn asked, “California, right?” I responded with a stuttering yes. Why is it that these kinds of things happen? How is it that a single area on the world’s map, or a single group of people start using words that no one else understands or uses? To say that there is just one explanation does not fully justify it. I remember my mother and father being completely confused by what I was trying to say back in high school when my friends and I used words like hella (meaning “a lot”) and hit (meaning “hideous”).
The current decade’s slang is very important to the teen culture. Teens often use slang to speak only to one another and not to adults as said in the following article, “Every generation has its slang — new words that allow kids to communicate without their parents understanding”(53 Slang… 1). Kids will use slang terms to communicate without adults being able to comprehend what exactly kids are saying, it is basically a secret code. Since the 1930’s slang has evolved in countless ways. These words will constantly be changing, even within the same decade as said in this Huffington Post article, “words change all the time and overtime”(“These 12…” 1). Words within the English language can constantly have little tweaks added to them; sometimes this will create an entire new word. Slang terms can change throughout decades and era’s rapidly even though it is within a short time span, and this article supports the fact that words do not need decades to change it can take as little time as a few
Amy Tan talks of the English she grew up with. Tan describes an English her mother uses and an English she shares with her husband. Tan sprinkles in the emotional intricacies of a personalized language that is burdened by misconceptions and apprehensively describes this language as “broken,” but expression through the use of a “broken language doesn’t invalidate what is being said, it doesn’t devoid passion, intention or imagination it simply differs from a normality. Envisage expression as ubiquitous. The differences rest in the vessels used to express. Here, I am using the English language, a grandiose entangling of words and a structured system, to indite my thoughts.
McMillan, Norman. Flannery O’Connor Bulletin: Department of English and Speech. Milledgeville, GA: Georgia College, 1987.
Since it’s been a predominant topic of our discussion, let us talk about the infamous English language. We can be sure that it has painstakingly progressed throughout generations of reevaluation and modernization, and has thus become what it is today. It has gone in several directions to try and mesh with the various epochs of language, from the Shakespearean era to the common English slang we use now, we can all agree that English is a language that has been transcending and will continue to transcend into many
Language is a skill that, if used properly, can open up a variety of opportunities in life. Throughout the readings of “Homemade Education” by Malcolm X and “Living with Dyslexia” by Gareth Cook, we see many difficulties and challenges that people overcome when they are put in the face of language. Like many things, there are many different aspects that shape the way we understand the art of language. Throughout culture, perspective, and language we see all the components that make language so powerful. It is made very clear, that language has the power to promote the shaping of one’s identity.
We hear and read doublespeak every day, but what, exactly is doublespeak? William Lutz in “The World of Doublespeak” argues that “doublespeak is a language that makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, the unpleasant appear attractive” (389). Instead of making something sound miserable doublespeak insists on making it tolerable. Therefore doublespeak is a danger to the world and can interpret many ideas in different ways that can backwash and hide the truth. Doublespeak could also sound so real that someone will not recognize it as doublespeak it is used in many aspects such as commercials, advertisements, and even campaigns to mislead people. Also it is a technique everyone falls victim to but not everyone is aware of it. We
Throughout the span of the past few weeks I have traversed the globe, visiting several countries and regions, only to realize that although new methods develop, language as a way of expressing ones self has remained the most effective. Despite this fact, language still has its pitfalls. Neil Postman, in his essay “Defending Against the Indefensible,'; outlines seven concepts that can be used to aid a student in better understanding the language as a means of communication. He describes how modern teaching methods leave a student vulnerable to the “prejudices of their elders';, further stating that a good teacher must always be skeptical. He urges teachers of all subjects to break free from traditional teachings as well as “linguistical tyranny';
...l and royal stance for women. She was the first of her kind and will never be forgotten or understated. She is The Eleanor of Aquitaine, the mother of the French and English people and the feminine role model for the ages.
The Life of Language: Papers in Linguistics in Honor of William Bright. Berlin [etc.]. Mouton De Gruyter, 1998. Print. The.
There are two forms of languages; public and private. The "private" language only spoken with family and close intimate relationships. The "public" language used in society, work, and school. Both of these help form two identities, that help us connect and communicate with one another. In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan and also in the article “Speech Communities” by Paul Roberts ,we will see how both private and public language demonstrate how we view, and grow from each language.
Ray Kroc born by the name of Raymond Albert Kroc was born on October 5, 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois. After 32 years of building what is now a multibillion dollar fast food chain Kroc died January 14, 1984 at the age of 52. As a child his father Louis Kroc took him to a physic who claimed that Kroc would be successful in the food service industry. The physic was right because since young Ray Kroc would find different way to make money. When he was 15 he lied about his age to participate in the Red Cross as an ambulance driver during World War I. But the war had ended before his training was completed.
Before the internet, our characteristics such as style, identity, and values were primarily exposed by our materialistic properties which psychologists define as the extended self. But people’s inferences to the idea of online self vs. offline self insisted a translation to these signals into a personality profile. In today’s generation, many of our dear possessions have been demolished. Psychologist Russell W belk suggest that: “until we choose to call them forth, our information, communications, photos, videos, music, and more are now largely invisible and immaterial.” Yet in terms of psychology there is no difference between the meaning of our “online selves” and “offline selves. They both assist us in expressing important parts of our identity to others and provide the key elements of our online reputation. Numerous scientific research has emphasized the mobility of our analogue selves to the online world. The consistent themes to these studies is, even though the internet may have possibly created an escape from everyday life, it is in some ways impersonating
Language is like a blooming flower in adversity – they are the most rare and beautiful of them all as it struggles to express itself. It blooms and flourishes in strength, awe, and passion as the riches of thought is imbibed from the seed and into a finished beauty. For others, a non-native person speaking in a language that they are not familiar with sprouts out like a weed – the way its thorns can puncture sympathy and comprehensibility. Amy Tan, however, addresses the nature of talk as being unique under its own conditions. In Tan's “Mother Tongue”, she discusses how her mother's incoherent language is “broken” and “limited” as compared to other native English speakers. When focusing on Amy Tan, she grows noticeably embarrassed with her mother's lack of acuteness in the language, which then influences Tan to “prove her mastery over the English language.” However, she soon learns from herself and -- most importantly -- her mother that a language's purpose is to capture a person's “intent, passion, imagery, and rhythm of speech and nature of thought.” With such an enticing elegance...
"Linguistics 201: First Language Acquisition." Linguistics 201: First Language Acquisition. Western Washington University, n.d. Web. 8 Sep. 2013. .
—. Language: Readings in Language and Culture. 6th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1998. Print.