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What language barrier? Summary
An introduction to language barriers
Language barriers to communication
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Expressing oneself in proper English prose is imperative to becoming successful in an English speaking culture. The horrific reality of that statement pronounces a great insight into the character of English-speaking cultures; that English speaking societies severely judge the individuals of its community based on each individual’s education background in the field of Standard Written English. In Tense Present, David Foster Wallace gives several irrefutable points about the “seamy underbelly of United States Lexigraphy” and some very thought provoking insights to his own faulty perspective. One cannot ignore the unpleasant truth that Standard Written English is absolutely essential to being successful, but a dogmatic intolerance of those who are not quite as élite in their competency of Standard Written English is unnecessarily vile.
“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it” (Flannery O’Conner). Wallace makes some excellent points that are practically irrefutable, though it would be idealistic if they were not. One point is that Standard Written English is necessary if you want an idea of your own to go beyond yourself. If an ill-equipped individual has an idea that they wish to spread, it would be quite rare for it to be taken seriously by any group of scholars. Many American intellectuals would immediately see multiple red flags of incompetency all over their “idea slate” and then immediately lose interest and respect for the idea. Just as Wallace said, there are plenty of other dialects that would be able to suffice just as well if not better; however, the target audience of any great idea is almost always somewhat of an elitist, so any other dialect used will be seen as a huge sign of incompeten...
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...groups, to clans, to communities, to religions, to countries, to races, and now it is fighting its way past dialects. The superb meme of universal empathy is slowly evolving and it is dogmatic people like “snoots” who are restricting the meme from propagating itself at a faster pace.
Obviously the solution is not for every intellectual to convert to Descriptionism, since that would propagate an exponentially expansive dictionary that would never end along with many other issues. Even more obviously, the solution is not for everyone to be Persciptionists for reasons that should not require further explanation. Democracy as the beautiful formula of moderation: to not be foolish by an incompetency of Standard Written English, and to not be antipathetic by means of a rancorous intolerance of those who are incompetent of Standard Written English, is the answer.
“Standard English was imposed on children of immigrant parents, then the children were separated from native English speakers, then the children were labeled “inferior” and “ignorant” (Hughes 70) because they could not speak Standard English. In addition to feeling inferior about their second language skills, these students also felt inadequate in regard to speaking their own mother tongues” (qtd in Kanae)
In the article “Do You Speak American?,” Robert MacNeil is trying to reach the american public, especially those who do not have a complete understanding of the ongoing changes that are happening to the English that is spoken throughout the United States. He uses a multitude of examples to prove this very fact. For one he wants to inform the people that one reason for this change is that average people now have more influence in the way language is spoken.Which to him is a good thing. He enjoys the new evolution that American English has undertaken. He believes that it is a step in the right direction. Another, example he uses are the changes different regions and/or group of people have made on the English language. He uses the different accents and dialect to show the growth and improvement that occurred. Even though, some linguist view these changes as wrong, MacNeil views them as necessary and as something that is unique to the United States. In essence, a necessary growth that only makes the United States grow into a better country. Thus, making it more diverse.
(Hook). Mark Twains comparison of human and animal behavior in "The Damned Human Race" can be identified with by a wide audience. His notoriety as one of the most famous American writers makes his opinion valuable to readers. Twains presentation of the material leads the reader to make factual assumptions on the actions a mankind. He appeals to the reader by focusing on basic ideas and using emotional charged vocabulary to invoke a strong response. Logically comparing conflicting behavior aids Twains argument that humans actions are substandard in comparison to animals. The overall argument of mankind's degradation from animals is successfully argued through the use of emotional appeal and logical reasoning.
In Mark Twain’s essay, “The Damned Human Race,” he uses a sarcastic tone in order to show that humans are the lowest kinds of animals and ar not as socially evolved as they think they are, making his readers want to change. In order to inspire his audience, Twain motivates them by providing specific comparisons between animals and humans. These satiric examples emphasize the deficiencies of the human race and entice them to change for the better.
In “Do You Speak American?” by Robert MacNeil, MacNeil uses outside sources, personal anecdotes, and familiar diction in attempts to prove that the transformation of American English is a positive outcome and should be accepted.
The article Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan is a personal look into how language, and the dialects of that language, can affect a person 's life. It 's a look into how the people inside the cultural circles who use dialect derivatives of a major language are treated by people who exist outside of those cultural circles. It shows us how society treats a person using a "broken" or "limited" dialect, and how society 's treatment of these people can also affect the children who grow up using these "broken" dialects. Tan wrote this article try and convey to the reader that English is a colorful, and ever-changing language that has many dialects. Tan makes the point, several times throughout the article, that society judges you based on the type of English that you use. Throughout the article, Tan uses both her mother, herself and society 's treatment of them as evidence to support her idea. The purpose of pointing this out is to show the reader that the language a person uses, whether it be taught to them in school or by a parent at home, isn 't indicative of a person 's intelligence or value, and they shouldn 't be judged as less for using it.
Finegan says this is something “living languages must do”. For me, I was raised in a military home in which we moved to a new region every couple of years. Coming from Germany, moving to Rochester, and then to Lowville, my dialect is a combination of all three speech communities. It is different than my parents, and will mostly be passed down to my children. As I age and move locations it is opted to change again as well. So it is not that I speak differently or incorrect than the rest of my family, my speech community is merely growing and changing as it is passed generation to generation. Richard Lederer stated in his article, “We are a teeming nations within a nation, a country that is like a world.” (150) He was portraying how our country, with a universal language, can be so diverted by each region’s version of the English language. I agree completely that although we all “sing” the same song of the American language, “we talk in melodies of infinite variety.” (150) The way our country was built was by different American regions doing their own work, for example, the south had plantations, where my ancestors were small town farmers who worked with manufacturing in mills and
David Foster Wallace, author of the essay “Authority and American Usage*,” praises and advocates for “good” writers who have a strong rhetorical ability, which he defines as “the persuasive use of language to influence the thoughts and actions of an audience” (Wallace 628). To have a strong rhetorical ability, an author needs to be aware of whom their audience is, in order to present their information in a way that will be influential on their audience. Wallace recognizes that an author who applies a strong rhetorical ability will be able to connect with the audience so that they respond “not just to [their] utterance but also to [them]” (Wallace 641). An author needs to take into consideration not just content, syntax and grammatical structure (their “utterance”) but also how their character will be perceived by their audience. A positive tone will make the author seem more pleasant and relatable, whereas a negative tone connotes arrogance and pretentiousness. That is why it is crucial for an author to recognize that an audience will respond to “them” and not just their “utterance,” as an author’s appearance to their readers can also shape how impactful their writing is.
Despite the warnings of Orwell through both his essay and dystopian novel, bad English is still used today, and could be argued to affect more English than it did during Orwell’s life. The consequences are also just as he predicted, those who control the language are able to wield control over the thoughts of others. The usage of poor quality English by media has he effect of making the recipients of news more detached from events and as a consequence, more self-focused. The clumsiness and foolishness imposed by bad English ultimately degrading thought, politics, culture, and society is what Orwell had foretold. This is the English tragedy that is disregarded, modern thoughts of “English” are not of language but of the English Queen.
Simon emphases the significance of knowing, and using proper English, as well as keeping it alive. He proposes ways to sharpen the brain, which will result in a greater sense of discipline and memory. Simon also notes that everything we do is done with words, therefore, English is viewed as an essential to everyday life. The accurate use of rhetorical devices in this article are just one of many examples on how good English can help a person on a day to day basis. Despite Simon’s knowledge of proper English, the remainder of Americans must train themselves so that they may also achieve correct usage of the English
King, Robert D. “Should English Be the Law?” 1996. The Presence of Others. Comp. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 90-102. Print.
George Orwell’s essay, Politics and the English Language, first published in 1946, talks about some “bad habits”, which have driven the English language in the wrong direction, that is, away from communicating ideas. In his essay he quotes five passages, each from a different author, which embody the faults he is talking about. He lists dying metaphors, operators, pretentious diction, and meaningless words as things to look out for in your own writing and the writing of others (593-595). He talks about political uses of the English language. Our language has become ugly and the ugliness impedes upon communication. Ugly uses of language have been reinforced and passed down in the population “even among people who should and do know better,” (598). Ugly language has been gaining ground in our population by a positive feedback mechanism.
For the past few months, I have been focusing on the events and the principles behind the founding of our nation. During these studies, I often wondered how some of the ideas we cling to became entrenched in our paradigms of perception. For instance, there are words that have become taboo because of the ways they have been used. They are so taboo, in fact, that it has become nearly impossible to use the words constructively, because using them either shuts off the mechanism in the brain that controls attention span, or their mentioning automatically invites a defensive posture. Two of the unwitting victims are the words "politics" and "discrimination." The demise of valid uses of these words is sadly apparent when we discuss the issue of "free trade" with China.
In a sociolinguist perspective “the idea of a spoken standardized language is a hypothetical construct” (Lippi-Green, 2012, pp. 57). They are the form of Britain English and American English that are used in textbooks and on broadcasting. Giles and Coupland observe that “A standard variety is the one that is most often associated with high socioeconomic status, power and media usage in a particular community” (1991, p. 38). Both native speakers and learners of English, where English is taught as a second or foreign language (hereafter ESL/EFL), speak dialect of English in everyday conversation (Kachru, 2006, pp. 10-11; Owens 2012, p.
In the socio-cognitive model suggested by van Dijk (1998) an attempt is made to explain the connection between ideologies, which sometimes manifest in ‘language of hate’, such as racist language, stereotypes and prejudices. van Dijk, in his explanation of racism draws on the theory of mental models of (Johnson-Laird 1980) and this allows him to link cognition, language (discourse) and social behavior (social practices). His work focuses on mental schemas, which convey ideologies through stereotypes, opinions and attitudes. Although his theory is grounded in the neo-Marxist conception of domination, van Dijk does not agree with the idea that social classes are the dominating or oppressed political actors; he instead concentrates on the ideologies as “the basis of the social representations shared by members of a group” (van Dijk 1998:8). He opines in his framework, that ideologies organise attitudes, i.e. complex structures of opinions. Eventually, these opinions and attitudes form a basis of knowledge: “Knowledge according to van Dijk[…] is a specific sociocultural form of beliefs, viz. those that are held to be true by a speaker or a community, because they can be justified by sociocultural criteria of truth”. van Dijk tries to distinguishing between positive and negative ideologies, and