Language & Power AS

Links important to language and power, the articles I have chosen have similar links with theorists involved.

 

 

Language & Gender AS

Linking to AS work, I have found some articles online which link to the idea of language and gender:

1) The first article I have looked at is linked here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/01/gender.books

- Deborah Cameron, a language expert from Oxford University suggets that the difference between male and female language are minimal.

- Brings in modern day terms, modern day jobs which are now considered for both genders.

- Deborah begins to discuss how these facts are not completely true and are somewhat a myth, that communication and language is more important to females, women are more verbally skilled, men use language to 'get things done', and use language to be competitive, linking back to status.



2) The second article which I read, also to do with Deborah Cameron: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/oct/02/gender.familyandrelationships

- Contrasts the idea that men and women understand language in different ways. And today, it is believed that misunderstanding is common between men and women, however is 'male-female miscommunication' a myth.

- Changes Robin Lakoff's theory into a modern day term, where women should be more forward and abrupt with their language instead of causing confusion and manipulative language towards men

- Talks about the theory of 'Gray'


3) An article found, sourced by Northwestern University: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303120346.htm

- Show both areas of the brain associated with language work harder in a girls head than in a boys during language tasks, also that boys rely on different parts of the brain when performing the exact same tasks.

- Boys create more visual and auditory associations such that meanings associated with a word are brought to mind simply from seeing or hearing the word.

AS FRAMEWORKS - LINKS TO A2 LANGUAGE CHANGE

 

 

This is a mindmap of all the different factors which we covered in AS English Language, I will be finding examples of these.

Lexis and Semantics

- Lexis is the term that linguistics use to describe the vocabulary system of a language. The number of words available to text producers is huge, and words are generally chosen carefullu to help generate meaning.

- Semantics refers to the study of meaning and how meaning is created within texts, it is also concerned with the relationships between lexical items and how these create lexical cohesion.

Links to Language Change
(LEXIS GRAMMAR PRAGMATICS PHONOLOGY DISCOURSE)

Lexis: Within lexis, many words have changed over time. Nowadays, in the 21st century, words have been put in the dictionary that once did not exsist.

"Tweet" has become a verb, from the infamous website Twitter.

"Google" has also become a verb, instead of using the verb 'researching' it has all become generalised into 'googling'.

"Gay" overtime has changed its meaning, once it was the meaning of being happy, now it has connotations of being queer or homosexual.

A BBC article which I have linked below talks about how the internet has also affected language change:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10971949

A recent creation would be the blend of two verbs 'neck' and 'nominate' to become the blended word 'necknominate' which now carries its own meaning and is what people refer 'downing drinks in one' to. Despite the fun of this it has also caused serious problems.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-26022853

Celebrities have also made an impact on modern day language, where their made up word has become a verb and being used globally. Examples would be Miley Cyrus and 'Twerk' which has now been entered in the dicitionary. Also Joey Essex with the word 'Reem' and "dougie" by an american rapper who included this in one of his songs. This has shown the impact celebrities have on society.

Grammar: Over time grammar has been effected, the invention of 'text talk' where the

abbreviation of words were taking to a whole new level, with the invention of shortcuts such as 'l8' 'brb' 'wuu2' etc.

Some articles linking to this:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/computer-skills-ed-vaizey

http://techland.time.com/2012/08/16/we-never-talk-anymore-the-problem-with-text-messaging/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7910075.stm

 

 

 

MEDIA TEXT FINAL

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHILD LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Have you ever found yourself at work unconsciously reciting The Hungry Caterpillar word for word, or humming yourself to sleep with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? These are the unexpected wonders of being a parent. The years before primary school are the most important, meaning it’s time for you, as parents, to turn off Cbeebies, regain your Iphone and ‘buckaroo’ your ideas up in ensuring your child acquires the beautiful world of language.

From the beginning of learning and experimenting with language, children should be acquiring between ten and twenty words every single day. From 3+, sentences should become of a regular use and the “goo-goos” and “gagas” will be something of the past. Despite the irregular progression in children, the ultimate aim is the same. Priscilla Dunstan, a former mezzo-soprano, created the ‘Dunstan Baby Language”, claiming across all cultures and countries, infants use the same five sounds before the language acquisition period. Sounds mad, doesn’t it? That a child that seems to just sleep, cry and eat, has been recognised in creating its own language, known as ‘sound reflexes’. Who would have thought ‘Neh’ would tell you your baby is hungry? And ‘Owh’ means it’s time for bed? The many wonders of language are slowly unfolding, giving the world a step by step guide of how to understand and learn with your child. It really is true; the world is your oyster.

Despite being over 7000 languages in the world, all caregivers (a more formal, political correct term of parent) use the same techniques. Admit it, you talk to a baby and your voice suddenly reaches pitches you never knew existed, noises you’ve never used, and words you once recall shouting at nursery.  Intonation is one of the key aspects in child language, the downward convergence, meaning alternating your speech so the infant is able to understand, is unconsciously used by even the most cold-hearted of people. Child Directed Speech is used worldwide, however very minimal amount of caregivers are aware they’re using it. The repeated intransitive verb “moo moo cow” and “ba ba sheep” are examples which you subconsciously teach your child, with the illusion of it being as fun as a game of hide and seek.

With the advancement of technology these days, it comes to no shock that almost every child has their own or a close to hand involvement with some form of phone, computer, television or tablet. Peek-a-boo was one of the best forms of entertainment for the older generations, along with dolls houses and endless action figures, however this all seems a blast from the past and has been washed away, along with our favourable youth. Dr Richard Graham, told our team that children as young as four have required psychological treatment from the excessive use of Ipads. Dr Graham recognised this young addiction has similar symptoms to both alcohol and heroin addicted, when the device was taken away. He reported “Children have access to the internet almost from birth now”.

Language psychologist Miss Sophie Roberts, from Oxford University, spoke to our team about the best ways of encouraging your child to learn and develop language within the critical acquisition period. Through her recent investigation, working closely with Wick C of E Primary School, she discovered the necessity of expressive language, Miss Roberts “Children should be encouraged to ask for what they want instead of immediately fulfilling their needs. It is important for them to build upon their expressive language skills to ensure they’re prepared to communicate when encountering the outside world”.  Sophie discovered that if in the early years of life for a child, their language or communication is damaged, between 50-90% of these will go on to develop reading difficulties. Now, I know you don’t want that for your child, do you?

Once you’ve got home from work, cooked the tea, done the washing, finished the cleaning, the last thing on your mind is ‘Going on a bear hunt!’ And yes, despite the emphasis on reading and writing, it is just as important to encourage playing with your child. From being a doctor and walking around bandaged head to toe, to pretending to eat a plastic croissant from pure enjoyment, this is all known as ‘socio-dramatic play’. It is important for you to encourage your child to learn new social situations.

You might doubt your importance? Listen to this.

Prava, also known as ‘The Bird Boy’ lived in a small apartment with his mother and a collection of feathery friends. It was said in an interview from his rescuers, that despite never being physically harmed by his mother, she simply did not speak to him, therefore the only communication he had was with the birds. This meant he chirped and when he got frustrated, waved his hands in a bird’s wing manner.

Language is a wonderful, unique, incredible experience that every human should indulge in. From the minute of birth to the last minutes of life, language will be the one thing keeping people together.

 · Encourage play time, act things out with your child, this is a strong way to develop their ability to handle social situations.

· Use simple syntax to grow your child’s vocabulary.

· Phonics, card and books are all ways to improve a child’s vocabulary on a daily basis.

· Use formulation (repetition) to somewhat correct their small mistakes.

· Games, e.g. eye spy, hide and seek.. These help to link words to surroundings.

 · Develop pre-modifiers for nouns, this means to describe the chicken as a ‘brown fluffy chicken’ instead of just the noun itself.

Use flash cards with phonics, this can help the pronunciation of complex words.

· Take your child on walks or car journeys where they can use their language in an natural environment.

· Ensure your child is limited to TV, despite it being the easy option, it can develop into future implications.