Essay Plans Flashcards
(23 cards)
‘When we use language, we’re mostly just copying other people.’
(Child Language Acquisition)
YES
* Skinner said that children acquire Language by imitating others (behaviourism).
* Bruner says that children develop language by being read stories (interactionalism).
* Today, copying slang is a great way to build and maintain relationships and understand
each other (Tony Thorne)
NO
* Chomsky said that children are born with a Language Acquisition Device - they already
have linguistic skills embedded in their brains (nativism).
* Piaget said that language is acquired through experiences (cognitivism).
‘From birth, our language never stops growing and evolving.’
(Child Language Acquisition)
YES
* Chomsky said that children are born with ‘Language Acquisition Devices’ and already have
linguistic skills embedded in them (nativism).
* Piaget claims that language development occurs according to our experiences in life (cognitivism).
* Paul Postal said that ‘Language is as unpredictable as fashion’ meaning that trends come and go in language and people grow and evolve to fit them.
* Tony Thorne found that University users were the most enthusiastic users of slang.
NO
* Lennerberg’s Critical Period- up until 5 children can develop language naturally. After this period’s passed - lang developed becomes a great deal harder.
* Genie - reached developmental plateau - due to privation.
‘Our parents have the greatest role in setting us up for a life of using language.’
(Child Language Acquisition)
YES
* Vygotsky said that parents provide ‘scaffolding’.
* Piaget said that children acquire language through experiences (taken by parents).
* Skinner said that children acquire language through imitating their parents.
* Dore said that children acquire language through labelling.
NO
* Chomsky said that children are born with a Language Acquisition Device - they already have linguistic skills embedded in their brains.
‘Language is undoubtedly changing, but for the worse.’
(Language Change)
YES
* Jean Aitchison said that a prescriptivists view of Language Change is the ‘damp spoon’ -
the idea that language change occurs due to sloppiness and laziness.
* Paul Hockett explained that language change occurs due to ‘random mistakes’.
NO
* Bex explained that language change occurs due to societal change.
* Norman Fairclough said that language has undergone ‘conversationalsisation’ - public talk
has decreased in formality because people dislike being ‘got at’, this is a result of societal
change.
* Halliday explained that language change must happen because there is always a need for
new words as a result of new inventions.
* Jean Aitchison said that prescriptivists believe language is a crumbling castle (needs
preserving) but this implies that language was once perfect.
* Language changes to accommodate for the ever-increasing busy lives of people.
’Language is completely sexist today.’
(Language + Gender)
YES
* Suffixes ‘ess’ and ‘ette’ still remain.
* Robin Lakoff designed the deficit model which divided male and female speech.
* Pamela Fishman discovered that 96% of the time, men successfully introduced topics and
that women are the ‘shift workers’ in conversation using ‘phatic talk.
* Zimmerman & West discovered that women WON’T overlap men but men WILL
interrupt women.
NO
* Deborah Cameron said that there are external factors that affect a persons speech such as jobs + therefore having your gender justify your language style is invalid.
* Political correctness + societal change (responsible for Language Change according to
Bex) has seen the introduction of more ‘gender-neutral’ pronouns over the years. Such as
‘they, them, and their’ (non-binary)
’Can those without power use language to gain power?’
(Language + Power)
YES
* Koester says that jargon is used by the most authoritative figure, therefore using jargon can raise your position.
NO
* Wareing - political power - held by those with backing of law, personal power - due to job role, social group power - dominant social group. Lang use not simply enough to gain power - external factors.
‘True power is achieved through aggressive language.’
(Language + Power)
YES
* Lakoff said that women’s language is powerless and this is because they lack certainty. Men have more overt certainty.
* Deborah Tannen said that men use ‘over aggressive and assertive power’.
NO
* Koester says that power in conversation is achieved by using jargon.
* Tony Thorne said that prestige is established in a group of people by their success to generate slang words.
* Pamela Fishman discovered that, 96% of the time, men successfully introduced the topics
in a male/female conversation therefore they have more power, however there is no
suggestion as to the men’s language being aggressive.
‘How you use language determines how far you will go in life.’
(Accent / Dialect)
YES
* Cheryl Cole’s Geordie accent meant that many American’s couldn’t understand what she
was saying + therefore she was rejected as a judge for X Factor USA.
* BBC news presenter, Steph McGovern, was sent £20 in the post in order to ‘fix her terrible
northern accent’.
* Deborah Tannen said that Liverpool, Glasgow, and Birmingham are stereotyped as ‘yobs + chavs’.
* In Susanne Williams’ study, she found that Bristolian’s think they sound like ‘farmers +
pirates’ + that the South West is associated with ‘lack of education’.
* Russel Howard uses upward convergence in order to make his bristolian accent sound
more standard english in order for a wider audience to understand him.
NO
* Steph McGovern is now a primetime news reader - successful.
* Paul Kerswill found that Josie and Penny, beside having accent and not particularly
prestigious backgrounds, they had high aspirations + performed some of the most
intelligent presentations.
* Michael Rosen said that accent are like ‘gold dust’ + drama school are now more
favourable to those with accents than they were 30-40 years ago because it is seen as
character.
* Ant + Dec are successful Geordies.
’Nobody judges people on the way they speak / write anymore.’
(Accent / Dialect)
YES
* Michael Rosen said that accent are like ‘gold dust’ + drama school are now more
favourable to those with accents than they were 30-40 years ago because it is seen as
character.
* Ant + Dec are successful Geordies.
* Despite receiving backlash for her Teesside accent, Steph McGovern is a successful news
reader on at primetime.
* Ozzy Osbourne + Lenny Henry seem to happily embrace their Birmingham accents.
NO
* The Queen has, over the years, downwardly converged in order to seem more of a people’s
person.
* George Osbourne downwardly converged on a trip to Morrisons (saying ‘wanna’ and
gunna’). He did this in order to seem more part of the local people + therefore gain
votes.
- Cheryl Cole’s Geordie accent meant that many American’s couldn’t understand what she
was saying + therefore she was rejected as a judge for X Factor USA.
* Deborah Tannen said that Liverpool, Glasgow, and Birmingham are stereotyped as ‘yobs
+ chavs’.
* In Susanne Williams’ study, she found that Bristolian’s think they sound like ‘farmers and
pirates’ and that the South West is associated with ‘lack of education’.
‘Today’s young people are using too much slang and their language is impoverished.’
(Sociolect / Idiolect)
YES
* Jean Aitchison said that a prescriptivists believe language is like a ‘crumbling castle’ +
needs preserving. As new slang dates the more traditional lexis, the language needs
preserving.
* Slang that is particularly associated with a certain accent can lower the prestige of an
accent as they are not ‘standard’.
NO
* Young people use ‘code switching’ - they can switch their language style according to the
people they’re with.
* Tony Throne said that slang is used for building relationships. He explains it’s pure play
and actually lexical innovation.
* Slang is used to accommodate busy lives + keep up with trends and new inventions.
’The main function of language is to build relationships.’
(Sociolect / Idiolect)
YES
* Lakoff says that politeness features are used in order to give options, make the reader feel good + not impose - these things build a good relationship.
* Brown + Levison said that people can use language to save the positive face of others.
* Tony Thorne said that slang is used to maintain relationships.
* Code switching between different community of practice is done in order to maintain your
relationships with others.
* Koester says that the most authoritative figure will use jargon in order to maintain prestige + reinforce a relationship.
* Giles said that people can converge their accent in order to relate themselves with others.
* Coates said that men + women use different language + discuss different topics in
order to maintain their relationships with others.
NO
* Giles said that people can diverge their accent in order to distance themselves with others (accommodation theory).
* Brown + Levison said that people can use language in order to threaten face.
* Koester said that there are 3 main types of conversation in the workplace; Unidirectional
genres are where the authority speaks to an addressee in order to request or report - this is
not based around building relationships.
* Deborah Tannen said that men use ‘transactional’ speech meaning they talk to get things done.
’Modern technology is improving language, not killing it.’
(Language + Technology)
YES
* Tony Thorne explained that slang is just ‘pure play’ + is a form of ‘bonding + lexical innovation’.
* Descriptivists believe (according to Jean Aitchison) that language is a ‘crumbling castle’ + needs preserving, but this assumes that language was once perfect.
* Modern Technology accommodates for the busy lives of others.
NO
* ‘Youth slang’ means there is a divide between generations + some older people are struggling to understand what the youth are saying.
* Some people struggle to separate formal + informal language - specifically students.
* Patrick Hogan said that language is “a frail creature on the verge of extinction”.
’Technology has meant that we no longer have individuality in our language use.’
(Language + Technology)
YES
* Tony Thorne said that slang is a way of fitting in with others.
* Global contact through technology means that dialect features are spreading + becoming
‘supralocal features - could even go as far as being responsible for accent levelling.
* Urban Dictionary means that slang words that were once only exclusive to a small group of people have been added to a website + are now global.
NO
* Lignos _ Prichard said that, in order to coin a new slang word, there needs to be a level of uniqueness.
’The English Language is biased against women.’
(Language + Gender)
1. Honorifics
* Mr / Ms / Mrs / Miss
* Women’s honorifics connected with marriage
2. Dysphemisms
* Promiscuity: slut / slag /player (there are over 200 terms that refer to a sexually active
woman and only 20 that refer to men) (Sarah Mills + Julia Stanley)
* Linking women with animals - dog, cow, bitch, pig, hen, bird (Janet Holmes - chicken metaphor).
3. Male As The norm
* Pronouns ‘he’ / man ;‘All men are created equal’ (laws, the Bible, workplace rulebooks)
* Occupations - doctor, CEO, firefighter, football player, President (high profile, powerful,
physical, high paying) - marked language
* Marked language in affixes - hostess, stewardess, manageress, mayoress
’The English language should always be adapting.’
(Language Change / Language + Gender)
We should stop using sexist language that separates women from men:
* Pronouns ‘he’ / man “All men are created equal’ (laws, the Bible, workplace rulebooks)
* Occupations - doctor, CEO, firefighter, football player, President (high profile, powerful, physical, high paying) - marked language
* Marked language in affixes - hostess, stewardess, manageress, mayoress
* Honorifics - Mr, Miss, Ms, Mrs
The Language Should Reflect Our Changing Views About Gender + Sexuality:
* Binary pronouns ‘he/she’ are restrictive + there should be gender neutral pronouns
to avoid the clumsy + grammatically incorrect ‘they’ - Sweden have done this. (Also,
the new honorific, Mx)
* Ideas are now that sexuality is on a continuum - neologisms should be accepted to
accommodate this - transgender, cisgender, demisexual
‘Language Can Be Used To Gain Power.’
(Language + Power)
1. Politicians
* Instrumental power (Norman Fairclough)
** Influential power - rhetoric - hypophora (creates unity / emphasises point) (Norman Fairclough)
* Voters: personal power (Shan Waering)
2. Advertisers
* Emotive language of charitable organisations
* Oxfam / Unicef “poverty”, “innocent”, “starving”, “face death”
3. Teachers
* French + Raven: legitimate power
* Conditionals “If you don’t do your homework, you’ll get a detention.”
* Imperative “Take out your books.” “Revise these spellings.”
4. Businesses
* Letters of apology for overcharging customer
* Passive sentences “Mistakes were made”
* Second person pronoun “you” creates synthetic personalisation (Norman Fairclough)
‘When we use language, we are mostly just copying other people.’
(Language Change, Language + Power, + Language + Gender)
1. English Was Built On Other Languages:
* Germanic in origin
* Loanwords: “Bizarre - Arabic”, “Tea - China”, “Pizza - Italy”
* Spellings: knight (silent k from French) flight (silent h from Latin)
2. Advertisers Use Of Slang
* Trying to converge or sound like teenagers in Pot Noodle advert - “Everything else is just pants” (Giles’ Accommodation Theory)
* Fairclough - synthetic personalisation
The Language We Use In CMC Just Copies Our Spoken Language:
* Ellipsis, elision + contractions
* Capitalisation (emphasis) / punctuation reflects tone
4. Babies + Children:
* Skinner - conditioning / copying adults
* Children learn in blocks of language such as ‘dunno’ and ‘lemme do it’ suggesting they are
memorising common phrases
’The English Language can be dangerous in the wrong hands.’
(Language + Power)
1. Advertisers:
* Pronouns - “we”, “you” synthetic personalisation (Norman Fairclough)
* Danger - influence people to purchase things they might not really want or need
2. Media:
* Linguistic field of war to describe politicians “leadership battle”, “Civil War”, + “stormed to
victory”.
* Danger = shows bias, news should be objective
3. Politicians:
* Use rhetoric - repetition / hypophora
* Used to engage audience, create a sense of excitement, ultimately to get votes
Trump - personification ‘the jobs have left’; metaphors and emotive language ‘American
carnage’; colloquial language ‘folks’
4. Those Who Don’t Believe In Political Correctness:
* The continued use of insulting terms for women slut, slag, dog, cow, bitch, pig, hen, bird - the danger of this is women will continue to be oppressed and not equal. (Janet Holmes - chicken metaphor)
* Continued use of pejorative terms linked to disabilities to insult others: ‘retard’ and ‘spastic’ -
danger is that it perpetuates the idea that people who have mental illnesses are inferior + laughable.
‘Some ways of speaking are better than others.’
(Language + Power)
1. The Calculated Language Of Politicians:
* Instrumental power (Norman Fairclough)
* Influential power - rhetoric - hypophora (creates unity / emphasises point) (Norman Fairclough)
* Voters: personal power
2. The Persuasive Power Of Language In Advertising:
* Emotive language of charitable organisations
* Oxfam / Unicef “poverty”, “innocent”, “starving”, “face death”
3. Political Correctness
* Pronouns ‘he’ / man “All men are created equal’ (laws, the Bible, workplace rulebooks)
* Occupations doctor, CEO, firefighter, football player, President (high profile, powerful, physical, high paying) - marked language (Shan Waering - personal power)
* Marked language in affixes - hostess, stewardess, manageress, mayoress
* Honorifics - Mr, Miss, Ms, Mrs
4. Standard English:
* Prescriptivists - ‘proper’ English - interviews, academic essays, in professional environments
* Non-standard - with friends, family, in casual situations, in most CMC
’We should all strive to be politically correct.’
(Language + Gender)
1. We Should Stop Using Sexist Language That Separates Women From Men:
* Pronouns ‘he’ / man; ‘All men are created equal’ (laws, the Bible, workplace rulebooks)
* Occupations - doctor, CEO, firefighter, football player, President (high profile, powerful, physical, high paying) - marked language (Shan Waering - personal power)
* Marked language in affixes - hostess, stewardess, manageress, mayoress
* Honorifics - Mr, Miss, Ms, Mrs
2. Ableism
* Using pejorative terms to insult others: ‘retard’, ‘spastic’
* Should use differently abled instead of disabled - we shouldn’t be focusing on what they can’t do
* People should not be identified by one thing about them- therefore we should say ‘person with autism’ not ‘he is autistic’ - person with dyslexia not dyslexic.
3. The Language Should Reflect Our Changing Views About Gender + Sexuality:
* Binary pronouns ‘he/she’ are restrictive + there should be gender neutral pronouns to avoid the clumsy and grammatically incorrect ‘they’
have done this. (Also, the new honorific, Mx)
* Ideas are now that sexuality is on a continuum - neologisms should be accepted to accommodate this - transgender, cisgender, demisexual
* We should never use ‘gay’ as an insult synonymous with ‘wrong’ or ‘weird’ (need for amelioration)
’We need to protect the English language from new technologies.’
(Language + Technology)
1. Technology Has Improved The English Language Through Time So New Technologies Shouldn’t Be Any Different:
* Caxton’s printing press: helped in standardization, cheaper process aided in mass production helping the distribution of English, aided in literacy.
* Broadcasting in 20th century: helped in standardization and introduced new speech patterns.
2. Texting
* Ruining literacy levels in children? Initialisms / abbreviations / poor spelling / numerical homophones
* David Crystal - improves literacy rates in children / spelling - they have to know how to spell in order to spell it wrong / only 10% of texts are abbreviated - initialisms + abbreviations were in English long before texting.
3. Social Media
* Twitter - hashtags / punctuation maximalism / overuse of ellipsis.
* Hashtags - relates to topics, engages others, quickly identifies beliefs or feelings - creates a commentary on what was said / punctuation - emphasises feelings or beliefs - Crystal - full stop gains new connotations in CMC - ellipsis linked with word count rules.
4. Technology Inspires Us To Be Creative (Andrew McCallum)
* Engage in conversations with people from around the world in real time (globalisation)
* Neologisms - portmanteau (facebook), libfixes (unfriend), coinages (Google), Broadening / Conversion (Twitter)
* New platforms extend our writing forms: blogs, online articles with links, dating sites
‘The English language is not what it used to be.’
(Language + Technology)
1. Older Technologies Improved The Language:
* Caxton’s printing press: helped in standardization, cheaper process aided in mass production helping the distribution of English, aided in literacy.
* Broadcasting in 20th century: helped in standardization + introduced new speech patterns.
2. Texting:
* Ruining literacy levels in children? Initialisms / abbreviations / poor spelling / numerical
homophones
* David Crystal - improves literacy rates in children / spelling - they have to know how to spell in order to spell it wrong / only 10% of texts are abbreviated - initialisms + abbreviations were in English long before texting
3. Social Media:
* Twitter - hashtags / punctuation maximalism / overuse of ellipsis
* Hashtags - relates to topics, engages others, quickly identifies beliefs or feelings - creates a
commentary on what was said / punctuation - emphasises feelings or beliefs - Crystal - full stop gains new connotations in CMC - ellipsis linked with word count rules
4. Technology Inspires Us To Be Creative (Andrew McCallum):
* Engage in conversations with people from around the world in real time
* Neologisms - portmanteau (facebook), libfixes (unfriend), coinages (Google), Broadening /
Conversion (Twitter)
* New platforms extend our writing forms: blogs, online articles with links, dating sites
’All language change is good.’
(Language Change + Language + Technology)
1. Dangerous Language Change: The Continued + Growing Use Of Pejoratives Against Minority Groups:
* The pejoration of ‘lady’ (dinner lady, lunch lady, lollipop lady) - gentlemen + lord has not pejorated. The pejoration of ‘mistress’ (now it means the woman who cheats with a married man) - master has not diminished in definition. ‘Tart’ started as sweetheart, but now means a female of immoral character.
* Continued use of pejorative terms linked to disabilities to insult others: ‘retard’ and ‘spastic’ - danger is that it perpetuates the idea that people who have mental illnesses are
inferior and laughable.
2. Language Change Inspired By Technology Is Great For Creativity:
* Neologisms - portmanteau (facebook), libfixes (unfriend), coinages (Google), Broadening / Conversion (Twitter)
* Twitter - hashtags / punctuation maximalism / overuse of ellipsis
* Hashtags - relates to topics, engages others, quickly identifies beliefs or feelings - creates a commentary on what was said / punctuation - emphasises feelings or beliefs - Crystal - full stop gains new connotations in CMC - ellipsis linked with word count rules.
3. Language Change Often Improves Literacy Rates:
*Caxton’s printing press: helped in standardization, cheaper process aided in mass production helping the distribution of English, aided in literacy
* Broadcasting in 20th century: helped in standardization and introduced new speech patterns.
* Texting Ruining literacy levels in children? Initialisms / abbreviations / poor spelling / numerical homophones. David Crystal - improves literacy rates in children / spelling -
they have to know how to spell in order to spell it wrong / only 10% of texts are abbreviated - initialisms and abbreviations were in English long before texting.
