Slang Essay

Referring in detail to text P and to relevant ideas from language study, explore how attitudes of language over time, how language changes and how these changes are reported.

The English language has progressively changed, especially over the past few centuries, being influenced by many factors such as colonisation, technology and even new socialect, usually referred to as slang. The attitudes of this change in language have different views, such as prescriptivism and descriptivism. The newspaper article, ‘Proper Hench’ by tabloid newspaper, The Daily Mail was written for the attention of parents of especially children who were teenagers, informing and potentially entertaining the reader about the new use of slang and jargon that is commonly found upon teenagers. The article talks about the confusion that parents seem to feel about teens’ of the 21^st century use of slang language, and the struggle of the language barrier it is seemingly causing. The informal, chatty language gives the readers a personal experience, whilst allowing them to relate due to the problem clearly being a common one.

The descriptivist attitude that this article conveys the acceptance of slang language, as the English language is constantly changing in ways such as borrowing words from other languages. An example of borrowing in slang language is shown when the definition of words are explained, “feds” now meaning police, a word of which is commonly used in the American English language (short for federation or a federal state). Even though this is a prescriptivist approach to slang language, the list of social lexis followed by its definition possibly suggests a slight descriptivism attitude as the slang words have been standardised with meanings. Jonathan Green released a Dictionary of Slang, published in 1998, construing that 20^th century slang language has been accepted as a part of the English language. By standardising these words meant that the lexis became “official”, as valuable as the language that was published in the first dictionary in 1750.

Even though The Daily Mail’s article seems to accept the slang that teens now use in the 21^st century, there is clear confusion from even the writer of the article, addressing the reader as “parents for teenage bluds”, however reading it from a clear understanding of slang language, the author is clearly trying to converge their language to sound like a teenager. Slang term, “bluds” is used to address a friend or a mate; however “parents for teenager bluds” does not make grammatical sense. This possibly is intended to address the confusion of slang; however by using it at the beginning of the article before any definitions are given for the slang word, it would cause confusion for the parent who may not know what the term means.

Technology has influenced slang, such as texting and messaging, clipping words (“sorry” to “soz”, “parents” to “rents” and “awkward” to “awks”), as well as abbreviating phrases, (“Laugh out loud” to “LOL”, “to be honest” to “tbh” and “you get me” to “ygm”). Linguists have mixed feelings about the slang language that is “infecting” the English language, as descriptivist Jean Aitchinson comments on how others may view slang. Aitchinson further describes views of slang language as the reason for the English language being a “crumbing castle”, disintegrating due to the ease of standardisation. Even though Aitchinson states that the Standard English language is decaying from what it used to be from the nineteenth century and previous, she does take a prescriptivist view on the change of language; simply reinforcing the views that prescriptivists believe.

Other theorists such as William Labov studied language and change, discovering that slang was used to fit in with a group, giving the speaker a recognisable ‘street cred’ accent, rather than a Received Pronunciation accent (of which he named “covert prestige”). Even though this is seen as inferior by the ‘dominant cultural group’ who speak “standard English”, the Covert Presitge communication, especially in colloquial terms and urban areas earns respect within the community for the speaker.

The Daily Mail’s descriptivist views on the slang that has integrated rapidly into the English language by its users is clear that there is a struggle trying to understand the fashion of the words and their contextual meaning, however the advertisement of campaigns and websites giving parents help and guidance to understanding the “jargon” teenagers frequently use, such as ‘websites’, ‘e-learning modules’ and ‘24 hour confidential hotlines’. This shows that parents that do not understand this language is taking the ignorance of the language very seriously and the educational resources that have been provided almost gives the article a hyperbolic cry-out-for-help attitude towards slang and how fast it is changing by youths.

Personal Blog

Please follow my personal blog, I have made it for my own personal use and university so would be great if you can check it out! Would be greatly appreciated if you could give it a follow!

http://adayinthelifeofrachelj.blogspot.co.uk/

A Level English Language revision links

http://www.slideshare.net/BCALevels/alevel-english-glossary

http://quizlet.com/97623/english-language-as-level-terms-flash-cards/

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/

Oxford English Dictionary Videos

OED Youtube Channel Summary

OED Appeal for "cooties"
This video is about the term that is usually used by North American children, "cooties", a made up word that has made it into the dictionary. The definition that the video gives is a term that a young person would tend to use to describe imaginary germs and that is usually talking about the opposite sex. This video is to appeal to ask the audience if they know anything about the history of the word and it's usage.

Are there any words that rhyme with "orange"?
During this video, the woman talks about how it is very uncommon to have words that perfectly rhymes with the word, "orange". She tells us that the only rhyming word is "sporange", which is a part of a plant; of which isn't commonly used nowadays in modern English language. However there are some half rhymes that the dictionary suggests, such as lozenge, that could be possibly used as an alternative. This video also explores how the word "silver" does not have many rhyming words either, and the only word that the dictionary offers is "chilver", (a female lamb), however, yet again, an unpopular/unused word. The video then goes on to explain the difference between a half rhyme and a full rhyme; a full rhyme being where the vowels are the same and pronounced the same (at the end of a word), whereas a half rhyme is a similar use of vowels that sound similar but are not used in the same way, so it doesn't give the exact same sound.

An OED Appeal for "in your dreams"
This video is an appeal to ask the members of the audience if they know any history or information about sayings such as the phrase, "in your dreams", usually used in a sarcastic tone. The research that has been found out about the phrase so far is the use of the phrase in a Usenet news group posting in 1986, however they think that it was probably used further back in history.

An OED Appeal for "disco"
This video is another appeal for the audience to try and get involved with the research to the history of the use of language of certain words. The research that has been carried out on the word "disco" has resulted to the finding that it used to be used to describe a long, sleeveless dress, and then later on they found examples of the word being used to describe disco dancing. Further research revealed the new usage of the word to describe an event where the disco dancing takes place.

Article analysis

Referring to both texts in detail, discuss how language changes.

The Sun's Black Hole article, written in 1999 shows the modern language features, especially when compared to The Daily Mirror's article, One Touch Of Nature, written in 1912. The difference between structure of format and graphology is the first noticeable difference, as The Daily Mail's text is written as block texts in lengthy paragraphs, whereas The Sun's article uses short sentences and paragraphs, of which are also broken up with the use of headlines. The headlines are in capitals (uppercase), in bold. This creates a quick-read feature, making the article punchy and paced to keep the reader entertained and interested.

Following on from this, the headlines of "WHY" are then followed by rhetorical questions. The rhetorical questions allows the reader to engage emotionally with the article. It makes the audience question the points that are being raised, whereas Daily Mirror's article uses adjectives to engage with the reader to provoke emotion. This is however suitable tot he article's subject, as Daily Mirror's article is aout Titanic, talking about a sensitive subject that many (if not, all) readers will be familiar with, however The Sun's article is about a Black Hole. Readers are aware what a black hole is but they may not be aware of its dangers or consequences. This article uses a field specific lexis to denote danger. Words such as "feared", "fire", "failures, "blazing", "panic" are used to signify warning to influence the reader to feel fear when reading this article. The use of lexis successfully creates a strong tone of voice that is suitable for the typical The Sun newspaper reader. The Sun is a tabloid with a general target audience of CDE2 audience (working class), of both genders, however it is known that the language that is used in The Sun is purposely easy for readers, and content for the newspaper is created so that a 16 year old can understand the articles. This is reflected through the informal, chatty language that is used through a narrative-like tone of voice. Italics are used after a declarative sentence, "That is clearly not true", to enforce a slightly sarcastic tone to the article, giving a personalised feel to interact with the reader directly.

The grammar and punctuation used within The Daily Mirror's Titanic article shows semantic changed from archaic language, such as "Draughtsmen", "mightily" and "nothingless", of which would most likely be unfamiliar to readers if this language was used in The Sun's newspaper. The Daily Mirror's audience is for of a more sophisticated middle class older audience, and even though nowadays The Daily Mirror was more of a broadsheet, it has changed to a tabloid (now The Mirror). Due to this article targeting an educated audience, the audience are expected to follow the article without the need of breaks through headlines or rhetorical questions, creating a more formal approach. The article at the end is signed off as "W.M." at the end, whereas articles have changed typically to a full name at the top of the article underneath the title. The initials at the end are now seen as more of a formal sign off.

Recipe analysis

The language throughout all three recipe texts is varied due to the different time periods of when they were written, for example the semantic change of words and meanings, format and the features of orthology are different. Text number one (of which was written in 1747) is a curry recipe. There are uses of non-standard language, such as the spelling, “currey”, of which now has the spelling adaptation of just being “curry” without the requirement of the “e”. There also seems to be a dismissal of the letter “s”, of which is replaced by the letter “f”, such as words, “Fowls”, “fmall”, “Frefh”.  However the letter “s” wasn’t ignored completely, as the recipe later on has intermittent uses of the constantan S, “Stew-pan”, “Salt”. It seems as though the letter “f” is used on verbs and adjectives, however if there is a word beginning with S and it is a noun, the S is kept and it is also made to be a capital even if it is mid-sentence. This links to another non-standard feature of this recipe is also the orthography, where the capitalisation of nouns, especially concrete nouns (such as the ingredients of the curry), are capitalised. This may be due to the confusion of concrete nouns and proper nouns; however language over time has become more specific, splitting the nouns into different groups to no longer need capitalisation unless it is a proper noun.

Recipe no. 2 is an Economical Pot Liquor Soup that was written in 1852, of which the language is different again to the previous recipe. Firstly, the recipe being described a “pot liquor soup” suggests a different meaning to what it would have meant back in the 1800’s, as liquor is alcohol in the 21^st century, whereas the recipe would have intended a different meaning that doesn’t include alcohol. The contextual time that this recipe was written is also reflected in this recipe as it directly speaks to the target audience, “a thrifty housewife”, suggesting that this recipe is for working class women. This gender specific text is tailored to suit the stereotypical domestic housewife, which would not be seen in a 21^st century recipe due to the stigma of only women cooking has changed, meaning that men are cooks just as much women can be.

Recipe 3, the “wan kai thai-style red curry” is instantly different (written in 1998), as the borrowing of the word “curry” was originated from Tamil in the late 16^th centry, however has adapted to the English language. It is evident how the spelling of the word has changed by just looking at the spelling “currey” from text number 1 compared to tis modern text. The graphology of this recipe is the major difference between this recipe compared to the other two, as the other two recipes were set out as columns of block text, talking through the steps of the recipe. However the modern 1998 recipe is set out in bullet points. Whereas the previous recipes included the ingredients within the process of the recipe rather than listing them before, the ingredients are listed with the exact measurements in units before the steps of the recipe in the modern text. This is because people nowadays have less time to prepare meals, and the use of bullet points are quick and easy to read. There is also a “nutrition notes per serving”, telling the reader all of the facts about what this recipe includes in terms of calories and fats. People are more aware of what they are eating, and the obsession of diets and calories are constantly what people search for in foods. The government have also put these nutritional intake statistics with red, yellow or green colours to indicate the healthiness of the food product. It seems as though recipes are now including these types of information for the consumer to be able to make a quick decision whether they want to make and eat this recipe or not. English language has not only changed through the events and influences of modern-day life, but it has adapted to suit the lifestyle of 21^st century audiences. 

Grammar & Lexis

Grammar & Lexis

18th Century Diary

The language that has been used in this 18th century diary is noticeably different to the use of language and structure of sentences in the 21st century. This is because language's semantic change has shifted meanings and structures from influences such as colonization, language and power, gender and also technology. Language changing is possibly ongoing as new conflicts and technology will change the way users of language speak. During this particular diary entry, the sentence structure is different, "At 7 came a coach from the Strand", the active voice would still be active int he 21st century, however it would be changed in the way that the verb is before the subject. Nowadays, the subject tends to be before the verb, creating an alternative sentence such as "The coach came at 7 from the Strand".

Fashion has also changed the English language, as there are also lists of clothing garments that are no longer in fashion, therefore 21st century generations may not understand or know what these nouns are. "scarlet frock coat and drab hat and white trousers as coachman", where "scarlet frock coat" would not necessarily be understood. Frock coats are no longer worn, therefore the use of this word has decreased. The change of hypernyms and hyponyms within fashion have changed drastically, and even describing the frock coat as the colour scarlet is an adjective that doesn't occur within the English language as much as describing a deep blue such as navy. A "drab hat" would possibly be described as a khaki cap or bucket hat in terms of modern fashion.

Phonology

Phonology and Accents

Living in Bristol means that I have accommodated a Bristolian accent, which is perfectly normal, however whether I like the accent or not is something different... My mum tells me that my Bristolian accent isn't particularly strong and I am probably the least Bristolian out of my family, however I still feel a negative attitude towards my accent. I especially get conscious of my accent when I dismissively pronounce words without pronouncing all of the letters, for example 'butter' and 'water'. The glottal stop that I have adapted into my language makes me cringe and when I realise that I have said it out loud, I then correct myself and say the word properly. The idea that I want to pronounce my words "properly" is the standardization of the English Language, giving the idea that there is a right way to speak and pronounce words correctly, meaning that people who have different accents, pronouncing words differently are speaking "lazy" or "non- standard". This can lead to judgement, and prejudice as speakers of the English language in a harsher tone or a "lazier" accent can lead to assumptions. For example, the Essex or East London accent has a stereotype that their accent makes them seem dumb or illiterate. This could however be influenced from reality TV programme, The Only Way is Essex, or soap, Eastenders, however it has created a label to people who speak "common", such as Essex or East London.


The Mirror article, What is the UK's UGLIEST Accent? looks at how accents have now deemed to be attractive or unattractive, making speakers of these accents more aware and conscious that there are pressures to speak in a certain way; the attractive accents being the ones that are pronounced "properly" or more formally than common.

"Sorry, Brummies. The rest of the UK don't like you"

The Mirror have so- say found out that the majority of the UK find the Brummie accent unattractive

Another article, alternatively about the snobbery of accents and how there can be a negative view on having a POSH accent!

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/02/britain-accent-sound-foreign-snobs

Lexis and Origins

Lexis and origins of words; Language and Change


Anorak - 1920s: from Greenlandic anoraq . The British English informal sense dates from the 1980s
Barbeque - mid 17th century: from Spanish barbacoa, perhaps from Arawak barbacoa ‘wooden frame on posts’
Barrack - late 19th century: probably from Northern Irish dialect.
Blizzard - early 19th century (originally US, denoting a violent blow): of unknown origin
Bongo - 1920s: from Latin American Spanish bongó
Bonsai - 1950s: from Japanese, from bon ‘tray’ + sai ‘planting’
Boomerang - early 19th century: from Dharuk
Budgerigar - mid 19th century: of Aboriginal origin, perhaps an alteration of Kamilaroi gijirrigaa (also in related languages)
Bungalow - late 17th century: from Hindi baṅglā ‘belonging to Bengal’, from a type of cottage built for early European settlers in Bengal.

Chipmunk - mid 19th century: from Ojibwa.

Chutney - early 19th century: from Hindi caṭnī

Dinghy - early 19th century (denoting a rowing boat used on rivers in India): from Hindi ḍiṅgī

Dungarees - late 17th century (in sense 2): from Hindi duṅgrī 

Gnu - late 18th century: from Khoikhoi and San, perhaps imitative of the sound made by the animal when alarmed

Haiku - Japanese, contracted form of haikai no ku ‘light verse

Hamburger - late 19th century (originally US): from German, from Hamburg

Igloo - mid 19th century: from Inuit iglu ‘house’

Kangaroo - late 18th century: the name of a specific kind of kangaroo in an extinct Aboriginal language of North Queensland

Karaoke - 1970s: from Japanese, literally ‘empty orchestra’

Ketchup - late 17th century: perhaps from Chinese (Cantonese dialect) k'ē chap ‘tomato juice’

Llama - early 17th century: from Spanish, probably from Quechua

Mohair - late 16th century: from Arabic muḵayyar ‘cloth made of goat's hair’ (literally ‘choice, select’). The change in ending was due to association with hair

Potato - mid 16th century: from Spanish patata, variant of Taino batata ‘sweet potato’. The English word originally denoted the sweet potato and gained its current sense in the late 16th century

Puma - late 18th century: via Spanish from Quechua

Pyjamas - early 19th century: from Urdu and Persian, from pāy ‘leg’ + jāma ‘clothing’

Safari - late 19th century: from Kiswahili, from Arabic safara ‘to travel’

Sauna - late 19th century: from Finnish

Shampoo - mid 18th century (in the sense ‘massage (as part of a Turkish bath process)’): from Hindicāṃpo! ‘press!’, imperative of cāṃpnā 

Sherbert - early 17th century: from Turkish şerbet, Persian šerbet, from Arabic šarba ‘drink’, fromšariba ‘to drink’. Compare with syrup

Ski - mid 18th century: from Norwegian, from Old Norse skíth ‘billet, snowshoe’

Skyscraper - American

Taboo - late 18th century: from Tongan tabu ‘set apart, forbidden’; introduced into English by Captain Cook

Tattoo - mid 17th century (originally as tap-too ) from Dutch taptoe!, literally ‘close the tap (of the cask)!’

Tea - mid 17th century: probably via Malay from Chinese (Min dialect) te ; related to Mandarinchá . Compare with char

Toboggan - early 19th century: from Canadian French tabaganne, from Micmac topaĝan ‘sled’

Tortilla - Spanish, diminutive of torta ‘cake’

Totem - mid 18th century: from Ojibwa nindoodem ‘my totem’

Trek - mid 19th century: from South African Dutch trek (noun), trekken (verb) ‘pull, travel’

Tycoon - mid 19th century: from Japanese taikun ‘great lord’

Yeti - 1930s: from Tibetan yeh-teh ‘little manlike animal’

Semantic Change

Old definitions: 
Lean: thin, emaciated

Novice: a member of a religious order who has not taken vows yet
Revolutionary: someone who favours overthrowing the government
Lewd: not having an official position in the church.

Modern definitions:

Lean: especially healthily so; having no superfluous fat.

Novice: a person new to and inexperienced in a job or situation.
Revolutionary: involving or causing a complete or dramatic change.
Lewd: crude and offensive in a sexual way.

The word "Lean" originated from the borrowing of the German lexis, hlinian; related to Dutch leunen and Germanlehnen, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin inclinare and Greek klinein. This semantic change of this word has shifted the definition, meaning that the use of the word within conversations and lexis use has fluctuated over the years.

"Novice" originated as Middle English: from Old French, from late Latin novicius, from novus ‘new’. The new definition makes more logical sense as it relates the original word's meaning; this semantic change is not as strong.

"Revolutionary" used to be referred with a political definition, however the change in semantics has generalised and has weakened the word to describe a situation as opposed to describing a person.

The definition of the word "Lewd" has shifted; the comparison of the old definition has completely changed semantically. The modern definition of the Old English word has changed to an euphemism to talk about a less pleasant subject through an informal, jokey manner.

Analysis of Menus

Menu A has a very distinctive difference to Menu B when it comes to the use of grammar, lexis and graphology. Firstly, menu A's language is an informal register, aimed towards local visitors from the area that the care is set in. This is apparent due to the use of colloquial language, 'bacon barm'. This is a significant feature of the menu as even I didn't know what a 'bacon barn' is, meaning that I cannot understand the language that must be used in the area that the cafe is set. The use of slang and accommodation also demonstrates the informality of this menu. The menu includes words such as 'hot-pot', where the preposition has been taken out to make the menu seem more friendly and punchy to the reader.

Menu B is however a very different style of menu, as the menu is clearly for an expensive dinner menu. The interesting use of grammar in menu B conveys the more formal register as opposed to text A, 'masked in a pink peppercorn sauce...'. The use of adjectives to describe the cuisine is put into complex sentences to appeal to the audience and to tempt them. The language techniques such as alliteration, 'peeled prawns' to enhance the purpose of the menu- to persuade.

Top Tips on How to Start a Narrative

Have you ever just stared at a blank page, biting your nails and rolling your eyes impatiently, waiting for ideas to come to you when trying to start a narrative? Me too. Instead of staring at my computer screen, achieving nothing productive, instead, I searched online some tips on how to start a narrative to try and provoke some ideas for my own narrative. I managed to successfully write my narrative with a continuous flow of ideas, so here some of my top tips to getting started!

Make sure you have created a full profile about your character- You can't write a narrative without knowing your characters inside out; their name, age, personality, likes, dislikes, their reactions and mannerisms etc. You will find knowing these tiny intricate details about your character will help build the narrative when describing scenes, whether it's in first person, second person or third person.

Decide and plan the basic frame of your narrative- Decide whether you're writing your narrative from a first, second or third person perspective, as well as what tense you want the story to be in. This is very important as it could determine where you start your story- that something has already happened and the reader is in the middle of it, then flashing back to the past to finally get to the present of the situation you are in now? Or a story of past events?

Think ahead- You don't need to know the exact details of your story, just the basic frame of it, and make up the finer details on the way. Keep a notebook next to your computer, so that when you are writing, if any ideas or description quotes spring to your mind, make sure you write them down so you can later on refer to them- trust me, this helped me a lot!

Set yourself in the scene- To help write your narrative, perhaps write about something you do often or you can relate to. For example, my character in my story was sat on a bus, and I get the bus regularly. By knowing what the character feels like and what situation they are in, it enabled me to be able to describe the intricate details that people are familiar with, but don't necessarily notice until you point it out.

Don't rush-  If you are frustrated about not knowing where to go with your narrative, don't get too annoyed. Try and think of some ideas, but don't force ideas and panic- it's okay, writer's block is common, so don't fret too much! Just keep a notebook next to you at all times, even just in your bag in the house, or even on your bedside table, so that if you ever you experience something or think of an idea you could use, jot it down in your notebook- of you don't you probably will forget it, or forget the fine details about it at least. A lot of writers use their dreams or inspirations from their dreams to write a novel, so keep a notebook handy.

Don't rely on dialogue too much to start off your narrative- While starting a narrative with dialogue is a strong start, don't rely on it too much- it is so common, you don't want to fall into the trap of copying everyone else. Try to find a more original start to your story, you can do this by deciding depending on what your story will be about. Don't be afraid to try something new or daring.

I hope that a few of my tips help, good luck and enjoy writing!

Child Language Acquisition

Looking at the transcript between Sophie at the age of 2 years and 4 months, and the transcript where she is at 3 years and 5 months, it is clear that the first transcript of her at a younger age is at the telegraphic stage. This is evident by the use of incorrect possessive pronouns that she uses, "me want that", as well as the use of contextual language, missing out the language that joins the sentence together. There is also a use of accommodation as well as colloquial slang, "bissy", which could cause some confusion if you are not aware of the context. Similarly to this, Sophie seems to be in the two word stage, "read that", meaning that actions or context is also needed. This links with theorist Basil Bernstein's view on language, that children acquire the restricted code, meaning that they use the basic language that further means that you need to be aware of the context to fully understand what they are talking about, whereas elaborated code possibly develops later on, where the listener does not need to know the context of the subject that is being spoken about, as the use of full sentences gives the full meaning.

However looking at the transcript where Sophie is a year and 1 month older, there are some clear developments and changes, moving her into the post-telegraphic stage, such as the use of inversions, "is it dark outside". This proposes a question and she understands the use of the term. She proves that she is confident with the use of inversions again, "can I borrow your corder", with the additional use of an auxiliary in "can", and colloquial language/slang, "corder", that is not entirely clear about the context still, but the reader can still assume that perhaps she meant a recorder, however will never be entirely sure. There are uses of concrete nouns, "piano", "shoes", as well as abstract nouns, "colour", "ring up", "tomorrow", which is clear that she understands the concepts of concrete and abstract nouns, unlike the telegraphic stage where children tend to get confused with concrete and abstract nouns.

My Investigation Coursework plan

For my investigation for English Language A2 Coursework, I will be looking at Language and Gender and the power within the language that is used within the gender roles.

My Hypothesis

My hypothesis is: An investigation in the difference between the language of adverts to women and adverts to men (in products- focused on ‘bathroom’ products). In my investigation, I will try to find out the different types of power in the language that tries to sell the products differently to each gender of audience. I am interested in the different types of persuasion and adjectives that will be used to describe the product and the lexis of how the product and the company describes and makes the audience feel.

Data – What (& how much) have you selected already?

So far I have collected 674 words worth of transcribed data. The transcriptions are of television commercials that are for specific cosmetics or ‘bathroom’ products. I have tried to make it fair by trying to collect transcriptions of commercials that are aimed towards men/women to sell their shower gel, perfume or deodorant product. I have also collected some data that only a certain sex can be targets towards due to the product, such as make up for women and aftershave for men.

Methodology – What Processes are you using to make sure that your data is comparable and reliable? (A good way of thinking about this is to make notes about the types of data you are ignoring)-

When transcribing my data from various YouTube videos, I am making sure that they are all real and official by only choosing advertisements that I have already seen on TV or that I am familiar with. I am also using television commercials that are recent within the past couple of years, mostly all 2014 adverts. By doing this and not looking at adverts that were made in for example, 2002, means that my data will be reliable and up to date, as the language of advertising and language and gender could have changed/probably has changed since the end of 20^th century/beginning of the 21^st century. By collecting data of the same subject, promoting the same product but changing the variable of the target audience, means that I can make my investigation comparable. By comparing the language of a shower gel advert for women and a shower gel advert for men means that I can compare and contrast the two types of language used within the adverts, depending on who the target audience is.

Aims, Interests & Hypothesis – What do you consider to be interesting and important about the types of language you are investigating? What are you aiming/ expecting to find?

I consider language and gender and the power within the language and gender very interesting, especially how that it is all highlighted and will be studied in this specific hypothesis.  I am expecting to find a difference in the language between the adverts for women and the adverts for men. For example, the women’s advertisements will include Fairclough’s theory, synthetic personalisation (e.g. L’Oreal “You’re worth it”), whereas the male targeted advertisements will be encouraging how to be a man, or that ‘real’ men use their products. I will also look at Brown and Levinson’s versus theory, for example Feelings vs. Advice.

Theories / Linguistic Concepts – In what ways might your investigation relate to ideas that are significant to language study? Answer in detail.

My investigation might relate to the ideas that are significant to language study, such as the power of language to manipulate/influence us (Fairclough and others), due to the synthetic personalisation. It might also include the significance of language and gender. The fact that women need to be targeted with a different type of language compared to men’s language could be related to Brown and Levinson’s theory. Men tend to not need to be told that they look beautiful, good or happy today. The uses of adjectives are different depending on what gender the advert is aimed towards.

Analysis – Identify at least 3 linguistic frameworks that you expect to provide you with interesting observations. Make this as specific by naming linguistic features (at least 5) that you expect to find. Explain why these features should be significant.

Frameworks that I expect to provide me with interesting observations when looking into this investigation will be:

-          Semantics and lexis- I will look at the lexical field and the difference between the two different target audiences. I will expect to find a more feminine lexis that is self-fulfilling and sugar coated for women, and a strong, hard-working, masculine lexis which may include lexis related to manual work to make men seem strong.

-          Pragmatics – will look at how the context and subtext will imply meaning, and how there are different meanings intended depending on who the advert is talking to/aimed at.

-          Grammar - I will look at the type of language that has been used within the adverts to the specific men and women audience, and how the sentences are structured to give full effect and meaning.

These features should be significant as they will show how the difference in language are adapted and used to be applied for the specific target audience. It will highlight how the type of language and lexis that is used will be the main seller of the product, and how the use of language and persuasion/power will have the effect over the audience.

Elephant Cries As it is Rescued Article

I found this touching article on AOL about a poor mistreated elephant, who was finally rescued by an animal charity. The use of short paragraphs to create a structure to the story interested me, fulfilling its purpose of keeping the reader entertained. Usually the world is full of bad news, however the outcome of this heart-warming story is positive, and it makes me certainly appreciate the people in this world who like to help not only people, but animals.

http://travel.aol.co.uk/2014/07/07/elephant-weeps-rescued-50-years-of-torture-india/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cuk%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D277026

Analysis

Looking at both of the trasncripts, it is clear that the ambulance call transcript has more use of spontaneous speech as opposed to the vlog. The vlog has obviously been scripted to some extent as well as they know what they are going to talk about and it has been planned out. The amount of spontaneous features in the first transcript, such as interruptions and pauses are frequent in the first transcript, however in the second transcript of the vlog, the number of spontaneous language features are fewer. The fact that the video has been edited to cut out any long pauses to decrease the time of the video has been used for effect, influences the amount of spontaneous speech features within the transcript. However, like the use of an outline script on the volg transcript, the woman on the pther end of the phone to the 6 yea old boy, Liam, obviously has trained experience and has a certain criteria to ask the person on the phone to find out certain information about them and the incident that has happened. This then decreases the amount of unknown spontaneous conversation for the phone receptionist.

Transcript no. 2

Marcus Butler - How girls get ready

key: * means the cut of the video, such as editing the clips

Helloo^* how y'all doing* you alright^? (1) yeah? (.) Cool. Anyway, ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls, (2)* yep (.) I wanted to talk about girls getting ready today * being a girl must be soo fricking hard * The amount of times some of you girls spend getting ready is craa^zzzyyyyyy * dat shit cray * I'm not talking about all girls, because obviously I (.) don't have a perspective on all girls * Girls'll usually spend about three to four hours getting ready (.) * The first thing will be the most important thingon the agenda, is (.) what to wear. Planning for this event can sometimes go on for daays, weeks and maybe even months before it actually (.) even happens (breathes in through teeth) (2) they'll spend agggess abd aggesss and ages picking out this perfect outfit, (1) and then when it actually comes to the night of getting ready, (.) they usually end up having a little bit of a hissy fit. (high pitched voice to impersonate a girl''s voice) Uhh I've just got not^hing to wear (sobbing) I've got noth^ing to wear-heherr!

Transcript

6 Year Old boy 999 Emergency Call, Liam

Phone receptionist: Hello, Ambulance service (3)

Liam: Um (1)

                |What’s the problem?

Liam: Me mam’s fainted (.)

Phone receptionist: Are you with your mam now?

Liam: Yeah

Phone receptionist: (1) And where is she?

Liam: (2) She’s in the sitting room

                                                                |Ah right, could you take the phone next to where she is?

Liam: (5) Here

Phone receptionist: (4) Hello?

Liam: It’s here

Phone receptionist: Are you next to your mum now?

Liam: (.) Yeah

Phone receptionist: Okay, now what I need you to do is give a good shake of her shoulders (.), and shout her name in her ear and tell me what she does

Liam: (3) um, mam, (1), mam. (3) she’s not, she’s not doing anything

Phone receptionist: Alright, what’s your mum’s name?

Liam: Rebecca

Phone receptionist: ‘n’ what’s your name?

Liam: Liam

Phone receptionist: So is anybody at home with you now Liam?

Liam: (.) No

Phone receptionist: No?

Liam: Just me mam

Phone receptionist: Okay, now does it look like your mum’s been bleeding from anywhere? (1), Can you see any blood?

Liam: No

Phone receptionist: Does she look like she’s hurt at all?

Liam: (2) No

Phone receptionist: No? Okay (2) Now are you alright to get your door open, Liam?

Liam: yeah

Phone receptionist: Yeah? (.) Is your door unlocked?

Liam: I’ll have a look

Phone receptionist: Do you wanna go and have a look? Yeah

Liam: (2) Yeah

Phone receptionist: It’s unlocked, yeah?

Liam: (.) Mhhm

Phone receptionist: (1) And do you just live at home with you mam or do you live at home with anyone else?

Liam: Me dad, but me dad’s not in

Phone receptionist: Ahh where’s your dad?

Liam: he’s at skittles

Phone receptionist: ah is he? Mnn okay (1) Now where abouts is your mam lying, is she on her belly or is she lying on her back, or her side?

Liam: Belly

Phone receptionist: She’s lying on her belly?

Liam: Yeah, I can’t

                    | Can you try and roll her over Liam? Can you roll her over so she’s lying on her side?

Class Work Text

In Tuesday's lesson, my table and I looked at the quote by Johnny Depp:-

"If you love two people at the same time, choose the second one because if you really loved the first one, you wouldn't have fallen for the second."

After having a group discussion between the group that was on my table, we found out that through analysing the quote, the quotation uses personal pronouns, 'you', using a direct mode of address to speak to the reader specifically. It could also be argued that this quote uses Fairclough's synthetic personalisation, as it assumes that the reader knows what he is on about and also that the reader actually loves the second person more than the first. Without knowing the reader's circumstances, it assumes that the reader can relate to this quotation.

We also discussed Deborah Tannen's theory of Advice Vs Feelings, and it is significant that the quote gives advice as well as being said by a male. This fits perfectly into the category of Language and Gender roles. This specific quotation also has influential power, as it is advice that the reader can choose to take or not, however due to Johnny Depp's high status in society due to his fame, means that there is a use of instrumental power, giving him more power over the reader to listen to his quote.

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The text that we chose out of the texts we were given was the news feed from Twitter. After discussing the elements of language in this text, we decided that there was a combination of both, influential and instrumental power. The use of instrumental power is that the account that had the news feed followed celebrities, and due to their fame and popularity, it means that their higher status gives them more advantages to be followed by the account that we had a screenshot of their news feed. We also discussed that the celebrities have the power over what their followers see and consume. However there is also influential power, as the person's Twitter account has authority over who they follow, meaning that if they see any posts or tweets they do not agree with, they can either unfollow or report/block the celebrity Twitter user. 

Users on Twitter tend to write tweets that are very opinionated, meaning that it could affect the face threatening acts and politeness strategies. This is why we noticed that a lot of celebrities use "in my opinion" to reduce less offence to their followers. 

Difference Theory

Definition: The Difference theory in Language and Gender is the idea that the different genders of male and female have different uses of language and there are significant difference between the language that is used by males and the language that is used by females. No gender is better or wrong (says theorist Tannen), however the different languages can be interpreted differently for different approaches.

Theorist Deborah says that "Your genes don't determine your jeans" meaning that she believes that your gender does not determine the way that you speak.

The techniques that are used within this theory:
For Men:
-Blunt, straight to the point reactions
-Use of modal verbs in the sense of instructing rather than asking
-More likely to use small talk
-More likely to talk about factual subjects
-Less likely to be confrontational (e.g. arguments) - Compromise Vs Conflict

For Women:
-Hedging
-Sentence fillers
-Overlap/interrupt
-More likely to seek sympathy and emotion from the person she is talking to or what she is talking about
-More likely to use gossipy language
-More likely to use
-Back-channel agreement
-More likely to start an argument - Conflict Vs Compromise

Women tend to use sentence fillers such as 'yeah' or 'hmm' whereas men either don't say anything or they will be straight to the point with 'right'. Women will also use hedging to cushion or make whatever they mean seem lighter, such as if they are asked a question- "OMG does my bum look big in this?!', they will say 'no not really, it looks lovely on you!' to consider the feelings of the person asking whereas men are blunt and will say what they mean, 'yeah, I'd change' (clothes).

It is also said that 'women talk too much' meaning that 'men get more air'* (obviously from not being able to get a word in) however I don't know if that was written by a very biased male, perhaps, perhaps not!! It is known that women -I won't say talk too much- but women can create more conversation than men, so maybe that is where that point has come from?!

Orders Vs Proposals - The bluntness between the two genders are also different as a man is more likely to say 'close the door', 'shut the window', whereas women soften the approach, 'let's', 'should we go out for dinner?'. This means that men give orders and use modal verbs whereas women tend to ask it as a question with a preference in mind of what the answer will be.

(Tannen's theory) Women are also more likely to create a relationship with the person she is talking to and build the social skills that she has with them, whereas men communicate to get to the point, making their language just message-orientated based upon the information.

(Tannen's theory) Conflict Vs Compromise - Women tend to attempt to resolve disagreements without any direct confrontation, however the language can be stronger in the sense of power when in a argument. Men tend to confront straight away with something that is bothering them which resolves differences, negotiating status. Tannen stresses that both ways of communicating is to create involvement and strengthening bonds.

This theory can be used in advertisements, novels, transcripts/scripts, movies, TV shows and other types of recorded media. It is best to be used in the form of script/novel or video media purely so it highlights the difference theory between men and women.

Bruce:  Honey, I just don’t see the need to make the bed every day with all those pillows.  Do we have to?
Wife: Yes, because it looks better and what if someone comes over?

Bruce:  Who? The pool man?  These pillows just get in the way and clutter up the room when we go to bed.
Wife (sigh): Dear, just do it for me, okay?

Bruce:  Okay, okay.  Can we talk about this shopping trip you want me to come with you on, please?

Wife:  What about it?

Bruce:  I don’t want any new clothes.  I’m fine with what I've got for our trip.

Wife:  Bruce, most of your clothes should be thrown out.  In fact, if you don’t go through your closet, I will and get rid of most of your horribly out-of-style wardrobe.

Bruce:  Please don’t do that.  I’ll clean out some of the older stuff.  Look, I’m just comfortable wearing the stuff I wear. And, a lot of that stuff has sentimental value to me, just like Pete Maravich’s socks did to him.

There seems to be a balanced status between Bruce and (what I'm assuming is) his wife, however the fact that the wife has no name creates a huge significance that she does not have a name of her own and is being referred as his property or his default role in a marriage. Bruce shows no sign of hedging at all and is blunt with his answers, 'I just don't see the need to make the bed every day with all those pillows', stating his opinionated point with a straight-to-the-point mannerism, not thinking about the emotions that it might provoke. He proves the Orders Vs Proposals theory section right as he says to his wife, Both Bruce and his wife both use the Conflict Vs Compromise theory, 'Can we talk about this shopping trip you want me to come with you on, please?', where Bruce is simply asking to talk about the situation to negotiate something that he is not completely satisfied with. His wife then later responds with "if you don’t go through your closet, I will and get rid of most of your horribly out-of-style wardrobe" creating more of a conflict towards Bruce and the subject.

*see bibliography reference
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_theory
* http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/gender.htm
http://www.brucesallan.com/2011/01/13/a-conversation-between-a-man-and-a-woman/