English Language

One theory from a 1930’s linguist is that ‘all English-men are branded on the tongue from birth and that a person could tell so much about another as soon as they opened their mouth, in particular not just the region they came from but also the social class they aspired to’. Our dialects form and are a part of our identities whether we like them or not. It was a century ago that George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright wrote that ‘no English man can open his mouth without another despising him’. It’s remarkable that 100 years on this is still incredibly true, that so much about ourselves is judged by the way you speak. Assumptions of your class and in some cases intelligence levels can be formed on the basis on just your language. Did you know this? From the size of the UK in comparison to countries like America, Russia and China, you would assume that the amount of dialects spoken is minimal, however this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are roughly above 30 distinct...

  collocate- a word or phrase that is often used with another word or phrase, in a way that ​sounds ​correct to ​people who have ​spoken the ​language all ​their ​lives, but might not be ​expected from the ​meaning: In the phrase "a hard ​frost", "hard" is a collocation of "​frost" and "​strong" would not ​sound ​natural.   tessellate- Specialize connotations- an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning. Hyperbole- exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally cliché- a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.

The text is a transcript of a trial, someone who would have heard this text would probably think that the trial is quite informal. The barrister doesn't seem to have much authority at the start of the transcript, but with repetitive questioning of the conversation gains control. By putting the Defendant under pressure forcing irregular pauses and short and vague responses which often overlaps the question being asked.     1. In the text everyone is addressed by their surnames, the use and purpose of this is to make sure there is complete clarity on the names of who the jury and barrister are addressing. If he uses pronouns when addressing people, there will be confusion for people spectating the conversation, who will have to make an educated judgement on whether a character is or isn't guilty. this is also expected by us, as an audience. If we heard the use of pronouns rather than proper nouns we would think that the register of the conversation was unsuitable for...

I chose to cover ‘gun laws in America’ as my controversial issue; this is mainly because the issue has recently been put into the media’s spotlight. This month 13 people were shot dead in the ‘Oregon college shootings’.  I feel very strongly about the issue myself, so felt that I was able to express my own thoughts and feeling through the persona and idiolect of each character. Although I tried to keep both sides of the issue as equal as possible, so that I could fully make my point.  I felt that the pro-gun laws were particularly very hard to sustain any valid points, because I had such a strong opinion. The purpose of each of these blogs was to show very different viewpoints on gun laws, so that there was a great disagreement between the two bloggers. The register of each blog is very different but again quite deliberate, to exaggerate the persona of Jonathon and Richard. Due to the severity and the fact that the issue has arisen so abruptly and quickly, the expectation...

50 year old Jonathon Smith from Houston, Texas. Wrote a blog following the tragic shootings in Oregon, He says that congressional policies on guns should remain the same. His blog below states why he feels that the laws on armament should remain as they have for centuries. "Every year we hear that some ' maniac'   has been let loose with a weapon of some sort that has ended in lives being lost, when we hear this on the news, in the newspaper or on the radio, it’s very black and white. You’re only told what they want you to hear, which is similar to everything in life. Has anyone ever thought to ask about the shooters back ground? Mental illnesses? What if there was a reason as to why these crimes were being committed? It’s not the laws on guns that need to be amended, it’s the system that allows these people to obtain them that needs to be dealt with. These people are crazy; the US government are naïve every time it happens. Breaking down the ability to obtain a...

Subject is the Refugees crisis Aritcle 1- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34356758 Article 2- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-184828/Refugees-drain-UK-think-young.html Both articles use a lot of statistics to embed their point and create a debate about the crisis. They also show the crisis in the viewpoint of more than one age’s group, e.g. in article 2 there is a bigger focus on teenagers. Whereas in article 1 focuses on the overall view of the conflict, and is not specific.   The articles include rhetorical questions and quotes, that will prove there point and create a more detailed analysis of the subject. The article may deliberately written to make you feel the same way as the writer, the writer may try to change your view with persuasive language.                                  ...

Do u rekon tht languages have changed tht much? LOL Language has changed very drastically and rapidly over the past decade, not only in the UK but in every single continent. One of the main reasons for this could be the overuse of the internet and social media, or could it be that people are just too lazy? Or have the majority of people just got too use to their “slanguage?" With language changing as quickly as ever, it’s not surprising that it’s not only the British population let alone the rest of the word will understand these now slang terms and their meanings. Although there are still elements of "ancient" language that can be tracked back to Shakespearian times, this has not affected the rate and extent to which language has changed over the years. It is mainly acronyms of long lexis’s phrases that cause the mixed emotions to occur, from mainly parents and teachers. The obvious reason for this lack of proper English is without a doubt social media. ...