Language and Social Class

How are language and meaning shaped by culture and context in this film? 

During Wednesday's class this week, we began to explore the effect of culture in language and meaning, furthermore, discussing how social class can have an effect on language itself. In the short clip, there is a rich wealthy man named Tommy who is trying to buy a caravan from a group of car dealers. When we first see Tommy, he is wearing a long coat, his hair is nicely done, and carries a rather clean appearance. In contrast with this character of higher social status we have the car dealer called Pikey, a boy, and his wife who are below the social class bar but do not seem to be bothered by how they are living their daily lives. 

Tommy uses higher class dialect when he addresses "Mr. O'neil'" whereas the actual character himself tells him to call him Pikey in a very familiar, considered lower class dialect. You could say that Tommy is trying to introduce himself as a respected individual in hopes that that will influence his argument for a reasonable price for the car. Throughout this scene, the car dealers and other characters are speaking in a very fast, and familiar dialect, trying to confuse Tommy and "push" him into buying a car.  In this scene, you may notice that there are more 'lower class' characters in comparison to 'high class' characters. Tommy, the higher arch is put in an uncomfortable setting, where they Pikey's dialect has a higher level of dominance over that specific community, meaning that the more people you have around you speaking in the same way as you, the more power that specific language has. 

Linguistic Imperialism in the Anglophone World

Linguistic Imperialism  is most definitely dominant

How does linguistic imperialism impact individuals and communities?


The english language is extending and rising itself to be one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, taking over dominance. the dominant language.

Sociological aspect of the topic.

Over the years, the English Language has risen to be one of the most commonly shared spoken languages in the world, taking a dominant part in the power of linguistic imperialism. As this powerful language continues to expand itself amongst larger communities, linguistic imperialism continues to have an immense impact on individuals and communities.

In the world today, there are 196 countries where 6,500 languages are currently being spoken. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers to fulfill the task of practicing them. When looking at the Sociological aspect of the topic, linguistic imperialism plays a relevant role in our daily lives. As people move around the world, they are introduced to new cultures, people, and languages. For example, an individual might travel or move to a certain country where the dominant language is one of which he or she is not familiar with and may have no experience with. The signs on the street are in this language, it is the language of business, education, and social media. The question is, at what point do you force yourself to adapt to this and take on this "unknown" language that you are exposed to?

Language is a unique way of seeing the world, as it can be interpreted in several ways by individuals. It is a way of life, communication, and provides the foundation of our identities. 

P1: Text 2 Textual Analysis Holiday Homework

On December of 2011, the blog post Food Crisis in Sahel was posted onto the website Oxfam International, discussing the possibility of an evolving food crisis in 2012. The convention of this piece of text can be identified as a blog post residing from a website which advertises the international organization OXFAM. This text can be identified as a blog post residing from a website based on some of it's design and literary elements such as sub-headings, hyperlinks, and use of language directed towards a specific audience. Throughout the text, various stylistic and literary features can be found as a means of developing a strong and compelling textual analysis.

Throughout this piece of text, keeping the intended audience of the writer in mind is essential in order to create a well-founded textual analysis. This blog post is principally directed towards those of the Western world who maintain a balanced and wealthier lifestyle. This statement is supported by quotes found throughout the text used to appeal to individuals who aspire the same thoughts and values shared in the post.

Literary elements of the text suggests that it's readers are involved as the writer engages with the audience in sentences like, "By investing now in earlier and more cost-effective actions, vulnerable populations can be protected from the worst impacts of the coming crisis at a much lower cost than if we waited." The "we" in this sentence not only refers to the company as a whole, but also towards its supporters and followers.

The purpose of this blog post is to inform, educate, and discuss the public of the issue at hand and pursue further engagement with the targeted audience. The writer uses statistics, expresses his/her thoughts in first person, and compare and contrasts changing statistics over the years. In addition, this blog post allows the public eye to acknowledge the writer's words and aim towards the topic.

In summary of the content shown in this piece of text, it is a blog post containing opinionated columns directed by the International Organization OXFAM. This specific blog post is directed towards advertising the topic of world hunger, allowing the public eye to acknowledge the current food crisis in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa. Key ideas discussed in the text are some of the reasons causing the shortages of food as well as OXFAM's response to the problem at hand.

The basic concept that is presented throughout the blog post is the determination of OXFAM to help support this crisis as well as allowing supporters to acknowledge the issue at hand.

The tone and mood of this blog post can be justified by identifying some of the contributing literary elements within the text. Firstly, in reference to the audience and purpose, the grammatical structure of the blog post is set in first person "we", suggesting that the writer is apart of the group of individuals working for OXFAM, automatically creating a very personal tone.

Throughout the text, the use of statistical evidence is used to support the subject (i.e.: "5.4 million people in Niger, some 1.7 million people in Mali, etc.). The relevance of the relationship between dates and statistics is further discussed throughout the blog post, for example, "(...) the pas food crises in 2005, 2008, and 2010, which effected more than 10 million people.".  

The overall tone of the blog post in general is very direct and aims to be informative and objective towards the topic. The use of headings to separate the information in an organized fashion is effective as it allows the audience to remain focused on what they are reading.

The use of literary devices in the blog post is effective in delivering the intended message towards the writer's readers. Throughout the text, the author intends to appeal to their audience by using various cases of ethos, pathos and logos. Firstly, the use of ethics and logic is used in this excerpt from the text, "According to national warning systems, cereal production is down compared to the five year average, with Mauritania and Chad showing deficits of over 50% compared to last year." By clearly stating their research and statistics, this builds and implies a sense of trust between the author and their audience. The audience will furthermore rely on the information they were given by what seems like a reliable and outside source.

Pathos is used effectively throughout the text to convey specific emotions towards the audience, drawing their attention further into the text and it's meaning. By appealing to the audience's emotions, the author is allowing them to interpret what they are experiencing in their own way. In the text, under the sub-heading "What Oxfam is doing" , the author writes about the sad situation at hand and how they are trying to help improve it. They use words like "most vulnerable, poor, crisis" to appeal to the emotion of sadness and empathy.

Throughout the blog post, the structure of the text, the author uses an effective combination of text and graphics, quotes, and valid subheadings aiming towards the focus and understanding of the reader. The writer's use of sociological and political attitudes throughout the text is effective as it supports the author's intentions in grasping their audience's attention, allowing them to possibly contribute their own thoughts and values towards the topic.

When the reader first opens up the blog post page online, they are confronted with an image of individuals on animals traveling across what seems to be a desert. The woman that we first see in the image is staring at the camera in a serious manner and looks disturbed and disappointed. Not only does this image appeal to the audience's emotions but also is an effective strategy in beginning the article and identifying the topic discussed. Directly below the image and title of the post, a quote says, "The humanitarian response must tackle the underlying causes of crises like this to prevent them recurring.". This quote has the ability to draw the reader in and make a distinct connection between the title of the blog post and the quote. In addition to this, it is an effective us of "Cause and effect", presenting the problem to the readers as well as ways to solve the issue at hand. 

In addition to the graphics displayed, the author uses effective typography allowing the reader to distinguish several areas of the text and focus on what they are reading. The use of large font letters for a quote and bold headings compliments the writing and provides and organized and clearly focused reading format for the reader.

In conclusion, the text Food Crisis in Sahel can clearly be identified as a blog post that can be found on a website due to its consistent design and literary features (i.e. hyperlinks, subheadings, ...com, etc.) Throughout the text, the intended focus audience and purpose is clearly shown as the author engages with their audience (those of interest in the topic) by using the grammatical tense of first person. The theme of the text remains persistent throughout the entire blog post and allows the reader to grasp onto key concepts and basic ideas found in the text. Additionally, maintaining a clear and focused structure throughout the blog post benefits towards the readers' understanding and reliability as the writer discusses the topic in more broader terms. In summary, the blog post provides a strong and foundational textual analysis through the use of it's stylistic convention and effective utilization of literary devices.