Text-speak: language evolution or just laziness?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/9966117/Text-speak-language-evolution-or-just-laziness.html

In this article, Anne Merritt, writing for the Telegraph, talks about how the development in language is creating a barrier between adults and children.

She expresses it as a negative issue, pushing adults further away from understanding and communicating with the younger generation. She states that the language derived from smartphones and technology development is now being used in writing, not just spoken language. She uses rhetorical questions to challenge whether this is not a form of evolution, but laziness.

However, studies have shown that using 'text speak' does not affect a child's ability to form and write an essay. They have the skills there, however words like 'u' are being used instead of 'you'. 

Despite this, it is clear that Merritt doesn't believe 'text speak' is good for anyone. She sees it as a decline in 'proper language skills, born out of a digitally literate culture that has grown too comfortable in an age of abbreviations and spellchecks.'

Why Save A Language?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/opinion/sunday/why-save-a-language.html?_r=0

An article written by John McWhorter for the New York Times discusses whether language should be saved, or just go extinct like the many that already have. 

He talks about his job as a university lecturer, answering many questions revolving round the subject of language. One particular question was 'If indigenous people want to give up their ancestral language to join the modern world, why should we consider it a tragedy? Languages have always died as time has passed.' This raises the point that if languages die out, the history and individuality also does too - 'If language dies, a fascinating way of thinking dies along with it'.

McWhorter shares this opinion, but with a few extras. Having language common with people brings a sense of connection and community between them. Having a universal language would mean that this tight-knit community would be lost.

McWhorter makes it clear that language is something that should be saved. He thinks that we should care about it, and even if a language is coming to an end, we should at least document them to keep the history. 'Languages, however, are variations on a worldwide, cross-cultural perception of this thing called life.'

Yes, we are judged on our accents

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/22/accents-altered-speak

This article written by Hannah Jane Parkinson surrounds the topic of how accent leads us to be judged, even before people know us. 

She explains how in the adult world, applying for jobs should not be phased by how strong your accent is. As a Liverpudlian, she talks about how she has felt the need to 'neutralise' her accent in order to come across as more 'posh'. Despite Esther McVey's (Liverpool born employment minister) statement that we should not balance out our accents in order to 'get ahead in life'.

She also talks about past experiences of being mocked when returning to her home city. The fact that she changes her accent according to where she is has led to her being accused of being 'posh' for pronouncing 'yeah' as 'yah'. 

The overall verdict of this opinion based article is that Parkinson believes that we should not have to hide our accent just to make ourselves be seen as people we aren't.  Even though we are judged according to this in the society we live in, it's not right. Changing accents hides who we really are, a part of our identity - which is not something we should strive for in life.

AQA Mock Exam Response

 

       1)    Text A is an online forum about the topic of ‘proms’ and the issues surrounding it. The website, ‘mumsnet’ is a place for discussion and offering advice. This can be supported by the ‘mumsnet’ logo being shown at the top of the page. Furthermore, it is clear that the purpose is to converse because there are adjacency pairs throughout. An example of this is woollyideas’ comment ‘Yes Kayano’ in response to a comment made five minutes before. It can be said that this shows interaction between the users of the site. The audience of the forum would most likely be mums of teenagers aged 16-18. This is because at this stage, parents would be in the process of buying prom gear for their children and so will be seeking advice.

Colloquial language is used in Text A. Examples of this are ‘back in the day’, ‘naff’ and ‘max’. This lexis is used because of the informal register of the forum and the fact that there is no need to be speaking with correct grammar. It could also be said that the forum consists of a hybrid of written and spoken language. The adjacency pairs, for one, but also the non-standard English such as ‘Yep’ used in many peoples comments.

A grammatical feature such as a subordinating conjunction is used by muckycarpet. For example, ‘Although the helicopter is way too OTT!’ following ‘Don’t be a grump!’ The use of the conjunction ‘Although’ shows that the commenter sees both perspectives to the issue and shows support towards woollyideas.

Graphological features such as the ‘confused’ emoji in woollyideas’ last comment is a feature of online usage. It uses computer aided communication to express emotions and feelings (without the use of lexis.) This is relevant to the form of the forum because modern advances in technology allows us to use different features online. This could lead us to suggest that woollyideas is more up-to-date with the technology we are familiar with today.

To summarise, Text A is an online forum with an informal register such as ‘Am I being unreasonable?’ followed by interaction between people. It can also be said that, because of the frequent use of interrogatives, the purpose is to seek guidance and advice.

  

      2)        Text B is an online newspaper article by ‘The Mirror’. This is shown by the recognisable logo at the top of the page indicating that the article is reliable and trustworthy. The purpose of the article is to inform. The frequent use of technical lexis as well as facts and figures supports the fact that this article aims to educate people of the issues surrounding prom. The audience of the article would be parents and carers of teenagers aged 16-18. This is because it very much revolves around the subject of money. Stereotypically, the parents would be the people paying for prom outfits, and so this article would interest them. Despite this, the article may also be aimed at teenage boys because it involves them, therefore they may be interested.

Proper nouns are used throughout Text B. For example, ‘formal shirts, shoes and bow ties’ as well as ‘tuxedos’ are nouns used to describe the extent to which boys are buying things for prom. This is also an example of field specific lexis. This is used to create a definite subject are of the article, and so readers know what type of items boys are buying.

Complex syntax is used throughout text B. Longer sentences such as ‘We have seen an increase in occasion wear sales since January whereas guys have been rushing in last minute to get ready for the big night.’ This is used to fulfil the form and formal register of the newspaper article.

The statement that boys are ‘looking to celebrities such as David Beckham and Daniel Craig for their inspiration’ uses proper nouns. Pragmatically, this syntax connotes the fact that it is not just females who face the pressures of society. Males also try to gain unrealistic outcomes and have the expectations of looking like movie stars. This is further supported by the image of Daniel Craig at the top of the article. The article signifies the fact that boys are aspiring to be the people on TV, which is not realistic at all. Furthermore the noun ‘Boys’ used in the headline has negative connotations. Usually, when we say ‘boy’ we immediately think of a childish male who has not yet matured (as opposed to a ‘man’.) This really highlights the fact that males who are buying prom outfits will never reach their goals of looking like their role model because they are still children.

 

      1)       Text A, an online forum on the website ‘Mumsnet’ uses colloquial language throughout when people are conversing with each other. These are features of every day conversation which are used because of the informal register of the forum. Dissimilarly, Text B is a newspaper article with a much more formal register than Text A. It uses technical lexis such as ‘spending on average £385. It is clear that these two texts are different in their register and mode.

Text A uses interrogatives throughout. For example, ‘who are these parents who think this sort of expenditure on a night out for a teenager is okay?’ This phrase could suggest that woollyideas is criticising the actions of parents who do spend money on their children. In context, it could also suggest that woollyideas is happy to criticise because this is on the internet. Therefore, people do not know of her identity and so she can say what she likes.

In contrast, Text B does not use any interrogatives, but declaratives instead. For example, the way role models ‘are smartening up male school leavers’. The auxiliary ‘are’ is stating that this is definitely happening. This, as well as the technical terms used is relevant to the purpose of informing, whereas Text A is to discuss.

Throughout the article of Text B, technical lexis such as facts and figures are used to exaggerate the issue of boys and proms. This could link to the Grice’s Maxim of Quality, because the lexis is as informative as it can be. In contrast to Text A, it lacks in technical lexis because of the purpose and informal register of ‘Mumsnet’.


Question Paper: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77011-SQP.PDF
Data Booklet: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77011-SDB.PDF