Steven Pinker: 10 'grammar rules' it's OK to break (sometimes)

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/15/steven-pinker-10-grammar-rules-break

This article is another combination of genius theories by Steven Pinker. In this, he writes about whether we should be 'feeding children misinformation' by beginning sentences with sentences with conjunctions. Conjunctions such as 'and, because, but, or, so and also are probably the least of our worries with our language, however the article mentions how it could be seen as grammatically incorrect.

Furthermore, he speaks about how dangling modifiers are so called not grammatically correct, but he thinks this not right. Sure, it may not be how language used to be, but going as far as calling it incorrect is an overstatement. Pinker explains how we should just avoid things like these, but some are actually acceptable. For example, putting prepositions in a sentence as a modifier such as 'according', 'concerning', and 'allowing' would actually be grammatically correct. He points out aspects of language which I wouldn't have even noticed.

One quote which I really love is 'They believe that the rules of correct usage are nothing more than the secret handshake of the ruling class, designed to keep the masses in their place. Language is an organic product of human creativity, say the Descriptivists, and people should be allowed to write however they please.'

Brown and Levinson

Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson are two linguists who put forward some ideas about politeness. They identified the terms positive and negative face needs.

Positive face needs refers to the assumption that we want to be liked and approved of in our dealings with others. As a result of positive face needs, we use positive politeness strategies:

• Paying attention
• Seeking agreement
• Pretend agreement
• Using humour
• Compliments 
• Using appropriate address terms
• Being optimistic
• Attend to the listeners interests

Negative face needs refers to the assumption that we deal with difficult conversational situations in a tactful way. As a result of negative face needs, we use negative politeness strategies:

• Being indirect
• Hedging
• Being apologetic
• Giving deference
• Being pessimistic

We use these types of language in every day life without even realising, and it's only now, that I'm taking A Level English Language that I am realising the genius theories that people have thought of.

Spontaneous Speech Terminology Quiz

1. 'A pattern of speech in which one utterance is followed by an appropriate linked response' is the definition of the term adjacency pairs
2. 'When a conversation comes to an unexpected halt and changes topic' is the definition of the term side sequencing
3. An example of a tag question is 'The weather is nice today, isn't it?'
4. Examples of non-fluency features are: Hesitations, interruptions and false starts
5. Phatic language is small talk in a conversation, making a social gel. For example 'How are you?' or 'Have a nice day.'
6. Non-verbal aspects of speech or paralinguistic feautures such as 'fillers' can help reveal a speaker's attitudes and feelings. Pointing and sign language are other non-verbal aspects of speech
7. 'elp me orf this 'orse' is an example of phonetic spelling which means the spelling of words to represents how they are pronounced
8. Grice's Maxims:

          ·         Quantity – To give the most helpful amount of information
          ·         Quality – Information that is not false
          ·         Manner – To put what you say in the most orderly manner
          ·         Relation – Information must be relevant to the topic
     9.   Grice was interested in suggesting what helps to create a cooperative conversation
    10.  When analysing spontaneous speech we do not refer to 'sentences' but 'utterances'
    11.   Four positive politeness strategies that Brown and Levinson put forward
           were:
           ·         We should attend to the listeners interests, needs + wants
           ·         Be optimistic
           ·         Compliment them
           ·         Avoid disagreement
    12.  You must establish the setting, backgrounds and ages of the speakers before
           analysing a transcript in order for it to be effective

Transcript Analysis

Transcript: Conversation at St Brendan's College

 A: What did you do last weekend?

B: I started my new job

A: What was it like?

B: I was on the tills. Ellie what did you do on the weekend?

A: Ummm my brother went to Uni on Sunday, we went down Southampton and then yeah basically

B: Greaatt

C: I was working all day Saturday and then that was about it

D: Ummm I was doing homework all weekend, didn’t really

B: Yeah umm I had my first driving lesson as well

A: How was that?

B: That was really good actually yeah, I can’t wait to be able to drive, yeah

A: Ummm what else did I do? I had dance on Saturday

C: How was dance?

A: Great, getting ready for competitions and performances, yeah

• 'What did you do last weekend' - Phatic talk to start off the conversation, used as a social gel
• 'What was it like?' followed by 'I was on the tills' is a dispreferred response. The speaker didn't actually answer the question, possibly because of the awkward circumstance of being recorded
• 'Down Southampton' is not grammatically correct, it should be 'to Southampton' however because it is spontaneous speech, we wouldn't point it out usually
• 'Down Southampton' is also an example of region specific dialect because you wouldn't say 'down' if you lived right next to it
• 'University' shortened to 'Uni' is abbreviated because spontaneous speech is a lot more informal and relaxed
• 'Ummm' is a filled pause - A non-fluency feature, perhaps used because they are unsure of what to say and so they hesitate
• 'Didn't really' opposes to one of Grice's Maxims as it has no relevance - it does not relate to the topic
• 'Yeah', 'ummm' and 'basically' are fillers - possibly used because they are unsure of what to say
• 'How was that?' with the response 'that was really good' is an example of adjacency pairs and a preferred response - the question has been answered and it is relevant to the topic, making the conversation flow
• 'What else did I do? I had dance on Saturday' is an example of answering your own question - this may be because of the situation they have been put in, and so they are trying to think of something to say
• Person A knew person B and C before the conversation and St Brendan's - may show in conversation because A is more outgoing and chatty than person D
• Person D did not know anyone before the conversation and St Brendan's - this could be why they do not converse and speak as much as the others

Why the phrase ‘first world problem’ is condescending to everyone

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/02/why-phrase-first-world-problem-is-condescending-to-everyone

 

This article published by The Guardian talks about the phrase 'first world problem' and how we use it without thinking about the further meaning that could be hidden behind it.

One example of a comment about a 'first world problem' could be 'The Wi-Fi at the luxury Greek villa my wife and I are staying at only supports 4 devices at a time'. This really highlights the fact that we are complaining about our problems, when in reality, they're so small compared to other things going on in this world.

 

Steven Poole explains that when we say 'first world problem', we are 'aggressively staking out the moral high ground and portraying myself (almost certainly dishonestly) as someone who only ever worries about the plight of starving children.' This sarcasm makes us realise that we complain about things that some people in the world would see as a gift.

 

'Whoever uses it, though, it’s arguable that the phrase “first world problems” is condescending and dehumanising to literally everyone on the planet.'

Bruce Willis Awkward Interview

Another interview which is quite uncomfortable to watch is with Bruce Willis. He is supposed to be promoting a new movie but instead, he responds with short and blunt answers.

• The first thing I noticed is how Bruce didn't actually respond to the question, he gave a dispreferred response. He said 'Istanbul' when he got asked where his favourite place was to film in the movie, but they didn't film there for the movie. This is the first thing that made the interview awkward.
• The interviewer then goes on to tell them about his favourite line, and asks Bruce if he agrees with the line. Bruce's reply is 'no, that's just a line in a movie'. He says this with hesitations, making the atmosphere more awkward.
• They talk about the car scenes in the movie too, the interviewer asks if Bruce is the kind of person who loves to drive. Bruce responds with 'I'm thinking about driving right now, I can hardly keep my mind on this interview'. This could be seen as quite rude, as it suggests he would rather be somewhere else than where he is.
• Mary Louise Parker, his co star, doesn't make the situation any better throughout the interview. When Bruce gives a dispreferred response, she always laughs or doesn't say anything to justify his reply. This makes the interview a lot more uncomfortable.
• They both also comment on the sirens in the background. 'Do you hear that?' making it seem like they are avoiding the questions and steering away from the awkwardness of the interview.

Cara Delevingne Awkward Interview

This interview with Cara Delevingne is a perfect yet cringeworthy example of an awkward situation to be in.

•  One thing that I notice in this interview is how Cara is constantly using sarcasm in her answers. Her response to getting asked whether she read the book was 'no I never read the book, or the script actually I kind of winged it' followed by 'uh no of course I read the book'. This could be something that surprises the interviewers because they are reasonably serious questions.
• Another thing I have realised is that there is a barrier because of the different nationalities the interviewers and Cara have. The anchors are American and Cara is British, so this may confuse them because of the different types of humour they are familiar with. 
• I think maybe Cara felt slightly offended when the interviewer said she seemed a lot more excited about the Paper Towns movie a couple of weeks ago, and that it might be because she's just 'exhausted'. This is not an appropriate thing to say to a young woman who clearly cares about her appearance to people.
• The anchor does also say 'You do seem a bit irritated' which is very forward, especially for a live interview. I think this because they don't understand Cara's British humour, so think that she is being blunt when it's really just sarcasm.
• At the end, Cara mumbles 'End now, too far. Thanks' which I think is a very mature way of finishing the interview before anything else was said.