Language and Culture Class SY2006-2007

Shouting Fire and Freedom of Speech

2007-05-23T10:14:00.000+08:00

Language Rights

2007-05-23T10:13:00.000+08:00

Topics for Letter to the Editor Task

2007-05-22T10:00:00.000+08:00

We have discussed so far a variety of issues. What you need to do is to look at these issues and choose one that interests you the most. Then go to either China Post or Taipei times and read/choose a related news item that was published on their paper.

Compose your letter to the editor following the guidelines I gave, and send your letter to the editor via email (see links below). When you send your letter (to the Editor) do not include your student number nor indicate that it is an assignment. You need to present your work as a letter coming from a concerned Taiwanese citizen who has something relevant to say/comment on.

Before you compose your letter, study the already published letters, and analyze their format. Follow the same writing format and style.
Taipei times

China Post Opinions Section

You will be notified by the editor if your work has been chosen. If it was, please do not forget to inform the class about it.

Note: When sending your letter to the editor, do not forget to CC the class. Use this email address to post your letter to the Ezine researchwriting.languageandculture@blogger.com

Your letter will be automatically published at http://languageandculture-ezine.blogspot.com/

Deadline of submission: May 31, 2006

Writing Letters to the Editor

2007-05-22T09:35:00.001+08:00

The letters to the editor section of your local paper is an ideal forum for sharing your opinion and story with the local community. In addition, it is one of the first pages many elected officials turn to. Letters to the editor show that an issue is of concern to the community and are excellent tools for education. Here are a few guidelines for getting your letter to the editor printed.

Localize your letter -- explain or include examples
Make your letter timely - if the newspaper has recently printed a story or column about the issue of marriage and same-sex couples, you can reference the article and use it as a springboard for your letter.

Keep your letter short and to the point -- 250 words maximum.
Your letter should carry its most important message in the first paragraph.

Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Editors like to call to confirm that the letter was actually written by the person whose name appears on the letter.
Limit the number of points you make, and stay on the same subject.

Don't be disappointed if your letter does not get printed. Newspapers get many letters every day and can't print all of them. Most papers won't print the same writers over and over again.

Don't be afraid to ask for action -- tell readers what you want them to do. This includes your elected representatives; you can be sure they read the letters to the editor.

Source: Human rights Campaign

Local English Newspapers' Contact Info

2007-05-22T09:34:00.001+08:00

Language Policy in Taiwan

2007-05-22T08:41:00.000+08:00

Language and Policy

2007-05-16T12:44:00.001+08:00

Slang

2007-05-14T21:14:00.001+08:00

Hip Hop Nation

2007-05-10T11:04:00.001+08:00

Symphony in Slang

2007-05-10T11:02:00.001+08:00

Silly Symphony 'Symphony In Slang' - Watch the best video clips here

Ebonics Emerges (2)

2007-05-08T09:09:00.001+08:00

Ebonics (1)

2007-05-08T09:04:00.001+08:00

Ebonics Slang No Substitute for Standard English

2007-05-02T08:43:00.000+08:00

No matter what the racial warlords may say, however, Ebonics is not a language. All it is is black slang.

Ebonics is a pillar of Afrocentrism. Through intimidation, violence and pseudoscholarship, Afrocentrists have dumbed down the education of our black children and kept white teachers from working with them. They deliberately cut off poor, black children from mainstream America.

Poor and working-class blacks with Afrocentric educators, however, do not have the opportunity to learn the Standard English necessary to succeed. They are stuck learning through Ebonics. What students aren't told is that, without Standard English, their employment prospects after leaving school are virtually zero. This could lead to chronic unemployment and, potentially, a life of crime.

With educators teaching slang instead of Standard English, is it at all surprising that students are not prepared for standardized tests? Is it any wonder that many black students who go to college spend their freshman year in remedial classes, trying to learn skills and knowledge they should have gotten in high school?

We need to leave slang in the streets, and return our classrooms to Standard English. This will help to give our children the opportunities they deserve.

Click here to read full article

Correcting Ebonics- the right way

2007-05-02T08:35:00.000+08:00

Language researcher Robert Berdan reports that, after observing the kind of teaching routine described above in a number of settings, he incorporated the teacher behaviors into a reading instruction exercise that he used with students in a college class.10 He put together sundry rules from a number of American social and regional dialects to create what he called the "language of Atlantis." Students were then called upon to read aloud in this dialect they did not know. When they made errors he interrupted them, using some of the same statements/comments he had heard elementary school teachers routinely make to their students. He concludes:

The results were rather shocking. By the time these Ph.D Candidates in English or linguistics had read 10-20 words, I could make them sound totally illiterate . ... The first thing that goes is sentence intonation: they sound like they are reading a list from the telephone book. Comment on their pronunciation a bit more, and they begin to subvocalize, rehearsing pronunciations for themselves before they dare to say them out loud. They begin to guess at pronunciations . ... They switch letters around for no reason. They stumble; they repeat. In short, when I attack them for their failure to conform to my demands for Atlantis English pronunciations, they sound very much like the worst of the second graders in any of the classrooms I have observed.
They also begin to fidget. They wad up their papers, bite their fingernails, whisper, and some finally refuse to continue. They do all the things that children do while they are busily failing to learn to read.

The moral of this story is not to confuse learning a new language form with reading comprehension. To do so will only confuse the child, leading her away from those intuitive understandings about language that will promote reading development, and toward a school career of resistance and a lifetime of avoiding reading.

Click here to read the article

Correcting Ebonics?

2007-05-02T08:34:00.001+08:00

Text: Yesterday I washed my brother's clothes.
Student's Rendition: Yesterday I wash my bruvver close.

The subsequent exchange between student and teacher sounds something like this:

T: Wait, let's go back. What's that word again? {Points at "washed."}
S: Wash.
T: No. Look at it again. What letters do you see at the end? You see "e-d." Do you remember what we say when we see those letters on the end of the word?
S: "ed"
T: OK, but in this case we say washed. Can you say that?
S: Washed.
T: Good. Now read it again.
S: Yesterday I washed my bruvver...
T: Wait a minute, what's that word again? {Points to "brother."}
S: Bruvver.
T: No. Look at these letters in the middle. {Points to "brother."} Remember to read what you see. Do you remember how we say that sound? Put your tongue between your teeth and say "th"...

The lesson continues in such a fashion, the teacher proceeding to correct the student's Ebonics-influenced pronunciations and grammar while ignoring that fact that the student had to have comprehended the sentence in order to translate it into her own language. Such instruction occurs daily and blocks reading development in a number of ways. First, because children become better readers by having the opportunity to read, the overcorrection exhibited in this lesson means that this child will be less likely to become a fluent reader than other children that are not interrupted so consistently. Second, a complete focus on code and pronunciation blocks children's understanding that reading is essentially a meaning-making process. This child, who understands the text, is led to believe that she is doing something wrong. She is encouraged to think of reading not as something you do to get a message, but something you pronounce. Third, constant corrections by the teacher are likely to cause this student and others like her to resist reading and to resent the teacher.

A Prayer???

2007-05-02T08:24:00.000+08:00

A Prayer???

English:

Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen

Ebonics:

Yo, Big Daddy upstairs
You be chillin
So be yo hood
You be sayin' it, I be doin' it
In this here hood and yo's
Gimme some eats
And cut me some slack, Blood
Sos I be doin' it to dem dat diss me
don't be pushing me into no jive
and keep dem Crips away
'Cause you always be da Man
Aaa-men

Class arrangement for April 30

2007-04-24T13:49:00.001+08:00

I have been informed by the Department Secretary that your 1-2 pm class on April 30 had been canceled. The Department is now arranging for special class arrangements.

You are all required to attend the Language Policy conference on April 30 from 1-3 pm. I will check the attendance twice, once at the start and the other after the conference.

We will transfer the Wednesday, May 2, 8-9 am class to April 30, 1-2 pm class (conference).

So for Wednesday, we will only have one hour class from 9- 10 am.

Kindly pass this word to all your classmates.

The Department has also been informed of this arrangement.

Aiden

Language policy and its implementation in our classroom

2007-04-24T09:48:00.000+08:00

You are cordially welcome to the workshop held by the English department.

Speaker：Professor Michiko Nakano

Topic ： Language policy and its implementation in our classroom

Time ： 1：10 ~ 3：00 p.m., Monday, April 30

Venue ： 3F, International Conference Room at The Administration Building

Class on April 30, Monday

2007-04-24T09:47:00.000+08:00

For our Language and Culture class on Monday, April 30, we will cancel the in-class lecture but you are to attend Prof. Nakano's workshop on Language Policy. Please proceed to the workshop site at 2:00.

The workshop starts at 1 pm, if you could join us this time, then it would be great.

For those who will come in at 2 pm, please enter the conference room quietly as possible.

Attendance will be checked at the end of the conference.

During the conference, please take notes as the contents of the lectures are relevant to our forthcoming in-class sessions.

Aiden Yeh

Group 1

2007-04-10T21:29:00.000+08:00

Project 1: Group 1 Members

Click here to view Group 1's presentation materials

Click To Play

Language and Cultural Identity

2007-04-04T07:51:00.001+08:00

Linguistic Imperialism

2007-04-04T07:50:00.000+08:00

When a language dies

2007-03-29T13:07:00.000+08:00

Click here to read the article online.

Performing Identiy

2007-03-29T12:59:00.000+08:00

March 28, Performing Identity

2007-03-27T11:41:00.000+08:00

Performing Identity:
a Stage for Multilingual English and Multicultural Englishness

Click here to read the article online

Click here to read online article with links to vocabulary

For definition of some Malaysian words found in the article, click here

Who is a Native Speaker

2007-03-13T23:34:00.000+08:00

March 14 Lesson

2007-03-13T11:25:00.000+08:00

1. Who is a Native Speake, see powerpoint
2. Project 1 Guidelines, click here to download (You need to be a member of Yahoogroup)
3. Assignment for March 19, Audio Forum, click here to join the discussion

March 14 Class Activity

2007-03-11T20:41:00.000+08:00

Hand-outs will be given for March 14 reading materials on March 12, but if you want to do an early reading, then you may access the articles online.

Who is a native speaker and what is it they speak?

The Native Speaker in Applied Linguistics

Assignment for March 26

Voice Audio Forum, the url will be announced later.

March 12 Class Activity

2007-03-11T20:38:00.000+08:00

1) Submission of sentence outline assignment. Late submissions automatically gets 60 points.

2) Discussion of Larry Smith's lecture.

3) Hand-outs for March 14 reading materials.

Assignment for March 12: English as an International Language

2007-03-08T17:13:00.000+08:00

Watch the video lecture of Larry Smith and prepare a sentence outline based on the details that Smith mentioned in his lecture. You need to expand this outline with details. Write the details in full sentences.

The word outline is provided below:

UNIT 1 Larry Smith’s Lectures
I. My Current Perspective on EIL
* Historical Perspectives
* Key Concepts
* Future of English as an International Fu
* Language and Further Studies

II. Development of EIL Concept in the 70s
* East West Center Participants
* Understanding each other
* WRONG ASSUMPTION

III. New Principle:

IV. Changes in the Last 30 Years Changes in the Last 30 Years •

* EIL to to World World Englishes
* Kachru’s Three Circles
* Increase in acceptance of Types of Native Speakers

UNIT 2
I. Controversies
* Total Number of English Users
* Definition of Definition of “fluent”
* EIL as Instrument of Neo-colonialism and colonialism and Linguistic Imperialism

II. Question of Intelligibility •
(Past, Present, Future)
Dimensions of Understanding
• 1. Intelligibility
• 2. Comprehensibility
• 3. Interpretability

UNIT 3

III. Miscommunication Prevention
* Literatures in World Literatures in World Englishes
* Professional Associations
* Future of English
When?
What?

Click here for an example of a sentence outline.

Who Speaks English

2007-03-06T13:28:00.000+08:00

World Englishes

2007-03-04T23:21:00.001+08:00

Reading materials for March 5 and March 7

2007-02-27T22:58:00.000+08:00

[Image from www.leeds.ac.uk]

World Englishes
English Language Varieties
http://www.ku.edu/%7Eidea/
Kachru’s Theory

Who speaks English today?
click here, PDF File

Amercian vs British English, click here

International dialects of English archive, click here

Join LC class's Yahoogroup

2007-02-26T13:27:00.000+08:00

Announcements and learner support materials will be placed both on the Yahoogroup, blog, and E-course.

To join the yahoogroup, click here

Download Final Projects

2007-01-25T13:11:00.000+08:00

Group 2, Life in salt pan
PPS file
Click here to download

Final Project

2007-01-05T12:06:00.000+08:00

Please note that the project requirements are available online. It's on Life isn't all Ha ha Hee Hee powerpoint, click here. See slides 28-31.

Silence

2006-12-19T13:52:00.000+08:00

Just Walk On By

2006-12-19T13:40:00.000+08:00

Androgynous Male

2006-12-19T13:36:00.000+08:00

Body Language Lecture Notes

2006-12-06T10:29:00.000+08:00

Groups for Final Presentation: TV Drama

2006-12-04T15:46:00.000+08:00

January 3, Wednesday
Group 1 May's Group (Chin Ts Lan Hua)
Mandy Chung
May
Lillian
Poki
Jill

Group 2 Trisha's Group
Nicole
Cassidy,
Julia
Freda
Rachel

Group 3 Lisa's Group (Dangerous Mind)
1094100001 Lisa
1094100003 Ann
1094100032 Connie
1094100044 Constance
1094100047 Wendy

Group 4 Tony's Group
Irene 1094100007
Leanne 1094100014
Tony 10941000037
Luke 10941000038
Jess 10941000055

January 8, Monday

Group 5 Charlene's Group "微笑Pasta"
Frances-1094100030
Charlene-1094100026
Vita-1094100035
Nick-1094100015
Richard-1094100028

Group 6 Wei-Fu's Group (Meteor Garden)
Wei-Fu
Josie
Erica
Alice

January 10, Wednesday

Group 7 Rita's Group (Friends)
Christina
Tonia
Ada
Monica
Rita

Group 8 Francis's Group
Francis
Zoe
Michelle
Annie
Amy

Group 9 Kevin's Group (Lupin-a kind of flower; Chinese:魯冰花）
previously 殺夫, Husband Killer)

Kevin
Jack
Helen
Joanne
Mandy
Henry

Life isn't all ha ha hee hee

2006-12-04T13:05:00.000+08:00

The Joy that Kills, Chopin (2)

2006-11-22T13:36:00.000+08:00

2006-11-21T14:39:00.000+08:00

LitWeb

The Awakening

2006-11-20T15:39:00.000+08:00

Click here to read the story online.

Rehabilitation: Lack of Indian Culture

2006-11-20T13:51:00.000+08:00

Lecture notes on Kate Chopin's The story of an hour

2006-11-20T13:26:00.000+08:00

Article Outline of Tannen's Sex, Lies, and Conversation

2006-11-14T21:32:00.000+08:00

Time to Laugh

2006-11-14T21:31:00.000+08:00

Anniversary 35 years of marriage

2006-11-14T21:29:00.002+08:00

Anniversary - 35 years of Marriage!!!

http://www.slideshare.net/rahul/anniversary-35-years-of-marriage

The Art of Fooling Men

2006-11-14T21:24:00.000+08:00

Sex, Lies, and Conversation Assignment

2006-11-13T18:19:00.000+08:00

Read the article and answer questions 3 and 4, pp. 235-236 (ECC). Deadline of submission is on 11/22 (Wednesday)

Whisbih Ad Analysis: Traditional Taiwanese Males' Roles

2006-11-10T16:00:00.000+08:00

Whisbih Ad Analysis: Traditional Taiwanese Males' Roles

Breast or Brain: Viewpoints of Taiwanese Female Through analyzing "Grape Vodka" Commercial

2006-11-10T15:54:00.000+08:00

Breast or Brain: Viewpoints of Taiwanese Female Through analyzing "Grape Vodka" Commercial

Quaker Ad: Social Expectation for Woman

2006-11-10T15:10:00.000+08:00

Quaker Ad: Social Expectation for Woman

TV Commercial and the Image of Women

2006-11-10T14:39:00.000+08:00

TV Commercial and the Image of Women

Watson's Commerical: Gender Roles Stereoypes

2006-11-10T13:08:00.000+08:00

Watson's Commerical: Gender Roles Stereoypes

Father's Role in the traditional agricultural society

2006-11-10T13:02:00.000+08:00

Group 6
Father's Role in the traditional agricultural society

Read their 'Analysis' here

Group 7: Panasonic Washing Machine Ad

2006-11-10T12:54:00.000+08:00

Group 7: Panasonic Washing Machine Ad Gender Role Stereotypes
Click here to read 'Analysis'

Group 8: Mitsubishi Car Ad: Evidence of Gender Roles Stereotype

2006-11-10T12:48:00.000+08:00

Cassidy's Name photostory Project

2006-10-27T11:17:00.000+08:00

Click To Play

Cassidy's Name Project

Groupings for Project 2: Ad Analysis

2006-10-23T16:02:00.000+08:00

Click here to see the list of groups for Project 2.

There should be a total of 9 groups. Each group must have at least 5-6 members. Some groups still have not given me their chosen commercial (name of commercial). Please let me know by Wednesday, October 25, 2006.

Presentation Details

1. Date of Oral Presentations: October 30 and Nov. 1 (Draw lots)
2. Time Limit for each group: 10-15 minutes. Grade deductions will be made if presentation exceeds this time limit.

3. Order of presentations must follow the Introduction, Body (explanations/discussions), and Conclusion (wrap up)format. Every member must present.

4. Each group must submit the following presentation materials by October 30, 2006:
4.1 Powerpoint presentation material
4.2 a copy of the commercial (wmv, avi, mpeg format)
4.3 A paper that discusses the main issues included in your oral presentations. This paper is an extended and expanded version of your oral presentation. This paper must be explicit; it should clearly and coherently discuss the issues in a more detailed manner. Please use 'We' instead of 'I'. Your paper must have a 'group' tone instead of chunks of individual presentations compiled into one paper.

4.4 All these materials must be saved on a CD with members' names and topic

5. Students will receive a group grade and individual grades.

Psychological Differences Between the Sexes, Part 1

2006-10-20T23:33:00.000+08:00

2006-10-20T23:03:00.000+08:00

Welcome to the new comic image of men on tv: incompetence at its worst. Where television used to feature wise and wonderful fathers and husbands, today's comedies and ads often feature bumbling husbands and inept, uninvolved fathers. On Still Standing, Bill (Mark Addy) embarrasses his wife Judy (Jamie Gertz) so badly in front of her reading group, that she is dropped from the group. On Everybody Loves Raymond, Raymond (Ray Romano) must choose between bathing the twin boys or helping his daughter with her homework. He begrudgingly agrees to assist his daughter, for whom he is no help whatsoever.
http://www.popmatters.com/tv/features/030109-male-bashing.shtml

Male Bashing

2006-10-20T22:33:00.000+08:00

Male bashing -- the stereotyping of men as brutal, stupid or otherwise objectionable -- is commonplace. Our sons, husbands, fathers and men-friends are gleefully slandered because they are male. They are subjected to malicious jokes and attitudes that would be decried if directed at blacks, Hispanics or women. The assault against men must stop. But how?

The message that being male is somehow seriously wrong and should be controlled has been broadcast for over three decades. That message is now embedded in laws such as affirmative action and in policies such as bias against fathers in family courts. The damage inflicted on the men in our lives is clear.

Source: Fox News

The declaration of Sentiments

2006-10-15T22:25:00.000+08:00

The Declaration of Sentiments

Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement

2006-10-15T22:23:00.000+08:00

Women's Rights Movement in the U.S.
Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement

Advertising's Image of Women

2006-10-15T21:43:00.000+08:00

Killing Us Softly 3Advertising's Image of WomenFeaturing
Jean Kilbourne(2000)
In this section:Summary Logistical Information Biographical Summary Reviews and Comments Articles

Summary:
Jean Kilbourne's pioneering work helped develop and popularize the study of gender representation in advertising. Her award-winning Killing us Softly films have influenced millions of college and high school students across two generations and on an international scale. In this important new film, Kilbourne reviews if and how the image of women in advertising has changed over the last 20 years.

With wit and warmth, Kilbourne uses over 160 ads and TV commercials to critique advertising's image of women. By fostering creative and productive dialogue, she invites viewers to look at familiar images in a new way, that moves and empowers them to take action. Logistical Information:

Created by Jean KilbourneDirected, edited & produced by Sut JhallyCopyright 2000
SECTIONS: Does the beauty ideal still tyrannize women? / Does advertising still objectify women's bodies? / Are the twin themes of liberation and weight control still linked? / Is sexuality still presented as women's main concern? / Are young girls still sexualized? / Are grown women infantilized? / Are images of male violence against women still used to sell products?

Biographical Summary:

Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., the award-winning creator of the Killing Us Softly film series, has twice been named Lecturer of the Year by the National Association of Campus Activities. She is a widely published writer and appears frequently on national interview programs. She has spent many years researching and compiling examples of media images and their effects on young people, especially women. Her book, Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising, was published in 1999. The paperback version, Can't Buy My Love, is available from Simon and Schuster, New York.
http://www.jeankilbourne.com/

Gender Neutral Language

2006-10-13T16:40:00.000+08:00

Gender-neutral language (gender-generic, gender-inclusive, non-sexist, or sex-neutral language) is language that attempts to refer neither to males nor females when discussing an abstract or hypothetical person whose sex cannot otherwise be determined. English does not have a system of grammatical gender for nouns in general, it instead uses gender-specific pronouns. Gender-neutral language in English includes but is not limited to the use of gender-neutral pronouns.

From Wikipedia

Politically Correct Dictionary

2006-10-13T16:12:00.000+08:00

Politically Correct Dictionary. This dictionary will keep you out of trouble.

Actor: metamorphosing being, possessing great wealth
Actress: metamorphosing being, possessing great wealth (and occasionally great beauty)Android: bipedal, non-human associate, bearing immense knowledge and skill
Bag boy: agricultural product organizer
Bald: follicularly challenged
Bomb: vertically deployed antipersonnel device
Boy: oppressor-to-be
Brainwashing: cognitive accommodation
Cafeteria: dining facility

more...see politicall correct dictionary link (above)

The Silent Treatment

2006-10-11T00:05:00.001+08:00

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day,he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM " He left it where he knew she would find it.The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AMand he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go andsee why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper bythe bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

Wife Vs Husband

2006-10-11T00:05:00.000+08:00

WIFE VS. HUSBAND

A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied , "in-laws"

Creation

2006-10-11T00:03:00.000+08:00

CREATION

A man said t o his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. "

The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

When God created woman

2006-10-10T23:59:00.000+08:00

God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.

Sexism

2006-10-10T23:51:00.000+08:00

Sexism is discrimination on the basis of gender. While it is primarily women who are affected by sexism, it can be used to discriminate against either men or women.
The language we use reflects and reinforces the values of the society in which we live. The English language has developed in a male-dominated, male-centred society. If you examine carefully how we usually express ourselves you will see how male-centred our language is.

Male and Female BRAINS

2006-10-10T23:48:00.000+08:00

Click here

Against the Theory

2006-10-10T23:26:00.000+08:00

A good read, go to http://www.friesian.com/language.htm

Non-sexist language

2006-10-10T23:16:00.000+08:00

From Purdue University website

Generic Use

Although MAN in its original sense carried the dual meaning of adult human and adult male, its meaning has come to be so closely identified with adult male that the generic use of MAN and other words with masculine markers should be avoided.

Examples

mankind [humanity, people, human beings]
man's achievements [human achievements]
man-made [synthetic, manufactured, machine-made]
the common man [the average person, ordinary people]
man the stockroom [staff the stockroom]
nine man-hours [nine staff-hours]

Occupations

Avoid the use of MAN in occupational terms when persons holding the job could be either male or female.

Examples

chairman [coordinator (of a committee or department), moderator (of a meeting), presiding officer, head, chair]
businessman [business executive]
fireman [firefighter]
mailman [mail carrier]
steward and stewardess [flight attendant]
policeman and policewoman [police officer]
congressman [congressional representative ]

Pronouns
Because English has no generic singular--or common-sex--pronoun, we have used HE, HIS, and HIM in such expressions as "the student needs HIS pencil." When we constantly personify "the judge," "the critic," "the executive," "the author," and so forth, as male by using the pronoun HE, we are subtly conditioning ourselves against the idea of a female judge, critic, executive, or author. There are several alternative approaches for ending the exclusion of women that results from the pervasive use of masculine pronouns.
a. Recast into the plural.

Example
Give each student his paper as soon as he is finished.
[Give students their papers as soon as they are finished. ]

b. Reword to eliminate gender problems.
Example
The average student is worried about his grade.
[The average student is worried about grades. ]

c. Replace the masculine pronoun with ONE, YOU, or (sparingly) HE OR SHE, as appropriate.
Example

If the student was satisfied with his performance on the pretest, he took the post-test.

[A student who was satisfied with her or his performance on the pretest took the post-test. ]

d. Alternate male and female examples and expressions. (Be careful not to confuse the reader.)
Example

Let each student participate. Has he had a chance to talk? Could he feel left out?
[Let each student participate. Has she had a chance to talk? Could he feel left out? ]

Indefinite Pronouns
Using the masculine pronouns to refer to an indefinite pronoun (everybody, everyone, anybody, anyone) also has the effect of excluding women. In all but strictly formal uses, plural pronouns have become acceptable substitutes for the masculine singular.
Example

Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring his money tomorrow.
[Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring their money tomorrow. ]

Go to Purdue University's website to learn more.

Onomastics Project

2006-10-10T16:34:00.000+08:00

Please note that the following students did not submit their photostory project.

Irene
Tony
Constance
Mandy Huang

Attention Cassidy:

Cassidy, the file you gave me was an audio file. You can copy your work on a CD or bring your flash drive to class so I could copy it on my hard disk. Your grade will be given as soon as I see your work. Don't worry, points won't be deducted from your grade.

Note: You can download the Grades file (see side bar) to check your class standing in class.

TV Comedy skits

2006-09-26T22:17:00.000+08:00

Channa's angels

Live and Cooking

Download the audio recording for Gender and Communications

2006-09-26T14:14:00.001+08:00

You can download the audio recording for Gender and Communication (ALC). You only have 7 days to do this so better hurry.

Track 4 (Part 1)

Track 5 (Part 2)

Track 6 (Part 3)

Please note that these files are mp3 files. You can download them by right clicking the link and save to your computer hard drive, then transfer them to your mp3 players. Listen to the lecture again and again until you get the gist.

Aiden

Download the audio recording for Gender and Communications

2006-09-26T14:14:00.000+08:00

Using Powerpoint

2006-09-23T16:33:00.000+08:00

The easiest way to create your photostory is to create it using Powerpoint. Add your pictures and audio narration, and save the file as 'pps'

In other words the end file should, 'pps' not 'ppt'

If you want to make your audio to play continuously, then here are some tips. Click here to read more

If you just insert a sound without any other settings, you'll find that it stops when you go to the next slide. So how do you insert music or narration that continues throughout the presentation? This is a frequently asked question.

(The instructions here are for PowerPoint 2002 or 2003.)

Follow these steps:

1. Choose Insert, Movies and Sounds, then choose one of the options, such as Sound From File. Locate the sound and insert it. (You see a sound icon, which you can drag off the slide if you don't want it to appear during your presentation.)
2. A message appears asking if you want the sound to play automatically. Usually, you choose Yes, but if you want the sound to wait for your mouse click, answer No.
3. Right-click the sound's icon and choose Custom Animation from the shortcut menu. The Custom Animation pane opens with your sound file listed.
4. Click the arrow directly to the right of the sound icon and choose Effect Options. In the Play Sound dialog box, choose the Effects tab.
5. In the Stop Playing section, choose the After XXX slides option. Enter 999 in the box (the largest number allowed) so the sound will play throughout all your slides. Note: PowerPoint counts each display as a slide, so if you show some slides more than once, they count.
6. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Microsoft Windows Movie Maker tips, tutorials, forums and more

2006-09-23T16:20:00.000+08:00

Microsoft Windows Movie Maker tips, tutorials, forums and more, click here

Video: See how to make your first movie

2006-09-23T16:12:00.000+08:00

Click the link to watch the video tutorial on how to create a photostory or short movie using Windows Movie Maker

Click here

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.

aiden

Contact Information

2006-09-19T13:59:00.000+08:00

Writing a letter to the Editors

2006-09-19T13:35:00.000+08:00

The letters to the editor section of your local paper is an ideal forum for sharing your opinion and story with the local community. In addition, it is one of the first pages many elected officials turn to. Letters to the editor show that an issue is of concern to the community and are excellent tools for education. Here are a few guidelines for getting your letter to the editor printed.

Localize your letter -- explain or include examples
Make your letter timely - if the newspaper has recently printed a story or column about the issue of marriage and same-sex couples, you can reference the article and use it as a springboard for your letter.

Keep your letter short and to the point -- 250 words maximum.
Your letter should carry its most important message in the first paragraph.

Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Editors like to call to confirm that the letter was actually written by the person whose name appears on the letter.
Limit the number of points you make, and stay on the same subject.

Don't be disappointed if your letter does not get printed. Newspapers get many letters every day and can't print all of them. Most papers won't print the same writers over and over again.

Don't be afraid to ask for action -- tell readers what you want them to do. This includes your elected representatives; you can be sure they read the letters to the editor.

Source: Human rights Campaign

What is a name?

2006-09-18T14:06:00.000+08:00

Good read, click here to read the article. Right click mouse, select 'save as' to save the pdf file.

Gymnastics with Onomastics

2006-09-18T13:58:00.000+08:00

How different languages and cultures form names

Structure of names
There are many different ways a culture can structure a name, and the people who speak your language may use any of the following, or a different way besides:
[given name] - Jeffrey
[given name] [family name] - Jeffrey Henning (American)
[family name] [given name] - Mao Ze-Dong (Chinese)
[given name] [home town's name] - John Zamoyski (Polish, from town of Zamosc; toponymic)
[given name] [occupation name] - John Smith (English)
[given name] [maiden name] [husband's family name] - Karen Flynn Henning (American)
[given name] [middle name] [family name] - Jeffrey Alan Henning (American)
[given name] [middle name] [confirmation name] [family name] - Karen Lee Kristina Flynn (Catholic Irish)
[given name] [family name] [occupation name] - Mark Jones-the-petrol (Welsh)
[given name] [son of] [father's name] - Bjørnstjerne Bjórnson (Norse)
[given name] [daughter of] [father's name] - Vigdís Finnbogadøttir (Norse)
[given name] [father's name + "child of"] [family name] - Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian)
[given name] [middle name] [maternal grandfather's family name] [paternal grandmother's family name] [paternal grandfather's family name] -- Eliana Marcia Villela Gomes Soares (Brazilian)
[given name] [middle name] [maternal grandfather's family name] [paternal grandfather's family name] [husband's mother's name] [husband's father's name] -- Maria Beatriz Villela Soares Veiga de Carualho (Brazilian)
[given name] [father's family name] y [mother's family name] - José Aguilar y Fernández (Spanish)
[given name] [father's family name] de [husband's father's name] - María Álvarez de Aguilar (Spanish)
[given name] ["father of" eldest son]
[given name] [father's given name] - Tafari Makonnen (Amharic)
Source: LangMaker.com

Forming names of nations
Many groups of people (races and nations) see themselves as "the people" of the world. If they are isolated from other tribes or realms, they are even more likely to name themselves "the people", as the Innuit (Eskimos), the Bantu (an African tribe) and the Illeni Indians (for whom Illinois is named) did. The Chinese were chauvinistic about it; their name is derived from the dynasty of Chin, with Chin being the word for "man".

The more different realms a group of people are aware of the more likely they are to name themselves after the place where they live: the Canadians live in Canada, the English live in England, the Germans live in Germany. But the Jews live in Israel (the name of one of their greatest ancestors).

Onomastics

2006-09-18T13:35:00.000+08:00

Onomastics=the branch of lexicology that studies the forms and origins of proper name, and naming practices.

The word is derived from the Greek word ὄνομα (onoma), meaning name. Toponymy or toponomastics, the study of place names, is one of the principal branches of onomastics. Anthroponomastics is the study of personal names.

Wikipedia

# foreign characters: mueller or müller, juerg or jürg. note that some systems use juerg instead of jürg cause of character sets, and some ppl need to be written that way. If your name is written "juerg müller" in your passport, you can't go and open a bank account as "jürg müller".
# nicknames: peggy for margaret, bill for william.
# short forms: b. gates for william gates (ouch!).
# localization: andreas from germany, andré from france, andrei/andrej from russia and andrea from italy is the same name, just translations. moved to the us, and all become andrew because those americans can't make a difference. mr. hundertwasser may also become hundredwater or so. with italians 'andrea' we have another problem, cause in germany andrea exists too, but is feminin.
# name families: adelheide, adelheidi. especially nowadays it's cool to invent new names, or at least new spellings. the americans might be different, having michael as #1 baby name since 1964 *shakes head*. in this example, heidi may be a different family member and a nickname, both is possible.
# titles and qualifiers: dr. prof. ph.d. nat. ... may be written as "dr. smith" or "smith, dr."
# prefixes: Di Caprio, D'Agostino, Al Afif, Mc Donald, ...
# married: "peggy smith" becomes "margaret johnson". bingo. she may aswell become "peggy johnson-smith" or so, which leaves us a chance to still find her.

From Blueshoes

Further readings on onomastics

American Name Society

What is Language?

2006-09-12T17:21:00.000+08:00

Many animal and even plant species communicate with each other. Humans are not unique in this capability. However, human language is unique in being a symbolic communication system that is learned instead of biologically inherited. Symbols are sounds or things which have meaning given to them by the users.

A word is one or more sounds that in combination have a specific meaning assigned by a language. The symbolic meaning of words can be so powerful that people are willing to risk their lives for them or take the lives of others. For instance, words such as "queer" and "nigger" have symbolic meaning that is highly charged emotionally in America today for many people.

A major advantage of human language being a learned symbolic communication system is that it is infinitely flexible. Meanings can be changed and new symbols created. This is evidenced by the fact that new words are invented daily and the meaning of old ones change. For example, the English word "nice" now generally means pleasing, agreeable, polite, and kind. In the15th century it meant foolish, wanton, lascivious, and even wicked. Languages evolve in response to changing historical and social conditions. Some language transformations typically occur in a generation or less. For instance, the slang words used by your parents were very likely different from those that you use today.

A language is a set of rules for generating speech.
A dialect is a variant of a language.

Which language is spoken depends on the social situation.

The dialects of a society are ranked relative to each other in terms of social status.

Source: O'Neil, 2006

Terms that you should look into:

Regional dialect and Social dialect
Pidgins and Creoles

Language and Culture

2006-09-12T17:12:00.000+08:00

Source: ams.usda.gov

Language and Culture are connected to each other as much as a chicken is to an egg.

Language is the principal means whereby we conduct our social lives. When it is used in contexts of communication, it is bound up with culture in multiple and complex ways. To begin with, words people utter refer to common experience. They express facts, ideas or events that are communicable because they refer to a stock of knowledge about the world that other people share.

Culture, on the other hand, refers to what has been grown and groomed (from the Latin colere: to cultivate). The words culture evokes the traditional nature/nurture debate. Are human beings mainly what nature determines them to be from birth or what culture enables them to become through socialization and schooling?

Source: Language and Culture, Claire Kramsch, 1998, Oxford, p. 3-5

To examine our language, then, is also to examine our values, norms, and standards.
All of us who wish to improve relations across cultures and groups of people must be concerned with the effects on others of they way we talk and write. To communicate effectively, we must consider the feelings and perspective of the audience we're addressing, just as we hope that audience will consider our own perspective.

You ask yourself about the way you think, and the way you think about others, through the language you use.

Self-Perception

2006-09-12T17:06:00.000+08:00

Source: The Funny Pages

Perception

2006-09-12T16:27:00.000+08:00

Each of us from different cultural backgrounds has a unique way of doing things, analyzing situations, and reacting to circumstances. Our individual way of viewing a situation is called 'perception'.

Genzel and Cummings, 1994. Culturally speaking.

Perceptions can be changed depending on how one looks at people, things and events. This difference in perceptions makes up cultures.

Let's test this theory. Look at the following pictures and tell me what you think. You could send your response by clicking on the 'comments' button below.

Many factors (including experience, expectations, and physical, emotional, and psychological influences) affect what we perceive. Personal experience, emotion, and motivation are also important in determining our perception. Experiments have shown that the perception of form, color, pain, and touch differ between cultures and age groups. Therefore habits, customs, and education also influence perception.

Source: The Learning Curve

Here's another photo from analytictech.com

More optical illusions are available at the literarylink.com.

Welcome

2006-09-12T15:23:00.000+08:00

Hello and welcome to Language and Culture Class. I will be using this blog to publish all the support materials that we will be using this school year. The URL links on the right panel should provide easy access to the files and documents that you need to download. You can also use the 'comments' area to post your opinions, questions and other comments that you may have.

I look forward to a fruitful semester and I hope that you will learn something new and meaningful.

Aiden