Ain T Language Analysis

“Authority and American Usage” written by David Foster Wallace, poses an argument about the English language, and the different beliefs of its usage. This essay was written in defense of Bryan A. Garner’s, A Dictionary of Modern American Usage. His argument in “Authority and American Usage” is the difference the between prescriptivism perception and the descriptivism perception (Linguistic terms that could easily be made into smaller, more understandable words for people like me). Since the beginning of time, language has evolved. From biblical times, to Shakespearean times, to present day; the English language has been continuously changing since it’s birth and has no intentions on stopping.

Society today is quick to judge and state what is wrong and what is acceptable by the public. While some differences between Spelling Matters and Use Your Own Words are obvious, the similarities are relevant. Anne Trubek says that perhaps it is time to change or alter grammar rules to match the current generation and culture. We should advance our guidelines about what is proper and improper along with what is happening right now with the language. While Mikita Brottman says, “bad spelling can be a godsend—a way of weeding out those who are thoughtless and inattentive to detail” (p. 219).

Letters – Letters should be structured properly, knowing exactly who there for, the date and any content appearing on the letter is presented properly.

From generations to generation grammar has been a big part of the English language. It has also changed since it first develops. From texting complete sentences like “See you later” to “C U l8r” or from using the spelling two and using the number form of it to replace that. Using slang word such as those can ruin a person’s reputation. In the stories of The Joy of Texting by Lynne Truss and I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why. by Kyle Wiens, both show some main similarities for it uses of correct grammar and why it should be that way. Grammar can make or break a person and could cost serious chances in life.

The state has even outlawed the word “I” making it the “Unspeakable Word” that has been erased form all of the

In the editorial “Fighting Words: The War Over Language” By Jon Hooten , he’s argument is that war can be a terrible thing to have and to experience. Through my eyes i see that war can change people due to all the terrible things they saw and some people out there don’t really know much of the affects of wars. He says “Those of us sitting in high school during the winter of 1991 watched the airstrikes on Baghdad through the glassy eyes of CNN, with Peter Arnett and Wolf Blitzer calling the play by play”. What he saying is that in our current century we don’t really have to experience war to be able to know of the affects of war due to the news

In at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south carolina, 1989, by Lucille Clifton, the purpose is to expose the injustice that has happened to the dead slaves. The slaves were buried without any gravestone and the women were not even counted when the owner of the plantation wrote down his inventory. This injustice is what pushed Lucille Clifton to write this poem. In the poem, Clifton attempts to draw attention to the fact that the honor was taken from the slaves, after their deaths, and Clifton tries to restore the honor that was stolen from the slaves. However, in Ain’t I a Woman the purpose was to expose the inequalities of an African American woman during Truth’s life. In Truth’s speech she mentions how other women “should be lifted over ditches, helped into carriages, and have the best place” but she gets none of this. Truth is comparing how other women are treated to how she is treated. This best shows Truth’s purpose of exposing the inequality between African American women and other groups of people. In both, the poem by Lucille Clifton and the speech by Sojourner Truth the purpose is to expose a certain

The article “English Only” Laws divide and Demean by Warren Blumenfeld states the author’s view against enacting a law making English the official language of the federal government. Mr. Blumenfeld’s premise in "English Only" is that the law is unnecessary and divisive in the United States. He is seeking a call to action in his home state of Iowa against the “English -only” law because he believes that it will negatively impact the beliefs that our nation is founded upon, rather than celebrate and promote our uniqueness as a nation of people from different cultures seeking the freedom to be individuals. He is an opponent of this law since he believes it has the potential to create prejudice and discrimination toward our citizens because

“If Only We All Spoke Two Languages” is an segment written by Ariel Dorfman that discusses the benefits of the United States becoming a bilingual and or a multilingual society. The piece was written in March 2004 and first appeared in the novel “Everything’s an Argument with Readings”. In the portion author Ariel Dorfman criticized Americans for being monolingual. The author illustrates how learning a second language “builds a bridge” to the English language. Dorfman continues to give statements of how advantages being multi or bilingual can be stating that it offers people “economic and political edge” and assists them in “understand someone else's culture.” The author concludes that if Americans do not follow through with procedures to increase

Slang can sometimes come off a bit rudely. With the words duh, yeah, and right, they don’t sound very happy. Here’s a quote from Kirk Johnson’s article, “Today’s Kids Are, Like, Killing the English Language”: Parent: Good morning, son, it’s a beautiful day. Eleven-year-old boy: Duh p.168

“Ain’t I a Woman,” written by Sojourner Truth, is a speech that is meant to unite women and all who stand for the same beliefs as the speaker. “Ain’t I a Woman,” written in a time of racial, ethnic, and gender inequality is made to convince others of the unjust actions made by others. Sojourner truth uses hypophora, repetition, and relatively low diction to reinforce the point she wants her audience to believe.

In today’s society, grammar is an origin on which many people are judged. As black students we have a right to speak our language, however, that right is denied when we try to enter mainstream America because our language is not acceptable in the business setting. In some cases, students of color are looked down upon because we speak nonstandard English and we are not capable of speaking standard American English in school or in mainstream America. Because many of us lack the use of standard American English, we become victims of discrimination. In Garrard McClendon’s 2007 interview Garrard McClendon on Black English- Ebonics he states that “There are aren’t teachers bold enough to correct the English of students” particularly black students.

There is also a type of language spoken in America that is widely discussed and often imitated throughout the world. It is American Slang. Depending on who you ask, some will say that slang is a result of English that was broken by slaves transported to America. Some will say that slang is a result of adolescents in America being rebellious towards their elders. Either way, there is a new form of slang added to each generation. As time passes, that slang becomes common and an acceptable (grammatically) part of the English language. In the 1930’s jazz musician Lester Young popularized the word “cool” and acknowledged it as a description for his music. During those times, any young person who used that word

The United States of America is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations. Even though there is not an official national language, most Americans speak Standard American English (SAE). However, the most prevalent native English vernacular dialect in the United States is African American Vernacular English (AAVE). According to Sharon Vaughn, AAVE is “a dialect used by some African Americans” (110). In order to examine AAVE, one must explore the origins, grammatical features, and prominent resolutions, which created a precedent for educating students that speak dialects other than Standard American English.

The word ain’t is one of the most commonly-overlooked mistake in the English dictionary. It is used very often in TV, books, movies, media, and music, so we shouldn’t be surprised it is now in our real life. Even though our English teachers and grammar textbooks label the word ain’t as incorrect the use of the word has not been banished and we have no idea if it ever will be. Since, it continues to be in our language, and we often us it we should be informed of its origin and its development. However, there are different opinions on the development. Most writers on this issue seems to agree that the word ain’t has not been fully investigated and needs further research. A look at the history of ain’t can help determine how this simple contraction became a serious error in professional writing and speech.