Seeing Through Language

Too view language as if it were an object devoid of its social context would not be seeing language for its creation and use, language is used at its full potential when spoken, language is so important to humans, we use language to express, to think and communicate within the world we live. Language has changed over time, it is thought that at one time we had one original language that was spoken, and “as different human groups spread across the world and communicated only with each other, the original language changed in different ways in different places” (Gee, P,. & Hayes, E. (2011). pg 8), because of these changes, and socialisation of different humans, we now have many diverse human languages. Language has changed and will continue to

Gender derives its formative meaning from culture and societal values, it is not a universal entity as there are various cultures, societal values, beliefs, and preferred ways of organizing collective life across the globe and even within a single culture the meaning of gender varies over time. Chapters three and four of Gendered Lives by Julia T. Wood helps to insightfully look at those views, and rhetorical movements (women and men’s movements) that have overtime influenced, defined and given various meanings to gender (masculinity and femininity).

Since the dawn of the cave man, men have shown the desire to write or draw on walls. We are a race of people who demand and process information. Our words are images of ourselves and a projection of our inner thoughts and visions. We all differ in how we comprehend and present this information. "Language is seen as one of the key cornerstones that have set humans apart from other animals"(Gray, R 2007. Para. 4). Think of how frustrating it is to communicate your needs and wants with someone who may speak another language when you simply want directions, something to eat or to say hello. Imagine a child who wants to express his/herself emotionally but lacks the skill or vocabulary to do so. Imagine a dog who wants to go outside to use the bathroom; moreover, the owner or interpreter who fails to understand.

Robert MacNeil, a writer of many great historical articles, was once, a journalist and news anchor. In his article, “English Belongs to Everybody”, MacNeil responds to the fear of many Americans who believe that Spanish will soon sweep over English. He argues that English can not be diluted by any other language as “it has prospered and grown because it was able to accept and absorb changes,”

Language is an integral part of human existence. It is not only a crucial tool in which we use to convey meaning to others, but also a cultural construct passed down from previous generations that helps to define who we are and how we relate to others. Ultimately language defines our relationships with others, the way we use language is shaped by our own socio- cultural background and also that of whoever we may be communicating with. Self awareness of how our own use of language has been shaped by our background and an understanding of what shapes others use of language leads to better communication, understanding and empathy.

People in society develop their own language on how other’s see them which can be seen

Language is an incredibly powerful tool for communication and the words we use control the

Humans act toward people, things, and events on the basis of the meanings they assign to them. Once people define a situation as real, it has very real consequences. Without language there would be no thought, no sense of self, and no socializing presence of society within the individual. (Socio-cultural tradition)

In the words of George Orwell, “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” Language has been spoken for over 350,000 years. It has expanded tremendously, but its power has never changed. The use of language shapes peoples' perceptions and the depth of interactions because it can demean, avoid, portray emphasis, persuade, and conceal from simple phrases such as “I feel like” and “just”.

In Robin Lakoff's Language and Woman's Place the author Robin tells us her side of the inequity that women face. She wants to see what she can conclude from her experiences. In this article she tells us about her first hand accounts of this through introspection (Lakoff 46). Robin tells us about what language use can tell us about the nature of inequality (Lakoff 45). The author also talks about the subservient functions of women and the roles that sexes play in society (Lakoff 45). Robin wants to know if anything can be done for this cause or is this what our society has destined for women (Lakoff 46). Robin talks about how tag questions avoid coming into conflict about the question with the addressee (Lakoff 55). The author feels like

Famous American anthropologist and social theorist Clyde Kluckholm , claims in one of his publication that “Every language is also a special way of looking at the world and interpreting experience concealed in the structure of language are a whole set of unconscious assumptions about the world and the life in it”(Writing logically, Thinking critically 7th edition P 35). Based on this theory, we can learn more

In her article “Lost in Translation,” Lera Boroditsky discusses the many aspects of language and how it may influence the way we perceive, think, and even act towards certain situations in our everyday life. Throughout the article, Boroditsky is addressing those who are either highly educated or those who work in a more “professional” business scene that may deal with linguistics on an everyday basis. She attempts to show that language is more than just words and to be more open minded towards those who speak a different language; their experience differs greatly from a native English speaker and vice versa. With the help of the rhetorical devices: anticipating objection, rhetorical questions, and exemplification Boroditsky

Language and Woman’s Place is by Robin Lakoff which is accompanied by several commentaries. She was one of the earlier innovative writers that attempted to propel women far enough to gain equality during the woman’s rights movement specifically in the 2nd wave of feminism. She made several interesting on society and the importance of language because the selection of language that is used could effectively make society unilaterally unequal. This is because certain words belittle and often seize power, but that is dependent on the context and connotation, for example being over polite or not using the norm when it is culturally appropriate. Although she wanted to elevate women, the sample she focused on were part of the more represented section

As we all know, language is a very important role in our daily life and everyone on the planet uses a language. Language is used in so many ways. It is assigned to every country, and usually every country has its own language which is very unique. Whether one speaks or not, a language is still used, either verbal or sign language is used. Now to note here, language is not used in the same form by gender. Gender takes a huge role on language. Pronunciation and grammar are tended to be used very differently by gender. Basically when it comes to language and gender there is a different dialect between females and males in many countries and not just the United States. “There have been a number of languages recorded throughout the world that have some sex differences” (Bradley, 1988, p. 13). There have been many papers and articles written on language and gender by different researchers. These researches, include many from the book used in this class, are fascinated and interested about the different language usage used between two different sexes. “The papers in this section reveal that there can be many different patterns of linguistic usage” (Coates & Pichler, 2011, p. 10). In this paper I will be analyzing “powerless language,” usage between females and males. I will also provide my study of interruption, overlap, and swearing in a mixed gender conversation. My analyzation will consist of a thirty-minute conversation between four individuals.

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” – Benjamin Lee Whorf