I think the only reason prejudice exists is because we conditioned, not only in this country, but in many others, that there is a “right” or “wrong” when viewing people. Every culture is structured with a set of social guidelines that helps it’s members to be apart of the community. Every group is their own “gatekeeper”, in the sense that a person within a particular group considers another as, “In or Out”. This comes partially from the fact that human beings are naturally inclined to affiliate with others like themselves. However, in the United States, this notion is taken to the extreme. Whether it is on some T.V show or advertising, there is an obsessive emphasis on being “In”. We are encouraged to have the “right” things in order to be the “right” person. And what if we’re not the “right” person, are we the “wrong” person? When this type of “A or B” platform of judgment is used, it forces us to compartmentalize people in the most superficial form. We are encouraged to compete with others, implying that we are either ahead or behind another. We preach about our diversity but many strive to conform. Why? If we, as a whole nation really valued diversity in all of its facets, prejudice would not exist. I think it would be helpful for every group to look at other groups in a more anthropological way. What I mean by this in the simplest way is: Each person uses language in a way that is meaningful to them, therefore it is appropriate regardless of outside judgment.
Maybe I am more of a prescriptivist, maybe you are more of a descriptivist, or maybe you speak a dialect in which I completely don’t understand…and that’s OK. Respect does not just come from affiliation, it comes from diversity.

prescriptions in language

Prescriptions in languages.



From my own experience and background, because I’m myself a linguist in

Slovenian languages I’m a prescriptionist and prefer a correct using of languages. I don’t

think that is a big secret that our speech and writing reflect the intellectual development

and cultural level. If you want to know somebody more closely just try to analyze the

way how a person expresses his ideas. The correct language with a great, colorful

rich lexicon and correct grammar will tell you that you talk with educated and intellectual

opponent. However, poor lexicon, jargonisms with negative expression on semantical,

phonological and lexical layers can tell you a lot about that person. Uneducated, not

open-minded, sometimes with mental disorders in the cases of pathological linguistical

defects. Usually educated people very carefully choose the tools for communications and

information. Because, language is our reflection as a mirror of our souls. The great

science as a neirolingustical programming can describes the different methodological

pathways for explaining such kinds of phenomena as non-normative language. Usually

even on phonological level the messages, which we sent for our recipients contains not

just clear messages, but also give the statements and commands for mind (the sound’s

waives of Shuchardt).

So the using of the correct language with rich and positive emotional expressions

is the key for psychological wellbeing. Especially it is very important for children.

Because intellectual developing depends on different issues and as adults we suppose to

help to develop mental abilities of the children. In any genealogy of every language we

keep all mental, mythological experience and our expression toward that world. And than
more rich and expressive language we use than more high intellectual abilities we have.

Ethnography of Speaking

Hi Everyone,

This post has a simple request and a more complicated one. First, I want to be sure that you read the Ethnography of Speaking reading. To that end, please make a comment on what you found interesting about either the Pentecostal church meeting example or the Papau New Guinea example of the kros. This can be brief.

Then, to practice the mnemonic device that we will use in the Language Analysis #2, I'd like to ask you to do a real quick ethnographic analysis of our classroom speech situation. We looked at this very briefly today when we talked about 'respect' and how it is shown in our classroom--that fit under "N"--norms of interaction.

So, what I'd like you to do is use the mnemonic device--SPEAKING--and analyze a speech event that takes place in the speech situation that is our class. Then, comment on one interesting element that you have uncovered via that device. Remember, this may be hard since you are participants in this speech situation and what is a socio-cultural expectation may seem 'just natural' to you. Try to step outside of your assumptions and look at it from an observer's angle.

Please do a new post by Sunday at midnight, then comment on two other posts by Tuesday before class.

Thanks,
Tiffany

Prejudice

well talking about Prejudice, many people think about a race, more comminly about the black culture. but what I want to talk about is more at home, I have a friend who is physically disabled and she told me that sometimes when she gets in the elevator with her chair people get mad becauce she wont find another way to get where she needs to go, and because her chair takes up a lot of room they have to either take the stares, or wait for the next elevator.
there is a prejudice there for the physically disabled many people don't stop to think that they are people too with feelings and a brain. if society on a whole would change their out look on people who are different then we would see a change.
people are just people, it doesn't mattere if we are white black or brown or physically disabled.
physically disabled people are only handycapped when they allow themselves to be.
I think there is way to much prejudice in this world and I for one am going to change.

Discrimination

I hate discrimination but discrimination is every where around the world today. When ever you get a group of people that is different from another group of people then most likely they will discriminate each other. They will make up "racial slurs" or slander against one another. For example look at all the Asian countries most of them don't like one another. If you called a Chinese guy Korean then he would be offended and take it as an insult. So I believe discrimination will never stop, although racial slurs might change over time they will still have the same hateful meaning associated with it.

I would consider myself to be more in the middle with the whole prescriptivism and descriptivism concept. I just go with the flow. No need to judge the way people speak. I try not to use incorrect grammar but I am not going to lie, my spelling is terrible. Being in this class for two short weeks has already opened my mind to realizing that people are brought up and taught the way they talk and the language they speak. Prescriptivism seems a little judgemental, to me it seems like they would look down on descriptivists and think they are uneducated or ignorant. But I feel like descriptivists are more prejudice with the example for the girl in our class talking about the people in Florida that include white people in their context of "nigger".
It seems as though prescriptivism is more of a standard that most people don't meet. I have a brother that is black and he is from California. I don't ever think that he is uneducated because of the way that he talks. But there have been some times that my Mom or Dad have to ask him the meaning of a word. The funny thing is is i write the same way i talk, I don't add words or make any smaller. Well except for somethings i mumble together to make into one big word. I guess I am just going off somewhere with all of this but I think we need to keep some of the language in the "standard" but I don't think it should be a big deal when we talk in a different way.

Discrimination

I think discrimination is something that will be very difficult to get rid of. If you think about it, everyone has to discriminate in the choices they make everyday. To discriminate means to show partiality or prejudice towards something. For example, when we choose our friends, we are being discriminatory. When an insurance company refuses to cover the treatment costs of a pre-existing illness, they are being discriminatory. When a bank declines to give a loan to someone with bad credit, they are being discriminatory. When a mother decides to leave her son out of her will because she is afraid he'd use the money for drugs, she is being discriminatory. What I am trying to say is that we can't avoid discrimination entirely. I believe we should try to get rid of racial, cultural and religious discrimination where it exists. It is natural for people to have their own opinions on various things. That is what makes people unique. It seems like there are too many people who are offended easily and who are too quick to assume they are being discriminated against. Sometimes life just isn't fair. The challenge is to make the most of life and not to focus on the injustices. If you focus on them too much, you will find them all around you.

Discrimination

The very word of discrimination makes me cringe. I think everybody in this world should be entitled to live a free life without the worrying of being labeled with some sort of derogatory word to describe there race. I think everybody in this country if they have the qualifications should be able to get any job they want and not be shunned because of the color of there skin. There is a lot of prejudice that goes on everywhere. When I was just graduated from high school, I became a big time partier. Granted I grew up in utah, where we did not see all that many black people, but at these parties I would hear white people go up to their friends and use the word "Nigga" and everytime I heard it, it would make me sick to my stomach. Do they know how derogatory that word even is? They would use it as a friend terminology but I don't think its right. Slavery has been over for quite some time and this racism in the US has got to stop. I know I am just one voice but if we all stick together maybe we can help people realize that what they are saying SHOULD NOT BE SAID!

Discrimination

In the world today, we see people discriminated against. A lot of the reasons for this discrimination are because of the dialects people use and the different cultures people are from. I do not agree with discrimination, especially for the reason that someones dialect or other aspect of speaking is different from their own. In this world, there are many people who are discriminatory towards others just because of any simple difference that they might have; this discrimination will not allow the individual to make much progress, simply because everyone is different than every other person. If we go into the world each day expecting those around us to have the exact same qualities (dialect, opinion, etc.) our expectations will not be met and prejudices will arise.

Desriminate This...

I hate discrimination. As much as I hate the premise of discrimination, I hate what it has become – a political buzzword used to label anyone whose morals, values or beliefs would in someway oppress another's lifestyle.

In no way do I deny that discrimination exists – in fact I believe it thrives – but I also believe that too many of us use the word as a crutch. American society is truly unique. We demand equality yet persistently work to define our individuality. We are often too absorbed in ourselves, our struggles, our needs, that we automatically label even the slightest perceived injustice as discrimination.

So please note: If I don't like you, it's not because you're black, white, or brown. It's not because you're male, female, or both. It's not your religion or lack of. If I don't like you, it's just because I don't... so please don't take it the wrong way.

I preface my post with this because I do tend to lean toward the prescriptive side of things but would not classify myself as discriminatory. I believe that every language needs a baseline – a set of rules that govern the language. We need a system that will allow the most people to communicate with each other. We need to find value in the language as a collective whole.

I am a native English speaker. I also speak a foreign language and have attempted to learn two others. I could not have done it if there wasn't a language standard. There is a high level of prejudice against those who can't speak English and live in the US. We want them to learn it – so is it discrimination against them not to have standardized English?

I have a new respect and appreciation for the dialects that are found in US. This class has opened my eyes to their cultural values and has helped me to erase some of the misconceptions and prejudices. But it has not erased the value of having a commonly shared and understood dialect – to have standardized English.

Well, thanks for reading everyone. Have a great night

Assignment One

In our class we are asked the following questions: one, is a leaning towards Prescriptivism indicative of prejudice; two, if one adheres to such a leaning is he or she prejudiced; three, if the aforementioned is indeed prejudice, should it be seen as acceptable; and four, are ‘Gate-keeping’ institutions, irregardless of origin, discriminatory? The answer can only be made clear when one asks the contextual background in which such a situation arises.
But, to address the opponents of Prescriptivism, who hold themselves on the polar end of our argument, I must admit the unfortunate following: first, the literary impetus that lead to an eventual synthesis of ideas that became Prescriptivism, it is highly likely, judging from what I’ve read, that its origins are indeed a product of elitism; secondly, the continuing legacy of Cultural Imperialism, Racism, and prejudice, are still very much alive in our society, and one of the manifestations can be seen as a conditional language Prescriptivism. But, despite a certain affiliation with these deplorable things, Prescriptivism is still a necessity.
Why, you may ask? The reason is because, like many subjects of inquiry and codification that have been manufactured by European intellectuals, it still has value. The response of it being designed by “old, white men” does not depreciate Prescriptivism. There is a manifold of reasons for which I see Prescriptivism as an imperative.
As much as the Descriptivist demands we capitulate to the constant flux of language in our contemporary society, and as much as many of you see this as simple factual, I would like to point out that on the other end, increasingly, in all continents and across all cultures, there is an extinguishing of diversity in language; one can see this as either good or bad, but it is also fact. As an example, there is a huge degree of variance in dialects of Mainland China, but many of these are disappearing. It is not just accentuation that is quickly evaporating – many of the languages that are spoken today will be dead by the end of our lifetime. In each case, one would hope, these variances will be recorded and archived.
A bewildered and reactionary “leftist”, like instinct, will decry the state and educational institutions as being the primary means of this developing homogeneity, but he or she would be dead wrong; mass pop culture – television, radio, ‘zines, blogs, the internet – all of these should be classified as being guilty as well. What would happen to the “minor” languages that have been or are in the process of being overshadowed by the majority do without the Prescriptivist agents (the “Gate-keeping” institutions) that preserve them? Gaelic would never have see its resurgence, Hebrew would still be relegated only to those invested in the literature of Judaism and theology, and the people of the Basque region of Spain would be watching their mother tongue entombed in a slow and painful cultural death.
As a Prescriptivist, being cognizant of both flux and ossification of language as a result of the institutions and societal mechanism that enable change and cohesion, I propagate that present language should be codified for means of the following: one, enabling a distinct method of the transference of meaning; two, providing a uniform mechanism of that transference; and three, maintaining absolute continuity.
It may not be obvious to the many of you, but I place myself very firmly on the left (and that includes the entire toolbox, so to speak) and I do not find that my being in the Prescriptivist camp makes me any less of a leftist. At the very end of it, when an individual is prejudiced, his or her preponderance will show up in how he or she relates to others, and a part of that is language. The question of assimilation as a result of Prescriptivism is a difficult one, yes, and I do not expect individuals who are enabled to speak Standard English give up much of their cultural nuances; merely it should be expected that they are made capable of participation within English speaking society.
As a small note, which I feel compelled to add - it is unacceptable to generalize our response to prejudice in language by saying that judgment and evaluation are inevitable. This does not confront this problem – it simply allocates it to a rather despicable notion that prejudice and racism will always be adjuncts of the human civilization and, as a result, there is no reason to actively oppose them. I implore to you, that this oversimplification is omnipresent in numerous difficult political terrains in our country – a decent human being forces oneself to walk through them.

the world's tool...

I think that aside from language you have to take a closer look at the life that has been lead by these specific sub-categorized individuals(ourselves). Prescriptivist and descriptivist; regardless of where you find yourself in this spectrum of speech you cant ignore your past experiences. Who you are and what you've prescribed as yourself within the duration of your life, has a significant impact on how you might perceive the world. You may be a prescriptivist and have had a dramatic experience with a specific minority group, you interpret the situation and explain only within yourself what you've come to learn about that particular event. In the case of prejudice, it really matters about your own interpretation of the world. You could speak within either category and have some form of bias amongst groups of people without ever really considering its presence. So therefore more or less its all about the life you've lived. You could have grown up in the suburbs of Los Angeles in a wealthy family, going to some prestigious school or in the ghetto's of New York, in a desperate community stricken of poverty and have similar prejudice's against a particular group. Its all about your experience in life and how you've come to understand yourself and what the world is. You live within your own boundaries and you speak from them; you can be a prescriptivist or a descriptivist and use the word nigger in the same sense. Or we might say that no matter what combination of words, either singular or in the construct of a sentence, it doesnt matter because its all about the human nature. We have a tendency to act in predictable ways and when talking about correctness or prejudice, neither one essentially exist only because its whats inside that counts most. Your prejudice, I'm prejudice, he speaks correctly, I speak correctly; who's to really judge what is right and wrong? Cultural relativism explains the phenomenon perfectly, we're different, we speak differently and we view the world differently; but we must never forget that we are all still human at fault.

Post 2-Response

Yes they do reveal a sense of prejudice in their efforts. I mean they want to follow a structure and keep things a certain way. Things change and adapt and these gatekeepers and prescriptivists don't want to adapt to this change.
I believe we are all somewhat prejudice when it comes to language and our use of words. Everyone has a different idea of things. For example, when that girl was talking about how in Florida the use of the N word is just for anyone and not specifically toward black people I remember everyone getting upset.
In Florida they have changed and adapted the word into something else. I am not saying I agree with it, I am just saying that I remember observing how angry some people seemed to be. Yes it is a bad word and their is some huge negativity towards it in our history and still today when it comes to that word. The only way to get over it and take the negative power away from the word is to do what descriptivists believe in, change and adapt.
In conclusion, I believe that everyone views certain words or language in different ways, just like whether you are on the descriptivist end, the prescriptivist end, or somewhere in the middle. We have to realize that we are all different in how we think, speak, and use language. Maybe if we took a couple steps back and instead of getting emotional or attacking others on how we think or telling them they are wrong, instead try to see if from their view, maybe there would be a little less prejudice in everyday life.

Hi all

I thought I posted a first welcome note, when it was due, but it looks like I can't find it.
I hope I don't get docked points, still trying to figure out this whole blog thing.

JHill

prejudice

I believe that prejudice is never aceptable, but i also believe that it excistes every. and by being a "Somewhat Prescriptivist" person does not mean you are a prejudice person because a prescrptivist person is a conservites and old fashend that do not like change. for there own reasons. when some people in the class said that they were "somewhat prscriptivist" they ment they think they want the launguage to stay as it is now because they want someone in many years from now to undrestand there writing. but also think that the language is always going to change and it maybe for the better. because if you think about it old english is so different from todays english, if you have ever seen old english you will see that the launguage is so different that it seems to be german. and change is always good!!!!!!!

prejudice in language

I think that there is definitely prejudice in language that goes beyond name-calling. Prescriptivists judge people who use slang or speak in dialects which make them sound uneducated, thinking that everyone should talk the way they do. However, descriptivist also judge others based on language. They judge the prescriptivists, thinking they are snobbish and too unwilling to change.

I raised my hand in class as being somewhat perscriptivist, but now that I think about it, I think I fall somewhere in the middle. There are definitely certain words, like "ain't", that make me cringe, and when it comes to written language I am a prescriptivist. But I use slang all the time, and I think it adds a fun variation to spoken language. I think that if everyone talked like we write essays, language would be pretty boring.

There will never be one form of English that everyone speaks the same way as everyone else. I think that we just need to be tolerant of each other, and stop thinking that we know better than someone else who we think speak the wrong way.