Jesus Martinez
Living in a world where the smallest misuse of words can lead to someone feeling offended; the use of certain words should be kept to a simple meaning. In the pieces the biggest arguments that were used was the fact that people disliked the use of certain words leading few of the writers to feel offended. By simplifying the meanings or limiting words to have a specific meaning, the English language would be more easily accepted by people from different aspects of the language.
Sometimes confusion begins when the use of a common word is given a new definition. While one writer, Ray Magliozzi (the host of the award-winning show Car Talk) dislikes the use of the word “tall” replacing “small” at Starbucks. Magliozzi describes Starbucks as “the Tall/Short Mafia” and is upset with the way they describe the cup sizes for the drinks. Magliozzi says, “Now as good as their coffee is, they have unnecessarily complicated my life and probably everyone else’s life, too.” This sentence is used to describe how the description of the cup sizes complicate the lives of people who wou...
1 Wilson Follett, in the article “On Usage, Purism, Pedantry” from Modern American Usage, promotes how two parties view the rights and wrongs concerning the usage of language.
In “Defending Against the Indefensible” by Neil Postman, he proposes a different way of viewing the English language. He says that our civilization is being manipulated by the ambiguity in English, and students are most easily affected by the school environment. Thus, he proposes seven key ideas that students should remember in order to avoid the dangers and loopholes that twist the original meaning of statements.
He thinks that the difficult words in language are actually the simple words, such as true or good. These words can have many different meanings and every use of them can be different. Postman suggests teaching students the full range of meanings in these simple words, so they can discover the true meaning behind each word.
An example of the author’s use of formal diction is when he includes the word indolent in a sentence. By using intelligent words such as this one, the author appears to be highly educated making him an exceptional source of information. An audience is more likely to listen and agree with an author that sounds perspicacious and credible. The author continues to establish formal diction by including the words demure, languid, disillusioned, indolent, and bumptious. All of these words allow the audience to understand how educated the author is, persuading them to agree with the author’s claims about laziness and its benefits. In addition, this word choice strengthens the author's argument and emphasizes its importance. When the author demonstrates words such as these, he appeals to the audience by sounding informed on the topic making his claims stronger. This passage relied strongly on diction to support the author’s main claim about how it’s better to be lazy. As the essay goes on, Morley continues to use strong diction throughout the paragraphs. For example, in the fifth paragraph, the author includes the words, perplexities, quibble, dignified, repose, and keem. These words improve the quality of Morley’s essay and make it much more compelling to readers. The audience is more likely to agree with the author’s statement when he uses words
Richard Louv attempts to question the modern consumer culture of the United States by juxtaposing the complexity of purchasing a modern “Mercedes SUV” with the simplicity of staring out the window of a car. Louv uses a multitude of images to remind his audience ¬¬ who are likely the same age as he is ¬¬ of their childhood experiences. Louv also uses personal anecdotes to promote the drastic differences between simple wholesome actions and the modern consumer culture. His use of rhetorical questions also helps the reader in his/her attempt to understand that, “people no longer consider the physical world worth watching.” Louv’s use of technically specific words like, “municipalities” helps him to qualify his statements. The use of rhetorical
Words hold great power and when used correctly can influence what people believe and how they act.
The tone of a piece of literature is directly dependent upon the word choice with which it is written. Word choice factors into the development of an important idea in the text and how that idea is developed throughout the text. The type of word choice used impacts the way with which both the tone and important ideas are developed in writing. The tone of a piece of literature changes with the word choice of the writer of the piece. If the word choice of the writer conveys a certain feeling or emotion, whether it is happy or sad, the tone will be directly impacted by this and changed accordingly.
In conclusion, the reason I am for the novel, Huckleberry Finn, to be exposed to high school students is so that the conversation on the abrupt word “nigger” can be discussed. It exposes the reader to an author who is unafraid of showing the reality of the language people spoke. This book makes those who read it look deeper into the meaning of the words used hundreds of years ago.
Literature has many different point of views, from which a reader can develop certain conclusions, theories, or ideas. At times those same pieces of work that inspire many can also bring a negative light onto others, resulting in the work being offensive. Many factors are taken into consideration when analyzing a work that causes a stir amongst readers, such factors as the author 's background, life experiences, encounters with different people, and also the time period it was written in. In the case of Mark Twain 's, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, its literary content causes much conflict amongst readers and has sparked an ongoing debate. Many argue that the work promotes racism through the casual use of the word "nigger" which is derogation
...he discrimination and violence that is in the world. Language is not always verbal; it can also be picked up by actions.
4. The pressure Lederer’s students feel when they have to write polysyllables using small words comes from the students not knowing how to use small words. Lederer’s students felt as if they had no clue what they were going to write about. But in the end result the students feel as if they have accomplished something great. It relates to the central purpose of the essay because many people are like Lederer’s ninth grade students (Lederer. 162). We do not know how to write with short words. The way we speak is the way we write.
This strategy reveals which side of the conflict the translator is on. So, when he or she chooses a certain expression for one element instead of another, he or she leads the reader’s reaction towards the narrative to the direction planned. Such behavior calls for the use of ‘euphemisms’. Euphemism is mostly used in the political and commercial domains. It is a technique used to make inappropriate expressions more appealing to the reader. Examples of euphemism include the use of ‘passed away’ instead of ‘died’, ‘differently-abled’ instead of ‘disabled’, or ‘negative patient outcome’ instead of ‘dead patient’. Another alternative to euphemism is ‘counter meaning’. It is the use of opposite meanings of an element, usually implied in politics by riots or objectors to that
Bordo’s thesis can be shown in many common examples of modern media and advertising. For example in the animated television show The Simpsons, creator and writer Matt Groening uses satire as a means of addressing these stereotypes of gender and race through exaggeration of certain distinguishable traits and personalities of characters. Yet simultaneously, the stereotypes that are reinforced by some members of the show are then unexpectedly broken by others to show the viewer how much the media can alter one’s own opinion.
Long, long ago, in a small town in ancient Greece Athena the goddess of knowledge blessed/cursed a couple’s baby boy whom’s name was Caesar. She made it where everything Caesar would say would come out on a sheet of papyrus.
Throughout life, certain phrases and situations seem to reoccur with the same uniformity as if it were occurring for the very first time. Whether it is a coach’s motivating speech that you can recite after hearing it year after year or the principal’s first day of school disciplinary commands that you can regurgitate like your favorite theme song; so many situations in life have become cliché, uniform, and most of all mundane, but that is what I believe Orozco perfectly captures in his short story “Orientation”. Specifically, Orozco captures this mundane concept by the lack of dialogue and the repeated use of common-sense statements such as, “This is a microwavable oven. You are allowed to heat food in the microwave oven” (52). Additionally, the repeated use of the pronouns this, that, these, and those highlights uniformity because by constantly referring to objects as this or that, I believe Orozco is identifying an underlying action we as humans commit; how often do we view decisions and aspects of life as this and that