Kirsty Wark's 'Blurred Lines: The New Battle of the Sexes'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOce0pijzE0

This documentary shows the gender inequality in today's society. 

David Cameron: "Calm down, dear"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11597739/From-calm-down-dear-to-ladies-champion-how-David-Cameron-has-solved-his-woman-problem-overnight.html

This article highlights the dominance approach in that most people who have power are in fact men. However, the article does show how times have slightly changed as the number of female cabinet ministers that prime minister John Major had, has now increased with David Cameron.

Although the current prime minister relies on women during his work, he still expressed misogynistic views when talking to Labour's Angela Eagle during a 2011 Commons debate where he said: "Calm down, dear!". 

This is the clip which shows this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URWXkPDwG0g. 

This article highlights the fact that we live in a patriarchal society and that men are more dominant than women.

The 3 D's

Dominance - 
We live in a patriarchal society and language represents that. The dominance approach "sees women as an oppressed group and interprets differences in women's and men's speech in terms of men's dominance and women's subordination." - Jennifer Coates (1993)

Difference - 
Women belonging to "different sub-cultures" who are socialised differently from childhood onwards and who may have communication problems as adults. Deborah Tannen (1989) argues that theorists like Lakoff and Spender see language in terms of power and powerlessness. This is for the reason that throughout Western culture the masculine male has been the unmarked form in language and the feminine female the marked form. e.g. Unmarked forms - "manager" Marked forms - "manageress". Tannen says that "the desire to affirm that women are equal has made some scholars reluctant to show that they are different. These are gender differences in ways of speaking, and we need to identify and understand them." Tannen also sees male and female language in terms of status vs support, independence vs intimacy, advice vs understanding, information vs feelings. orders vs proposals and conflict vs compromise.

Deficit - 
One language is inferior to the other as supported by Robin Lakoff (1975).This is the idea that men and women speak two different languages. However, Lakoff doesn't use statistics but phrases such as "many men" or "men tend to" which lacks evidence as they are just generalisations. There has also been changes since 1975. Jenny Cheshire supports this by doing a study. She found that boys use more slang than girls. Cameron challenges the whole idea that there are two different and contrasting languages for men and women arguing that this is a deficit model approach. Cameron has reevaluated stereotypes.

Oxford Dictionary swaps Word of the Year for public's favourite emoji

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11999230/Oxford-Dictionary-swaps-Word-of-the-Year-for-publics-favourite-emoji.html

This article highlights the ever changing English language. Online communication is very popular, so popular in fact that Oxford English dictionary has swapped the word of the year for the public's favourite emoji. 

"What language barrier?" - Deborah Cameron

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/01/gender.books

Summary:

Do men and women speak the same language? 

Simon Baron-Cohen says that the "topic was just too politically insensitive". The idea that men and women are different is controversial. Stereotypically "men never listen" and "women find it easier to talk about their feelings". The idea that men and women "speak different languages" is usually not a hypothesis but simply unquestioned. 

It is obvious that men and women are physically different but it is it true that they use language in completely different ways? 

Women are often employed in call centres because they are "naturally good" at talking. Is this saying that women can't work in positions of power? Is this also that men lack the ability to communicate effectively?

Baron-Cohen says that there are people with a female brain and people with a male brain. The female brain is made up of empathy and communication, whereas the male brain analyses complex systems. Is this to suggest that men are smarter than women or that women are more empathic than men? He suggests that nursing is a female brain job and the law is a male brain job.

"1 Language and communication matter more to women than to men; women talk more than men.

2 Women are more verbally skilled than men.

3 Men's goals in using language tend to be about getting things done, whereas women's tend to be about making connections to other people. Men talk more about things and facts, whereas women talk more about people, relationships and feelings.

4 Men's way of using language is competitive, reflecting their general interest in acquiring and maintaining status; women's use of language is cooperative, reflecting their preference for equality and harmony.

5 These differences routinely lead to "miscommunication" between the sexes, with each sex misinterpreting the other's intentions. This causes problems in contexts where men and women regularly interact, and especially in heterosexual relationships."

AQA AS English Language Paper 2

http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77012-SQP.PDF


http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77012-COM.PDF


http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/AQA-77012-CEX.PDF

Bristol University: Guide to Grammar

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/index.htm

A) Handy for revision

B) Punctuation/Structure

·         Syntax structure (simple, compound, complex)

·         Syntax functions (imperative, interrogative, exclaimative, declarative)

·         Punctuation

·         Graphology (layout)

·         Discourse

·         Form, purpose, audience

·         Spoken, utterances

C) Homophones, comparatives and figurative language

·         Lexis and semantics

·         Pragmatics

D) Exam responses

E) Other problems

·         Grammar

·         Lexis

F) Form, purpose, audience

G) Handy for revision

Jennifer Lawrence: "Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co‑Stars?"

http://www.lennyletter.com/work/a147/jennifer-lawrence-why-do-i-make-less-than-my-male-costars/

This article is written by actress Jennifer Lawrence. It is based on the fact that Lawrence makes less money than her male co-stars, even though they have the same job. 

The article shows and explains how men can assert their power through their use of language and be praised for it, whereas women would be looked down upon for it.

Interactive Resource: Spoken language, Genres of speech

http://xtlearn.net/S/2864?header=false&visit=false&source=

 

Notes:

Characteristics of unplanned speech

·         Non fluency features – fillers, hesitations, interruptions

·         Usually informal register

·         Often some phatic talk

·         Sometimes there is non-standard English/grammar

·         Deictic expressions

·         Spontaneous

·         Overlaps

Characteristics of semi-planned speech

·         Often follows an order

·         Lots of questions

·         More formal register

·         More standard English/grammar

·         Some phatic talk

Characteristics of planned speech

·         More fluent

·         Formal register

·         Standard grammar

·         Less phatic talk

·         Words are carefully chosen

We want to make contact with others – even if it's only to say ‘hello'. These are known as phatic utterances.

We want to exchange ideas and social information with friends. These are interactional exchanges.

We want to express how we feel. These are expressive utterances.

We want to provide information. These are referential utterances.

We want to get something done. These are transactional exchanges.

Permanence – a conversation is not usually recorded so it only remains in the memory of the people in the conversation. If something is written then it can be re-read as long as the writing exists.

Expressing feelings – e.g. facial expressions, tones of voice, body language to convey feelings. Writing relies on expressive words, punctuation and graphological features to convey feelings.

A moment in time –talking to someone happens during a particular time period, it is immediate. When something is read, you may not have been present when the writing was produced.

Context –where the conversation takes place in a particular situation where all the participants are aware of who is talking and about what. In writing, it needs to be explained more precisely of who or what it is referring to.

Interaction – speech is active, writing is different – can be second person.

Typical features of a news script

·         Planned and rehearsed

·         Formal/informal contradictions to relate to the audience

·         Emphasis on key words adds variety and drama to the delivery

·         Almost colloquial language adds to the effect that it is spoken rather than reading a written text

Public speaking

·         Rhetorical questions can be asked – reply not expected but usually obvious

·         Questions can be asked and answered by the same person

·         Emotive language – powerful with strong connotations

·         Outbursts of emotion

·         Hyperbole – over exaggeration

·         Repetition

·         Techniques – metaphors, similes etc.

·         Emphasis of trustworthiness

·         Don’t trust others

The difference between interviews and spontaneous speech

My answer: Interviews are planned and have a formal register whereas spontaneous speech is more informal with more non-fluency features.

Model answer: In an interview situation the interviewer (e.g. TV chat show host, job interviewer) already has an idea of what questions to ask and therefore is largely in control of the topic and how the interaction proceeds. All parties have an expectation of the pattern to be followed. The talk in this situation is also likely to be characterised by a more formal register and fewer interruptions and overlaps. In contrast, entirely unrehearsed and spontaneous utterances or exchanges are likely to contain more non-fluency features such as – fillers, hesitations, unvoiced pauses, false starts, repetitions, deictic expressions and interruptions or overlaps in conversations.

Analysing spontaneous speech

My answer: This speech is spontaneous and so has a lot of non-fluency features such as hesitations, fillers and voiced pauses. It has an informal register and there are some examples of phatic talk.   

Model answer: One thing that makes a lot of us uncomfortable about the answering machine is that it makes our speech permanent (like writing) – and we can't rub it out or take back our mistakes! We also find it disconcerting talking to someone when they're not present – we want to sound friendly but don't get the usual feedback we'd get in casual conversations. You may have noticed the following in Jo's message: there's no response to the phatic ‘hello', making Jo pause, lots of filled and unvoiced pauses while Jo thinks about what to say next, some sections are more fluent – had Jo pre-planned these? And Jo ends with the usual closure – even though Steve and Jan aren't there.

"English is weird"

1) "Wound" is a homophone but we automatically know the difference between the verb and the noun without even having to think about it; this is because of the context it is in.
 

2) The "farm" is the subject and the first "produce" is the verb and the second is the noun.

3) The pronunciation of the second refuse is more exaggerated than the first to make it clear that the two words are the same but have different meanings.

4) The first "polish" is the verb and the second is the nationality where the furniture is from which is Poland.

5) Usually the verb comes before the noun which is the same pattern in this usage of homophones.

6) The first "desert" is the verb, the "dessert", which is the noun, is spelt differently but pronounced the same only more exaggerated in the context and the final "desert" is the subject.

7) The first "present" relates to time, the next is as in 'giving' and the final is the gift itself.

8) "Bass" in this sentence is spelt the same but has two different pronunciations.

9) The two "dove's" have the same spellings but have different meanings and different pronunciations.

10) The first "object" is the verb which makes us know that the second "object" is noun.

"In grammar there isn't always one right answer"

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/03/morgan-grammar-test-right-answer-spag-english-spelling-punctuation-grammar

This article is written by Michael Rosen and is about how he thinks that the Key Stage 2 English spelling, grammar and punctuation test is not necessarily about testing their language but about grading children.

One Direction Awkward Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35XxCaTyou4

This is an awkward because One Direction member, Harry Styles likes the interviewer Caroline Flack. Everyone who is participating in the interview knows about and keeps dropping hints throughout the interview.

In the interview you notice the Harry uses a lot of fillers when speaking and his body language is fidgety which shows that he is nervous. Through his facial expressions you can see him smiling a lot which shows that he likes Caroline.