Linguistic Imperialism and Immigration

Linguistic imperialism is defined as the transfer of a dominant language and aspects of its culture, to speakers of other languages. Linguistic imperialism occurs when the language of a large or dominant population or the language of power transfers to other people in the same or neighboring areas. There are many types of linguistic imperialism and many causes of it. Causes include immigration, education, trade as well as religion. Such changes in language can be forced or can take place through natural changes. 

Immigration is a large cause of linguistic imperialism. This is most often seen as the act of an invading or migrating people making others learn their language. From research, it was discovered that at the end of the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, a number of Germanic peoples moved westward into the Empire’s territories. Of those invading powers, many took control of the area, but their responses to the indigenous language varied. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes managed to eradicate the language of the native Romano-British. On the other hand, the Franks who invaded Gaul and the Ostragoths, who invaded Iberia, both adopted the language of the native population. From this we could see how there are two main ways that immigration can cause linguistic imperialism; from invading countries forcing their language on the country they are invading and eradicating it's language or from immigrants adopting to the language of the country they migrated to. We could argue that perhaps when we consider some practices that were done , and are still done, in the context of immigration presently as linguistic imperialism. When immigrant children are taught the language of the place they are migrating to, they are taught to speak the language and given the idea that the reason they are there is to learn the language. It was realized that advice that teachers usually give to parents is to speak and practice the language at home; this is when neither parents nor children speak that language and have a chance to speak their original language. And thus children start losing their original language and associated traditions and culture.

We as human beings live in a world categorized by gender, race, nationality, culture and language. We cannot separate these aspects in life because we need them all and language plays an essential part as it distinguishes us from other ethnics in the world.  Language in the context of social identity is describes in terms of cultural specific vocabulary, context-sensitive topics and shared attitudes. Language is naturally essential to the expression of culture and is a medium of instruction and a way of communicate and preserve values, beliefs and customs. this is why linguistic imperialism is believed to indeed be a social tragedy. When a language dies, so much is lost because the traditions and history it once preserved is lost with it. We could see these effects in many endangered languages presently and immigrant or third-culture children. 

Paper 1 Text #2

Text 2 is an informative article written by an international confederation called Oxfam. The text discusses the Food Crisis in Sahel and Oxfam's role and goals in regards to addressing the crisis. It contains the common characteristics of an article as it firstly displays a clear introductory statement and all ideas throughout the text are backed up with statistics and facts. It is believed that the overall intended purpose of the article is to firstly inform and educate readers of the Sahel food crisis and then to highlight to readers of Oxfam's involvement in the issue.

From this it could be said that the article appeals to ethos as it is trying to show to readers that Oxfam is an ethical corporation that that plays a role in aiding the world to become a better place and seeks to inform instead of advertise. There are several terms throughout the article like "protected" and "vulnerable positions" that try to persuade readers by using ethics and moral beliefs. These terms give the reader the suggestion that they have the power to make a positive difference in the situation and puts Oxfam on a pedestal as they are already trying to help. It does not specifically tell readers to help but just highlights the corporations position. Also, the readers, target audience, for this article seem to be people who are interested in learning about growing global epidemics; anyone that would intentionally be interested in reading any article on Oxfam's official website.

The content in this article begins by educating us on the matter by presenting facts and figures and explaining the source of the issue. It then transitions to where is tells the reader about Oxfam's involvement in the issue and what it is doing to help in the situation. It appeals to ethos while discussing the issue at first but still stays direct. There is also constant use of facts and figures to put the topic into perspective. After triggering an emotional response from the reader in the beginning, it starts to appeal to logos by displaying the facts and figures which places the reader into reality and encourages them to want to make a difference. This flow is also an effective way of luring the reader into the article in order to highlight what Oxfam is doing and persuade them that Oxfam is a moral organization, therefore achieving the intended aim of highlighting Oxfam's role in the crisis. The tone of this article is rather straight-forward and formal, which is appropriate for it's particular convention and for such a big confederation. Using a serious tone could also be parallel to the seriousness of the issue. Throughout the article, there are terms such as "tackle" and "humanitarian response" to make people realize how serious the crisis is. The addition of the wide range of facts and figures also adds to the serious tone. 

The flowing structure of this informative article also plays a role in achieving Oxfam's intended aims. At the top, there is a picture added so readers can visualize the growing issue, which could have a bigger impact on the reader. Each cut-up piece of text includes a clear subheading to pinpoint certain aspects the article is trying to cover. There is a clearly distinguished title and quote to grab the audience's attention. By creating a clear and persuasive article, this content and structure therefore justifies that the 2 main purposes of the article is to successfully educate people on the crisis and highlight . It specifically aims to display Oxfam's role in the crisis though, which is the main aim at the end. 

Generation Like

Empowerment- a word you hear a lot when kids talk about social media. Does social media really empower people?

Social media has greatly evolved throughout time and has been considered as a media that can greatly empower people.  Presently, social media is used by a wide range of age groups and has created online communities that display different perspectives. Throughout the development of social media, it has been proved that social media has found the ability to empower people. To empower people means to get the ability to change other people's opinions and perspectives. It means to change someone's style or maybe even own someone's opinion and make them do what you want them to do. Some usual things that social media empowers now are; clothing style, music and movie choices, purchases, news awareness. Personally speaking, I believe social media does have the ability to empower people and even give people the sense of empowerment. We could see in daily life how it is changing the way people interact with one another, the way businesses and corporations innovate and create strategy, etc. Social media is no longer just about friends on Facebook and followers on twitter but the future of our world and breaking the bounds of different viewpoints and perspectives.