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.

To Work or not to Work

Female Australian Rapper, Iggy Azalea, truly reached popular culture on a personal level with the debut of her single, "Work." Azalea tells her listeners where she is from and reveals all the struggles she has faced before she reached this level of success. Lyrically, the song is rather inspirational as it creates a motivational image that viewers can look up to but upon watching the music video, it is not wrong to question the song's authenticity. In the first scene of the video, we see Azalea walking through a vast desert while talking about where she came from. Although it is clear to visualize that she wasn't "made" in the best of communities, we see the rapper walking through the dessert and outback community glamorously. Looking at the clothes she is wearing while strolling around it is not hard to spot the expensive designer pieces on her, which is rather contradictory as the whole theme of her song is talking about everything that she didn't have growing up. The video continues as she walks through the desolate community and begins to as if she is "looking down" upon the community members. She is priding herself in coming from that background but in the music video, she is walking around what is perceived to be her background, as she is better and more powerful than it. It shows that she has clearly forgotten where she came from. It disrespects people that are still living in those communities and makes them seem like they are worthless compared to people like her. From these observations, it is important to ask, why was this music video directed to portray the musician with this glamorous image in the first scene?  It is believed that product placement has a meaning to this video. By placing these distinct brands on the musician and making her appear better than the general community, brands are able to tell viewers that they have the power to be better than these communities if they were able to associate with products such as the ones Azalea is wearing. Additionally, the real controversy starts to take place when the outback scene transitions into Azalea dancing in front of a group of men with backup dancers behind her. Again, this is in fact contradictory as her seductive movements disregard the real message that she is lyrically trying to bring across. This scene creates the idea that the only way woman can succeed is by seducing men and deceiving. So overall, not only does Azalea marginalize the female population in the music video, it offends people in impoverished societies. The concepts discussed in the video are ironic to the lyrics and message that Azalea puts across, which shows that she has been influenced by the attitudes of the music industry and popular culture. “The industry took my innocence, too late now I’m in this.”

Advertisements and Culture

This advertisement is promoting a moisturizing product by Olay. It portrays a close up of a distinguishably happy woman with intentional text around her, identifying the roles she plays in life and how the facial cream can suit the needs of those roles. With he wide smile dominating the picture, the stress-free woman is described as a "shoe aficionado" "wife" and "mother." Overall, Olay makes an successful job in plugging in the product to suit this stereotypical woman's needs in the roles that she plays in her everyday life, thus objectifying the product to a universal audience. The use of gender stereotypes plays a significant role in this advertisement. In order to create a medium that is suitable, acceptable and understandable for a vast amount of targeted audience, advertisers often turn to stereotypical relations. It has been realized that the woman portrayed and the text surrounding her in the advertisement generalizes the female population in a certain way that is not necessarily true. 

Generally, women are seen to be low positioned workers, loving wives and mothers, responsible for raising children and doing housework. In the ad, this stereotype in brought forward and communicates the woman as someone who is concerned with taking care of herself and meaningless concepts like shoes. It could therefore be argued that the ad values beauty and care-taking as most important for the female population. From this, it is clear that it also neglects the fact that women can have much more larger ambitions and goals. It ignores the ambitious women that are committed to making a change and impacting the world. Olay advertiser had the choice to transform the ad's theme into suiting their product in much more important aspects in a woman's life, including work.  This shows that their product was promoted by focusing the message of the ad to communicate that women should focus on feeble things (like their product) rather than real and important things in life. This is vital for the placement of their product in the story that they are trying to sell. Olay creates this image of an "ideal woman" and then emphasizes the importance of their product in this. 

School Uniforms: Logos, Pathos, Egos

Should schools carry out the school uniform policy? The idea of school uniforms seems like an antiquated concept for many. In some places throughout the world wearing school uniforms is a norm,  in others individualism is a fundamental value. Especially in the western society, people strongly believe in the right to express their own opinion without fear or punishment. However, This value has been placed under pressed recently and the issue of whether or not schools should incorporate a uniform policy has produced allot of discussion. Personally, it is thought that uniforms are a good idea and should be implemented throughout the 

Firstly, it has been proven that Students studying in schools requiring school uniforms generally perform very well academically and seem happy wearing the same outfit every day.This is based on the fact students spend less time looking at their mode of dressing, thus focusing more school work, as opposed to a new fashion trend. Students who wear uniforms do better in school as well. They are on task more because they aren't worrying about how they look. There is less distraction due to uniforms. "Uniforms set a more serious tone in the classroom that is conducive to learning and can improve student performance." School uniforms improve student attendance. Also, by getting of rid the extra time choosing clothes, students are able to sleep and study more. As a result, students' grades rise.

In addition to the aforementioned point, One of the biggest concerns in schools these days is bullying. Students are harassed physically, verbally, and socially. The latest trend in bullying is cyberbullying. Often, the cause of bullying stems from people being different for not wearing the “right” clothes. If someone looks richer, most people feel like they have a higher social status or more power. To the contrary, uniforms allow children to learn on a more level playing field, with less judgment about clothing choices, brands of clothing, or physical appearance. uniforms tend to close the socioeconomic gap that exists between students as it makes them students equal. Studies have shown that uniforms made for a safer learning environment, and 80% of girls and 62% of boys actually liked the uniforms

Additionally, a lot of students who wear uniforms claim that they feel more proud of their school. School colors gives students a feeling of being more connected to their school and classmates. If there is a sense of community and connectedness among the students, the use of foul language, gang behavior, and crimes like vandalism are largely eliminated. Wearing school uniforms can also help people gain more self-confidence because they know they are a part of something bigger. Students will not lose their personality but will merely learn new ways to express themselves.

One of the main concerns people have about wearing school uniforms is conformity. People fear that by making children look the same, their individuality will be suppressed. However, this is not the case. Accessories, such as bracelets and hair clips, can jazz up a school uniform. Besides, students can wear their own clothing after school and during weekends. An individual’s personality is not wholly expressed by fashion alone. Personality is determined by the way a person moves, feels, thinks, and talks. Wearing a school uniform neither defines a child’s personality nor erases it.

There are even more advantages to wearing school uniforms in public schools in addition to those previously mentioned. School uniforms also have a benefit on parents too as it means lower costs for them during back-to-school shopping and easier mornings. When there's no debate on what a student is allowed wear to school, then that makes mornings easier for parents and for kids. Everyone knows exactly what the kids need to wear, their regulated school uniform. This can lead to a decrease in morning arguments. 

In conclusion, there are many well-documented benefits to implementing mandatory school uniforms for students. Studies show that students act more responsibly, learn better and feel better when they wear uniforms. schools should require uniforms in order to benefit both the students and society as a whole.