English Language Investigations: The Do's and Don't's

When carrying out an investigation, especially for English Language, there are many things that you should and shouldn't do, so here are a few!

DO:

- Always make sure that your knowledge of your investigation topic and theories that you use to analyse are as accurate as possible, and if you need to, read up and research online and in books and articles!

- It might seem obvious, but always make sure that any theories and concepts that you mentioned are completely related to your data and investigation!

- Make sure that your investigation is interesting, engaging and informative, if you would be bored by it, don't write it!

- Be clear and concise.

- Make sure that you understand the concepts/theories you will incorporate before you use them.

- Always refer to the context.

DON'T:

- Ramble, you'll only end up going off topic and losing marks!

- Forget to notes down sources for your bibliography.

- Only research the basics! Make sure that you go into detail with researching to ensure you definitely know everything about your topic.

- Be distant and vague in your writing. In other words, explain everything!

A Level Investigation Main Ideas

For my A Level investigation, I have two main ideas.

Firstly, one idea I have looks at power features and how our language changes when speaking to different ages/abilities, specifically in a dance school.
I plan to collect voice recordings of my dance teacher teaching an older, more advanced class, and then do the same but when she is teaching a younger, beginner class. I will then write transcripts of the classes and analyse them, looking for differences and similarities in my teacher's language when talking to the two classes. This may include certain terms she uses, changes in pitch and tone etc.
I have chosen this as a possible investigation because dancing is my main hobby and I also want to be a Primary School Teacher, so looking at how people adapt their speech to different ages of children in a setting which I am comfortable in really appeals to me.

Secondly, another idea I have involves looking at technology and pragmatics to analyse whether private texts and messages are often misinterpreted, and if they are, which features and techniques are used to ensure that they are received as they were meant to be received.
I plan to collect texts from a certain age group and gender (to minimise the variables) and look at where texts are misinterpreted, which features make them misunderstood, and which features people use to try and make sure they aren't misunderstood.
I have chosen this as a possible investigation as texts and how they differ from face-to-face conversations really interests me, and by doing this investigation I can fully explore this and possibly find ways to minimise misinterpretations in texts/messages.

Women Have To Appropriate The Language Of Men To Get On In The World

In this day and age you would think that people would've stopped nitpicking at every thing women do and accept that, really, we are just as powerful as men and how we speak doesn't affect that. But it apparently it isn't as simple as I just stated it to be, because just the other day I read an article which addressed the way women speak and concluded that "women have to appropriate the language of men to get on in the world". Now, if you ask me, 'getting on in the world' has nothing to do with the way women speak, but is more to do with status, respectability and hard work. As part of the Diversity Model, O'Barr and Atkins studied courtroom cases and found that speech patterns previously proposed by Lakoff to be typical female speech patterns, were used just as equally by men and more related to being powerless speech than being female speech. This study alone is a hard piece of evidence suggesting that powerful speech is not simply an extension on male speech, but a separate type of speech used by both men and women which changes depending on the situation you are. For example, in some work places it is just not appropriate to use 'stereotypical' powerful language (i.e the typical 'you MUST do this', 'get back to me ASAP', no pleases, no thank yous, just orders, orders and more orders.) but in fact it would be more effective to suggest that something should be done, or ask politely for some work to be done at some point in the day. Because I don't know about you, but the people in my life who I see as powerful are the people I respect, and if someone demands I do something without a single please or thank you, then there is absolutely no way that they are gaining a single ounce of my respect (as you have probably guessed by now, politeness is a key factor for me and by far one of the most important qualities I look for in people). I understand that in some cases stereotypical powerful language has to be used, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's men's language.

English Language Gender Investigation

How Are Young People In Britain Represented In The Selection Of Articles Found?

In the media, young people are often portrayed in many different ways, and seen as unlike adults.

In The Independent, there was one article titled ‘Why are teenagers so moody?’ This title immediately portrays teenagers as the overly, constantly moody stereotype that most adults see teenagers as already. Another thing they mention in the article is ‘the volatile nature of teenagers’ emotions’, which suggests that all teenagers have unstable and unpredictable emotions.

Secondly, The Guardian wrote an article titled ‘MPs – Don’t ignore social media as the next generation of voters are watching it closely’. This title suggests that the young people of this day and age are considered as the generation of social media and it also portrays young people as being obsessed with and always using social media. In the article, they mention that ‘once it might have been deemed an angsty teenage issue to worry about how many followers on Twitter you had’. This sentence suggests that social media is the only thing teenagers are interested in and that any teenage issue is ‘angsty’ and not considered a proper problem. The article also stated that ‘an ICM survey showed that 65% of those aged 18-22 didn’t even know the name of their local MP’, which portrays all young people as oblivious to everything unless it’s on social media and it’s as if they don’t look anywhere past their phones.

The Guardian also wrote an article titled ‘Male, female or other: young people, how do you define your gender?’ This suggests that young people are more comfortable discussing gender and that it is a more frequent thing to ‘define’ your gender differently amongst young people today. The article also stated that ‘young people are increasingly questioning gender norms’, which portrays young people as being more comfortable to go against gender norms and that it is a more common occurrence amongst young people today to be genders other than just male or female.

The Daily Mirror wrote an article titled ‘Facebook granted patent for post-scanning software that identifies slang before it becomes popular’. This title suggests that however much teenagers are portrayed as over obsessed with technology, social media is making an impact on society, as they are trying to appeal to young people and be popular.

Lastly, The Independent wrote another article about young people titled ‘From the mouths of teens’ which suggests that all young people talk in a way that is different to the rest of the world. In this article they state that ‘adolescence is the life stage at which people most willingly take on new visible or audible symbols of group identification. This suggests that young people can easily pick up the fast-paced language of ‘text-speak’, slang and symbols, and that they find it easier to understand.

According to these articles, teenagers are portrayed as moody, angsty and technology-obsessed, but are also more open to new ideas and breaking society’s ‘norms’. The articles also show that mainstream broadsheet newspapers (such as The Guardian and The Independent) are less understanding of today’s’ youth as they are mostly writing about how they are different to everyone else, whereas mainstream tabloid newspapers (such as the Daily Mirror) are more open to today’s youth as their articles often appeal to young people and this generation.

Language Is Power - Education Jargon

In education there is no denying that the use of pointless and confusing education jargon is being increasingly forced upon schools and colleges by the government every day. These sets of phrases and buzzwords given by the ‘big man’ are made to make schools seem more professional and ‘on track’ as such with their tasks and learning. It is often ordered that all teachers and students must use this jargon and it also tends to cover up and overlook many real issues in schools. And by this I mean that to parents and communities it may look as though a school is perfect and has no major problems, yet all they see are a few buzzwords printed on an Ofsted report, and really the school’s students are facing real problems and struggling to learn. Many of the phrases used are vague and frequently changed to please the parents and the media, which makes it very hard for teachers and students to understand what is required of them by Ofsted and the government.

Some examples of education jargon that are:

-         “Critical thinking” – which refers to a person who has the ability to analyse something. This phrase can be seen as unnecessary education jargon because it would be much more understandable for both teachers and students to use a phrase such as ‘analytical thinking’ or ‘ability to analyse’, as it is immediately clear what is meant from the phrase when it is read.

-         “Disruptive technology” – which you would think refers to technology such as mobile phones and mp3 players which disrupts a child’s learning. But in fact it refers to technology which revolutionises the way students learn!

-         Acronyms such as “WILF” and “WALT” – I completely support and understand the idea of having a learning objective so all the students and any inspectors know exactly what they will be learning in a lesson. But what I don’t support are acronyms such as the ones stated above which stand for “What I’m Looking For” and “We Are Learning To”. These acronyms are forced upon schools to make it more “clear” what they students will be learning, but in reality there are so many of these different acronyms these days that it’s hard to remember what they all mean, let alone use them to explain something in a classroom!

These are just a few of the annoying jargon placed on schools in order to impress parents and media, but with the list growing faster every day, students and teachers in schools everywhere are finding it harder and harder to keep up and understand what they mean. One of the only ways to get past these confusing buzzwords is to use them when it’s necessary but, for the sake of students, when in the classroom only use phrases if they are easy to understand. It’s inevitable and unavoidable that at some point in everyone’s lives they will come across education jargon, whether it’s as a student or in a profession working in schools. And so the easiest way to protect ourselves from it is let the these new phrases be put in, but carry on using what’s understandable and comfortable for you unless you are in a position where you absolutely have to use buzzwords, because in the end the most important thing is that children and young adults and taught in a way that allows them to be successful.

JCQ Examinations Notice Analysis

Above is a notice written by the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) explaining the rules and regulations that students and exams officers must follow in an exam. This notice is required to be put up inside and outside exam rooms. The purpose of the text its to make sure the students know the rules so that the exam boards, schools and the JCQ are all protected if a students breaks a rule and tries to blame it on the fact that they weren't told the rules and regulations.

At the top of the notice is the JCQ logo, which makes the document official and shows power and authority, suggesting to the people reading it that they must follow the rules. Underneath the logo are all of the exam boards, which also assert authority, as it reminds the students that their exam boards also expect them to follow  the rules. Underneath the exam boards is a message saying 'Warning to Candidates', which suggests that the topic of the notice is serious and reminds the readers to pay attention.

Throughout the notice many modal verbs are used such as 'must and must not', which makes the  message that they are getting across clear and precise, and also shows the power that the JCQ have as they are giving orders. These modal verbs are also in BOLD, which reinforces their message.

Near the bottom of the notice are repeated pictures of phones and bags with crosses over them, which are a visual aid to reinforce the message that students must not take their bags and phones into the exam. Throughout the text lots of information is repeated in order to reinforce the messages and make sure that the students definitely know the rules.

Lastly, the layout of the text also reinforces the formality of the text. For example, the information is bullet-pointed and organised into sub-sections, which suggests that they are trying to convey the information as best as they can rather than hide it.

Tesco Coupon Analysis

Above is the back of a Tesco Clubcard coupon, which displays the terms and conditions for users when using a Tesco Clubcard. The purpose of the text is to prevent liability and protect Tesco from customer complaints etc. In the text is lots of legal jargon, meaning that all the information on the coupon is clear and unambiguous in order to avoid any confusion with customers.

At the top of the coupon you can see the Tesco logo repeated three times. By putting their well-known logo at the top of the coupon Tesco is showing their authority and by repeating the logo they make it clear that it is a Tesco coupon, as it is one of the first things people see when they look at it. The coupon also uses a lot of modal verbs, such as 'are, shall and will not'. These modal verbs make the text assertive and factual, so that the customer knows exactly what they can and can't do with the coupons. There are also orders in the text such as 'Hand this coupon', and 'See online', which are very precise and make sure that the reader knows exactly what to do. There are also words representing exclusion and restraint in the text, such as 'only', which shows Tesco's power and authority over the customers.

Lastly, the presentation of the text also contributes to how the coupon is read. For example, the information in the text is bullet-pointed but in a paragraph, which means that it takes up less space, and so Tesco have protected themselves from customer complaints without having to spend lots of money on printing. But presenting the information in this way also means that people are less likely to read it because information displayed in this way seems like a lot more to read than if it was set out in a normal bullet-pointed list.

Passport Leaflet Analysis

Above is a copy of the leaflet that in the past was posted to people along with their new passports. The leaflet informs the reader about things they need to know before they go on holiday and particularly focuses on travel insurance and how important it is to make sure the travel insurance policies provide certain things (such as medical bills, bringing bodies home in the event of a death and bringing family home in the case of an illness/injury).

In the leaflet, many language levels and graphology features are used to enforce the idea that the leaflet is important, official, and that the office that made it have power. 

Firstly, on the front page of the leaflet (the middle section of the photo above), a large, zoomed-in photo of a passport is displayed to highlight what the text is about. And there is also a bold title ('CHECKLIST FOR TRAVELLERS') which is in capitals and in a different font to the rest of the text on that page. This draws the readers attention to the front cover and makes them read the title so they know exactly what the leaflet is about and that it is trying to help the reader. On the front cover there is also a logo for the 'Foreign & Commonwealth Office' which is the office that sent and produced the the leaflet. The font used for this logo inserts the idea of the authority and that the office is official. The logo itself includes a lion, unicorn and a crown, which enforces the idea that it is British and that they are powerful. This logo is also repeated on the back cover of the leaflet (the left section of the leaflet), which enforced even further that they are powerful and can assert authority. The repetition of the logo also reminds the reader of the formality and important of the text.

Next, on the right hand section of the leaflet, there is a 'checklist for travellers', with a sub-heading of 'KNOW BEFORE YOU GO'. This phrase rhymes and so is easy to remember and light-hearted, which makes the the text a bit more personal. Underneath the sub-heading is a bullet-pointed list. Listing the information in bullet-points breaks the text down and makes it easier for the reader to read as it looks like less writing than if the text was written in one big bulky paragraph. The beginning of every point in the list starts with either 'check, get, or tell', which are all imperative verbs which means that they give orders, these make the reader realise the importance of the orders and information that are given. In one of the points, there is a website address which included '.gov.uk'. This implies that the website given is government run, official and trustworthy, which makes the reader think that they should follow the information given by the website and leaflet. 

Finally, on the back page of the leaflet (the left side of the photo above), there is an advertisement advertising travel insurance from Halifax.This is a carefully placed advertisement because the leaflet focuses a lot on travel insurance, and then features an advertisement guiding you in the direction to get travel insurance, making it easier  for the reader and more likely that the reader will get travel insurance. On the advert is the question 'Want to save money on your travel insurance?' which implies that Halifax assumes that the reader is going to get travel insurance anyway, so they will help them get it for a cheaper amount. Also, having a Halifax advertisement on the leaflet suggests to the reader that the government approve of the company and it seems like they are almost recommending Halifax (even though in reality Halifax's advert probably got picked over other company's adverts because Halifax offered to pay the government the most money).

Should you change your accent?

Many people have the belief that if you have an accent then you should never change it as it is a true symbolism of who you are. But I disagree completely and believe that changing your accent isn't a bad thing at all. In fact, I think that the changing and merging of different accents in one person reflects their true personality more so than if they only had one accent all of the time. The changing of voice quality, pitch, tone and other things that make up an accent tend to tell stories of where a person has lived, what type of people they spend the most time with and who they have become. In short, accents that have been changed and merged together can tell you an awful lot about someone.

Another thing that an accent can do is change the way people perceive you, and by changing your accent even very slightly you can make one stranger have a completely different perception of you compared to how your friends see you. Being able to change your accent can be a great help in many ways as it allows you to fit into any situation. For example, at job interviews many people adopt a higher prestige, meaning that they change their accent so it sounds 'posher' than usual. This shows that changing your accent can be beneficial because by dong so many people have managed to gain jobs that they may not have been able to get if they had used their usual, regional accents. Another way that people have been aided by their abilities to change their accents is when people are with their friends and close family members. When in this situation, many people use a lower prestige by adjusting their accents to meet the accents of the peers, which allows them to fit into that situation. An example of people changing their accents (either in a higher prestige or a lower prestige) can be seen in Labov's 'New York Department Store' study done in 1966. In the study Labov went to department stores around New York and observed people's accents whilst they were in the stores. He concluded from his investigation that people tended to change their accents to a higher prestige when they were in more prestigious stores. This supports the opinion that people should be able to change their accents because it shows that our ability to do so helps people become more confident and go to places where usually their regional accents would be frowned upon.

Lastly, another reason that I disagree with the statement that 'You should never change your accent', is because it can show admiration. For example, in Labov's 'Martha's Vineyard' study done in 1961, Labov discovered that young people were changing their language and accents so that they were similar to the fishermen on the island, because they admired the fishermen and wanted to dissociate themselves with the tourists (who they didn't like). This study suggests that some accent changes can show love and admiration towards a certain person or group of people. Other cases that this can be seen in is young children or teenagers looking up to parents, teachers and celebrities etc, and changing their accents and idiolects to match the people they admire.

My Idiolect

My idiolect is made up of many different communities of practice, such as my Family, College, Job, Dance School and the Media. All of these communities of practice change the way I speak and the types of words I use depending on the situation I am in and the type of people I am interacting with.

The first community of practice that I am part of is my family. Within my family I have discovered that my accent changes depending on which family members I’m around. For example when I’m around my family members from Norfolk my accent becomes predominantly more Norfolk as I feel completely relaxed around them to not have to adjust my accent to sound more formal etc. But I have also noticed that when I’m with my family that come from Scotland, I tend to pick up on certain words/phrases that they say such as they say ‘uhhuh’ instead of ‘yes’. I also noticed that I pick up on their accents slightly as well. I think this is because I don’t see them very often and because their accents are so strong and different to mine that it means I pick up on it more easily. There are also certain words which I only use within my family and tend to change when I’m talking to anyone else because if not they wouldn’t understand what I was saying. For example in my family we call a ‘dummy’ a ‘gubby’, but around my friends I would use the word ‘dummy’ as they probably wouldn’t understand what a ‘gubby’ was. There are also names that I call my family members which I only call them when I’m with them because other people wouldn’t understand the reference. For example, I call my stepdad ‘Uncle Budge’ when I’m around him because that’s what I’ve always called him before he became my stepdad, but I have to call him ‘stepdad’ when talking to other people because if not people may think he is my Uncle. Another example of this is that fact that a nickname for my youngest sister is ‘Moo’ because ever since a young age we’ve called her ‘Maisie Moo’. But around other people I have to call her ‘Maisie’ so they know who I’m talking about.

Another community of practice that I am part of is my college. At college I have noticed that when I am speaking to my teachers I speak more formally and with a higher prestige. I tend to drop my Norfolk accent slightly and think abit more about what I am going to say before I say it. I think that I do this because all throughout my life I have been taught to talk more politely and formally to teachers and other people with more authority than me, and so it has become second nature to speak this way to teachers. I have also noticed at college that around my close friends I automatically use a lower prestige and use a lot of slang such as using the word ‘like’ unnecessarily and using words such as ‘cos’ etc. I think I do this with my friends because I feel relaxed and comfortable around them so I feel no need to not talk how my true self would naturally.

The next community of practice that I am part of is my dance school. My language tends to change at my dance school purely because many words used in dancing terminology mean a different thing to what they mean in the ‘real’ world. For example the words ‘turnout’ and ‘pointe’, although they may be spelt differently in dance terms, probably the saying of the word means something completely different outside of dancing. There are also many terms used on stage that I learnt whilst being in a Pantomime which also mean something different to what they do outside of performing arts. For example the word ‘flat’ in the ‘real’ world refers to the surface of something or a place to live, but in the performing arts world it is a part of the set/scenery. Whilst doing the Pantomime I also noticed that because all of the cast and crew spend so much time in close proximity with each other, they tend to pick up vocabulary off of each other.  For example I have noticed that I have picked up the phrases ‘not a chance’ and ‘absolutely’ from people I did the Pantomime with.

Another thing that influences my idiolect is the media. For example when I was younger I used to watch a lot of American television on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, which I realised led to me saying American phrases or pronouncing certain words in an American way. For example I used to pronounce the word ‘mall’ as ‘mɔ:ll’ (the American pronunciation), rather than ‘məll’ (the British pronunciation). I have also noticed that because I now watch a lot of youtubers online, I have started to pick up some of the things that they say as well. I think that this happens because we are watching people that we tend to look up to or admire, and so we subconsciously pick up on things that they say and start to say them ourselves.

The last community of practice is a workplace. I have not personally experienced working in a workplace where I would meet new people and customers etc, but my mum told me about her job. When my mum worked in a bank she noticed that she talked to customers in different way depending on where she was working. For example when she was working in a branch in Gorleston she would find herself talking with a lower prestige because the types of customers she would have to talk to would be older and less qualified. Whereas when she was working in a Norwich branch she would get more business customers and so she would find herself talking with a higher prestige to them. I think that she did this because, like I mentioned earlier, we are taught all our life to talk more

formally to people who seem to have a lot of authority, and so when customers are wearing suits etc, they seem to have authority and so we use a higher prestige when talking to them.