Language and Taboo
swearing_and_taboo_textbook.pdf | |
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Censorship and Taboo
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There has been ongoing controversy over the use of the n-word in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. So much so, that one publisher has decided to change the word to say "slave." Many consider this censorship while others consider it an appropriate option for those who do not wish to use that word. What do you think? Are we giving power to a word or does it deserve the sensitivity?
Questions to consider: Critical Response
Read: BBC "Furor over 'censored' edition of Huckleberry Finn" Read: CNN "Cutting N-Word from Twain is not censorship" Read: Journal Article "Who can say 'nigger' and other considerations" by Randall L. Kennedy
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Euphemisms
Definition: using a favorable or at least neutral term because the usual term is considered offensive or denigrating.
Definition: using a favorable or at least neutral term because the usual term is considered offensive or denigrating.
Absent students:
Check out the board below for details on our class activity from 18 Sept.
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Euphemisms in Popular Music: Use the questions below to guide your song analysis.
Message:
1. What is the overall message of the song?
2. To what extent do the euphemisms help to communicate the message? Concentrate on 1-2 euphemisms in the song.
3. Do the euphemisms objectify a certain group of people? If so, how?
Target Market:
4. Does the artist’s image (how they he/she portrays him/herself) affect how you feel about the song? Would you feel the same way about the song if it
was sung by someone of a different age, race, or gender?
5. How might someone of a different demographic (someone of a different gender, age, socio-economic status, race) hear the song differently?
Culture:
6. Why can this song be accepted in popular culture?
7. Is it appropriate for young kids to know the lyrics? (opinion)
8. Does the meaning change if it were played in [insert country where English is not first language]?
Message:
1. What is the overall message of the song?
2. To what extent do the euphemisms help to communicate the message? Concentrate on 1-2 euphemisms in the song.
3. Do the euphemisms objectify a certain group of people? If so, how?
Target Market:
4. Does the artist’s image (how they he/she portrays him/herself) affect how you feel about the song? Would you feel the same way about the song if it
was sung by someone of a different age, race, or gender?
5. How might someone of a different demographic (someone of a different gender, age, socio-economic status, race) hear the song differently?
Culture:
6. Why can this song be accepted in popular culture?
7. Is it appropriate for young kids to know the lyrics? (opinion)
8. Does the meaning change if it were played in [insert country where English is not first language]?
change_to_euphemisms_activity.docx | |
File Size: | 65 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Political Correctness: To what extent does politically correct language reflect a society's values?
Political Correctness: the avoidance of terms that denigrate disadvantaged groups; but the term is not usually neutral.
“The movement for politically correct language began with gender, and that remains the most important area, for two reasons. For most people, sexual politics is more important than racial politics. It is possible (depending of course on where one lives and who one mixes with) to avoid much contact with people of another race; but it is obviously impossible not to encounter the other sex. And as well as this, gender, as we shall now see, lies at the heart of language. English has freed itself fom the gender distinctions that other European languages have retained: in French the sun is masculine and the mood feminine, in German it’s the other way round. We don’t need to worry our heads about such differences: for us sun and moon are both it. But though we may have shed grammatical gender, we still have plenty of other ways in which gender impinges on language.” Lerner Laurence, You can't say that! English Usage Today, Cambridge, 2007, pp 172 |
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Snickers
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Doritos
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Anderson Cooper: Dyngus Day and Pussy Willow Branches
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O Canada!
Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. |
Questions to consider:
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Satire: The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, often with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations or society into improvement.
Politically Correct Fairy Tales
Click HERE to read a brief article from UK's online newspaper The Daily Mail called "Politically Correct Parents Ditch 'Offensive' Traditional Fairy Tales."
politically_correct_fairytale_-_red_riding_hood.pdf | |
File Size: | 63 kb |
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