What is Language? [lose the question, especially if you're just going to answer it after the asking--it's redundant and doesn't advance your argument any] Webster’s Dictionary defines language as a way that humans use voice sounds and also written symbols that represent these sounds. These sounds are in organized combinations and patterns to express and communicate thoughts and feelings. I define language as the means that [by which, not that] I can communicate with any other person; [replace the semicolon with a comma] whether it is by writing, talking, or physical means. Although language is a very good thing, unfortunately, it can be a very bad thing. People criticize other people and their language because of their style of language and their society, and that can hurt those people. [clarify your thesis--do you intend to spend the entire paper on proving that language is hurtful? what in particular do you want to prove here using the following associated ideas to support it?]
The history of our language begins sometime after 600 AD. The language before that is pre-history; in other words, we don’t [lose the contraction] know exactly what happened. [with the English language, you mean? make that distinction] Language has been around for a very long time and through the years there has [subject/verb disagreement--'times/has,' should be 'times/have'] been plenty of tough times for a lot of people. Language is definitely not the same today as it was in 600 AD. [develop this idea--you're arguing that language changes out of adversity--interesting point, but I need a deeper analysis of it] The language has changed because society has changed.
Language change attracts more public notice and criticism than any other linguistic problem. Our language has gotten older and wiser through the years and some people think that is a bad thing, especially the older generation [they think an older and wiser language is a bad idea? how so?]. They think it is bad because our language has become more casual over the years. [these are the prescriptivists you're talking about here--tell me a little about that philosophy] That generation can blame the schools or public broadcasting institutions, but it isn’t [lose the contraction] going to change anything [why not?]. The older generation should not be upset because when they were the young generation their older generation was probably saying the same thing that they are today. [so it's a chronic issue? how is that important to the thesis?]
The society of this country is changing towards the casual side. Today many lawyers (except when in court), architects, engineers, and other various business people are wearing casual clothes to the office [so dress affects language? or language affects dress? clarify--without getting into a chicken and egg debate]. Times have changed and our language has come along for the ride. There are indeed cases where linguistic change can lead to problems of unintelligibility, ambiguity, and social division. If change is to rapid, there can be major communication problems, as in contemporary Pap[u]a New Guinea[what about contemporary Papua New Guinea? give me an example of what you mean?]-a point which needs to be considered in connection with the field of language planning (Crystal 104-105). [how so? are you suggesting that language, which you already argued was in a constant state of flux, can be planned? resolve this paradox for me]
Another problem in our American society is Black English [define what you mean by 'problem']. The problem is that they don’t [lose the contraction] talk the same as we [you've just used two different kinds of modifiers here, one an exclusive modifier (they), the other an inclusive modifier (we)--what did you mean by that? Aren't blacks as much a part of "us" as are other whites? draw the distinction here--it's a cultural one] do. So what.[is this a question?] Who actually does talk like we do? [reword the question into a statement] All cultures have different languages. Whoever lives in the United States has the right to speak whatever language they feel most comfortable with. If that means that the majority of the population can’t [lose the contraction] understand them, then that is their own problem [whose? the majority who cannot understand them, or the blacks?]. [bring closure, how does this idea support your thesis? what exactly did you gain in this paragraph, anyway? In what way is black English different from white English? Are there as many different black dialects as there are white dialects? develop all that in this paragraph before moving on]
The African[insert a hyphen] Americans that [who, not that] live in the United States speak Black English, which is a combination of Standard English and African dialect [is that what Seymour says? quote her]. Most people think that Black English is a lazy way of speaking Standard English[where do you fit in here?]. Some African[insert a hyphen] Americans do grow and mature [here's another semantic slip--what do you mean by 'mature out of'? does that mean that intrinsically, black English is inferior to white English? a sort of child's language?--clarify--what does Seymour say on this?] out of that stage and speak Standard English, especially if they are supposed to be professional. All professional African [insert a hyphen] Americans that[whom, not that] I have met speak Standard English with a few exceptions [exceptions in their speech, or exceptions in professionals who speak non-standard?]. All unprofessional African Americans that work at a fast food restaurant or grocery store that I have met speak Black English. [clarify--you're trying to say that if a black man wants to get ahead in this world, he must master Standard English or be doomed to minimum wage labor--is that necessarily true? there are plenty of white Americans for whom this isn't true--why should it be true for blacks?]
Unfortunately, our language can hurt people and their society. Gloria Naylor remembers a time when a third-grade classmate called her "nigger." [is that 'our' language that hurt her, or the connotations we attach to hurtful words? why does the word 'nigger' not have hurtful connotations when used between two black people?] Naylor concludes that "words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power" [what's she mean by that?] (Naylor 304). Gloria [Naylor, not Gloria] was to[o] young to understand what "nigger" meant, but when she went home she asked her mother what it meant. Her mother decided that since they lived in America that she should tell her daughter what it meant. Since Gloria was to[o] young to understand it probably didn’t [lose the contraction] hurt her feelings as much as it did her mom’s feelings. "Nigger" is only one word of many in our language that could hurt someone. [lame closure--lose the sentence--why is connotation important to the thesis? what does this semantics have to do with your main point?]
People criticize other people and their language because of their style of language and their society, and that can hurt those people. Every generation uses a different age of language. I am a young generation[you alone, eh?], so I use the current language [contemporary dialect, you mean]. My grandfather is from a different generation and he uses that age of language[does that mean that you and he cannot communicate? or did his language evolve along the changing values in society? clarify]. Language is like a person, it grows and changes over time, but language is also a weapon, it can hurt people in many ways. [don't repeat your thesis--tell me why it is important at all]
What Is Language Essay
Annotated Bibliography
Thesis Statement: People criticize other people and their language because of their style of language and their society, and that can hurt those people.
Crystal, David. "The Prescriptive Tradition." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz [include the other editors in these four citations]. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994:101-106.
I feel that this annotation [source, you mean, the annotation is the thing you're writing here--fix that wording on all four of these annotations] is important to my thesis because [I don't think this is a 'because' sort of transition] David Crystal describes how language changes along with society.
Naylor, Gloria. "The Meaning of a Word." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994:305-307.
I feel that this annotation is important to my thesis because Gloria Naylor describes how one single word hurt her feelings when she was a little girl.
Roberts, Paul. "A Brief History of English." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 89-98.
I feel that this annotation is important to my thesis because Paul Roberts explains the history of our language and I included that into this paper [it's not enough to say you included it--you have to tell me why it was important to include it].
Seymour, Dorothy Z. "Black Children, Black Speech." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994:122-128.
I feel that this annotation is important to my thesis because Dorothy Seymour describes the difference between Black English and Standard English [and?].
REVISION: [Not Micro-Edited] Final Grade: B+
WHAT IS LANGUAGE ESSAY
Webster’s Dictionary defines language as a way that humans use voice sounds and also written symbols that represent these sounds. These sounds are in organized combinations and patterns to express and communicate thoughts and feelings. I define language as the means by which I can communicate with any other person, whether it is by writing, talking, or physical means. Although language is a very good thing, unfortunately, it can be a very bad thing. People criticize other people and their language because of their style of language and their society, and that can hurt those people.
The history of our language begins sometime after 600 AD. The language before that is pre-history; in other words, we do not know exactly what happened before 600 AD. Language has been around for a very long time and through the years there have been plenty of tough times for a lot of people. Language is definitely not the same today as it was in 600 AD. The language in 600 AD was probably like the society of 600 AD. The society of 600 AD was probably not very slang and casual like the language of today is. The language of 600 AD was probably very precise and professional. The language has changed because society has changed.
Language change attracts more public notice and criticism than any other linguistic problem. Our language has gotten older and wiser through the years and some people think that is a bad thing, especially the older generation. They think it is bad because our language has become more casual over the years. That generation can blame the schools or public broadcasting institutions, but that will not change anything. It will not change anything because it is impossible to change the society. Language changes with society, so in order to change language you would have to change society. It is probably impossible to change society. Society has to change on its own. The older generation should not be upset because when they were the young generation their older generation was probably saying the same thing that they are today.
The society of this country is changing towards the casual side. Today many lawyers (except when in court), architects, engineers, and other various business people are wearing casual clothes to the office. Dress does affect language. If you dress professionally then you would talk professional. If you dress very casual then you would speak very casual. Times have changed and our language has come along for the ride. There are indeed cases where linguistic change can lead to problems of unintelligibility, ambiguity, and social division. If change is to rapid, there can be major communication problems, as in contemporary Papua New Guinea-a point which needs to be considered in connection with the field of language planning (Crystal 104-105).
Another problem in our American society is Black English. The problem is that Blacks do not talk the same as Whites do. So what? Who actually does talk like we do? All cultures have different languages. Whoever lives in the United States has the right to speak whatever language they feel most comfortable with. If that means that the majority of the population cannot understand them, then that is the majority’s problem.
The African-Americans who live in the United States speak Black English, which is a combination of Standard English and African dialect. Most people think that Black English is a lazy way of speaking Standard English. Some African-Americans do grow and mature out of that stage and speak Standard English, especially if they are supposed to be professional. All professional African-Americans whom I have met speak Standard English with a few exceptions of professional African-Americans that do not speak Standard English. All unprofessional African-Americans that work at a fast food restaurant or grocery store that I have met speak Black English.
Unfortunately, our language can hurt people and their society. Gloria Naylor remembers a time when a third-grade classmate called her "nigger." Naylor concludes that "words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power" (Naylor 304). Gloria was too young to understand what "nigger" meant, but when she went home she asked her mother what it meant. Her mother decided that since they lived in America that she should tell her daughter what it meant. Since Gloria was too young to understand it probably did not hurt her feelings as much as it did her mom’s feelings. "Nigger" is only one word of many in our language that could hurt someone.
People criticize other people and their language because of their style of language and their society, and that can hurt those people. Every generation uses a different age of language. I am in a young generation, so I use the current language. My grandfather is from a different generation and he uses that age of language. Language is like a person, it grows and changes over time, but language is also a weapon, it can hurt people in many ways.
What Is Language Essay
Annotated Bibliography
Thesis Statement: People criticize other people and their language because of their style of language and their society, and that can hurt those people.
Crystal, David. "The Prescriptive Tradition." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994:101-106.
I feel that this source is important to my thesis because David Crystal describes how language changes along with society.
Naylor, Gloria. "The Meaning of a Word." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz.New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994:305-307.
I feel that this source is important to my thesis because Gloria Naylor describes how one single word hurt her feelings when she was a little girl.
Roberts, Paul. "A Brief History of English." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994: 89-98.
I feel that this source is important to my thesis because Paul Roberts explains the history of our language and I included that into this paper.
Seymour, Dorothy Z. "Black Children, Black Speech." Language Awareness. Ed. by Paul Eschholz. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994:122-128.
I feel that this source is important to my thesis because Dorothy Seymour describes the difference between Black English and Standard English.