Name:
11 TOK
Language Essay
Word Count: 115
Essay question: Words are more deceitful and powerful than we think
Intro
-Different ways to
use language
-Euphemism
-Effect on language
towards people
-Verbal abuse can be
as bad as any other abuse
SP1
-Certain ways of
saying things can make a difference:
-How you talk to
someone with higher authority and to your friends
-Words can make a
situation better or worse during arguments
Evidence
-Jay Z talked
differently when Oprah interviewed him than when he got interviewed
by casual TV host, like Jonathan Ross.
-It’s like saying
the glass is half empty and half full
CC1
-Words might change
how people see the situation but doesn’t actually change the
situation
Response
It’s more about
words affecting how people see the situation rather than how it
changes the situation.
SP2
-Some people accept
politically correct language because it sounds more respectable
Evidence
-African Americans
are very sensitive towards the word black; they prefer to be called
African American
-Nowadays instead of
saying stupid, school uses the word developing or minimally
exceptional
CC2
-People are
sometimes are deceiving themselves with PC language, thinking that
just because they changed the word, it makes the situation better
(George Carlin)
Response
Words that are
considered offensive started off as a descriptive word, but it has
been used over and over again in a negative context.
SP3
-Media plays a big
role in how people see different languages
Evidence
-Britain’s poster
on war advertisement
CC3
-People are more
aware of propaganda, songs are written to rebel against it
Response
-No matter how aware
people are with propaganda, the majority still falls for it
SP4
-Verbal abuse is as
powerful as physical abuse nowadays, especially with teenagers
Evidence
-Teenagers are
committing suicide because of cyber bullies
CC4
-People believe that
traumatic physical experiences can cause more disorder
Response
Both types of
abusing can be bad, but since now social networks are developing,
it’s easier to verbally abuse someone, especially when you’re
online, you can’t see the other’s person facial reaction, so they
tend to say meaner things than they would say in front their face
Conclusion
-Words holds more
power than people think
-It can be
empowering or letting people down
Draft
They
say sticks and stones won’t break my bone but words will never
bring me down. Could they possibly be underestimating the power a
word or language holds? We should be aware that the language we use
matters. That’s why we address things differently to different
people and different situation. There are different factors in which
language played a big role in. Those factors are euphemism,
propaganda, and verbal abuse.
The
line between talking to someone with higher authority or power and
someone among us is very clear. When you’re talking to someone with
higher authority, obviously you use formal languages, like when I’m
writing this essay and comparing it to the texts that I’ve sent to
my friends. It doesn’t matter who it is, this rule applies to
everyone, even one of the biggest rap star, Jay Z showed his respect
more to Oprah, but when to comes to his casual interviews, he let
himself loose and show more of his personality through his language.
He used all sorts of curse words and it’s fine, because he’s not
trying to present himself in a way that he would with people above
him. Also during arguments, language can decide whether the situation
is going to get better or worse. Everyone can tell that arguments
with a lot of yelling and hurtful words wouldn’t end pretty, but
arguments that are calmly talked about could end up solving the
problem. It’s like saying the glass is half empty and the glass is
half full. It might not change the fact that it’s half the amount,
but it changes how people look at it and how people take it. There’s
a difference between changing the situation and how people see the
situation and sometimes they just get mixed up, thinking that how
people say it can actually change the situation. It’s more about
words affecting how people see the situation rather than how it
changes the situation. Although from this you can see how much power
words contain.
Some
people accept politically correct language because it sounds more
respectable. Because words that are originally not offensive have
been used in too many offensive context that people started to look
at the word as an offensive word, even though they are normally a
description word like ugly or fat. Also wording plays a big role on
racism. African Americans are very sensitive towards the word black;
they prefer to be called African Americans. Why isn’t black
acceptable? It is after all the color of their skin and people’s
races have been classified as the skin tone they have, like Asians
are considered yellow and Caucasians are considered white. It didn’t
start off as something to offend a certain race. Now looking at it in
a real world situation. Nowadays instead of saying stupid, school
uses the word developing or minimally exceptional. What’s the
difference does it make? The students will still have the same brain
capability as they have now, but somehow with the word ‘developing’,
it seems like the students in a way got smarter. Sometimes people
take the PC language a little bit too far, especially in the
government who turned simple basic words into a wordy vague sentence.
Personally, I think PC language is turning into something people use
to deceive themselves. Though politically correct language may be
notorious, it started off with good intentions. It gives more
sensitivity towards the others, but again if the PC language is going
used in a negative context, years from now it’s going to be
considered an offensive word, and there’s going to be another PC
word and it’s just going to be another cycle.
Media plays a very
big role in the way people look at different language. It seems like
there’s always this stereotype for different types of language;
when there’s a bunch of spoiled girls, they normally talk with the
valley girl accent and whenever we hear someone on TV speaking in a
New Jersey accent, we automatically link them to Jersey Shore and
shallow orange people. It just shows how much control media have on
our minds. Not only they planted stereotypes in our head, they also
changed the way we see things using language as the weapon. Looking
back in the past, Britain made a poster to advertise war by using a
role model to point and tell them that they he wanted them. Through
this poster, everyone felt like they are chosen and the fact that the
poster says “I want you” gave them a sense of pride to take
responsibility towards their country. On the other hand people have
started to identify propaganda and go against it. One example is a
song sung by Green Day called American Idiot. It’s about how
American society is going down the drain because of the media and
propaganda that controls how we think. Though no matter how aware
people are towards propaganda, the majority of people still fall for
it. Even without our realization, media always have ways to get into
our heads, no matter if it’s through advertisement, TV shows, or
movies.
Another thing that
teenagers are going through lately is verbal abuse, especially cyber
bully. It has become more popular than physical abuse, which kids
back in the days experienced more. For example, there are a lot of
kids committing suicide because they were being bullied. This has
become a very serious issue and one movie called ‘Cyber Bully’ is
made to raise awareness. The movie is based on a real event. It’s
about a girl who was cyber bullied to the point where she committed
suicide, but fortunately she was saved and from then on she fought
hard to battle cyber bully. Even though verbal abuse has grown into a
huge issue, people believe that physical abuse can cause more
traumatic disorder, but personally I think both types of abusing can
be bad, but since now social networks are developing, it’s easier
to verbally abuse someone, especially when you’re online, you can’t
see the other’s person facial reaction, so they tend to say meaner
things compare to what they would actually say in front the other
person’s face.
I think people
underestimate how much power a word can hold. All of my statements
above are just some of the examples of different languages used in
different situations and how they could either be empowering or used
as a weapon against the others. This is why words are more deceitful
and powerful than we think.