Stereotyping

Advertisements tend to appear everywhere nowadays. You could spot an ad while driving down the road, waiting in line at a grocery store, or watching a video on youtube. Although these adverts may vary in promoted products, they are all produced for the same reason: to persuade the target audience. Yet, considering the relevance of these ads in our daily lives, we are subconsciously forced to absorb the ideals promoted in advertisements. For example, the majority of beauty advertisements tend to promote airbrushed models usually of caucasian ethnicity, leaving little possibilities for models of different races. When an African-american model were to appear in an advert, the ratio of white models to black models tends to be very high. These models are usually referred to as "exotic", insinuating that their race   is unusual. What does this promote to the audience? The preference of one race to another? How unfair would this be from the point of view of an African-american? Although this may not have been the intention of the advertisers, I believe they should have the moral duty to avoid stereotyping people, which could cause further racial issues. Since the media have the power to persuade us, they should also have the power to promote realistic and fair ideals. 

Print Ad Analysis: "Never Follow" by Hour Choice

Hour Choice chooses to communicate freedom of expression and choice in their ad. The product being promoted, a watch, is therefore meant to communicate this concept, making the audience affiliate this concept with the product. Judging by the young woman chosen to promote this product, the targeted audience should be similar in age, hobbies, and have similar beliefs or values. The line “Never follow”   is purposely situated at the same viewpoint as this young woman's face to identify with the reader’s personality and their potential willpower to go against conformity to society’s restrictions. Since all the text (except the logo and the terms and conditions) is technically only two words, these two words should have an impact on the reader and be easy enough to remember the overall message behind the ad. “Never follow” is meant to appeal to a progressive audience. The name of the brand "Hour Choice" can also be considered a pun for "Our choice" which would further substantiate this progressive and free ideology. 

Judging by the woman's appearance, the targeted young women would be of a Western cultural point of view, and would most likely feel strongly about their freedom of choice. While the woman in the ad is wearing a conservative white wedding dress, this is contradicted in the choice of converse sneakers and a pink watch as a jewellery. A more conservative audience would opt for more elegant shoes and jewellery yet the woman in this ad chooses converse sneakers and a pink watch as a symbol of freedom and choice. This should appeal to the Ethos of the targeted audience, by empowering these young women. As a result, men are ignored to communicate this concept and empower women in a way that may not have been culturally acceptable in previous decades. The focus of the advertisement is centred around women perhaps as a contribution to feminism, a movement that people are becoming more socially aware of. Consequently, the bandwagon appeal is communicated to the targeted audience to affiliate these concepts with the product, insinuating that without an Hour Choice watch, you do not support freedom of choice. 

The Pitch Reflection

To begin our new unit in Language and Literature class, we were prompted to present a Pitch intended to advertise and persuade our audience to choose our advertising methods to promote their product. 

Sheherazade and I were given the product "the Casio Keytar, 80s UK", allowing us to narrow down a very specific audience and to understand the overall context needed to present our product. Our targeted audience was therefore interested in 80s British pop music and all the trends and stereotypes that come along with that. This pop music was targeted towards a younger audience, which fits nicely with the audience of the product. We then needed to convince Casio to accept our advertising method. 

The Casio keytar is a product that we knew would immediately spark laughter throughout the audience due to the silliness of it. We decided to use this to our advantage by choosing humour to be the main appeal throughout the pitch. As a result, we chose to act very enthusiastic about the product, including many jokes and slang throughout the presentation. There was also 80s pop music played in the background to complement the nature of the Casio keytar and attract our targeted audience. The concept of bandwagon was also clearly evident throughout our presentation as this appeal proves to be very effective among young adults trying to fit in. Rational was the final main appeal we chose to use as this promotes the product as a beneficial, advantageous product. 

The fifteen basic appeals were also considered while preparing for this presentation as they were essential persuasive techniques for our presentation. Testimonials from normal people and celebrities were included throughout the presentation to increase interest from the audience, such as "Pop stars from all over the world send us their reviews and appreciations, congratulating us for our professional and admired engineering." The concept of the key tar being brand-new was also encouraged in our promoting presentation as this attracts the target audience to take part in the bandwagon appeal. The key tar is affiliated to British 80s pop (including the Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, etc) an interest that the target audience will most likely respond well to. Rhetorical questions like "Are you tired of being called a lame hoser and a music loob?" or "You want to impress your posse?", were also frequently used as this technique tends to make the audience feel as bad if they do not buy the product. 

A variety of images showcasing the brightly coloured keytars were chosen to attract the viewer to the product in a positive way. The audience should see the keytar as a enjoyable product, associating it with happy times. There were also some images of 80s UK pop bands that the audience should associate with the keytar. A short clip of Annie Lenox saying things like "brilliant product" or "I enjoy this" was also included for this reason. These bands are also intended for the music taste of this young audience, which incorporates an element of celebrity into the presentation. 

I feel as though the overall presentation effectively promoted our product in a positive humorous way. The use of relevant music in the background of our presentation allowed our audience to remain engaged throughout the length of our presentation as the song changed each slide and the audience anticipated the next catchy song. Humour was also another important element of our presentation as it allowed us to connect with the audience. The preparation needed to present this advertising pitch was minimal, yet the overall outcome of our presentation seem to be very effective to promote our product. I feel very confident that I have an overall understanding in the basic outline of an FOA. 

Fiji Water Commercial

Fiji Water has released a group of short commercials set to persuade. As soon as a commercial begins, a child's voice claims "nature has created the best water in history". This narration is also accompanied by classical music and incredibly beautiful scenic clips of natural landscapes. Immediately, an ideology is enforced by Fiji water onto its viewer, an ideology insinuating that their water holds the purest status. Their target audience is therefore assumed to care about the health impact of the purity of their water, perhaps targeting their pathos. The use of a young narrator, classical music as well as beautiful clips of nature further enforces this concept of purity. The concise sentences used such as "Bottled at the source, untouched by man" or "Earth's finest water" are purposely succinct in order for the audience to subconsciously retain the ideals enforced in the commercial. 

Letter to Laura Clark of "Twtr? It's majorly bad!"

Ms. Clark, Although I can sympathise with some of your negative opinions about text speak and the way English is taught in the UK in your article, I feel as though you have completely ignored the positive outcomes text speak has to offer! Is text messaging really that harsh on the English language? As long as children do not learn text speak as their first dialect, the majority should be able to distinguish between educational English and the English used while texting. The focus on the minor issues of abbreviations and grammatical errors seem to be ignoring the innovative development of the English language text speak has to offer. 

Have you ever considered it to be "the latest manifestation of the human ability to be linguistically creative and to adapt language to suit the demands of diverse settings"? (D. Crystal, 2003). This necessity to "protect standards of English from the influence of text message and social media slang" (Clark, 2014), seems to come from an elitist, Standard English point of view. This developmental medium of the English language allows for quicker communication between individuals or on a wider scale, due to the swiftness technology has enable us to write with. The linguist, David Crystal, ensures that "texters seem to be aware of the high information value of consonants as opposed to vowels (...) as well as the low information value of punctuation marks"(D. Crystal, 2003), illustrating people's ability to distinguish between standard and non-standard English. This ability to communicate using different mediums (or dialects, or languages) has actually proven to be beneficial for developing young minds. 

On the flip side, your article provides a productive argument towards the manner in which the English language is taught and enforced in the UK. It seems as though poor scores on English assessments leads those students to chose other subjects when given the ability to decide at GSCE or A levels. To be honest, this lack of enforcement of the English studies may have a bigger impact on students standard English as opposed to text speak. In an ideal world, individuals should be able to effectively communicate using different mediums and dialects of language, knowing when and how to adhere to the rules of standard English. However, I do not necessarily agree with the correlation between text speak and the way English is taught in the UK. 

Memoir: Beyonce's Communication of Feminist Views

I wanted Flawless to empower all of my girls that listen to my music. I wanted my fans to be inspired to speak out towards Feminism, and to pursue their dreams. My African American background influenced me to specifically reach out to the girls within our community. As a young girl I looked up to other African American artists like Diana Ross, Tina Turner or Whitney Houston, and still to this day admire the freedom in their lyrical choices. I feel as though I've achieved that in the lyrics I've written in Flawless, using a sense of attitude to convey my feminist ideals. "Don't think I'm just his little wife", a verse from the song, addresses an issue which is something most woman have struggled with for a while. Although I don't feel the need for competition between men and women, I want women to strive to be the best they can be. My choice of including  one of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's speech was particular as it specifically communicated these ideals in an intelligent, successful way. I completely agreed with the ideas expressed in her speech, as it addresses women as a whole, regardless of race, community or culture. This concept of including all women in Feminism, rather than specific races, really touches heart with me, and I have used my AAVE in my lyrics as a mean to communicate my ideals to the best of my abilities. 

Bilingual Mind: Understanding How The Brain Speaks Two Languages: a response

Jeffrey Kluger explores scientific reasoning behind bilingualism, explaining its many benefits and few disadvantages. He focuses on the importance childhood development and education, while providing research proving its advantages later on in life. Kluger states that bilinguals "seemed to show a greater facility with skills that relied on interpreting symbolic representations, such math or music."

Code switching is explored in Kluger text's taking a different stance on its importance to the one discussed in class. Kluger believes "that this is a short-term disadvantage of bilingualism", while I believe it does not interrupt the flow of a conversation, except the interchange of languages, as it keeps the same structure of conversation. In both cases though, bilingualism is seen as an advantage as it opens up doors for more communication through different cultures. 

You Say Up, I Say Yesterday: a response

Joan O'C. Hamilton presents a rather interesting idea on how culture affects language. She explains while one language may not be descriptive, another needs to describe to be able to fully explain the event/action/person/etc. This need to describe may also affect the way different cultures perceive how things happen. A cognitive scientist, Boroditsky, believes "these influences may provide insight to a given culture's conception of time, space, colour or even justice". However, a bilingual individual would perceive the event/action/person "regardless of the conventions of verb forms used".

Hamilton's text connects to our class discussion on Bilingualism and how it relates to identity and culture. However, the opinion that one may "switch" identities while speaking different language is not shared with Hamilton. "Some of the biggest debates in the study of the mind - nature versus nurture". Boroditsky focuses on the idea that culture affects our way of describing things, similarly to concepts we have studied in class. 

Yorkshire named top twang as Brummie brogue comes bottom: a response

David Batty's approach on how accents within a language can change one's perception of a person allows for an interesting, modern point of view. His message essentially expresses how accents, particularly in England, allow someone to determine another's intelligence. In fact, "dialect and perceived intelligence found that people who said nothing at all were regarded as more intelligent than those with a Brummie accent". This whole assumption relates to the area which the accent originates from and its socioeconomic status. Wealthier individuals usually invest in higher education and those were deemed to have more "intelligent" accents. As university education becomes the norm, this assumption of accents can become distorted as those with a "Brummie accent" may in fact be subject to the same education as those with a Yorkshire accent. 

This article takes a similar approach to Bill Bryson's Good English and Bad, as it differentiates English dialects due to one's level of education. Those who have better opportunities for education are more aware of grammatical rules allowing them to adapt a "better", more proper English. On the flip side, Batty seems to believe that accents and education evolve along with the "proper" ways of speech, while Bryson's take is that "The best forms of speech will, in time, establish themselves". Interestingly, both authors take different stances at the evolution of a proper way of speaking. 

Good English and Bad: A response

Given all the anomalies in the English Language, what is the author suggesting about standards of usage? How does his discussion make you feel about your own lapses in grammar? 

In response to the questions above, Bill Bryson's main argument is the abnormalities of the English language and the ignorance of rules implicated by those of Latin. Although certain rules have kept certain from the Latin language, it is inevitable that variations surface due to the evolution of human behaviour, or technology, etc. Bryson quotes, "The best forms of speech will, in time, establish themselves". In terms of my own lapses in grammar, I feel less guilty due to the underlying reality of the English language: a lack of stultifying authority.

The Mother Tongue

Amy Tan's essay on the issues of non-native English speakers has allowed me to understand the English language from a different perspective than which I would as a native English speaker. Although there are stereotypes within Mother Tongue English dialects and accents, the stereotypes of non-native English speakers seem to usually be introduced with a negative connotation. Particularly in the essay at hand, where Amy's ethnicity affects how native English speakers view her capabilities, as well as the almost immediate assumptions native English speakers create when in conversation with a non-native English speaker. 

Midway through the text Tan explains how she realised how her ethnicity limited her in a native English-speaking culture. "I think my mother's English had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well." The unfortunate and perhaps subconscious stereotype a native English speaker may associate to a non-native English speaker, or in Tan's case, her Asian ethnicity could have evidently affected her career path. Since Asians can be associated with Mathematics, Tan was somewhat forced to follow this social "rule", therefore doing nothing to improve her English speaking skills. This evidently creates a cycle for those in similar situations, continuing the "Broken English". 

Another negative connotation Tan has proved in her essay is the assumptions made by native English speakers to those who speak "Broken English".  Tan's mother had "long realised the limitations of her English" due to her incorrect use of grammar, obvious to native English speakers. This unfortunate reality for non-native English speakers can be due to the socioeconomic or a hierarchy of assumptions made by native English speakers. Perhaps native English speakers deem certain non-native English speakers unfit for their attention, a situation proved by Tan later on during her essay where her mother was unable to receive certain information due to her inability to communicate her message or feelings to the English speaking individual, however as soon as Tan explains her mother's point in less "broken English" she is given the right to the information. Non-natives definitely have to work twice as hard to earn the same respect as a native speaker.

All in all, non-native speakers are made to cross extra steps to be able earn the same respect as a native speaker in most languages, not excluding the English language. And as a result, these different cultures can be made to follow certain stereotypes in an predominantly English-language culture in order to follow the rules of society.

A Good Name

If I were to google my first name, Gabrielle, the French origins of this name would be the first thing I see as well as the meaning it: Woman of God. Although Gabrielle is significant in  many religious contexts (ex. Christianity, Islam, Hebrew), this name was given to me without any religious implications. In fact, the reason why this name was chosen is due to my French roots, and because my Mom's favourite TV show character at the time name was Gabby. I guess the characteristics of this TV character were some she aspired for me to be. Cute, funny, intelligent... Lol. Gabrielle is also a name that is easily pronounced in both English & French, and can be considered gender fluid. 

My middle name was passed down by my great grandmother who's first name was Louise. This name is again easy to pronounce in both my mother tongue's, and sounds nice with my first and last name. Although a Francophone and Anglophone name, the origin of the name Louise is in fact Germanic, although the history has no relevance to why this name was chosen for me. 

The literal meaning of my French last name is "name for someone who lived by a road". The name Lavoie was passed down by my father which is tradition in Canada. If my parents had chosen to use my mother's last name, Ward, my full name would not have sounded as nice and fluid. 

When I was younger, I paid little attention to my name and how I identified with it. However, as a young teenager, I began to want to change my name. For a while, I went by "Gabriella Ruby Lavoie", probably as a way of trying to disconnect from my family. As I've grown older though, I have identified much more for my name due to it's connection to the French language and I feel it is quite elegant. There is in fact an alliteration in Gabrielle Louise Lavoie, with the letter "L". These names were therefore chosen specifically to create this flow. 

My first blog post!

Hey guys. It’s Gabby here and welcome to my very first blog post. I can’t wait to start exploring Language and Literature and sharing my opinions on here!

Before that begins, I think it’s important to share a little about myself too. First off, I love being around a camera. Whenever I’ve got one with me, there are at least fifty photos taken. I spend a lot of my free time watching videos and hope to begin making my own videos soon. I really care about my personal blog and blogging as well, which is why I am really excited for the future of this blog. I really hope to continue this expression of language throughout DP and potentially continue it after high school.

In terms of language, I feel like I have a unique standpoint seeing as I’ve had the opportunity to experience many different languages while travelling. Not only have I learned many words in multiple languages, listened to and watched other cultures communicate, but I’ve also noticed the many different ways people use languages in different countries. This seems important while studying language in order to understand the way something is communicated. Or perhaps how something isn’t communicated, by language barriers for example, which is something I have experience many times while living in an expat country and going to an International school. I guess it’s part of the fun of communicating.

Until next time,

Gabby