Hey, it's Sarah.
In Language in Thought and Action, Hayakawa describes an instance at a train station. It was during WWII, and being Japanese, Hayakawa was eyed a little suspiciously. He then starts a conversation with a man to feel more comfortable and to make everyone else more comfortable. He describes that language is a tool to let people know you're like them (or not like them in other cases).
I have been reading East of Eden for a few weeks. Lee, a Chinese immigrant working as a servant in late 19th century/early 20th century California, is well-versed and educated, yet he speaks in broken English to convey an image. Lee says it's an expected image; it makes people more comfortable for Lee to talk in barely understandable English because we, humans, like the familiar.
Don't words and language allow us to pretend? Lee is pretending to be an ignorant man. Also, a new "craze" has swept across the nation; white teens from middle-class and wealthy suburbs have adopted some slang that is "ghetto fabulous." Aren't they also pretending to be something they're not? Language has the capability to deceive (yes, I do realize that no one actually believes these teens are from inner-cities or in gangs). Don't we sometimes hide behind words? We let them represent us completely, not necessarily the words but the way they are said or delivered. What does everyone else believe? In a way, I sometimes just get fed up with the heavy traffic of words and the way we manipulate words to convey an image.
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One of the aspects of language that I find particularly interesting is how we can use it to recreate ourselves. I am also reading East of Eden . I always feel sorry Lee when people remark about his "pidgin," but it also angers me that he acts that way. Lee is buying into a negative stereotype that is expected of him. He may feel more comfortable in that position, but I feel that he should stand up for his people and show the Americans how truly amazing the Chinese culture is.
The teenagers imitating the slang are just like Lee. They are imitating a stereotype that is not expected of them. Those teenagers and Lee are in their own ways looking for acceptance. Lee wants to get along in society without problems. These teenagers, however, are imitating a stereotype that they admire or see as "cool."
Hey it's Erin again. I think that with all the ways of using language - with affective connotations, loaded words, inferences, and other things that I can't remember (!) - that it is easy for people to mean many different things though only saying one thing, hiding behind words in a sense. Words are in a way a disguise. You speak to avoid an awkward silence; you say things you don't mean; you tell a white lie. Think of online chatrooms. All the other people (and yourself) ever see are words - they could all be lies for all you know - and not the people. Or instant messanger. You might think it's your friend you're talking to, but for all you know it's her brother and his friend. I think that creating and protecting yourself is another function of language. Sometimes it's all just a part of building an image and oftentimes it's easy for people to do what's expected of them rather than something different.
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