Thursday, November 19, 2015

Slang in America Questions p.724

Slang in America Questions p. 724 #1-12
1) According to Whitman, slang is particularly American because the United States inherited their language from the Old World's Greek and Latin, and they have taken it and made it their own through the use of slang. Americans reshaped language by taking words that meant one thing and connotating it to mean another and for that connotation to stick throughout the new generations of Americans. I think this is still the case in 21st century America because we as a culture are still adding many more connotations to the English language and are reshaping it with each incoming generation.
2) This paragraph lays the foundation for the following ideas because it focuses on how the English language is a collection of all the things that make up a culture, from the race to the dialect. The English language tells of the passing of time and is reborn with every new term created. This opens up the discussion for looking at language as more than just a way of communication and as a living thing that beats at the heart of America.
3) Slang is considered "lawless" because it does not follow the proper rules of the English language that is taught from grammar books and English teachers. Language is spoken by those that wish to break free from those restrictions and create their own inside meanings to the world around them. Slang is also "rank" because it can mean something unpleasant within the young generation. For example, the word "side hoe" is used to describe the woman that a man uses to cheat on his girlfriend or wife. This has made things more difficult for those in relationships because this "rank" word promotes distrust among our significant others.
4) Whitman uses the metaphors "Language...like one of Shakespeare's clowns," and "Slang, too, is the wholesome fermentation or eructation of those processes eternally active in languae, by which froths and specks are thrown up, mostly to pass away; though occasionally to settle and permanently chrystallize". These metaphors are fitting ways to explain slang because slang is used by each generation to make their own inside jokes and special banter within their version of English. The second metaphor is more effective because it explains how some slang words die off in popularity or they continue to grow and are still commonly used today.
5) In paragraph 3, Whitman makes his perspective "plainer" by how older and more well  known slang words became the solid definition for common words used today. For example, he uses the word "right" to mean "literally only straight", while "wrong" is "twisted, distorted".
6) Language and mythology share the relationship of arising from the creativity of the people around them and not from the dictionaries and grammar books of the time. Mythology, like slang, is spontaneous and organic.
7) The examples that Whitman uses thoughout paragraphs 6-10 illustrate the point that language is constantly reshaped to fit the times and it it used to describe what kind of events are happening. Language is also used in an endearing way, with nicknames replacing formalities. Whitman emphasizes on how language can make a community more connected and friendlier instead of harsh and formal.
8) Whitman implies the opinion that the "American humorists" are bland with their inuse of slang. I think that this strengthens his arguement because when slang is involved in a conversation, the listener becomes more interested and excited because they immediately made a connection through the understanding of that certain word. They can also be more creative and brash with their words, and those organic stories are more compelling than the boring ramblings of an intellectual at times.
9) The tone of the essay is filled with appretiaiton and fascination at the power of language. The final paragraph contributes to this belief because Whitman uses the metaphors of how language can be seen as a never ending body, living on and on as each generation comes and goes. Throughout this essay Whitman has expressed his joy and appretiation of language through his personal connections and lively metaphors.
10) This essay reflects Whitman's appretiation for organic and simple things in life instead of the learned word. This relates to his poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer", where Whitman was being taught by a professor about the stars with numbers and division and graphs. Whitman simply went out and looked at the stars and it taught him exactly what he needed to know. This relates to his style of finding the lessons of life in the simplest things, whether it be nature or slang.
11) "An attempt of common humanity to escape from bald literalism, and express itself illimitable, which in highest walks produces poets and poems..." applies to how I need to look into the lines when I am doing a character study for drama. A character is not a two dimensional thing with words already written out for them; each character is an experience and to be able to portray their wishes and tell their story, I need to look in between the lines.
12) I support this arguement because in my generation, we use the slang word "bae" to describe someone that we have a crush on and it means "before anyone else". Many people despise this word and use it ironically, but some in this generation love it and learning about it and using it in everyday life is important to my generation because it is ours.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Mother Tongue

In Amy Tan's Mother Tongue, Tan touches upon the different kind of 'Englishes' that she learned to use throughout her life. She was made aware of these different versions of the same language when she was giving a speech to a large group of people. Tan used perfect English and realized that her mother in the audience always heard a more choppy and unnatural version of that same language when it was just the two of them alone. Tan then used examples of the English that her mother was known to speak and used this to show how even though it is the same language, there can be many variations and broken down pieces of the same words we use everyday.

Tan copies a very long quotation from her mother, which was a story about her wedding day and a gangster that showed up to show his congratulations.
"Du Yusong having business like fruit stand. Like off the street kind. He is Du like Du Zong- but not Tsung-ming Island people. The local people call putong, the river east side, he belong to that side local people. That man want to ask Du Zong father take him in like become own family. Du Zong father wasn't look down on him, but didn't take seriously, until that man big like become a mafia. Now important person, ver hard to inviting him. Chinese way, came only to show respect, don't stay for dinner. Respect for making big celebration, he shows up. Mean gives a lot of respect. Chinese custom. Chinese social life that way. If too important won't have to stay too long. He come to my wedding. I didn't see, I heard it. I gone to boy's side, they have YMCA dinner. Chinese age I was nineteen."
This quotation was used in its entirety because Tan purposely wanted to show the garbled and unique version of English that her mother speaks. If Tan had chosen to paraphrase, the point of how different her English is would have been lost. It would be like if Tan had grammatically fixed up this paragraph to not make it seem as bad. Even though her thoughts on the matter are shown through the emotion of the story, people would be less willing to be respectful towards her because of the choppy English.

Tan also struggled with having to be the speaker of the family on behalf of her mother. She would have to go on the phone pretending to be her mother to get money back or to get important medical information. Tan realized that Americans would not treat her mother with the level of respect or urgency of a native English speaker, so Tan had to be the one to earn the respect for the both of them with her correct language. This forced Tan to be fearful of being treated the same way as her mother, so when she decided to go into the writing world despite having no support from her teachers, she worked tirelessly to become witty and write profoundly in a foreign language. Instead of creating these profoundly beautiful sentences, she butchered the language by making it seem unnatural and confusing to even native speakers.

Language is an integral part of every culture. Each society demands that one must learn their home country's language or be treated like a second class citizen. There is such a fine line that needs to be walked for bilingual persons because they must always face the consequences of speaking an unnatural or incorrect version of these different languages. Tan emphasizes that societies should come to accept different versions of language and that they should interpret their thoughts in the ways they need to, because emotional responses can portray meaning just as much as garbled sentences.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Humor Helps

Humor, used in the correct way, can serve as a light way to convey heavier emotions and causes. In The "F Word", Firoozeh Dumas illustrates her experiences of having an exotic name in America with moments of dry humor. Dumas easily wove in one-liners and subtle remarks throughout her piece, and this was able to help her develop her arguement because in the situations she had to face, she had to find the humor within it all. It also shows that if humor is involved in a piece, the reader will show increased interest in the subject at hand.

The first two lines of the piece set the tone for how this story will be portrayed. "My cousin's name, Farbod, means "Greatness." When he moved to America, all the kids called him "Farthead." This simple statement right off the bat has the reader hooked immediately. The reason this plays to Dumas' advantage is because this is such a relatable situation. All the time, whether it be children or adults, exotic names are butchered and beaten in the United States, which is ironic considering the amount of immigrants that make up the population. She reiterated this type of situation using her own name as an example, by saying, "My name, Firoozeh, chosen by my mother, means "Turquoise" in Farsi. In America, it means "Unpronounceable" or "I'm Not Going to Talk to You Because I Cannot Possibly Learn Your Name and I Just Don't Want to Have to Ask You Again and Again Because You'll Think I'm Dumb or You Might Get Upset or Something." This candid portrayal of what Americans actually mean when they do not want to pronounce a foreign name correctly shows that Dumas can make light of such an ordinarily upsetting situation. By displaying the true feelings of unwilling Americans, she connects with those that deal with the struggle of having an exotic name and also humorously calls out the Americans that do this every time they see a name other than 'John Smith'.

This helped Dumas form her point in the next paragraph, which was, "All of us immigrants knew that moving to America would be fraught with challenges, but none of us thought that our names would be such an obstacle." One's name is such an intergral part of their being and their identity, even though all a name really is is just a string of syllables that pertains to one person only. To be personally victimized by mispronunciations of her given name and immediately judged by her peers, Dumas had no other choice than to adopt an American name. By switching back and forth between these names, Dumas felt that she had two separate identities before finally settling on her true name. Dumas' use of humorous language helped her to show that even though she knew that her name would be beaten and buthchered by those that only answer to 'Smith', she was able to keep things in a lighter tone and that helped her arguement overall by compelling readers to listen to an honest account of an everyday occurance.

I Believe...

        In order to make it in the theatre business and in life, one must be confident in themselves and their abilities. To me, confidence has been something unattainable. I have feared confidence because of the fine line between confidence and arrogance. But I believe that confidence can be gained in the most unlikely situations.
In all my years, I had never been more nervous. It was the kind of nervous that settles in the pit on one’s soul and makes one’s heart claw into their throat. Last year, the drama club put on the production of Godspell. I was awarded the song “Turn Back, O Man”, sung by a very promiscuous character. I was dreading the first time I attempted this song because it was the complete opposite of who I am. This character was loud, confident, and so sure of what she wanted and knew exactly how to obtain it. I had lived my life second guessing every decision I ever made.
That night, it was time for my scene. My director had put off my scene the previous night, due to my absolute discomfort and embarrassment at my predicament. It was now or never at this point. I climbed up the stairs of the main aisle, dread bubbling in my chest with every step. While I waited for my cue line, I took a deep breath to calm my fraying nerves and attempted to still my shaking knees. Somehow, when that cue line reached my ears and I turned around, I just stared straight ahead and became that character. It was like a switch was turned on and all my fears and inhibitions were gone. The feeling of elation and relief I felt afterwards was evident in my quivering hands. It truly was the beginning of a new mindset for me.
I came to realize that the reason I could not perform that song at first was because I kept telling myself that I could not. I would berate myself for not performing a number perfectly, which I still beat myself up over even now. I constantly downplayed my achievements because arrogance is something that I have always feared. I realized that believing in one’s self is completely different from believing one is better than another because of their talent. This thought process has changed me for the better because I can trust myself to be proud of my abilities and not fear the threat of coming off as a diva or a snobby person. I know that I am talented and I will openly admit that. But, I will not use this belief to hurt others or downplay their achievements. Whenever I feel like putting myself down, I will remember this moment and understand that I am good enough to accomplish my goals. I am good enough to achieve my dreams.
I never thought that playing a prostitute would give me a glimpse of confidence, and yet it has. I am forever grateful to know that I can have pride in myself without being seen as arrogant. It has made my mindset more positive and overall I have learned that to have confidence is one of the most elating feelings in the world, which is why I believe that confidence can be found in unlikely ways.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

My Home

When I am having a rough day or life is too overwhelming, all I want to do is to retreat to the safety of my home. To me, the word "home" takes on many forms, not just the place that I live. There are people in my life that I have come to associate with the word "home". My mother is one of these people. Whenever I am with her, I just get this feeling of serenity and happiness. To be perfectly honest, sometimes the only thing that gets me through my day is knowing that I will be with my mom when the day is over and I will be able to spend at least a little time with her. She just understands me so well and never fails to make me laugh. She's my best friend and I can always rely on her being there for me, and I think that that is one of components of "home". To me, "home" is being able to be vulnerable in a space, where all one feels is safety and trust.

Another example of "home" for me is my friend Alex. I have known this boy for 6 years now and I can still clearly remember how we absolutely hated each other in middle school. Though we have had our ups and downs throughout our friendship, I can truthfully say that he has become my brother and my "home". I think another form of "home" is comfort with another person. There are many moments throughout my day where I think 'Oh, what would Alex think of that?' or 'I need to tell that to Alex'. It never feels awkward or annoying to talk to him and that is something very rare for me. We have this joke where the two of us have absolutely no boundaries and that we know everything about each other. I think that is one of the main reasons why he feels like "home" to me. To be able to know that I can tell Alex anything and that nothing is off-limits is one of the best feelings in the world and I am always grateful to him for that. 

"Home" to me is more than just a space in which I live. I also experience it when I am in the theatre. The theatre for me has become, as Mrs. Carraher says, a "home away from home." I have experienced so much self growth and companionship through my connections within the theatre and I think that is one of the many reasons why I am going to continue to pursue musical theatre. Constantly being surrounded by people that are passionate about the arts and about devoting time and energy to the characters we portray is so inspiring and becomes a unique process with every show. Sometimes (most of the time) things can become stressful and it can be scary to go to a place where you could easily disappoint one's director or cast members. But I think that can be seen as "home" because it is not always a happy place. Human emotions and stressful situations can twist the feelings that home brings and can make it an uncomfortable place. If "home" was always this perfect place, I think that no one would truly have a "home" because no one person is perfect. Though one's home can hold flaws and become a stressful place, it just shows that it can always return to a place of serenity and comfort and that is the magic that "home" brings.