the_seven_words_you_cant_say_on_television.pdf | |
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Click HERE to read the article on NPR
"Hitler's Hot in India" by NPR staff writer Ignorance or deliberate controversy? |
Taboo Language and Censorship
Essential Question: To what extent do we give language power?
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Furore over 'censored' edition of Huckleberry Finn Cutting N-word from Twain is not censorship Decide for yourself:
Is this an example of censorship? Is it okay?
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There has been ongoing controversy over the use of the n-word in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. So much so, that one publisher has decided to change the word to say "slave." Many consider this censorship while others consider it an appropriate option for those who do not wish to use that word. What do you think? Are we giving power to a word or does it deserve the sensitivity?
Definition: Censorship:
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Terms to use:
Critical Response:
What emotional power does the n-word have in our culture? Write a two paragraph (minimum) response to the question above with response to the n-word. Use evidence from the articles, the video, and our debate to support your ideas. Some more specific questions to respond to might be:
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Euphemisms
Definition: using a favorable or at least neutral term because the usual term is considered offensive or denigrating.
euphemisms_chapter_8_-_mind_your_language_.pdf | |
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Thomas Bowdler: Famous for his family version of Shakespeare
Now associated with "censorship" in literature, film, and television |
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Euphemism Song Analysis
Monday & Tuesday, 1-2 September 2014
Monday & Tuesday, 1-2 September 2014
Euphemisms in Popular Music: Choose a song and use the questions below to guide your song analysis. Want to challenge yourself? Choose Madonna's song. To what extent is her use of euphemisms more complex than, say, Lady Gaga's?
Instructions:
Time line: This analysis, if done thoroughly, should take a full two hours. Use the class time to complete the activities.
Instructions:
- Choose a song and listen to it on youtube, especially if you are unfamiliar with it.
- With a partner or on your own, analyze the song. Use the questions below to guide your analysis. Be sure to take notes and record all of your ideas. Use the article you read over the weekend to inform your discussion and analysis of the song.
Time line: This analysis, if done thoroughly, should take a full two hours. Use the class time to complete the activities.
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Message:
Target Market:
Culture:
- What is the overall message of the song?
- To what extent do the euphemisms help to communicate the message? Analyze on 2 euphemisms in the song.
- Do the euphemisms objectify a certain group of people? If so, how?
Target Market:
- Does the artist’s image (how he/she portrays him/herself) affect how you feel about the song? Would you feel the same way about the song if it was sung by someone of a different age, race, or gender? Explain.
- How might someone of a different demographic (someone of a different gender, age, socio-economic status, race) hear the song differently?
Culture:
- Why can this song be accepted in popular culture?
- Is it appropriate for young kids to know the lyrics? (opinion)
- Does the meaning change if it were played in [insert country where English is not first language]? Explain.
Wednesday, 3 September
In 1-2 paragraphs, answer the following question: How do the euphemisms contribute to the overall meaning of the song you analyzed?
Post your analysis to the blog. You will find it under the Part 1 tab.
In 1-2 paragraphs, answer the following question: How do the euphemisms contribute to the overall meaning of the song you analyzed?
Post your analysis to the blog. You will find it under the Part 1 tab.
Euphemism - Text Transformation Activity
Thursday, 4 September
Thursday, 4 September
Essential Question: How can euphemisms change the meaning of a text?
Task: To rewrite a text using euphemisms.
- Download the document and choose ONE of the five texts with which to work.
- Read the text several times to get a sense for the main idea.
- Identify the target audience for the original text: gender, age, socio-economic status, race etc.
- Choose a NEW target audience. For example: Year 1s, grandmothers, university professors
- Rewrite the text using a variety of euphemisms. Your new text must be appropriate for the new target audience. Feel free to change parts of the text, however, the main idea must generally stay the same (example: you might change "sex" to "friendship" when targeting children)
- Upload your transformed text below.
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Political Correctness
Political Correctness: the avoidance of terms that denigrate disadvantaged groups; but the term is not usually neutral.
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“The movement for politically correct language began with gender, and that remains the most important area, for two reasons. For most people, sexual politics is more important than racial politics. It is possible (depending of course on where one lives and who one mixes with) to avoid much contact with people of another race; but it is obviously impossible not to encounter the other sex. And as well as this, gender, as we shall now see, lies at the heart of language. English has freed itself from the gender distinctions that other European languages have retained: in French the sun is masculine and the mood feminine, in German it’s the other way round. We don’t need to worry our heads about such differences: for us sun and moon are both it. But though we may have shed grammatical gender, we still have plenty of other ways in which gender impinges on language.”
Lerner Laurence, You can't say that! English Usage Today, Cambridge, 2007, pp 172 |
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Assigned reading: 170-179 (Introduction and Pronouns sections)
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Essential Question: To what extent is political correctness a gender issue?
"What does this history tell us? First, it reminds us that our language is constantly changing, so that a discussion of political correctness needs to deal with both the past and the present. Indeed, they cannot really be separated, because most of the words from the past are still with us: language consists of the past that has accumulated, as well as the additions" (p. 170). |
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Gender bias in language
one-man show mankind manpower manslaughter
Pronouns: Formal versus informal use of pronouns. When should we use certain pronouns? Does it matter?
Informal versus formal context
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Do you agree with the use of pronouns? Are we too sensitive about gender by taking away “man” and “his” from sentences?