Gender article from the Financial Times on chatting at work

Difference theory is alive and well in this article:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d903ca80-94a4-11e3-9146-00144feab7de.html#axzz2wz1FVPf5

You could even use this as a practice essay text.

Language and Power - the cult of wacky writing

A great article I have just posted for A2 Language Change which is actually just as good for Power - it is also useful to see how a specialist talks about Language for non-specialists, which is what you have to do for your A2 Media text (coursework creative piece to go with your investigation).

http://www.abccopywriting.com/blog/2011/10/10/wackywriting-cult-of-innocent

Language Change article - 'wackaging'

The art of creating a relationsip with the reader of your product packaging with a wacky approach e.g. eat me/keep me bananas (the use of first-person is suitably cutesy or zany). Some people don't like it. They created a tumblr account and dubbed the phenomenon 'wackaging'.

Here's an article from The Guardian by someone who agrees:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/mar/25/wackaging-trend-food-packaging-innocent-language

Here's a copywriter talking about a larger field of writing than just packaging that employs similar devices with some useful examples for the exam:

http://www.abccopywriting.com/blog/2011/10/10/wackywriting-cult-of-innocent

AS lesson 21/03/14

Wisdomfulls!

Show your deeper understanding of theory today by creating a post to inform readers (your peers) about either Dominance, Difference or Deficit and/or another gender theory of your choice that allows you to do the analytical task described in the bullet points below.

You should include (not necessarily in this order):

• an accessible (straightforward? funny? colloquial?) description of the theory
• the techniques associated with these ways of speaking
• examples of these techniques in spoken texts (made up or quotes/transcript excerpts)
• show how these techniques could be applied to real written texts (represented speech but also written texts that 'speak' to the reader e.g. adverts, advice colums, comment articles etc. - this is the most important part as it will likely not be a transcript on the paper this year and you should analyse several examples from different forms)
• Don't forget to include a bibliography and don't ever cut and paste theory into these blogs - transform it so you show you understand it (good practice for A2 coursework too)

This could be finished today if you work really hard and efficiently but must be finished by next Friday so I can look at them after moderation week (bear in mind how much work there is for moderation week!). The key to finishing on time is to find texts quickly and really focus.

A2 lesson 18/3/14

Marvellousnesses,

please spend the first 30 minutes reading the word investigation blog posts of others in the class and commenting on what was interesting and adding your understanding and known uses of the word.

Then find a piece of fiction on the internet that was written post-1700 and pre-1920. Copy and paste a section onto your blog and write some PEE analysis, commenting on the attitudes portrayed, the techniques used, what that says about the culture of the writer and the audience AND the differences that might appear in modern fiction of the same genre and for the same audience. Don't forget to make Power, Gender and Technology comments where relevant. Try and use some of the key terminology and ideas for LC.

If you have time, do the grammar quiz a couple of posts down and comment on some more blogs.

The TURNITIN deadline has been extended - please ensure that you get your coursework submitted BY WEDNESDAY so I can check it before moderation week.

Gender clip (and a little bit CLA) 'What's the worst thing you heard Mommy say?"

The very fact that they are asking about female parental swearing rather than just parental swearing is significant. There is still an expectation that women swear less and use weaker expletives. What is your experience? I love that the kids think a particular word is a terrible thing to say. And it is not what you would conventially call a swear word but it is becoming more and more taboo...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emQTGwAZpa8

New Scientist (recommended reading)

For your wider reading, go to the New Scientist website and search for the topic 'language' - some interesting articles can be found...

http://www.newscientist.com/

Grammar quiz for Year 6s in the Guardian - how will you do?

Try this!

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/quiz/2013/feb/04/grammar-punctuation-quiz-test

A2 lesson Tues 11th March

Brilliances,

I will come round and give you a word to work on. Read the whole post first.

Please find out how that word has been used in different contexts across time (diachronic change) and how it is used now (detect any synchronic change happening, tentatively). The following bullet-pointed list should form part of the blog post you work on today (not necessarily in that order), summing up what you have found (finish it by next Tuesday's lesson - we will be using it in class). It should clearly talk the reader through an engaging analysis of the uses of that word and should be helpfully structured and thoughtful/tentative:

• an observation about the Ngram viewer report of your word (Google 'Ngram' and work it out)
• quotes from different times with that word in use in them. Comment on these to show understanding of the connections and contrasts in terms of the semantic and pragmatic understanding created/needed and interpret how that writer or speaker's lexical choice (of that word) fits in with the APF/time, using terminology, especially Language Change terminology.
• a variety of idioms, slogans or famous uses of that word with comments about the different nuances of meaning that these uses might have
• any words you can link/contrast with the word you have been given
• anything else that you would like to include

Work very hard and this will be a very useful resource. For something of a model, check out today's article on The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/mar/07/obama-de-escalate-mind-your-language

NB find out what Ngram can tell you and how to find your way around it. Please do not re-present info from Wikipedia to form the main part of your work - find out what you can by genuine, interested investigation using your imagination to find what you need - I don't mean don't look Wikipedia at some point (not first!) but do try and come up with very different info.

List of words:

love
short
want
nice
silly
bank
penny
crunk
window
edit
shave
doctor
boy
pad
drive
moniotr
wicked
gross
lady
game
cheat

A dodgy piece of journalism but an interesting issue for Language and Gender and, well, being a person...

http://redmister.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/one-female-too-far.html?m=1

AS lesson Fri 7th March

Beautifulls,

please finish and post your grouping paragraphs - remember to state the texts you are using and what you are grouping them on in your point. You don't need to use XYZ for your points in the grouping task but if you are doing a technique grouping, you might want to. Make sure you talk about APF and use more than one quote for each text wherever possible to explore each text properly.

As I said last lesson, do use paragraphing within your groups for clarity but, when you write the essay, show a change of group by leaving a line and then indent paragraphs within a single grouping.

Spend the rest of the first 45 minutes visiting one anothers' blogs and commenting on their work (even if I have already commented on it) - it doesn't have to be this task you comment on.

Then at 3.15 we will go back to C106 and discuss what we have been thinking about regarding these texts. Please look after the text books and bring them back to class with you.

Thanks.

Amazing temporary golf rules during wartime (AS Power; A2 LC)

These rules (there is a short joke first about a supposedly 'unloseable' golf ball) could be read po-faced (straight, serious), in which case they sound ridiculous, but work much better in a lightly ironic tone to show bravado and chutzpah in a time of great fear.

http://www.stmgrts.org.uk/archives/2012/02/the_temporary_rules_of_golf.html

article on swearing on Twitter evaluates data well

This is an interesting contextualisation of some quantified data. Useful for AS (preparation for A2 investigation and Language and Technology) and A2 (Language Change exam wider reading).

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2014/feb/23/most-popular-swearwords-on-twitter

World Book Day Thurs 6 Mar

Please, please hurry to send your reviews (either vlogs or written ones!) to James Rawlings. It would be great for you to get a written piece out there, great for people to get some help choosing stimulating books and great for your references when I realise how involved you get in everything!