Language and Gender in Adolescence Essay Example for Free

Language and Gender in Adolescence Essay In the reading, I agree with Penelope Eckert that adolescents are leaders of linguistic change. According to the World Wide Web, linguistic change is a phenomenon whereby phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of language vary over time. Adolescents also known as teenagers or youth play a significant role in deteriorating or accelerating the kind of linguistic system in a particular place or community. If to be analyzed, this can be equated to the strong, active and consistent participation of the youth in voicing out their opinions, getting into social issues and trends, and in creating an environment that is suitable and almost ideal to their generation. In my opinion, there are three reasons which support the claim that adolescents are leaders of linguistic change in today’s age. These are peer pressure, media and the Internet. Peer Pressure A primary concern for teens during adolescence is the issue of ‘fitting in’ and ‘belongingness’. Since adolescence is an adjustment period where children suddenly leap to a stage where he or she would start in creating an image of themselves or a self-concept, there is a tendency for them to be lost and confused to who and what they really should be due to the numerous options in front of them. Often said than not, adolescents are more easily swayed rather than adults. It is easier to teach a youngster that is less matured and still in the process of knowing his or herself than an adult who already has a formed principle and beliefs. For example, if there is a new trend, let’s say in fashion or music, an adolescent would normally be swayed to what is ‘in’ and hit’ to most of the people around him or her so that he or she may be accepted in the circle he or she wanted to belong to. This also goes with his or her choice of words and language. Adolescents tend to speak the way people around them speak. They tend to become the persons their environment and peers dictate them to be in order to be socially accepted and relevant. When it comes to choice of words and language, youth can be easily influenced with what vernacular or words to use since in the stage of puberty serves as their training ground and preparation phase of how and who they’ll be in the future. Moreover, due to peer pressure, adolescents are assigned to groups or pacts which can influence another group of adolescents that make the widening of a certain trend expand faster. For example, in the Philippines there is this particular way or style of speaking called the ‘conyo’. In this manner, the person tends to combine his or her vernacular with American English when speaking in public or to certain persons. Most youth embraced this kind of manner since it is what is ‘in’ and famous among adolescents of their generation. Now, if a group speaks that way then heard by another person or group of persons and then that certain persons adopt the manner of speaking, there is a domino effect of the ‘conyo’ style that changes the linguistic system existing in that certain place or community. Media and the Internet Media and Internet are two powerful tools in linguistic change. This can be viewed in two ways: first, media and internet as tools in changing and influencing the minds and behavior of the people, and second, these tools as used by the people to change and influence their environment. Since most media and internet users are composed of the young population, those of which belong to the teen’s age and young adulthood, it can be concluded that the adolescents compromise this population. Now, how do the media and the Internet serve as tools in influencing their users? The media is changing and along the likes of TV programs that are hit to their viewers, people especially teenagers are going along with the change. Since media is a daily part of one’s life, it can easily influence its viewers on how they should be. For example, most teens mimic their favorite artists with their fashion, choice of stuffs and even with their manner of talking and handling things. Aside from the media, the Internet constitutes a great deal in linguistic change. The trends being delivered by Internet services like instant messaging, blogging and social networking influences the culture of its users when it comes to their linguistic style and system. Instant messaging taught us the short-style of sending messages (i. e. â€Å"Who R U? †, BRB, LOL, and the like). Through media and Internet, adolescents are also exposed to different styles of language. They are exposed to the kind of words they see in web pages, newspapers, magazines and different publications, and hear in TV and radios or in podcasts that sooner or later they’ll adopt. On the other hand, these tools are also used by the people to change and influence their environment and co-individuals. Through these, the youth became more empowered when connecting with their co-youth and when sharing their ideals that affect a great deal of people. They became more heard, powerful and capable of changing the linguistic system they live with. They were able to take control of the system through media, internet, and their characteristics as youth and population. To summarize, I believe that adolescents are the leaders of linguistic change. Primarily, the interconnectedness of peer pressure, media and the internet attributed to the power of the youth to be the catalyst of change in their linguistic system due to their own ways and styles of dealing with their environment and in their process of finding and knowing them

Preventing the export of conflict diamonds in the Democratic Republic o

Preventing the export of conflict diamonds in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has large reserves of cobalt, gold, gems, copper, timber, and uranium. However, the most valuable resource that the DRC possess is its large reserve of diamonds. Diamonds essentially serve as a pillar to the DRC’s struggling economy. Plagued by civil unrest, the DRC is desperately trying to stabilize its economy. Their efforts have been met with stiff resistance due to the ongoing civil war and illegal diamond trade. Not only is the DRC losing potential revenue from the illegal mining of diamonds, but also these diamonds are being used to finance the rebel armies. In response, the U.N. has drafted several resolutions and imposed sanctions in order to try and curtail the illegal trade. The DRC has also agreed to follow the Kimberley Process in hopes of preventing the export of illegal diamonds. However, these efforts are not enough to stop the trafficking of diamonds. Several steps must be taken to strengthen the Kimberley Process and change government policies within the DRC in order to stabilize the economy and end the civil war. History of conflict in the Congo The DRC’s current unstable government can be attributed mainly to its turbulent history. Since the late 1800’s the Congo region has experienced relatively few periods of peace and economic stability. Colonization severely hindered the future development of the Congo region. In the late 1870’s, King Leopold II of Belgium colonized the Congo territory. Treaties were signed with several tribal rulers in the territory, giving the King Leopold sovereignty in their areas. In 1885, the territory formally became the Congo Free State, he... ...r 22, 2002. Dietrich, Christian. Hard currency: the criminalized diamond economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbours. Ottawa: Partnership Africa Canada, c2002. Muller, Emma. Diamonds Smuggling Through Congo Republic Makes Mockery of Kimberley Process. Polishedprices.com, July 10, 2003. Tamm, Ingrid J. Diamonds in peace and war: severing the conflict-diamond connection. Cambridge, Mass: World Peace Foundation, 2002. U.N. document. Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitations of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of Congo. www.globalpolicy.org William Wallis. Comment and Analysis: Kimberley Process: Africa's conflict diamonds: is the UN-backed certification scheme failing to bring transparency to the trade?" Financial Times October 29, 2003. www.kimberleyprocess.com

Home School vs. Public School Essay

I prefer home schooling over public schooling; which one do you prefer? There are both pros and cons for both Home Schooling and Public Schooling. I am going to explain this all to you in my essay. I personally was home schooled for a few years during middle and high school. All of elementary school and part of middle school I went to a regular school. My reasoning for choosing to be home schooled is I have Agoraphobia which is an anxiety disorder caused by situations where people perceive the environment as being difficult to escape or get help. As soon as I would walk into a class room I would have a panic attack. One thing I liked about public school was being able to play volleyball. I loved playing it for the little bit of time that I was in middle school. Even though I wasn’t really all that great, So I didn’t play very much. That is one con of being home schooled. You cannot play sports affiliated with any school. A pro for public schooling is you have a group environment to learn in with others to help you. On the other hand with home schooling you are on your own. In home schooling you have less choices of curriculum as you would if you were going to public school. You also have more diversity in public school. When going to public school you have a higher student to teacher ratio, now with home schooling there is a small teacher to student ratio. In home schooling you are free to choose your schedule, as in public school your schedule is strict and chosen for you. Public school chooses the curriculum for you. Unlike in home schooling you can choose your own. There are now roughly millions of children being home schooled. Being home schooled teaches students to be independent in their learning choices. Sometimes home schooling can be more expensive than going to public school. Teachers are not always qualified to teach all subjects, and colleges sometimes have stricter admission policies concerning home schooled students. It is also harder to provide social interaction when being home schooled. Like I had stated before I prefer home schooling but everyone has their own opinions. This is the reason why I have enrolled myself into the University of Phoenix online. So that I can have the flexibility of my classes, this way I can work around my everyday life and not miss out when it comes to spending time with my boys. I hope that the information in my essay was helpful to you.

World War 1 Summary - 881 Words

On January 19, 1917, a secret telegram from Germany’s foreign secretary was intercepted by British intelligence. The telegram contained information on Germany’s plans to ally with Mexico and although the plans never came into action, it backfired on the Germans, eventually leading their demise. Because of this, World War 1 was won by the Allied forces, thus, helping the United States develop as a new world power. In the telegram Zimmerman sent, he begins by stating the German’s intentions of unleashing unrestricted submarine warfare on Britain. This would effectively cripple Britain and its allies as they depended on imports and exports very heavily. After this, Zimmerman offered his proposal, â€Å"make war together, make peace together,†¦show more content†¦Mexico shared borders with the United States and also held resentment for the outcome of the Mexican-American War. This made them the perfect candidate for Germany to ally with. If Mexico went to war with the United States, it would force the U.S. to keep its military in the western hemisphere, allowing Germany to continue with its plan of unrestricted submarine warfare. It would be a win-win situation for Germany, because if Mexico won, they would be allied with Germany and if they lost, it still would’ve bought enough time for Britain to surrender. The Zimmerman telegram was Germany’s the plan to keep the United States out of the war. It attempted to coax Mexico into sidetracking America, offering them financial support and their lost territories in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The telegram was to be a vital element in Germany’s success as Germany had a decent chance of winning. Russia was occupied by a revolution in their country and soon issued a declaration of peace; this removed them as a threat to Germany. Britain and France were running low on money and Germany had previous success when blockading Europe. But, the United States would add another powerful enemy for Germany to fight and they had plenty of reasons to join the war. The United States loaned Britain and France about $3 billion dollars and they would not be able to pay it back if they were defeated by Germany.Show MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography On The Holocaust1275 Words   |  6 PagesAnnotated Bibliography Introduction to the Holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. Summary: This article was an introduction to the Holocaust. The German Nazi’s thought that the Jews were a community. Not only the Jews were targeted, anyone with a racial inferiority was targeted. 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