Rent 9780321122216 | Exploring Language | Goshgarian, Gary @knetbooks.com

Summary Table of Contents

Now in its tenth edition, this market-leading language reader continues to feature thought-provoking readings that explore the various interconnections between language and American society. For more than 25 years, this engaging reader has challenged students to critically examine how language affects and constructs culture and how culture constructs and affects language. This tenth edition maintains the integrity of past editions while reflecting the new and fascinating language issues that exist in today's culture. Provocative selections are ... MORE

Preface

xxi

Introduction: Thinking and Reading Critically

(24)

What Is Critical Thinking?

(1)

Why Read Critically?

... MORE

(1)

How to Read Critically

(3)

Critical Reading in Action-Sample Essay for Analysis

(13)

Logical Fallacies-What They Are and How to Avoid Them

(3)

Exploring the Language of Visuals

(3)

1 Breaking Silences

(88)

BEGINNINGS: MOVING FROM SILENCE INTO LANGUAGE

(29)

Language and Thought

(5)

Susanne K. Langer

"Language is the highest and most amazing achievement of the symbolistic human mind. The power it bestows is almost inestimable, for without it anything properly called 'thought' is impossible."

A Brief History of English

(10)

Paul Roberts

"In 1500 English was a minor language, spoken by a few people on a small island. Now it is perhaps the greatest language of the world...."

The Story of Writing

(10)

C.M. Millward

"Civilization as we know it depends on the written word."

Another Language for the Deaf

(9)

Margalit Fox

"Imagine a language that can't be written. Hundreds of people speak it, but they have no way to read a newspaper or study a schoolbook in the language they use all day long ... that is the situation of the quarter of a million or more deaf people in North America."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS: SIGNWRITING

(5)

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS: COMING INTO LANGUAGE

(9)

Homemade Education

(4)

Malcolm X

"In the street, I had been the most articulate hustler out there.... But now, trying to write simple English, I not only wasn't articulate, I wasn't even functional."

A Word for Everything

(5)

Helen Keller

"The beautiful truth burst upon my mind-I felt that there were invisible lines stretched between my spirit and the spirits of others."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS: SIGN LANGUAGE

(16)

The Language of Silence

(5)

Maxine Hong Kingston

"When I went to kindergarten and had to speak English for the first time, I became silent. A dumbness-a shame-still cracks my voice in two

The Jellyfish

(2)

Susan Kinsolving

"A jellyfish was in my eyes!... "It bleeded and singed!" In a poem, Susan Kinsolving describes the innocence and discovery of her three-year-old daughter Caroline's journey into language.

Spanish Lessons

(7)

Christine Marin

"I learned the power of both the English and Spanish language on that [school] band trip."

SPEAKING OUT: LANGUAGE THAT INSPIRED CHANGE

(25)

Seneca Falls Declaration

(4)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

"The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward women, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her."

"Letter from Birmingham Jail"

(10)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law."

Aren't I a Woman?

100

(2)

Sojourner Truth

"[T]hat little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as man, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman. Where did your Christ come from?"

The Struggle for Human Rights

102

(13)

Eleanor Roosevelt

"We must not be confused about what freedom is. Basic human rights are simple and easily understood."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS: MARGARET SANGER

111

(2)

2 Writers Writing: Words in Contexts

113

(41)

THE WRITING PROCESS

115

(22)

Writing for an Audience

115

(4)

Linda Flower

"The goal of the writer is to create a momentary common ground between the reader and the writer."

The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts

119

(4)

Donald M. Murray

"When students complete a first draft, they consider the job of writing done-and their teachers too often agree. When professional writers complete a first draft, they usually feel that they are at the start of the writing process."

Getting Started

123

(5)

Anne Lamott

"The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth."

What My Students Have Taught Me About Writing

128

(6)

Pamela Childers

"I'm a writer, but I am a better writer than I was when I started writing because of my students."

How I Write

134

(3)

Evan Miller

"The first sentence is usually the toughest for me, because I know that it will shape the second, will shape the third ... I try to experiment with different openers ... but in some papers, [my first sentences] miss the purpose of the paper entirely and are, in the vernacular, crap."

FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS

137

(17)

The Case for Short Words

137

(2)

Richard Lederer

"When you speak and write, there is no law that says you have to use big words. Small words cast their clear light on big things-night and day, love and hate, war and peace, life and death."

Saying is Believing

139

(6)

Patricia T. O'Conner

"The truth is that the reader is always right. Chances are, if something you write doesn't get your point across, it's probably not the reader's fault-it's yours."

How to Write with Style

145

(4)

Kurt Vonnegut

Seven friendly tips on the process of writing from one of America's most popular writers.

Clich�s, Anyone?

149

(2)

James Isaacs

How to make a commencement speech ... the old-fashioned way.

The Financial Media's 25 Worst Clich�s

151

(5)

Jonathan Clements

3 Politically Speaking

154

(84)

POLITICAL WORD PLAY

156

(33)

How to Detect Propaganda

156

(7)

Institute for Propaganda Analysis

"Without appeal to our emotions-to our fears and to our courage, to our selfishness and unselfishness, to our loves and to our hates-propagandists would influence few opinions and few actions."

Politics and the English language

163

(11)

George Orwell

"In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible."

The Pep Talk: Patterns of Persuasion in Political Language

174

(10)

Hugh Rank

A respected political communications analyst dissects the patterns of persuasion used by politicians to organize and direct their audiences toward a particular collective action or idea.

Doubts About Doublespeak

184

(5)

William Lutz

"Politicians, bureaucrats and merchants all are guilty of confusing the issue with language designed not to communicate."

LANGUAGE AND THE PRESIDENCY

189

(27)

The Rhetorical Presidency

189

(9)

Robert E. Denton, Jr. and Dan F. Hahn

"Presidents are special beings. What makes each one special is that they lead us, define us, protect us, and embody us. And they do so, implicitly and explicitly, through communication."

Dubya and Me: We've Got No Idea

198

(4)

Ian Frazier

That clueless stare in George W.'s eyes? A whole generation of graying 'wise' guys know all about it. The author is one.

The Making of the Speech

202

(7)

D.T. Max

An etymology of the 2,988 words that changed a presidency.

Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People

209

(7)

George W. Bush

"Our nation-this generation-will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."

CASE STUDY: TERRORISM AND THE WAR OF WORDS

216

(22)

The Semantics of Murder

216

(2)

Amir Taheri

A True Jihad or a Sinful War Against Innocents?

218

(2)

Jim Guirard

Two editorials from the Wall Street Journal address the language used to describe and justify acts of terrorism, from the words used by the terrorists themselves. Is it murder, or a jihad?

Fighting Words; The War Over Language

220

(5)

Jon Hooten

"While we have haphazardly sprinkled our language with war's metaphors, is it possible that we have collectively forgotten how to think clearly about the literal phenomenon?"

A Lot to Learn

225

(4)

David Brudnoy

"Because we cannot bear to talk like adults about the task and the enemy, we cannot conceptualize what we should be doing."

Self Evident

229

(6)

Ani Difranco

A folksinger and songwriter's poem inspired by the tragic events of September 11.

Nameless Event

235

(5)

William Sage

"What label is applied to the horrific (more horrid than horrible, perhaps because of its less frequent use and similarity in emphasis to terrific) events of September 11, 2001?"

4 The Art of Conversation

238

(69)

HE SAYS, SHE SAYS: DIFFERENCES IN DISCOURSE

240

(29)

Women Talk Too Much

240

(6)

Janet Holmes

"Despite the widespread belief that women talk more than men, most of the available evidence suggests just the opposite. Why is the reality so different from the myth?"

No Detail Is Too Small for Girls Answering a Simple Question

246

(3)

Tony Kornheiser

"It is not that women lack the ability to prioritize informaiton, it is that they don't think life is as simple as men do."

Sex Differences

249

(6)

Ronald Macaulay

"More nonsense has been produced on the subject of sex differences than on any linguistic topic, with the possible exception of spelling."

"I'll Explain It to You"; Lecturing and Listening

255

(14)

Deborah Tannen

"One situation that frustrates many women is a conversation that has mysteriously turned into a lecture, with the man delivering the lecture to the woman, who has become an appreciative audience."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE of VISUALS: MEN ARE FROM BELGIUM, WOMEN ARE FROM NEW BRUNSWICK

269

(6)

Nonverbal Behavior: Culture, Gender, and the Media

271

(4)

Teni Kwal Gamble and Michael W. Gamble

"Men and women commonly use nonverbal communication in ways that reflect societal expectations."

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT: CONVERSATION IN ACTION

275

(32)

The Social Basis of Talk

275

(10)

Ronald Wardhaugh

"Because conversation necessarily has a social basis, we must try to meet each other on common ground."

Some Friends and I Started Talking: Conversation and Social Change

285

(6)

Margaret J. Wheatley

"True conversation is a timeless and reliable way for humans to think together. When we don't talk to one another in a meaningful way, we become passive and allow others to tell us what to do."

Like, Uptalk?

291

(3)

James Gorman

"I used to speak in a regular voice. I was able to assert, demand, question. Then I started teaching. At a university? And my students had this rising intonation thing?"

The Other Side of E-Mail

294

(3)

Robert Kuttner

"E-mail brings a kind of pseudo-urgency that demands instant response. It also creates false intimacies."

Come in CQ: The Body on the Wire

297

(12)

Ellen Ullman

Does the Internet allow us more freedom to say things that we wouldn't normally say? What happens when we make the jump from virtual relationships to "F2F" ones?

5 The Language of Humor: What Makes Us Laugh

307

(53)

WHAT'S SO FUNNY?

309

(23)

Outsiders/Insiders

309

(10)

Joseph Boskin

"Just as it has been utilized as a weapon of insult and persecution, so, too, has humor been implemented as a device of subversion and protest."

Excerpt from the LA LA Awards

319

(7)

Latins Anonymous

Nothing is sacred in this satirical slam on the rejection of one's cultural heritage by comedy troupe Latins Anonymous.

In Answer to the Question: Have You Ever Considered Suicide?

326

(2)

Kate Rushin

A humorous poem by an award-winning African-American poet.

Mr. Language Person Takes a Hammer to Grammar

328

(4)

Dave Barry

America's king of comedic writing presents his version of a language column.

CASE STUDY: POLTICAL AND EDITORIAL CARTOONS

332

(16)

What Is a Cartoon?

333

(4)

Mort Gerbere

"Cartoons are the most powerful, the pithiest form of human communication, used everywhere and in many forms."

Editorial Cartoonists-An Endangered Species?

337

(4)

Doug Mariette

"Could it be that no one needs satirists in a tabloid age when real life becomes a parody and sleaze dominates the headlines ... ?"

Defiantly Incorrect: The Humor of John Callahan

341

(7)

Timothy Egan

"Anorexia, blindness, dysfunctional families and the death penalty-in a good week, all of those topics can find their way into the cartoons of John Callahan."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS: CALLAHAN CARTOON (WHEELCHAIR POSSE)

348

(5)

When Cartoonists Were at Their Wits' End

350

(12)

James Ricci

"Think back to that day [September 11] and your own loss for words.... Now imagine having to sit down and draw a simple, understandable picture that might have relevance to thousands of other dumbstruck and grief-ridden people."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS: EDITORIAL CARTOONS FROM SEPTEMBER 11 AND ITS AFTERMATH

353

(7)

6 The Language of the Mass Media and Advertising

360

(83)

AS SEEN ON TV

362

(31)

TV News: All the World in Pictures

362

(7)

Neil Postman and Steve Powers

"The fact that television news is principally made up of moving pictures prevents it from offering lengthy, coherent explanations of events."

Oh, the Profanity!

369

(4)

Paul Farhi

TV networks are fashioning shows from pretty raw material these days. Very raw material. What the *&!%# is going on?

Is Bad Language Unacceptable on TV?

373

(4)

BBC Online "Talking Point" forum

"There's a simple answer to all those complaining. If you don't like it, then don't watch it."

Taking TV's "War of Words" Too Literally

377

(5)

Deborah Tannen

"Everywhere we turn, there is evidence that, in public discourse, we prize contentiousness and aggression more than cooperation and conciliation ... everything is posed in terms of battles and duels, winners and losers, conflicts and disputes."

The Entertained Culture

382

(9)

Tom Shachtman

"We have become a country of mass audiences.... A trend toward the convergence of the entertainment and news/information industries has made certain that the language of one sector largely reproduces the practices of the other, and both aim lower, with dire consequences for articulateness."

Two-Headed Monsters

391

(2)

THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING

393

(44)

With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything

393

(14)

William Lutz

"Advertisers use weasel words to appear to be making a claim for a product when in fact they are making no claim at all."

The Language of Advertising

407

(10)

Charles A. O'Neill

"The language of advertising is a language of finely engineered, ruthlessly purposeful messages."

Language Abuse

417

(9)

Herschell Gordon Lewis

"Today's marketers throw terms the way they'd throw confetti ... and with just about as much impact."

Selling America

426

(9)

Sandra Silberstein

An examination of the Ad Council's campaign against hate and intolerance in the aftermath of September 11.

Americans Stand United, AAI advertisement

435

(2)

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS: TWO SAMPLE ADS FOR SUVs

437

(6)

7 Censorship and Free Speech

443

(53)

CENSORSHIP AND BOOKS

445

(12)

The Freedom to Read

445

(4)

The American Library Association

Private groups and public authorities are working to remove books from sale, to censor textbooks, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries.

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000

449

(3)

Book-Banning, Real and Imaginary

452

(2)

Jeff Jacoby

"Your freedom to read isn't under attack. No censors are stalking you, no library is being stripped. On the contrary never have more books ... been more readily available to more people."

Is Harry Potter Evil?

454

(3)

Judy Blume

"The protests against Harry Potter follow a tradition that has been growing since the early 1980's and often leaves school principles trembling with fear."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS: HUCKLEBERRY FINN BANNED!

457

(7)

Author's Afterword from Fahrenheit 451

460

(4)

Ray Bradbury

"For it is a mad world and it wi11 get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin, nuclear-head or water-conservationalist, procomputerologist or Neo-Luddite, simpleton or sage, to interfere with aesthetics."

CASE STUDY: CENSORSHIP AND FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS

464

(26)

The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses

464

(7)

Alan C. Kors

"It is ... almost inconceivable that anyone ... could live on a college campus unaware of the repression, legal inequality, intrusions into private conscience, and malignant double standards that hold sway there."

Regulating Racist Speech on Campus

471

(4)

Charles R. Lawrence III

Defending racist language in the name of liberty of free speech "has placed the bigot on the moral high ground and fanned the rising flames of racism."

There's No Such Thing as Free Speech, and It's a Good Thing, Too

475

(12)

Stanley Fish

"Free speech ... is not an independent value but a political prize, and if that prize has been captured by a politics opposed to yours, it can no longer be invoked in ways that further your purposes, for it is now an obstacle to those purposes."

Muzzling Free Speech

487

(3)

Harvey A. Silverglate

The speech-zone movement presents a major threat to the ideals of free thought and free inquiry to which colleges and universities should be devoted.

SPEECH CODES AT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL?

490

(6)

Difficult Conversations

490

(2)

Dorothy Rabinowitz

"At Harvard Law today, skill in hard combative argument is no longer prized, nor even considered quite respectable."

Censor This?

492

(6)

Austin Bramwell

"Like many, I am concerned that a speech code [at Harvard Law School] would chill valuable speech on campus."

8 Political Correctness and Hate Speech

496

(57)

CASE STUDY: POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

498

(28)

Hate Speech

498

(7)

Robin Tomach Lakoff

"Language is the problem. We don't know how to legislate hate speech, because we don't really know how to classify any kind of speech, which we would have to do before we could safely legislate against it."

Bias-Free Language: Some Guidelines

505

(11)

Rosalie Maggio

"When we use stereotypes to talk about people ('isn't that just like a welfare mother/Indian/girl/old man'), our speech and writing will be inaccurate and unrealistic most of the time."

The Word Police

516

(5)

Michiko Kakutani

Ms. Maggio's book supplies guidelines and alternatives to readers intent on using kinder, gentler language. But should All the King's Men be retitled All the Ruler's People?

Beware the Advozealots: Mindless Good Intentions Injure the Handicapped

521

(5)

Bernard Rimland

"I have coined the word 'advozealot' to characterize the people who purport to be advocates for the handicapped but are in fact zealous advocates of their own Alice in Wonderland ideology."

CASE STUDY: WORDS THAT HURT

526

(27)

"Nigger": The Meaning of a Word

526

(4)

Gloria Naylor

"I was later to go home and ask the inevitable question that every black parent must face-'Mommy, what does "nigger" mean?"

The Etymology of the International Insult

530

(3)

Charles F. Berlitz

"Will man ever be able to rise above using the insult as a weapon?"

The "R" Word: How Do You Avoid Saying "Retarded"?

533

(3)

John Cook

The American Association on Mental Retardation has voted to change its name. No one can agree on a replacement, but the group has pledged to change it to something better-something less reflective of schoolyard taunts.

Crimes Against Humanity

536

(7)

Ward Churchill

"Understand that the treatment of Indians in American popular culture is not "cute" or "amusing" or just "good, clean fun." Know that it causes real pain and real suffering to real people."

Queer

543

(4)

Lillian Faderman

"Many gays and lesbians have embraced the term 'queer' in self-description that not only valorizes it but also says to straights who might still want to use that word derogatorily, 'In your face!"

Discrimination at Large

547

(2)

Jennifer A. Coleman

"The jokes and attitudes [regarding obese people] are as wrong and damaging as any racial slur."

Where Heaven and Earth Touch: A National "Speak No Evil Day"

549

(6)

Joseph Telushkin

"Speak No Evil Day" would have both short- and long-term goals: to eliminate all vicious and unfair talk for twenty-four hours, and thus plant the seed of a more permanent shift in our consciousness.

9 Language in the USA

553

(48)

WHAT IS "STANDARD" ENGLISH?

555

(27)

Why Good English Is Good for You

555

(9)

John Simon

"The person who does not respect words and their proper relationships cannot have much respect for ideas-very possibly cannot have ideas at all."

Everyone Has an Accent but Me

564

(6)

John Esling

"The fact is that everyone has an accent. Accent defines and communicates who we are ... [it is] the map that listeners perceive through their ears rather than their eyes ..."

Label Babel

570

(2)

Richard Liebmann-Smith

Why are people from England called "English," but people from New England referred to as "New Englanders"? As this writer explains, when it comes to labeling other nationalities, we seem to make up the rules as we go along.

Good English and Bad

572

(10)

Bill Bryson

"Considerations of what makes for good English or bad English are to an uncomfortably large extent matters of prejudice and conditioning."

CASE STUDY: ENGLISH ONLY OR BILINGUALISM?

582

(6)

Bilingualism in America: English Should Be the Only Language

582

(6)

S.I. Hayakawa

"Rather than insisting that it is the immigrant's duty to learn the language of this country, the government has acted instead as if it has a duty to accommodate an immigrant in his native language."

EXPLORING THE LANGUAGE Of VISUALS: "PLEASE DO NOT FEED PIGEONS"

588

(13)

Let's Not Say Adi�s to Bilingual Education

590

(4)

Lourdes Rovira

"Bilingualism not only prepares students for today's increasingly global economy and promotes cognitive development and creative thinking, it also instills pride."

A Nation Divided by One language

594

(3)

James Crawford

"Rejecting bilingual education [is] a way to 'send a message' that, in the United States, English and only English is appropriate for use in the public square."

My Spanish Standoff

597

(4)

Gabriella Kuntz

"... [T]he prejudice I experienced ... prompted my husband and me to decide that English, and English only, would be spoken in our house."

Credits

601

(8)

Index of Authors and Titles

609