Analysis Of Molly Worthen's 'Stop SayingI Feel Like'

In the same manner as James Baldwin, I defend language to be a political instrument and the most crucial key to identity, in most cases. Language expresses the identity of the human; thus, connecting local and widespread communities. First impressions depict one’s identity among a group, from the moment one opens their mouth, their language outputs an impression in as short as seven seconds.

Originally published in the Wall Street Journal in 2010, Lera Boroditsky’s paper titled “Lost in Translation” analyzes the impact language has on thought. Formatted as more of a persuasive than truth seeking essay, Boroditsky begins by asking the reader if the language a person speaks shapes the way they think. This makes the reader believe as though she is truly trying to find an answer to this inquiry, but as the paper goes on, the reader is mostly introduced to evidence that supports Boroditsky’s stance and she merely touches upon the argument of the opposing side. Although Boroditsky does not include more counterarguments, “Lost in Translation” is a well written article which demonstrates that languages indeed shape the way people think through her use of the Rhetorical Triangle, inductive logic, and her stylistic choices.

Speaking comes to most people as naturally a blinking and breathing and we tend to speak before actually giving any thought to the power of the words we just uttered. Rarely, if ever, do we stop mid-sentence, and think about what we are saying. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of words come pouring out of our mouths every single day, expressing our thoughts, knowledge, beliefs, opinions, and judgments. We are often oblivious to the positive and negative effects these words have on ourselves or the people around us (White, 2005). Words have such a tremendous power, that they give out a form of energy and a message that creates a reaction in those who hear the words. Everything that everyone says, produces an effect in the world, whether the effect

Since the beginning of language thousands of years ago, the method of communication has evolved into nearly 7000 forms used by over 7 million people, with each language having over 50,000 words. Language over the past centuries has evolved from a way of communicating facts and ideas to a few selected minority group of readers, to a way of inspiring the greater population to taking action in the paramount events of human history across the globe. Authors use language to persuade readers into joining the fight for a cause the author believes in. Authors inform readers with restricted information and use it to inspire readers into taking actions for something the author believes in.

Language is powerful and can be used to control instead of uplift. An example of language being used to

The psychology of language has always been a complex and fluid study in which scientists investigate the "cognitive processes" that make it possible to generate a grammatical and meaningful sentence out of vocabulary and phonetic structures, as well as factors that let people acquire, produce, and comprehend language as an entirety. Samuel L. Delaney’s 1966 science fiction novel, Babel-17, explores a psycholinguistic approach to understanding the human mind, illustrating the complex effects of language on thought. We see firsthand how specific vernaculars hold the capability to manipulate the mind, and altogether change the patterns of thought, making language a central figure in behavior and grasping concepts.

Language informs, inspire, and persuade individuals to impact society in many different ways. In speeches given by authorities trying to inspire people to do better, trying to persuade your mom into buying you an ice-cream cone, when you’re channel surfing and the History channel comes on and the speaker is informing you on the nature of kangaroos. There are many other ways that language informs, inspires, and persuades.

For my research paper, I would like to focus on the topic of language as mind control. This topic interests me as language is such an important aspect of everyone’s day to day life. Without language, communication would be close to, if not completely impossible. Language is one of the most important things in the world as it builds individuality, culture, relationships, etc. Various ideas and thoughts are translated differently through different languages which provides a different meaning for similar things throughout the world. Just a change in translation can alter the mindsets of different people. Even in one’s native tongue, language can be used to intentionally change certain people’s views on a subject. The use of propaganda to control

“The way we speak determines how we think”. Critically evaluate this statement, drawing on the key theories and research that describe the relationship between language and thought.

One universal aspect of the human condition is communication. Finding some way to convey the abstract concepts of our minds in such a way they can be understood by others is a fundamental necessity of being a human in culture as we understand it. It is with this understanding that the question has been asked; if language is the medium through which our perceptions are channeled, how much are our perceptions distorted by language? How much is our language distorted by our perceptions? Is this relationship something that could be manipulated, and how effective would it be? Thankfully, these are questions that

Reading and learning from other author’s conversations has been very intriguing and I am excited to join the conversation. In this essay, I will be digging deeper into three texts and using them to formulate a claim about language. Language is interesting to study because it is so important to everyone in the world. Language separates people and brings people together. It can cause mass destruction and solve world problems. On a social side, language can be a barrier for some and a way to take advantage of others. Without a solid control of language, people may struggle in society. My argument is that control over language is unfair to certain individuals because it leads to discrimination, lack of power, and negative social identity.

In all kinds of socialisation, language is the main tool that is used to expose sentiments. In society, people use language, includes both spoken and non-spoken language, to convey, comprehend, and exchange

“Language is everything and everywhere” (Wallace, 390). The idea of language brings forth thoughts of different words, sounds and meanings. Try to imagine a day where language is not used is nearly impossible. Communication and relationships would cease to exist without any form of language, spoken, written and even body language, are all necessities in our everyday life. David Foster Wallace’s, “Authority and American Usage” and Richard Rodriguez’s, “The Achievement of Desire” communicate the importance that language has on our lives. This conversation regarding language and its importance brings up the questions of what exactly is the impact it has? It is critical to understand that the way a

Language is more than an object and should be seen as a means of communication and interaction between individuals and groups within a society. Within this, the socio-cultural understanding a society/ culture has about language will influence the implications for teaching language and literacy to future generations. Language cannot be viewed as a code or a set of rules, it is not a fixed or finite concept. This view of thinking does not highlight the complexities involved in using language for communication. (Australian Government, 2016). The constructedness of a text needs to be known to students, therefore it is important for teachers to address the fact that texts contain the views of the authors and their own ideologies (Green, 2006).

From my readings to research from Edutopia to literature courses, I have gained a deeper appreciation for language. In order to understand what one is speaking, a person needs to spend time listening to one’s language and before responding must reflect and analyze what the other said and how to respond. If a person wants to love another person they have to listen to their language in order to speak their language, and the core part of learning another language is by listening. According to Joan Blaska, author of The Power of Language: Speak and Write Using “Person First” the language people use shows one’s bias and prejudices.  Beliefs and another’s performance fall under the influence of language. Blaska claimed “ the degree to which children are able to perceive themselves as competent and worthy, or the opposite, is heavily influenced by the verbalizations used by their teachers...Studies have found that labeling of students does affect teacher expectations which in turn affects student progress”. People have heavy influence with their words, because of this, our language must be intentional in a way, that breaks down negative stereotypes and helps one gain empathy as well as seeing others capabilities. Communicating and reading others comments and inquiring others has helped me to accept