Lucy's English Language blog

Language + Occupation: Rounding off TASK 1. Profession - Doctors and health care specialists Abbreviations produced by Clinical Staff for use within Health Records: Titles RN – Registered Nurse  Dr – Doctor  FY1 and FY2 – Foundation Doctor  StR – Specialty Doctor  AMHP – Approved Mental Health Professional  HCSW – Healthcare Support Worker  OT – Occupational Therapist  CPN – Community Psychiatric Nurse  LDN – Learning Disability Nurse  CT1-3 – Core Trainee  TASK 2. Abbreviations used in the U.S Navy: Consider the reason for the development of these acronyms - why are they used? For what purpose? (Link to theory where relevant and possible) chow hall - T he cafeteria. While the Army and Air Force both officially use the term  DFAC , or  dining facility , most soldiers and Marines refer to it as the " chow hall ." deck -  A floor or platform extending from end to end of a ship, or horizontal p...

Language + Occupation revision Mindmap: questions 1.  In which year did Howard Giles come up with his ‘Accommodation Theory’?  – 1973. 2. Give examples of 3 acronyms that are specific to the police. – SWAT, ABH, BOP. 3. What's CONVERGENCE? - Simplifying language to a lower position worker. 4. What's DIVERGENCE? - Not using specific words to avoid association with a particular social group. 5. Give an example of discourse structure in language and occupation. - Prescription only familiar to doctor. 6. Why is divergence used for people? - It's used to distance themselves. 7. Why is convergence used for people? - It's used to relate to people. 8. In what year did Drew and Heritage come up with their inferential frameworks theory? - 1993. 9. What's the use of acronyms? - To speed up process in high stress jobs and to make things easier in general. 10. When does the lexicon change? - Lexicon changes depending on who is speaking. Wider re...

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/04/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-code-switches-black-english/586723/ It Wasn’t ‘Verbal Blackface.’ AOC Was Code-Switching. - John McWhorter Summary: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was accused of 'verbal blackface' but underneath it all she was just code-switching to relate to the black audience. "O casio-Cortez was engaging in what linguists call code-switching. Few find code-switching surprising when Latinos do it between English and Spanish, alternating between the two languages within a single conversation or even sentence. The concept perhaps seems less familiar when done between dialects of the same language, but this, too, is extremely common." People are outraged at the fact that Ocasio-Cartez is using Black English and she isn't black. People think that it's just "an act" and that she's belittling and disrespecting  the American Black culture. On top of that, people who speak Black English, o...

Language + gender Theories to know:  Robin Lakoff: Deficit Approach (1975) 'Language and Woman's Place 1. Women use precise discrimination's in naming colours. 2. Women avoid swear words 3. Women use hyperbolic or 'empty' adjectives (eg. sweet, lovely...) 4. Women use intensive 'so' 5. Women use tag questions (could be to seek approval or create a dialogue) 6. Rising intonation in answering questions 7. Hedges (To be assertive or polite) 8. Hypercorrect grammar and superpolite forms 9. Women don't tell jokes 10. Women speak in italics Criticisms: Pamela Fishman  The conclusion she drew was very different to Lakoff. She argued that questions are used by females to start conversation and to continue dialogue, she calls this "conversational shitwork". Fishman accepts this is down to male dominance. Males are reluctant to do this "shitwork" due to their dominant role. Zimmerman & West: Dominance Approach (1975) T...