Real-Time Foreign Language Translation

ABSTRACT

This paper explains about the published articles from online resources that give a solution to immediate language translation in order to maintain situational understanding and information collection. As technology shrinks the distance between nationalities and cultures, language remains a barrier that still prevents a shared perceptive between the pair. This paper will look at how technology has evolved and removed the language barrier through modern technology. As the technology is bringing the world closer, the language barrier has become an unavoidable obstacle. However, there are no limits to the inventions in the field of wireless, hands-free, and real-time translators, if one does not lack imagination. One such invention is the Google’s Babel-Fish earbuds which has changed the idea of foreign translation to a whole new level. This mechanism has made communication easy and effortless with just a click away. The invention is disruptive as Adams warned us all in Hitchhiker’s Guide. “The poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different cultures and races, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.” This invention has made waves with the leading companies which paved a way and formed a basis for inventing more advanced technologies.

INTRODUCTION

This paper will discuss about how Google publicized that it had changed the world with a pair of wireless headphones. Not to be outdone by Apple’s Air Pods and their wirelessly-charging TicTac storage case, Google packed its headphones (in combination with the Pixel 2) with the power to translate between 40 languages, literally in real-time. The company has finally achieved what science fiction and numerous companies have been promising us, but failing to deliver on, for years. This technology could fundamentally change how we communicate across the global community. Google’s Babel-Fish earbuds translate foreign language conversations in real time. Communication is a king. If we finally are capable of building that ‘Babylonian tower,’ perhaps even the world’s peace will be more probable. It’s great to understand each other, isn’t it? (Boris Kontsevoi, Intetics Inc).

HISTORY

In January 2017 at the giant CES gadget show in Las Vegas, Google profiled a young inventor from Manchester who had arrived with something amazing to show off. Danny Manu’s product was called “Clik”, and he billed it as ‘the world’s first truly wireless earbuds with live voice translation supporting 37 languages’. The demo that he gave was not clear-cut and had problems with connectivity. Google was stunned by Danny’s drive and his promise that the final, much slicker product was coming soon.

Ever since then, Google checked in from time to time, and had been told that the Clik earbuds are almost there. Around 4,000 people have ordered them on the Indiegogo and Kickstarter crowd funding platforms and have had to be patient – as there had been delays in delivering the product.

Customers are now being promised a pair of earbuds by the end of the year, and they are available to order by the general public at a price of £219 – although the MyManu website said that the customers will have to wait 16 weeks for them to be delivered which has been proven to be a downfall.

Danny’s inefficiency has proven to be a benefit for Google as they have improved and put in efforts to produce a more highly-efficient product called the babel-fish earbuds commonly called as Pixel buds.

Keeping in mind the price and the demand of the people, Google has come up with a more advanced and ready to access foreign translation earbuds. This has made Google to rise up above the competitors and has given them a reason to look for new and advanced technology in order to beat them, which cannot be matched in the nearest future.

Now Google’s Pixel Buds are on sale for £159 and have been shipped in November2018. Corresponding with the Google Assistant on the new Pixel phone, or another high-end Android, they will convey instantaneous translation straight into your ear. It offers an instant access to Google assistant and a real-time translation of more than 40 languages. Just after saying “Ok Google, help me speak”, it provides instant language translation. To use this service, one needs Pixel Buds, Google Smartphone, and Google Translate app.

CURRENT PERSPECTIVES

In the past few years, Microsoft Research has made many great advances in language translation. The Skype Translator, which is run via the Microsoft Translation API, can perform speech-to-text translations between two languages. The translator came out in December 2014, but it is limited to six languages and requires the user to select the two languages beforehand. Previous research has already seen speech-to-speech translation on mobile devices. Users of the Google Translate Android app speak into the app, the app translates the language into a looked-for language, and the app speaks out the translated language. Today, the app supports 72 different languages, from Afrikaans to Yiddish. This Google Translate Android app learns its translations through a vector system, in which about 5,000 words from Google Translate are used to seed the program, and the system consequently learns parallels between word phrases by itself. Although Google’s app has already accomplished the goal of speech-to-speech translation, the Babel Fish product offers a more modified and personalized experience for users, who can range from toddlers to the elderly which has proven to be again the best product in the market.

FUTURE EXPANSIONS

Few predictions have been made on the longer term growth of the device. Initial of all, the device would really like to expand its diverge of languages to all or any fashionable languages within the world considering its wide impact all round the world; this will make Babel Fish earbuds a universal translator and broaden its usability. To accomplish this, the Microsoft Translator API would initial have to be compelled to translate between over six languages; once this happens, a two-letter code for every language would be inputted within the code to decision any language. With additional languages, the language choice interface would even have to change—instead of getting 3 LED lights, a dial system would be accustomed simply switch between languages. To facilitate user convenience, the device’s lag time would be reduced from twenty seconds to at the most 5 seconds, and this lag time may be created potential with higher Wi-Fi affiliation. User choices will expand; a replay button and volume adjustment button will increase user convenience. Additionally, the Google Speech-to-Text API services will extend to over fifty spoken language exchanges which will occur daily. Within the future, the device can be mass made and marketed to the general public as a affordable translator. In production, the casing would be shaped with discrimination injection moulding instead of amalgamated deposition modeling. This method is way cheaper and appropriate for production of the device.

CONCLUSION

This helps in returning to a conclusion that people who would like basic translation services and ready to decide on a component — will benefit from the interpretation babel-fish earbuds and speak with no hindrance or any language barriers.

We are able to expect from Google, can attempt to build merchandise that stand out from the group with outstanding computing services like translation. They conjointly show however Google, like Apple, desires to make merchandise that employment best with alternative merchandise that it makes — and thus persuade you to choose sides within the technology wars.

In my opinion, Google has come back up with unbeatable technology and plans to remain within the position that it’s achieved for quite some time. Component Buds are established to be economical and are cheap and simple to use. The most important feature of this device is that the easy accessibility to voice translation assistant which can be utilized by all ages. Although this device is economical in its own approach, not solely is it simply accessible however it’s conjointly a really trendy device.

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Figurative Language In The Short Story On The Rainy River

For many writers, figurative language is a device used to make readers empathize with characters. In the short story, “On the Rainy River,” the author, Tim O’Brien, utilizes figurative language to depict the main character’s experiences, inner thoughts, and struggles. More specifically, he also implements figurative language to advise readers about the narrator’s past traumas. The author’s use of similes, metaphors, and symbols contribute to the progression of the story and the reader’s understanding of it.

The main focus of the story is structured when O’Brien received a letter entailing the details of his enlistment to fight in the war. The author then utilizes figurative language early on to illustrate the mental strain of the narrator. An excerpt of the story says, “I sometimes felt the fear spreading inside me like weeds.”(O’Brien 3) O’Brien was fearful of dying and enduring the shame he would feel if he did not serve in the war. Later, he also stated, “All around me the options seemed to be narrowing, as if I were hurtling down a huge black funnel, the whole world squeezing in tight.”(O’Brien 3) O’Brien’s prominent fear that dwelled was the immense decision of whether he should fight in a war he did not believe in or escape to Canada. Here, readers realize the magnitude of the decision he is facing. These similes are significant for readers because they can understand O’Brien’s feelings and actions regarding the war throughout the story. Eventually, readers are also able to make sense of the “moral split” that O’Brien is feeling.

The second example of figurative language in the story is when the author uses symbolism and similes to describe the narrator’s experiences. One important experience for the narrator was working at the Armour meatpacking plant. Throughout the story, the narrator often refers to his job which seems to have traumatized him. In one part of the story, he related the war to his meatpacking job, he says, “thinking about the war and the pig factory and how my life seemed to be collapsing towards slaughter. I felt paralyzed.”(O’Brien 3) Evidently, the narrator’s meatpacking job is a symbol for his feelings of hopelessness and dead-end paths. In other terms, the narrator is unable to sort his feelings to choose a clear consensus, therefore, he feels stuck in a mold where he cannot move. Earlier in the story, as the narrator is describing his job, he mentions, “Even after a hot bath, scrubbing hard, the stink was always there–like old bacon, or sausage, a dense greasy pig-stink.”(O’Brien 3) Here, you can deduct that the stink of the pigs is somewhat traumatizing. It’s as if the “stink” exuded from the pigs are a symbol for feelings he’s been carrying throughout his life. Overall, O’Brien’s job was a notable part of his life, later, it was also the first anecdote he shared with Elroy.

A final representation of figurative language is a section where the narrator ran away from his home to Elroy’s house. Immediately, he first describes Elroy by saying, “as he peered up at me I felt a strange sharpness, almost painful, a cutting sensation if his gaze were somehow slicing me open.”(O’Brien 5) When O’Brien went to Elroy’s house, it was a big turning point in the story. It was a big turning point in the story when O’Brien went to Elroy’s house. Towards the end of the book, Elroy silently confronts O’Brien and attempts to make him decide whether or not he is going to run away from the war. Right from the beginning, we are informed that Elroy can see through O’Brien’s insecurities. The character Elroy plays a fundamental role in the plot. As the story progresses, the author also writes, “He was the true audience. He was a witness, like God or like the gods, who look on in absolute silence as we live our lives, as we make out choices or fail to make them.”(O’Brien 11) In contrast to the way the narrator originally described Elroy, the narrator speaks of Elroy as if he is someone who’s given him guidance. It seems that Elroy is indifferent about O’Brien’s dilemma, and he is simply letting O’Brien make his own choice while still offering silent support. In general, the figurative language relating to Elroy’s character supports the idea that Elroy is a character understands O’Brien and greatly aids O’Brien in his time of hardship.

All in all, figurative language is a crucial element in the short story, “On the Rainy River.” Tim O’Brien incorporated multiple uses of figurative language to enhance his feelings and experiences. When they are brought together, it makes a considerable impact when getting to know the characters better. In the end, O’Brien’s implementation of metaphors, similes, and symbolism created an immersing, complex story.

Language As A Tool For Persuasion

The intention of most media messages is to persuade the audience to believe or to behave a certain way. Hollywood films use upscale special effects to make the spectators that what they’re seeing is real. News use several techniques – such as direct quotation of identified sources – to make their audience accept the story as accurate. The media messages that use persuasive language can be found in quite a few different spheres. Commercial advertising has a main goal which is to make society purchase a product or service. Public relations has a main goal that is to impose a positive image. Politicians and advocacy groups try to persuade voters to support them using different speeches, newsletters, websites, and other means. These ‘persuaders’ use a variety of means to achieve required attention, to establish credibility and trust, to stimulate desire , and to motivate to behave a certain way.This is what one can refer to as ‘language of persuasion.”Some of the components of persuasion have more salient linguistic indications than others. In the verbal message of the advertisement, the presence of persuasion can be detected through stylistic manifestations.

K. Reardon comments that persuasion does not necessarily occur in the best interests of the persuadee, but none the less, in any case, the final choice is left to him or her. To that extent the author distinguishes persuasion from manipulation and coercion. Advertising makes it possible to sell more merchandise due to its persuasive nature. The language of persuasion is employed for successful advertising campaign thereby, boosting patronage of idea, product or service. Advertising serves society in positive and negative ways. Certain advertisements are widely accepted in a given society while others are treated with utmost dislike and scepticism; for instance, advertising products such as tobacco or alcohol has now been banned in most Western and developing countries or its advertisement censored and regulated by relevant agencies. Critics debate whether advertising raises or lowers the price of goods. In some instances, economies of scale allow producers in response to demand created by advertising, to manufacture larger quantities at a lower price. However, many critics argue that advertising, particularly on television, is expensive and that the cost of such advertising is often added to the product price. Notwithstanding these controversies surrounding the economic impacts of advertising, it is obvious that advertising can also introduce efficiency into the economy by allowing comparison shopping without in-person inspections of all the alternatives. So what techniques are used on advertisements using “persuasive language“?

Many advertisements use humor because it grabs attention and it’s a powerful persuasion technique. Advertisers make the audience laugh and then show their product or logo because they’re trying to connect that good feeling to their product. Their hope is that when their product in a store is seen, the same emotion will be re-experienced and their product is selected. Advocacy and news rarely use this technique because it can undermine their credibility. The language in the advertisements is also full of intensifiers, including superlatives (greatest, best, most, fastest, lowest prices), comparatives (more, better than, improved, increased, fewer calories), hyperbole (amazing, incredible, forever), exaggeration, and many other ways to hype the product. Another thing that advertisers use is repetition. It is used in two ways: Within an ad or advocacy message, words, sounds or images may be repeated to reinforce the main point. And the message itself (a TV commercial, a billboard, a website banner ad) may be displayed many times. Even unpleasant advertisements and political slogans work if they are repeated enough to pound their message into our minds.Another technique is flattery. Politicians and advertisers sometimes speak directly to us: ‘You know a good deal when you see one.’ ‘You expect quality.’ ‘You work hard for a living.’ ‘You deserve it.’ Flattery works because every individual likes to be praised. ‘Do you want to get out of debt?’ ‘Do you want quick relief from headache pain?’ and ‘Should we leave our nation vulnerable to terrorist attacks?’ are all rhetorical questions.Rhetorical questions are used to build trust and alignment before the sales pitch. These are just a few examples of techniques used to persuade society to behave a certain way. Nowdays, even more techniques are practiced and used.

All in all, language as a tool of persuasion is powerful in this age of consumerism. The study of persuasion is a central topic of consumer research. Using different linguistic devices the persuasive impact of words and sentences can be magnified. The way that a word is pronounced, metaphors and rethoric can affect an audience significantly. Exploited most frequently in advertising and marketing, linguistic devices can be used to strengthen any argument. When it comes to persuasion, it is not just what is said that is important, but how it is said. The goal is the use of the right language, in the right way, with the right audience. The researchers designed the framework particularly for marketers and advertisers to use for their campaigns. The framework shows which language devices require more cognitive effort from the audience. Some devices require no effort to process, acting on the audience automatically, whereas others need the audience to be engaged in order for them to process the information.The framework acts as a guide for knowing how much audiences must be engaged before a linguistic device will be effective in persuading. It also brings together all the current knowledge about persuasive linguistic devices and has uncovered present knowledge gaps, such as the extent to which linguistic effects generalize across cultures and the role of individual differences in the effects of linguistic devices.

A Critical Analysis Of The Spark Schools’ Language Policy Document

There are many different ways in which one can describe the meaning of language. Different scholars, from Aristotle to Vygotsky, have different definitions and theories surrounding the role that language plays. However, Edward Sapir (former American anthropologist-linguist) described it best by categorizing language as purely human and non-instinctive. “Every language enables its speakers to express whatever they want to express, only the technical means are different.” In South Africa alone, we have 11 official languages that are spoken by over 56 million people.

In the context of the South African education system, post-Apartheid, the main question that I focus on in this paper is, how does the SPARK Schools language policy meet the needs of diverse students in a South African context? Research continues to support the statement that using a child’s mother tongue is crucial to effective learning. (Buhmann, 2008) Yet, there are nine indigenous languages to consider, as well as English and Afrikaans.

This paper focuses on answering the above question by providing the reader with an extensive analysis of the SPARK Schools’ language policy document by addressing the following:

  • Informing language ideologies. (how it is conceptualized)
  • Approach to language teaching and learning.
  • The imagined learner of this kind of language policy.
  • Strengths and weaknesses.
  • Alignment with goals and intentions of the 1997 Dept of Education Language policy.

SPARK Schools language policy is based on the Department of Education’s “Language in Education policy” as well as their own Diversity Policy. “The SPARK Schools Language Policy was developed based on requirements of the Department of Basic Education’s Language in Education Policy, the National Education Policy Act, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, and the SPARK Schools Diversity Policy.” (SPARK School’s Language Policy, Section 1.1)

There is a clear, concerted effort on SPARK Schools’ part to be in close alignment with the goals and intentions of the 1997 Dept of Education language policy as they refer to it at least seven times throughout the first two sections of their language policy. There are three good examples that stand out in particular: promotion of inclusivity; acknowledgement of a more fluid relationship between languages and culture and lastly, attention to the redress of previously disadvantaged languages i.e. the nine African languages, apart from English and Afrikaans. Firstly, SPARK Schools promotes inclusivity by enforcing respect for languages other than one’s own, in their language policy. “Discriminatory behaviour on the basis of language, intentional or otherwise, will not be tolerated at the School.” (section 6.1) Secondly, they acknowledge a more fluid relationship between languages and culture in which parents are encouraged to continue speaking with their child in their home language, whether it is English or not. “Acknowledging that language plays a significant role in cultural identity, SPARK parents/guardians are encouraged to continue speaking with their child in their home language, to instil cultural values and practices…” It is well known that children’s own language behaviour is shaped by parental language. (King, 2008). Thirdly, they pay attention to the redress of previously disadvantaged languages by offering isiXhosa and isiZulu as first additional languages, isiXhosa at their school in the Western Cape and isiZulu at their schools in Gauteng. The influence behind their decision of making isiXhosa and isiZulu first additional languages was that these were the most populous previously marginalized African languages of their respective provinces.

However, one of the few weaknesses of SPARK Schools language policy is that it is generic. The same language policy applies to all the Spark Schools despite the fact that they span across different areas with different demographics as well as two different provinces. (Western Cape and Gauteng) English is chosen as the exclusive medium of instruction for all their schools across the country. The issue here is that the same language of instruction won’t necessarily succeed across different areas of the country. The other challenge is that learners do not all necessarily live in the same area as the school so it can be challenging to make assumptions as to what their home languages may or may not be outside of school. Although, if we look at the SPARK Schools in context, for example, the Western Cape branch, English isn’t the most widely spoken home language, it is Afrikaans, in Stellenbosch (location of the school) even more so. This raises the question as to why Afrikaans isn’t offered as a home language option or even as a first additional language option. The answer to that would be relative to the informing language ideologies of the schools’ policy.

Afrikaans is often stigmatized as the “language of the oppressor.” (Busch, 2010) Afrikaans is excluded from the curriculum even though it is one of the most frequently used languages in both the Western Cape as well as Gauteng. The areas in which each Spark School is situated, confirms this statement. The reason for this can be linked to the example I mentioned previously which was the redressing of previously disadvantaged languages. During Apartheid, the Department of Education’s Language in Education policy was used to only favour English and Afrikaans which therefore marginalized all non-English/Afrikaans speakers. “The raising of the status of the nine African languages was thus designed to reverse the effects of decades of language engineering.” (Busch, 2010)

Reversing the negative effects that Apartheid had and still continues to have on language today, is an ongoing process. A similar process can be found in a case study done at Rakaumanga school in New Zealand where the aim of their language policy is to protect the indigenous Maori language, which too became neglected after the New Zealand Department of Education made English the sole medium of instruction. In South Africa’s case, this was the introduction of Afrikaans alongside English as medium of instruction in all schools in 1974. Hence, the government introduced a form of a “revitalization process” (Hill, R and May, S. 2014) which is how Maori was brought back into schools in New Zealand. This is something that South Africa is attempting to do as well, as seen in the 1997 Department of Basic Education’s “Language in Education Policy.” Although, it’s implementation hasn’t really been successful.

Another ideology that informs SPARK School’s language policy document is that acquiring English as a home language is considered a steppingstone for learners to become citizens of the world. In their language policy document, they continue reiterating the fact that it is their mission to create global citizens. (See Introduction 1.3) In fact, it is their vision, “South Africa leads global education.” English is an International language whereas the rest of our 11 official languages are not.

“Although the presence of English in the urban public space is overwhelming, it is important to bear in mind that this does not reflect language preferences in daily life.” (Busch, 2010) Although, SPARK Schools recognise that most learners are multilingual and not all learners come from homes where English is spoken or used as a home language, English is still seen as superior. English is offered as a home language on the basis that all learners have English as a language in common between them, even though it isn’t necessarily their mother tongue. Learners at SPARK Schools become fully immersed in learning two languages as both the home language and first additional language is mandatory from as early as grade R. It is believed that many learners are already exposed to at least two or three languages outside of school. (Busch, 2010) For bilingual children, parental ideologies are also theorized to play a crucial role in determining language outcomes. (De Houwer, 1999) This is why they have emphasised the fact that parents should continue to speak with their child in their home language. They should not have to repress their cultural identity by ignoring their own language and just speak in English.

SPARK Schools language policy follows a learner-centred approach. They allow and encourage learners to use their linguistic resources for meaning making in and outside the classroom. Their language policy document is divided into three sections: Languages as subjects; Languages as Social and Cultural Media and Languages as Media of Communication. It discusses different areas of language use and not just in the mere sense of language as a medium of instruction in the classroom. Learners are provided with opportunities to speak in their various home languages when it comes to peer/group work in the classroom as well as in common spaces. One of the strengths of this language policy is that it is set up in a way that is clear, easy to understand and it is quite specific as to how they view language use and the role in which language plays in their setting.

Another strength of the SPARK Schools language policy is that they promote inclusivity, diversity and tolerance in various ways such as by addressing consequences for any form of discriminatory behaviour on the basis of language as seen underneath their rules section. They also encourage learners to speak in whatever language they feel most comfortable with during social interactions as well as during group work in the classroom.

Learners’ home languages may also be used as a form of scaffolding for better understanding in the classroom setting. Instructional code used by teachers in textbooks may not be the same as the linguistic resources children bring to the learning process. (Pluddermann, 2015) As mentioned in 3.4 underneath the section, Languages as subjects, teachers or peers may act as translators in the event of any learner struggling with a limited understanding of English Home Language or in one of the first additional languages. “A teacher may act as a translator or ask a helpful peer to translate. This scaffolded instruction is a form of structured bilingual education that supports student achievement.”

Code-switching is allowed which gives learners the opportunity to use their linguistic resources for meaning making. Teachers use code-switching for the purpose of explaining new concepts, clarifying any questions the learner might have as well as to make connections with learners. (Probyn, 2006) However, this extends outside the classroom as well which can be seen underneath section 5 which is, Languages as Media of Communication. SPARK Schools make an effort to involve their school community as far as possible by doing the following: providing translation of weekly newsletters, homework instructions and announcements sent home, in the case of that learner’s family having a limited understanding of English, facilitating community meetings and events with dual language translation and having a translator in meetings with parents as well as providing written and verbal feedback on the child’s progress in both English and the parent’s most proficient language.

The SPARK School’s language policy shows that although language can form a barrier between people – it does not have to. This is an example of a school that can create spaces for multilingual identities to challenge traditional monolinguistic ideas. SPARK Schools are privileged to have the access to resources that they have, however it is important to note that SPARK Schools are a network of independent (private) schools and not government. Of course, this does not in any way mean to say that government schools cannot adopt a similar approach to their own language policies. There is a need for all South African schools to adopt practices that address diversity and difference. (Makoe, 2014) The main problem that most government schools face is not only the lack of implementation of such practices and policies but a lack of resources and funding which is needed to implement the kind of language policy that would reach the vast majority of African language speakers.

One thing that SPARK Schools can consider for the future is to have dual-medium instruction as opposed to offering the use of a translator in the classroom. This would allow learners to feel like they are in more control of their own learning. This would also support the fact that most learners do not have English as a home language and as I stated in my introduction, using a child’s mother tongue is crucial to effective learning. The fact that SPARK Schools has included such considerations in their language policy supports the above statement as well. In mentioning that learners or teachers may act as translators, stating that learners may speak whatever language they are comfortable with in social interactions as well as during groupwork and going the extra mile by offering translation of newsletters, announcements, homework instructions etc verifies that they themselves know that many of their learners do not have English as a home language, hence my suggestion for dual-medium instruction as a consideration.

My analysis of the SPARK Schools language policy has shown that they indeed have made an effort to meet the needs of diverse students in a South African context. They state the following, “we value diversity and the expression of diverse cultures…” It also shows that by being more aware and sensitive to the role of language professionally and casually, we can come closer to maintaining our diversity but at the same time, be united. We cannot lift up one, without lifting the others. We cannot favour one, without favouring the others. Language is for everybody. There is not one better than the other.

Reference list

  1. Spark Schools. 2019. Language Policy. Available: https://www.sparkschools.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Language-Policy-18092018_External-Distribution.pdf
  2. Department of Education. 1997. Language in education policy. Government Gazette, Vol.17997. No.383. Pretoria: Department of Education. Available: https://www.gov.za/documents/language-education-policy-0
  3. Busch, B. 2010. School language profiles: Valorising linguistic resources in heteroglossic situations in South Africa. Language and Education. 24(4): 283 – 294. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500781003678712
  4. Palmer, D.K and Martinez, R.D. 2016. Developing Biliteracy: What do teachers really need to know about language? Language Arts. 93(5): 379 – 385.
  5. Hill, R and May, S. 2014. Exploring Biliteracy in Maori Medium Education: An Ethnographic Perspective. In McCarty, T. (Ed).

Language Policies In The European Union

A significant problem in European integration is about dialects/languages and specifically how the EU establishments adapt to language variety. In this research paper, I tried to build up an investigation for evaluating the nature of language routines not in outright terms, yet rather regarding their compatibility with the objectives of actors, in terms of ‘scenarios’. The article concentrates around the European Parliament due to the facing of ‘enlargement’ and the complexities that come with it. Looking at the financial and administrative points of interests and downsides of language policies of six under three distinct situations as scenarios as mentioned above. Outcomes demonstrate that different language policies may be ideal relying upon the situation reflected and that multilingualism does not necessarily suggest an unavoidable rise in expense.

INTRODUCTION

The expansion in the quantity of the EU official and operating languages has been a central problem driven by the EU enlargement. Each added Member State, aside from Cyprus, has put another language to the already existing eleven, and now the official and active languages are a total of twenty-four. The EU, as predictable, has embraced a few technical and organized degrees so as to likely adapt to the changed setting. The Council has received an arrangement of deciphering for the reason of ‘solicitation’ in regards to the gatherings of some preliminary meetings (Council of the European Union, 2005) and the Parliament suggested length limitations for specific documents for diminishing the requirement in the scope of interpretation (European Parliament, 2004a). Yet, ‘full multilingualism’ as a common guideline was at last verified. At first glance as an unconfirmed tolerance for the ‘little’ languages and a misuse of cash is truly a very delicate inquiry. Its known languages achieve two roles that is conjoined and can only with significant effort be isolated: an informative role, for instance the broadcast of data in a wide understanding, and an emblematic role, related with social and political characteristics, as demonstrated with individuals’ feeling of social identity and cultural personality (Edwards, 1985). In this way, it is most certainly not astonishing that the arrangements embraced by the EU frequently speak to trade off among various and contradictory ideas to what administration of multilingualism is. Nonetheless, it is not planned to intercede straightforwardly in the political discussion about the EU language policy and suggest a design as a result of a specific universal standard. As an instance, as we would see it, its not extremely valuable to state that given language policies are excessively costly in total terms. Or maybe, what we can say is whether a given language policy is excessively costly inside a given structure, or, putting it in an unexpected way, regardless of whether it is excessively costly as for the objectives.

METHODOLOGY

The approach that I pursue for the methodology part is policy analysis: primarily, it takes a specific institutional and political system for, this being characterized by characters objectives in a political discussion. Second, inside a given situation, it assesses which language policies, viewed like a specific kind of language strategy, are most appropriate to consent to these objectives, considering the two components of language. In the case of applying, highlighting the methodology of Pool (1996) and Grin (1997), who handles the subject of the ideal language routine for the EU demonstrate that different arrangements might be ideal, contingent upon the objectives sought after and on linguistic, communication and institution circumstances.

The report proceeds sequentially: in a short outline of multilingualism administration in the EU’ segment for and against, without broadly describing, how multilingualism is really overseen and what the fundamental factors in question. These factors are political, social, practical, financial and legal nature. The significance given by the characters for these factors will characterize various potential situations or, to restate it in an unexpected way, various results of a political discussion. In ‘language policy evaluation in the European Parliament’, in my opinion, this approach is a way to deal with the EP as it is gone up against with the difficulties of enlargement. I will state the points of interest and the downsides of six language routines inside three distinct situations or scenarios, and will, at last, evaluate which designs are most appropriate to meet the administrations’ goals. It is known that no language policy can be viewed as the best arrangement, as per the hypothetical terminations of Pool (1996) and Grin (1997). Demonstrations are toward that the utilization of more languages does not infer definitely as an unsuitable rise in financial spending. The last part gives a discussion and ends with a conclusion.

REASONS FOR MULTILINGUAL COMMUNICATION

Legitimate issues comprise the principal place to be considered. Usually learning that one critical part of the standards of Community law is the quick effect they have on the abstract legitimate circumstance of the EU institutes themselves, of Member States and people. Given this unique situation, while all natives and organizations are obliged to know and follow Community law, the issue is to choose whether it is permissible to request that they gain such learning in a language that they don’t ace completely. Constraining the languages would in this manner weaken equality of rights (Fenet 2001; De Elera 2004).

A second critical gathering of factors identifies with political matters, specifically democratic based support, the equality of representers and the influence of the Member States. Concerning the topic of the general population’s support in the Union’s political part, it should be highlighted that the EU endeavors to have a role of communication in a more ‘including’ manner, for this should be the ideal approach to empower individuals to take an interest in EU political events (also, somewhat, take control of it). Another political perspective concerns the representative institutes.The EU pursues the guideline of the equality of political agents, as balance is perceived between what representatives speak to, and as it is important to abstain from having an impediment in the value of languages which could convert into an unconfirmed decrease of the political load of the individuals who can’t talk about issues in the language that they like (Galle 1994: 10; Herbillon 2003: 34). An arrangement of equality of languages is along these lines and the working languages should be estabished.

It ought to be noticed this isn’t generally the situation, because it relies upon the idea of the coming together. In the Council, for instance, the equal treatment of the 24 working languages is constantly regarded for the discussions of ministers, just as for meetings of the European Council, while Coreper meetings and certain gatherings, less working languages are employed (Herbillon, 2003: 34–35). At last, political inquiries related with the influence of the Member States likewise must be evaluated. An equal attitude of the Member States’ official languages has eventually been viewed as a part of the equal treatment of the parties. Likewise, communication with the parties for the most part infers employing 24 official languages. Influence and prestige likewise effects in the interior communication, however in another manner. Social issues additionally have a part.

REASONS AGAINST MULTILINGUAL COMMUNICATION

Another significant issue I want to mention in multilingual situations, is the case of the EU efficiency in communication. Working in various languages hinders performance, particularly when composed writings should be translated. In the EU, where work is completed considerably by ‘international officials’ and not by political delegates, multilingual communication for internal exercises is by the constraining of the quantity of working language. In this way, specific consideration is paid to the dimension of universal authorities’ language abilities.The term international officials in a wide understanding to incorporate EU commissionars, the judges of the Court of Justice, the members from the Court of Auditors and of the ECB is used. The ambassadors working in Coreper and specialists working in the preparatory gatherings of the Council are likewise incorporated into this definition.

In any case, constraining working active languages can be advocated by down to practical reasons, on account of the Commission’s preparatory work, there is extensive contradiction over the formal criteria for choosing which and what number of working languages there ought to be, and their particular fields of activity. As a result, the foundation of ‘linguistic superiority’ is depended to the fragile balance of custom (Phillipson, 2003), and in this domain of the ‘implied’ discussions of emblematic and diplomatic nature emerge and have emerged (see Phillipson, 2003: 22; Galli Della Loggia, 2005).

What Is The Significance Of The Nation In Shaping Language Policy?

In this essay, I will be discussing the significance of the nation in shaping language policies. I will be arguing the point of view of civic nationalism versus liberal culturalism. I will be defending the viewpoint of liberal culturalism, which defends the obligation of the state to privilege and endorse certain national cultures and languages within its borders. Provided these have been historically associated with a given territory. Although, limiting to only offering the promotion to regional languages can compromise the acquisition of a foreign language of greater use. As opposed, there is the liberal culturalism, which insists that the state doesn´t belong to any nation and, therefore, for the state to favour one or more cultures would mean devaluing the others. This way of thinking is viewed as morally preferable to culturalism. However, this theory only lives as an abstract theory. My view is that a state protecting and supporting all the national cultures and languages equally within its territory is not a feasible option.

In order to understand what these theories defend, we need to comprehend their views on what a nation is. The nation is meant to describe a political identity built around shared citizenship. In this sense, a nation does not need to be unified by a common language or culture. From this definition, we understand the nation as a group of people that merely share the same citizenship. Some civic nationalists claim in the importance of a shared culture on grounds for a unitary model of citizenship where everybody enjoys equal rights. To achieve this, immigrants and other linguistic minorities must assimilate the national language. The majority language, of the country in which they have settled. It is crucial for a state that its citizens share one language. Since it is the base upon which politics are built, which will grant them the opportunity to participate in the economic and political affairs of the nation. This argument supports the imposition of linguistic and cultural requirements upon citizens to promote assimilation through the provision of services and incentives from the government. Sometimes, this imposition is disguised as “ethnocultural-neutrality”. However, the idea of the government being neutral is false, as something like deciding the language of instruction in schools is one of the most influential forms of societal support. There exists a more accepted “neutral” justification for assimilation purposes that is called formal neutrality. This justification alludes to the government’s concern of making assimilation accessible, in order to guarantee at least two basics rights, as aforementioned — the right to economic opportunity and the right to democratic participation. Moreover, sharing a national language will save the state resources on translating documents, providing interpreter and educating schoolteachers. It is worth noting that none of these reasons to promote a common language mentions the superiority of one language over another; they solely bring up the importance of securing the interests of the state.

Nonetheless, this policy does not seem to be enough for some to show that the state, as a civic nation, does not endorse a particular culture. The government may not be harbouring any discriminatory intentions. However, its policies are indistinguishable from those of a “liberal culturalist” government, which would implement the same agenda in order to favour the majority national culture, which would clash with the values expressed by a civic state. Due to the lack of regulations for “formal neutrality”, the state sends the message that the majority nation owns the state and that minorities are second-class citizens. The author Anna Stilz came up with the more tailored approach of the “least-cost model”, which consists in the promotion for the citizens’ fundamental interest by imposing rationalization policies at the least cost to individuals invested in other languages. Following this model for linguistic diversity, the state should allow for the public promotion of minority languages alongside the majority language.

The author explores further the viability of this policy using the cases of Wales and Iceland as examples as to when this policy should be applied. While in Wales, the majority language is English, the presence of Welsh has been increasing over the past few years, but is there any real contribution to the citizens’ economic and political participation?

On the other hand, we have Iceland, a country whose official national language isn’t present anywhere else in the world, and therefore has no use outside of its borders. For this reason, the promotion of other languages is necessary in order to prepare their citizens for a European labour market. The creation of language polices are born from the nation’s need to preserve the best interest of its citizens.

Language And Ideology

This paper deals with so many things related to language ideology. The term “ideology” has always been accompanied by its association as it is obvious in its dictionary meaning as ‘a system of ideas, ideals especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy’ Recently, there has been a lot of effort to explore a notorious issue of ideology. This paper aims at exploring the relationship between ideology and language in terms of Contrastive Discourse Analysis (CDA). Chomsky’s view and further more will be discussed in this paper.

Ideology is a set of beliefs and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Ideology assumes a basic job in forming or shaping the language. Regardless of this, next to no examination has been attempted to intently look at this wonder and the relationship it has on the genuineness, legitimacy and authenticity of language, which conveys an ideological stamp. While enthusiasm for the job of philosophy has been inspected in different subject matters and data exchange, investigate stays insufficient in language. The unpredictability of this wonder, its effect and suggestions for clear correspondence call for further investigation.

As individuals have various perspectives, every individual, however once in a while shares same ideas for all intents and purpose with others, takes a gander at and sees things in an unexpected way. Truth be told, this normal dissimilarity among individuals can every so often be liable to specific impacts which may drive them clear towards one single heading to shape a self-ruling gathering that shares same ideological principles impossible to miss to that gathering. As needs be, the point at which this shows up, a condition of contention or conflict with different gatherings who have disagree thoughts and tendencies might be available. Because of this conflict among those gatherings, the belief systems of everyone can be viewed as false principles and mentalities that are inborn in the brains of the other

As per Williams (1976), advocates of specific social frameworks, for example, the proletarians or the average have their own philosophies and their own frameworks of thoughts suitable to each class. An efficient group of thoughts, sorted out from a specific perspective . As indicated by the meaning of philosophy above, belief system is orderly and intentional which is constrained by excellence of keeps an eye one’s watchfulness, mindset, which finds certain tracks that decide what humans look like at things, think about things, judge things, and draw their inner conflict demeanors throughout everyday life. Thus, individuals see and view things distinctively relying upon the thoughts put away in their brains, which decide how they need to treat things.

A nearby take a gander at the above definition may cause one to trust that any individual who has a place with any social gathering may have similar ideas and convictions with others of a similar society. This maintains anybody on the off chance that we consider the similitude’s among individuals as far as culture, religion, and the political connection. Along these lines, philosophy is shared convictions and conventions among specific social gatherings and that feeling of correspondence offers capacity to the belief system of those gatherings when they are the prevailing forces in any general public.

From the Islamic perspective, belief system and religion don’t reject one another: ideological realities are religious facts and the other way around. Islamic researchers have asserted that there is no distinction between the Islamic and the ideological). For an Islamist an announcement like, ‘The thoughts of the decision class are in each age the decision thoughts, i.e., the class which is the decision material power of society, is in the meantime its decision scholarly power’ (Marx and Engels, 1974: 64) ought to be good for nothing.

The positive picture of belief system in Islam can be comprehended from the way that the most persuasive Islamic researchers of the twentieth century have contended that Islam isn’t a religion, however a philosophy. For instance Islam ought not be known as a religion, yet a belief system. These Islamic researchers originated from the Indian subcontinent. The Egyptian Hasan al Bana’s2 plan of Islamic philosophy has roused pretty much every Islamic political development on the planet since the early many years of the twentieth century: ‘The Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our Guide; demise for the brilliance of Allah is our most noteworthy aspiration’

Ideology is a lot of thoughts which emerge from a given arrangement of material interests. In this way, individuals who share similar interests, convictions, and culture may have certain standards of reasoning which serve them to accomplish those interests and build up the bases of their reality sees. This remains constant in the event that one considers that the expression ‘belief system’ is connected, as it were, to man’s thoughts and musings. As individuals have various perspectives, every individual, however some of the time shares same thoughts for all intents and purpose with others, takes a gander at and sees things in an unexpected way). Truth be told, this regular uniqueness among individuals can once in a while be liable to specific impacts, which may drive them clear towards one single bearing to shape a self-sufficient gathering that shares same ideological fundamentals impossible to miss to that gathering. In like manner, when this shows up, a condition of contention or conflict with different gatherings who have contradict thoughts and tendencies might be available. The belief systems of everyone can be viewed as false conventions and frames of mind that are intrinsic in the brains of the other. Defenders of specific social frameworks, for example, the proletarians or the common have their very own philosophies and their very own frameworks of thoughts fitting to each class. As he clarifies, one belief system can be viewed as right and dynamic against another philosophy and that the belief system of others, which speaks to the belief system of the opposite side; in spite of being valid, articulation of their interests, is, for the other party, false. Inability to understand this created philosophy: a topsy turvy adaptation of the real world.’ belief system as ‘a precise group of thoughts, composed from a specific perspective’.

Poetry Is The Most Distilled And Powerful Language

Poetry is one of the most powerful forms of writing because it takes the English language, a language we believe we know, and transforms it. Suddenly the words do not sound the same or mean the same. The pattern of the sentences sounds new and melodious. It is truly another language exclusively for the writer and the reader. No poem can be read in the same way, because the words mean something different to each of us. For this reason, many find poetry an elusive art form. However, the issue in understanding poetry lies in how you read poetry. Reading it logically results in overall comprehension, rigid and unchanging. However, reading it emotionally allows the nuances and paradoxes to enter our understanding. Anyone who writes poetry can attest, you have to write it with an open heart. So as a reader, we must do the same. All poems are insights into the most intimate inner workings of the writer’s mind and soul. To read it coldly and rationally would be shutting the door on the relationship that the writer is attempting to forge with you. Opening your heart to poetry is the only way to get fulfillment from it.

If you imagine poetry as a journey, you must be willing to trust the writer to guide you. Unwilling readers will never experience every part of the adventure in the same way open-minded readers do. The journey may be filled with dead ends and suffering or endless joy and happiness. And still, you continue on. You pick up the poem, you read, you listen, and you feel. Every student has the opportunity to experience this phenomenon, to reach a new level of maturity as they attempt to unravel the meaning of each poem like they will attempt to unravel different challenges in life ahead.

Thus far in my course, we have studied Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, and Seamus Heaney in depth. Each with their own unique and fascinating life stories which they highlight in each of their poems. Sylvia Plath was one of the most dynamic and admired poets of the 20th century. By the time she took her life at the age of 30, Plath already had a following in the literary community. In the ensuing years, her work attracted the attention of a multitude of readers, who saw in her singular verse an attempt to catalog despair, violent emotion, and obsession with death. This complex and despairing woman had gained such a level of universality through her works. Although she may not be the most idealistic of role models for our generation, she is a woman who displays no apprehension in sharing her innermost thoughts and feelings with the world.

Seamus Heaney, also known as the ‘King of Poetry’, was referred to by The New York Review of Books essayist, Richard Murphy as ‘the poet who has shown the finest art in presenting a coherent vision of Ireland, past and present.’ Heaney has secured himself the title of a humble and thoughtful man and poet, who could identify and understand others. His poetry, as a result, is sensitive and sympathetic, as it shows us a man meditating on his own childhood and various precious relationships. Heaney possesses another image as a poet who celebrated the traditional crafts and the identity of the country’s inhabitants. Through his poetry, Heaney recognizes what is good and he cherishes and celebrates it. This is something our generation lacks, this obsession with materialism is consuming us as of now, and studying a poet who acknowledged the simple, yet beautiful elements of life is inspirational.

My favorite poet on the course has to be Elizabeth Bishop. As I studied her poetry I became more transfixed in her poetic abilities and the many challenges she had to overcome throughout her life. I have become more mature in the process and I am so grateful that my teacher included her in our studies. What strikes me most about Bishop as a poet is that she never hid her flaws and the scars of her past from her readers. She described everything how it was. She was an honest and authentic poet, who was capable of asking her readers to not only focus on her but with her.

Each of these poets had such a level of wisdom, brilliance, and creative power that all English tutees are striving towards. For instance, I believe Heaney’s poem ‘The Forge’ can reflect their longing perfectly. Heaney highlights the sacred nature of art by describing the blacksmith at work and thus himself writing poetry. In ‘The Forge’, the blacksmith works on his raw materials, hammering and shaping it until it assumes the form intended. In the same way, the poet must use his skill and craft to shape with words-poems from the raw material of his own experience. From the beginning, we are aware of Heaney’s great admiration and awe for the blacksmith. He says ‘All I know, meaning that he himself is aware that he has much to learn before he attains the skill exhibited by the blacksmith, I guess you could say that we are all like Heaney, as he looked towards the blacksmith for inspiration, we are seeking inspiration from Heaney himself. However, for now, we are just observers. With each Poet we study, we are immersed in the talent that they produce and become familiar with their stories and their personalities. We almost feel as though we are given the key to all their thoughts and memories and can interpret it in any way we deem satisfactory. It is a gift.

I believe that Poetry is an element of English that we will carry with us into our journey towards adulthood. The sheer inspiration these poets hold for their readers is so beautiful and their works are so captivating that they would be impossible to forget. Different factors of my Quotidien are prompting me to recall some of the genii works from these poets. For instance, I was walking along with the Salthill peer with my mother and I spotted a little sailboat with a young boy and his father as they spent the glorious evening fishing. I immediately recalled Bishop’s poem ‘The Fish’. Bishop was a painter as well as a poet in her time and we could vividly see the traces of her paintbrush in this poem in particular as she provides us with such an intimate and beautiful portrait of the ‘tremendous fish’. I thoroughly enjoyed this poem for its close observation and detailed description, culminating in a moment of insight. She had expected to catch the fish but what I found very interesting was that it was actually Elizabeth Bishop who was ‘caught by the fish.

Each of the poet’s innovations comes from ordinary day-to-day life, like that of the fish, the harvest bow in Heaney’s poem ‘Harvest Bow’ reminded him of his father. This poem captures the intensity and power with which memories can visit us. Touching the bow causes Heaney’s memories of a long-ago evening to come rushing. There is also a powerful sense of nostalgia in the depiction of the poet and his father walking through the ‘railway slopes’, Heaney with his ‘fishing rod’ and his father with his ‘stick’. We see this in the poet’s declaration that he was ‘already homesick/for the big lift of these evenings’ Heaney now connects the past with the present. He realizes that these good times have now passed with feelings of intense disappointment. Perhaps that, why these memories mean so much to him and why he paints a picture of such an ordinary event as being extraordinary is because, deep down, he knows that these special times with his father have passed.

Also of course in Plath’s poem ‘Black Rook in Rainy Weather. ‘A wet black rook Arranging and rearranging its feathers in the rain’ is a symbol of how the ‘minor light’ of life can shine suddenly through banal objects. The rook is an ordinary bird, which serves to focus Plath’s vision. It is a ruse she chooses in order to instill patience in herself. She settles for its minor light while she awaits a more transcendent vision. This poem is a deeply personal poem that reveals a lot about Plath’s mental state.

The rook and Harvest Bow, two inanimate objects that I certainly would not cast more than a glance at, are analyzed by both Plath and Heaney and they have shown a completely new meaning for them. They probe beneath the surface of each day-to-day object they encounter which shows works of genius. Thereby, giving these objects a surreal and gratifying meaning for their readers. It has certainly made me more aware of my surroundings and I can now acknowledge the simple, yet beautiful aspects of life.

Poetry at its best calls forth our deep being. It dares us to break free from the safe strategies of the cautious mind; it calls to us, like the wild geese from an open sky. It is a magical art and always has been — a making of language spells designed to open our eyes, open our doors and welcome us into a bigger world, one of the possibilities we may never have dared to dream of.

This is why poetry can be dangerous as well as necessary. Because we may never be the same again after reading a poem that happens to speak to our own life directly. I know that when I meet my own life in a great poem, I feel opened, clarified, confirmed somehow in what I sensed was true but had no words for. Anything that can do this is surely necessary for the fullness of human life. Poems are necessary because they honor the unknown, both in us and in the world. They come from an undiscovered country; they are shaped into form by the power of language and set free to fly with wings of images and metaphor. Imagine a world in which everything is already known. It would be a dead world, no questions, no wonder, no other possibility. That’s what my own world can feel like sometimes when my imagination has gone into retreat. I have discovered that poetry is the phoenix I can fly on to return to that forgotten land.

And yet for all its magic, poetry uses the common currency of our daily speech. It uses words that are known to all of us, but in a sequence and order that surprises us out of our normal speech rhythms and linear thought processes. Its effect is to illuminate our lives and breathe new life, new seeing, new tasting into the world we thought we knew.

Poetry is also a way of rescuing the world from oblivion by the practice of attention. It is our attention that honors and gives value to living things, that gives them their proper name and particularity; that retrieves them from the obscurity of the general. Poems that galvanize my attention shake me awake. They pass on their attentiveness, their prayerfulness, to me, the reader. This is why poetry can make us more fully human, and more fully engaged in this world. As I see the young people of my generation so absorbed and immersed into the world of technology, which is also a genius yet savage place, it saddens me. In the past, Poets have used poetry as a form of expression. They have inspired many people with their meaningful works. It is a worthy expression of emotion and aesthetics and gives a sense of what is beautiful about the world. However young people now desire to retrieve all their information and ideas from the internet. They receive instantaneous gratification without any effort required.

Poetry is a magical art and always has been- It is a making of language spells designed to open our eyes, open our doors and welcome us into a bigger world, one of the possibilities we may never have dared dream about. Poetry is the reason my love for English prospered and I will cherish my memories studying poetry.

Identification Of Slip Of Tongue In Language Of The Businessmen

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research is to discover the slips of the tongue in language of the businessmen in their dealings with their customers and to find out the frequency of these errors. Slips of the tongue is an unintentional speech error that occur sometimes in our communication most likely due to the unconsciousness of our mind in situations like nervousness, stress, excitement etc. The method used to collect data is recordings of the businessmen of the Liberty Market of Faisalabad, which are transcribed according to the transcription markers given in the British National Corpus manual and then the data was analyzed in AntConc and the frequency of the errors was found accordingly.

The result shows three kinds of slips of the tongue which are sound exchange error, morpheme exchange error and word exchange error. The most dominantly occurred error was morpheme exchange error. There is no such treatment of this speech error but we can avoid it by being out of the situations mentioned above, by being conscious of what we are saying, by getting proper rest etc.

Introduction

Psycholinguistics explores the relationship between human mind and language. (John Field: 2003). Another definition of psycholinguistics is as follows “Psycholinguistics is the study of the mental mechanisms that make it possible for people to use language. It is a scientific discipline whose goal is a coherent theory of the way in which language is produced and understood. (Alan Garnham: January 22, 1985).”

Pronunciation is one of indicators used to score the ability of speaking (Arthur Hughes: 2003) English pronunciation involves the production of each sound and pronunciation of words, phrases, and sentences with correct spelling, compressing and/or correct intonation. For the non-native speakers, pronunciation is one of the most important parts in English communication because by using good pronunciation, we can avoid misunderstanding between the speakers (Harmer: 2000, Dalton: 1998, Angelina Tieneke Sugiarto: 2013, Syarif Hidayatullah: 2016).

Speech error is the process in which speakers most likely to pause after the first word or to utter a false start.(Boomer, 2013:89). The first word in most of them is a function word: an article, preposition, pronoun, etc. Speech error is a psycholinguistics analysis that relies on the mental process of a speech, while speech disfluency relies on the speech disorder on aphasia. There are a number of speech/language disorders and slip of the tongue is one of them. Slip of the tongue are speech errors in which intended utterances are rearranged between other words or sounds. (Antony Tran) A slip of the tongue, or tongue slip, has been defined as ‘an involuntary deviation in performance from the speaker’s current phonological, grammatical or lexical intention’ (Boomer & Laver 1968:4)

This definition has three important elements. Firstly, slips are involuntary, i.e., unintentional. Secondly, slips represent a deviation in performance, not a lack of competence. That is, the intended utterance is well-formed, and the slip occurs in the execution of that intention. Slips are usually detected, not necessarily consciously and, since the speaker knows the intended well- formed utterance, can be corrected. Thirdly, slips may occur in various features of the utterance (phonological, grammatical and lexical), and may therefore give insights into the processes of speech production. (Boomer & Laver 1968:4)

The types of slips of the tongue are

  • Morpheme-exchange error – in which morphemes change places.
  • Sound-exchange error- in which two sounds switch places.
  • Word-exchange error- in which a word-exchange error is a subcategory of lexical selection errors.(Wikipedia)

Literature Review

To make a conversation with other persons, everyone needs to transmit their message, idea, feelings or information to produce their own speech. There are four production stages: design, formulate, articulate and monitor. For the steps we make errors either in the first language or the second language, actively or subconsciously. Jurn Moller et. al 2006 along with his other research partners stated that Talking is a very quick and fairly simple process where speech mistakes are uncommon in common topics. Although behavioral models integrate robust control processes to deter and correct mistakes, brain regions involved have remained elusive.

We have different brain processes prior to the vocalization of these spoonerisms using event- related brain capacity in a process proven to generate spoonerisms reflecting a particular group of sound errors. Core modeling placed the behavior in the medial frontal cortex on the additional motor region. They suggest the simultaneous activation of 2 opposing speech plans on processing scales, in relation to the creation of a very ‘ ‘ phonetic ” voice plan contrasting with the conventional approach, suggesting that the main source of sound error is abstract phonological representations. Bernard J. Bar in his research examined that Spoonerisms (e.g. bad goof— gad boof) can be caused by objects articulating a target (bad goof) followed by biological entities containing at least the initial phoneme of the intended error outcome. This study takes advantage of the fact that two very similar targets like bore and dartboard are frequently very different (i.e. error outcome the barn door outcome is significant while bart doard is not) Any systematical difference in error rate between these target types must be attributed to the processes that take place after the target is registered accordingly. The effect of editing procedures that only apply to the error result can thus be specifically evaluated and not to the target word pair It is shown that L outcomes are much more common for lexical (L) targets than nonsense (N) outcomes. For N targets, the same generalization is obtains, but only in the context of a lexical filler item. The general spoonerism rate does not differ based on the lexical status of the error result unless the context clearly contains the other lexical elements. This addresses logical consequences.

Research Method

The quantitative descriptive approach is used in this research. It is used to analyze the businessmen’s pronunciation of slip of tongue and served the research finding by data’s description. The location of this research was Liberty Market, Bhoana Bazar Faisalabad. The subject of research was 8 businessmen of garments’ market and they all are bilingual using English and Urdu vocabulary in their dealings. It used purposive (selective or subjective) sampling. Thus, the research included the recordings of these businessmen during their dealings with their customers. Recordings were taken from only 8 participants because these errors are almost common throughout the market. A total of 24 recordings were taken from the participants. Three recordings were taken from each participant on three different days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday which is 26, 27 and 28 November 2019, respectively. In this research, the researchers transcribed the recordings according to the transcription markers given in the British National Corpus (BNC) manual. The transcription marker for slip of the tongue which is related to the false start is = . For the three types of the selected errors we used the transcription markers =1(Sound exchange), =2(morpheme exchange) and =3(word exchange). Then the researchers used the corpus tool AntConc 3.5.8 to analyze the data they have collected. Using the transcription markers in the search bar the researchers collected the frequency of different types of slips of the tongue. The researcher followed multiple steps.

Firstly, the researchers took the recordings. Secondly, the researchers transcribed the utterances using BNC manual. Thirdly, the researchers analyzed the slips of the tongue by uploading the data in AntConc tool 3.5.8 and analyzing it. Fourthly, the researchers described the findings and the results related to the object of study. Finally, the researchers made general conclusion according to the research findings about slips of the tongue happened in the language of the businessmen of the Liberty Market, Faisalabad.

Conclusion

Slip of the tongue errors found in the language of the businessmen of the Liberty Market contain 3 kinds of slip of the tongue. These three kinds are slip of the tongue at sound level (sound error), Morpheme exchange which includes substitution of free morphemes(meaningful words) and the change in the functional morphemes as well and third kind is word exchange error. There are more errors but they are not very frequent so the focus of the researchers is on these 3 prominent errors. Slips of the tongue at free morpheme (word) level occurred dominantly. It happened because these kind of slips of tongue also known as Freudian slips. It is a verbal mistake that is believed to be linked to the unconscious mind. It is an unintentional error that occur in speech. This mistake is therefore not called a flaw, but rather a subconscious thought that falls out in voice. Freudian slips got their name from Sigmund Freud who is a psychiatrist. He said that the mistakes that we utter in our communication have meanings and they should not be considered as mistakes at all, but in our voice our unconscious mind drops. When the businessmen uttered the words in hurry, in pressure, or in nervousness, or when feeling tired, or having less of vocabulary at that moment etcetera, these situations make their unconscious mind falling into their speech and substituted some words to others.

References

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In What Sorts Of Situations Can Language Be Considered An Action?

Language, commonly seen as a particular psychological or behavioural phenomenon, with a conceptual status comparable to other phenomena, such as learning and thinking. Subsequently, this essay will argue that language avoids the psychological condition and represents the functional aspects in which behaviour emerges and becomes action. This paper elucidates the foundations of this pragmatic speech act theory as formulated by its leading figures, philosopher and linguist J. L Austin and John Searle. The first section of this essay explores Austin’s theory of speech acts and this will be followed by John Searle’s interpretation and extension of speech act and the different contexts in which they can be applied. Moreover, the second section identifies a more recent gender theory in the 21st century; that gender and thus identity is the social effect and “performative” action explored by feminist poststructuralist Judith Butler and Jennifer Coates. Conclusively, the notion of language as action will be analysed in different cultures languages put forward by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and this will be extended to explore cultural dance as a form of language.

Acts of speaking can be observed as actions intended to achieve a specific purpose by verbal communication. By this description, everyday utterances can be thought of as speech acts that can be recognised in terms of their intended purposes of questions, assertions, and requests. The title of J.L Austin’s How to do Things with Words conveys the essence of speech act theory. Essentially, the speech act theory is the interdisciplinary study of the wide range of things we do with words. Austin investigated special class of utterances where, social actions are performed when spoken in the appropriate circumstances. The idea of performativity from Austin’s position “is derived from the word ‘perform’, the usual verb with the noun ‘action’”. This indicates that the use of the utterance of the performing of the action. Utterances such as ‘I know pronounced you husband and wife’, where the persons involved are performing the action of marrying and ‘I name this baby Elizabeth’ where the to ‘name’ is the act of naming. Further, Austin maintains that the ‘context’ in which the utterance is spoken must be investigated along with the utterance itself.

Austin then discovered that a speaker can simultaneously perform three acts when issuing an utterance. The first is the locutionary act; the act of saying something with a sense of position. This situation can be demonstrated when someone says “’ Text her!’ meaning by ‘text’ shoot and referring by ‘her ‘ to her. When the locutionary act comes into examination, there is a direct correlation to speakers using them to ask or answer a question, give assurance or a warning, announce a verdict or intent. These so-called statements or locutionary utterances also occur as some specific actions; they too are performative rather than referential. Austin then exhibited us that the force of an utterance, that which a person does in uttering it, is not the same as the propositional content of the utterance. He labelled this additional element the ‘illocutionary act’. Lastly, the perlocutionary act is the act performed by saying something. Following on from the previous example of shooting, if someone was to say, “He got me to (or made me) text her”, this would be classified as a perlocutionary act. Austin, therefore, points out that language use which involves action opens up an entirely new path in the philosophy of language. All three acts, locutionary, illocutionary and perlocutionary are usually performed at the same time.

Austin’s unexpected and early death left many unanswered questions to the theory of speech acts. Later, Searle brought the aspects of the speech act theory to higher dimensions. Although Searle agrees that speech acts are both meaningful and a conventional force, he studies the dimensions of the speech act otherwise. The difference is Searle’s hypothesising a propositional act, which is sectioned into a reference act and an act of predication. What Searle noted is that, for a performative to have any impact on the future, it has to adhere to certain conventions that have already been established. For example, society needs to receive the authority of the judge and the form of declaration. Searle also proposed that declaratives are issued from an institutional standpoint to conclude contracts, close meetings, initiate relationships, etc. According to Searle they have ‘two directions of fit’ where in saying X, they produce X or ‘they both state a fact and produce it’. Declaratives can produce new social facts because they are backed by institutional and legal norms. For instance, Searle believes that a declaration of marriage gets backing from the institution of marriage and family. Searle tends to decrease the illocutionary content of all speech acts to those of declaratives. In addition, for every illocutionary act is seen as an intentional action. Therefore, in accordance to Searle’s extended research, speakers are seen to attempt to perform their successful illocutionary acts.

Butler in Discourses if Gender and Sexuality identifies a further, large-scaled performative effect. Although Butler does not strictly follow to an Austianian notion of speech-act theory, occasionally reciting Searle, the notion that speech does something beyond the intended semantic and syntactical meanings rests as a central aspect of her findings. She contends that gender is a social effect that is led by performance. Gender identity “is a performative accomplishment,” she writes, “compelled by social sanction and taboo…. Gender is… an identity instituted through a repetition of acts.” Butler argues that we are the gender that we present the world. To say that gender is “performative” is different as for something to be “performative” means that it creates a series of effects on how we act, speak and talk in ways that amalgamate an impression of being classed as a man or being a woman. So, therefore, to say gender is “performative” is to say that nobody is a gender from the beginning. Butler explains how such features of our speech, bearing, appearance is socially ‘read’ as performing gendered or sexual subjectivity. This repetition of gendered performance generates a sense of how ‘natural’ it is to act in such a way to the extent that we feel that it is an expression of some inner gendered essential self. Butler argues that the sense of our inner nature as men or women is created by the repetition of actions that are performed in accordance with the constraints of discourses of gender. Resultingly, the conventional belief is then that our inner gendered nature is given, and that our actions are the external manifestations or expression of something inner; instead for Butler, our gendered and sexual identities are performed by external constraints. Therefore, gender is not so much a thing but a process by which patterns of language and action begin to repeat themselves.

British feminist linguist, Jennifer Coates offered a different approach where she studied the speech of men and woman in all-male and all-female environments. She discovered that in female conversations, all women were more typically like to participate equally rather than a singular woman to hold the floor. This was a direct contrast to that of all-men conversational groups, where there was little sharing involved. Coates further conducted research that showed the different topics that different genders talk about. While men appeared to avoid self-disclosure and preferred talking on impersonal topics, women preferred to talk about their feelings as well as other people. This demonstrates the different types of communication as an action between genders. Men are motivated through the competitiveness of the conversation to achieve a certain status for themselves whereas women focus on their relationship with other people. Therefore, language as an action can be additionally classed into gendered types of communication as presented by Coates.

An alternative way to look at the relationship between language, meaning, and culture within is to see language as part of the mental construct used to reflect cultural interactions that are the vestige of earlier cognitive evolution. The hypothesis held by Sapir and Whorf explains that a languages grammar positions speaker to certain aspects of actions and shapes the way they mentally represent that action. In this way, speakers of different languages may represent similar states of language quite differently. Whorf anticipated that using language as a mechanism to encrypt experience results in a parallelism between cognitive structures and linguistics. As a consequence, speakers of different languages interpret language as an action differently.

Intercultural, indigenous and aboriginal dance embodies verbal language within dance vocabularies that are communicated through action. In different social and cultural contexts, people use their native language and/or other languages to communicate with one another to achieve specific purposes. De Saussure characterised the basic unit of meaning in language as a sign, a unit consisting of a sound or acoustic element known as a signifier and a conceptual element with a lexical meaning known as a sign. To consider dance movement as a sign is to assume that the non-natural relationship obtains between movement, the signifier, and the concept to which it refers, the signified; therefore, one assumes that such a relationship can be constituted in various ways. Choreographic signs are typically strictly encoded in magic, ritual, or religious symbols, and semiosis is given to the individual while the role of ‘intelligent consciousness’ is crucial for the engendering of meaning in other choreographic words. The creator of the dance interprets the world and those who carry on the dance ‘interpret’ in their turn the choreographic discourse. The images which dance creates combine in various proportions visual values and messages. They have a true referent, or a mental representation, and a choreographic sign is also a possible ‘interpretant’ of another sign, a theoretically unlimited semiotic process. Therefore, Aboriginal and other Indigenous dance is a particular configuration of the time-space-energy system and in contrast to the linear nature of spoken language the nature of movement and body language is a multi-dimensional expression that can be seen as an action.

The limits of the language are the boundaries of the world. Words in actions or actions generate different outcomes concerning other persons depending on the setting and cultural environment in which they are used. Language fundamentally can be classified as an action, an action that can be transmuted into the 21st century and beyond encompassing the situational effectiveness of words and expressions as parts of actions. Furthermore, language becomes significant to psychology in terms of its “performative nature”, and because of this performative, this encompasses concepts with Austin and Searle may have never imagined. Language encompasses many different cultures and within methods of tradition and history, comes language that is passed on to generations through dance. Dance, therefore, can be categorised as a means of communicating language.

References

  1. Austin, J.L. 1999, ‘How to Do Things with Words’. The Discourse Reader. Eds. A. Jaworski & N. Coupland. London, New York: Routledge. 63-75.
  2. Butler, Judith. ‘Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.’ Theatre Journal 40, no. 4 (1988): 519-31. Accessed May 15, 2020. doi:10.2307/3207893.
  3. Butler, J. 1999. ‘Subversive Bodily Acts’ [extract]. Gender trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, New York: Routledge. 134-136, 139-141.
  4. Evans, N. (2010). Dying Words: Endangered Languages and What They Have to Tell Us. Chichester: Wiley.
  5. McNamara, T. 2019. ‘Discourses of Gender and Sexuality’. Language and Subjectivity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 22-45.
  6. Searle, John R. 1969. Speech Acts : An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=cat00006a&AN=melb.b1087687&site=eds-live&scope=site.
  7. Whorf, B. 1956. ‘The relation of habitual thought and behaviour to language’. Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. Ed. J. Carroll. London: Wiley. 134 – 140.