Saturday, September 7, 2019

Video Game Effect Essay Example for Free

Video Game Effect Essay There are millions of people who play highly controversial games like Grand Theft Auto and other violence video games, realize that it is a game and do not do things they do in the game in real life. If people believe that video games cause behavior problems, they are underlying issues with the gamer himself, and not with the software, but according to American Psychological Association, almost ninety percent of kids between the ages eight and sixteen are addicted to video game especially the violent one. The average girls spends almost six to eight hour week’s playing video games which does not sound bad comparing to boys who spends an average of thirteen hours a week. Some parents reported that video games only describe virtual reality, and should not translate into real world problem. However, children are more likely to imitate the actions of a character with which they classify themselves with. In all violent video games, players are often required to take point of view of the shooter or perpetrator, which show a change of their behavior. Study shows that repetition increases learning and video games required repetition in order to master control characters movement. If the game is violent, then the effect is a behavioral practice for a violent activity. These children who are involve in playing violent video games are more aggressive than who are not involve with these game, which at some point of their life, they will get heart or might die because of their action. Recently, parents become unaware with their kids behavior in real life. Some of them let their kids do whatever they like to do like playing violent video games for long hours or watching brutal shows on television. Report by American Psychological Association â€Å"disagree that violent video games cause behavior problems, because the choices people make cause violent behavior. Video games, even the violent once, can be good experience. † But parents need to teach their kids those video games need to be separate from reality. The choices they make in their daily life have absolutely nothing to do with video games. In fact they may be able to take out any aggressions that they have on a video game, rather than go out and beat someone up, that what their parents believe, but what they do not know is playing video game frequently for long hours has a huge negative on kids because it feed their brain with aggression, violence, and fighting which creates problems such as poor social skills from kids to their parents and the outside world. Sociology studies shows that boys by the age of twenty-one had spend more than 10000 hours or more just by playing video games American Psychological Association wrote â€Å"97% between the age 12 to 17 in the US played video game†¦ top 10 out of 20 were violent. † USA today made study twenty years ago about sixty percent of American family had sat down as family dinners, same study last year the number drop down to twenty percent. Because kids are spending their times on video game, it creates huge problems such as poor social skills, poor grade in school, and live in hostile environment. Psychologist concludes, that video game is nature requirement activities, because it based on reward system and as human we try to be satisfied and achieved all requirements. For example, in video game Mafia 2, the character is required to rob bank which is the basic objective. But if the player kills all securities without triggering the alarm, the player will receive bounce. Since all players love to achieve more, they will do the mission, after completing the mission they will play it again in order to get the bounces. If parents are worried that their children are addicted to violent video game and spending so much time playing it, they should set limits, like playing video game for an hour after completing their homework, also try to encourage their children to play outside, and do other activity. Parents must check the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to learn about the video game’s content and what age range it belongs to. Parents should strongly monitor their children about video games that they are buying, and from online games. Violent video games have been blamed for increase bullying, assaulting women, and school shooting, because violent games teach children that violence is way to solve problems and it is acceptable in this world. Studied showed that sixty percent of middle school children who played at least one video game that rated mature has hit, beat, and assault other students. Also it shows that students who committed this violence act were enjoying inflected pain and become less forgiving. For example, in Bully the character have to fight with teacher and other student in order to be popular in school. In other word, this video game encourages kids to be disrespectful to the elder and to the other student. Female in violent video games are mostly present as explore to sexual contact, like being rape, get killed, and thrown behind the bushes. What make it ironic is the player is rewarded by getting some extra feature. For example, in LA Noire the character is homicide, in one of his chapter the player must solve several of cases that women been rape, nude, murder, and thrown in dumpster or tree. In 1998 study shows that thirty percent of violent video games involve women been attacked and rape. Another example, in Grand Theft Auto, which considers one of the best seller games in 2008, player must gain money to be able to buy armor or guns so the player will target female for two reasons. First, they carry more cash, and second they weak. Schools shooting have been connected to shooting video games. Students who have been exposed to violent video games held more violent attitudes, had more hostile personalities, were less forgiveness, and believed that being sadistic with other is normal. Seung-Hui Cho the student who opened fire at Virginia Tech incident. He was addicted to shooting game called Counter Strike, the objective of that game is to kill the other team where character are allowed to buy guns, armor, and grenade. Every time the character kill member of the other team he rewarded with money. If parents and schools are affected by kids who play violent video games for long hours, it means media and society are affected too. Societies are concern with violence and media including the internet have extend worlds of video game, especially the violent one, such as the Hitman series, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, and more. The character in video games may get away when he committed crime or brutal events. As adults they know the different between real life and fiction one, but kids do not know that. Kids might steal money or attack other kids believing they will get away. For example, in Grand Theft Auto player can steal car, run over pedestrian, and hit another car. With kind action the police well attempt to arrest you character. However, if the character were able to drive fast or hide inside building for couple of minutes police will ignore you and let you free.

Friday, September 6, 2019

Online Grading System Essay Example for Free

Online Grading System Essay Today, many pre-school, elementary and high school students in their school are not use an automated system in daily life. But there are so many schools are still using manual system. Grading System is the most commonly used in computing and analyzing the performance, talents and skills of the students and for achievement and assist in identifying problems of the student? It is the important record to keep even for the longest time for the referral and credentials of the student to enter their next level of attaining their goals. Grading System for Data Accuracy will help a lot in the part of teachers, school, administration and as well as the security of data of students and tract record that recognizes of one student, this maybe use for analyzing of your attitude and values. Based on our research, the school of San Guillermo Academy in Talisay , Batangas is using a manual computation of grades of each student, which the teachers are using Microsoft excel to compute the grades of each students and they have no registrar, just the adviser of their section releasing their grades. Manual computation is very prompt to risk for any circumstances. It is time consuming in terms of recording grades, computation using of calculator. If some records are lost, they never retrieve it in case of unexpected calamity. Accuracy and security is not been so defined. The proposed system in San Guillermo Academy is an Automated Online Grading System where it will provide in the internet and made by using database and web development. This Online Grading System is unique because grade in each subject that just need to be able to compute the particular average grades of the each student. It consist of an office of the registrar where all the grades of each student in San Guillermo Academy took place and the office of the registrar will take charge to release all  grades of the student. Having an Automated and Online Grading System for the said school will give an unique formula that will be use in getting or computing the grades of the students and system where personnel can encode the student’s grade. Using the different formula in computing of student’s grades of the said school is not accurate and/or different result in other student’s grades using another different formula. Thus, having an Automated Grading System for the said school will become easy, accurate and time saving for the Teachers, Personnel as well as the students. Background of the Study The San Guillermo Academy Grading System today is processed manually, it causes the teachers doing heavy task of computing grades every grading period. The manual Grading System in San Guillermo Academy slows down the processing and delaying submission of grades as well as the security of data of the students has not been defined in manual system. The computerized grading system will benefit the school and help the students to view their grades every examination period. The rapid advancement of computers in our society has made our daily workloads easier and more accurate. With its vast development, we need to set ourselves in its change and go with its flow. Statement of the problem 1. Is automated grading system can retrieve any student records than manual grading system? 2. Is Manual grading system gives more accurate, efficiency and easy to use than the automated grading system? 3. Is manual grading system makes the task easier and less consuming of time than the automated grading system? 4. Is there any significance between the manual grading systems to the automated grading system?

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Changes in family structure and modern family

Changes in family structure and modern family Due to its purchasing power, the family is believed as the most important consumers buying unit by many marketers (Dalakas Shoham, 2005). Therefore, a great number of previous studies have been done to understand how a family makes purchasing decisions over the years. As new social trends, the structure of family has changed dramatically in the past three decades in most countries in the world (Brace et al, 2008). The family is convinced as composing by parents and unmarried children in traditional mind. However, in the modern society, the definition of family has moved from only couple and children to family household. According to European Community Household Panel, a family household is a group of people who live together, share the bill and housekeeping arrangement (Askegaard et al, 2006). In view of most marketers, changes in family structures provide marketing opportunities. As the differentiation of the composition, families need and demand is diversified than before. Changes in family structure and modern family Family household types in modern society are diversified, such as single parent families, reconstituted families, unmarried cohabitation families, traditional families, couple with no children families and roommate family households. The reason of diversified family household type is that unmarried cohabitation, delayed marriage and delayed childbirth are trends for young people in the recent years. Furthermore, there have been increases in the proportion of the return of mothers to the workforce and the number of divorces and a decrease in the proportion of intact family unit (two biological parents and their dependent children). It is known that 76 per cent of UK children in 2004 lived in a family unit headed by a couple (UK Office of National Statistics, 2005). But, this official data does not differentiate families by couples who are intact or step parent. Also, it is acknowledged that 83 per cent of children in step parent families or single parent families live with their natur al mother (Brace et al, 2008). Therefore, most of single parent households are headed by females. Although the family types are diversified in the present day and age, intact families, step parent families and single parent families are three major types of composition for modern families. Haskey (1998) indicated there has been an obviously decline in the intact or traditional family household type and step families are more prevalent than single parent households. People are remarrying more often than before, and male is more likely to reconstitute a family than female. For example, step families are the fastest growing type of family in the UK (Mintel, 2005). There are totally 35 per cent British parents live as a non-traditional family unit. Concretely, 19 per cent of British parents are single parents. 16 per cent of British parents have children with ex-wife or ex-husband and now reconstitute families with new partners and the children (Mintel, 2005). Family structures have changed, which influence family decision making. Thus, some researchers argue that family communication has become more open and democratic (Belch and Willis, 2001). Particularly, the role of women has changed in the present society. The changes include education, increasing number of double-income families and the advent of career women. Further to say, these changes have impacted on family buying decisions and the role structure between family members. An increasing number of women are contributing to the incomes of their families and more women are motivated to succeed in their careers. For instance, nearly 60 per cent of women in New Zealand are employed in the workforce (Beatty Lee, 2002). This is much higher proportion than before. Some previous studies indicated that a persons power to make family purchasing decisions depends on his/her ability to satisfy his/her marriage partners needs (Beatty Lee, 2002). Therefore, the more a husband contributes to the resources of the family, the more the wife will accept the husbands buying decisions. In the same way, if the wife contributes significantly to the family income, then the wifes impact on family buying decisions would be greater than in families where the wife does not provide income to the family. It does not mean the person who contributes a dominant income to his/her family must accounts for the completely dominant position in the family buying decision making process. It is more likely that there is more equality in double-income families. Therefore, a wifes occupational status has an obviously effect on the family decision making. The prevalence of women working outside the home is not only because of the necessity to help the family in finance, but also because of the changes in social and cultural trends. Therefore, women obtain more power in some families which both family members will make decisions jointly. This type of family is more likely to be called modern family and it has a more democratic influence structure. In contrast, a traditional family has a more dictatorial husband and the decisions are made more autocratic. Family life cycle There are many factors influence family buying decisions. Despite the family type and womens role in the family, family life cycle (FLC) also significantly affects the family purchasing decisions. The family life cycle describes the changes that occur in family and family structures as they progress over time (Askegaard, 2006). The FLC shows the changes in both the family income and family composition over time. As the time passed, the needs and demands of families tend to change. Therefore, their preferences and behaviours will be changed. Families in similar stages of the life cycle share similar demographic, financial and buying characteristics. In contrast, families at different life cycle stages show different interests, needs and demands and use different communication strategies (Lee Levy, 2004). Childrens roles in family buying decisions Since 1990s, the growing awareness on childrens role is largely because of childrens steadily increasing impact on family buying decisions and increasing spending power (Caruana Vassallo, 2003; Dalakas Shoham, 2005; Fan Li, 2010). Many previous studies pointed out that children have became an extremely vital consumer group which influences family purchases of various products in many ways (Burns et al, 2007; Caruana Vassallo, 2003). Thus, many marketers recognize children as a primary market, an influencing market, and a future market. For example, children in the USA directly spent over $60 billion and influenced over $380 billion of spending by other members of their family per year (Chou Wut, 2009). In Australia, the adolescents market is estimated to be worth about $3.9 million, and in New Zealand the market size is about $800,000 (Wimalasiri, 2004). Therefore children are increasingly attractive targets for marketers. Children as independent consumer In the contemporary world, as primary market, children have increasing spending power in terms of being independent customers. They are seen as different from previous generations. Today, children are more connected, more direct and more informed. They have more personal power, more money, more impact on family decisions and attractive more attention than their parents and ancestors. Most of teenagers receive allowances from their parents or eldership. Also, a great number of adolescents have income from jobs. Past study showed 51.1 per cent of the high school students admitted that they get an allowance from family members in the USA and the median amount was $50 (Dalakas Shoham, 2003). Moreover, Chou Wut (2009) indicated children who between ages of 2 to 12 independently spent $29 billion per year by using their own money and further to say, they indirectly influence $320 billion worth of household purchase. Childrens influence on family buying decisions In addition, children are also major influencers within the family decision making unit. They attempt to and succeed in influencing family purchasing decisions. Several researches have shown that the childrens degree of influence in purchase decisions varies with the type of product (Beatty Lee, 2002). They have the most influence on buying decisions when they are the primary users of the products, for example, toys, games, and school supplies. They are also influential in purchase decisions about products which for all family members, for example, vacations, furniture, movies, and eating out. However, they have less impact on these products than in the products which they are the primary consumers. According to Dalakas Shoham (2003) reported, 34 per cent of nine to 14-year-olds acknowledged they influenced their parents purchasing decisions on videogame systems, 19 per cent affected decisions on vacation choice, 18 per cent have impact on stereo equipment, and 14 per cent particip ated the family decisions making process on computer equipment, VCRs, and televisions. Moreover, adolescents influence has been affected by the cost of the products on purchasing decisions. Their influence decreased for expensive family purchases. Furthermore, they have most influence as regards product type, colour and brand. One of the areas where children have the major impact is food purchasing decision. Food plays a vital role in family life and it is the main expenditure for most families. Children have most influence on the food and the meals which are easy to prepare. US studies have shown that in the major categories of food and drinks, playthings and clothing and TV programmes, children have an obviously influence (Chou Wut, 2009). In the UK, 84 per cent of parents said that their children decided what food to buy. 29 per cent parents admitted that their children impact on the choice of furniture. Even 20 per cent of parents said they like to listen to their childrens suggests about their own clothes when purchasing (Dalakas, Shoham, 2005). Also, through a survey, cable television networks in the USA found that children affected average of 43 per cent of total purchases which are made the decisions by parents. Further to say, mothers who shop with their kids normally spend 30 per cent more than they originally plan and fathers spend 70 per cent more (Caruana Vassallo, 2003). The ways and factors for children to affect family decisions Generally speaking, there are four different ways for children to influence family buying decisions. First, they hugely involve in affecting their parents to purchase products which they are the finally users. Second, older children buy the products which they want directly by using their own money. This money is received as allowances or salary. Third, children participated and affected their parents in family buying decisions making process for family products. Lastly, parents consult their childrens opinion for some of their own purchase. Therefore, children exert a certain influence on the overall family decisions. Children have more influence during the problem recognition and information search stage, but their influence decreases at the finally decision making stage. Their influence can be direct or indirect. Young children more tend to impact family purchases by directly asking. However, older adolescents may use various strategies to impact their parents decision making. Except the direct requests, they also take other actions like bargaining, persuasion, or using emotional strategies. A childs age is an important related factor of the childs influence on family decision making. Older children have fewer requests than younger children and their parents more tend to satisfy their request. The parents believe the older children have more experience with shopping and products, so they easily yield than before. Also, parents are convinced that their older children possess more understanding of economic concepts and have higher skills on shopping than younger children. Furthermore, childrens influence on family decisions is affected significantly by family type. Children in single parent families or one child families have more influence than others and the adolescents in modern families affect their families more obviously than adolescents in traditional families. The reasons for children influencing family decisions In the current era, family communication has become more open and democratic. Parents pay more attention to their children and spend more time to listen to their childrens opinions. These changes in family communication caused children can exert influence on family purchasing decisions making process. Furthermore, the influence of each child has increased because of the trends of smaller number of children in families. Because of the returns of women to workforce, most families economic status is in good condition. It not only means parents can afford enough money to satisfy their children request, but also pushes the children to take more responsibility for family decisions. This is because working couples have little time to make decisions and have to give their children more power. The analysis of implication for marketing There are many factors influence the children when they making purchasing decisions and shape their habits at the present. The top three influence factors are family, friends and media. All of them have outstanding impact on childrens shopping skills and behavior. In details, the family has been believed as it has the most influence on children in the purchasing process of food products, health care products and furniture. On the other hand, friends and the media play an extremely important role in affecting the discretionary purchase of the children. In fact, most of marketers consider the media as the most powerful affecting factor to impel the children to make purchasing decisions. They are convinced the television advertising is the greatest influence marketing communication tool. Moreover, previous marketing researches also suggested the companies to access the children seriously with child friendly amenities, colourful and playful displays and even credit cards (Caruana Vassal lo, 2003). In addition, it is known that most of children have low brand loyalty for most products. Because of their strong curiosity, they are easily to be attracted by original and distinct products. However, once they build the brand loyalty for one particular brand, they will be lifetime consumers for the brand. Furthermore, for the ethic thinking, the marketers ought to avoid displaying violent or pornographic pictures to children in their advertising. This is because children are not mature enough and cannot understand the meaning of this kind of advertising. Further to say, children very like to imitate what they saw. Thus, it is dangerous for children to access violent or pornographic advertising. For example, there was lots of news regarding that children did violent events after playing violent games, such as GTA, Counterstrike, or watching violent movie. An analysis of the situation of children in China Children in China have become the most significant target consumers for many marketers. This is not only because China has the largest population of children in the world, but also due to the fact that Chinese children have more economic power and influence in their families than children in other countries. Fan Li (2010) mentioned that there are 1,321.29 million people in China at the end of 2007. Among others, 19.4 per cent (about 256.60) are under the age of 14. This made China become the largest potential market. In the present China, children have more discretionary income compared with before and also exert a greater impact on family buying decision than other countries children. One couple one child has been a basic state policy in China for a long time since the early 1970s. Therefore, as the only child in the family, both parents and grandparents give most of their love and attention to the child. Even it caused a seriously problem raised in China, the Chinese children have been considered as being like Little emperors/empresses. A part of parents would like to satisfy their childrens each request as possible as they can. Due to the importance of Chinese children, marketers did many researches to seek the most relative information sources for Chinese children. Finally, they found that TV, parents, store visits and friends were ranked as the most significant sources to receive information for Chinese children (Fan Li, 2010).

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Analysis of Audens The Age of Anxiety :: Auden The Age of Anxiety Essays

Analysis of Auden's The Age of Anxiety    In Auden's lengthy poem, "The Age of Anxiety", he follows the actions and thoughts of four characters who happen to meet in a bar during a war.   Their interactions with one another lead them on an imaginary quest in their minds in which they attempt, without success, to discover themselves.   The themes and ideas that Auden's "The Age of Anxiety" conveys reflect his belief that man's quest for self-actualization is in vain.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   W. H. Auden was born in York, England, in 1907, the third and youngest son of Constance and George Auden (Magill 72).   His poetry in the 1930's reflected the world of his era, a world of depression, Fascism, and war.   His works adopt a prose of a "clinical diagrostician [sic] anatomizing society" and interpret social and spiritual acts as failures of communication (Magill 74).   They also put forth a diagnosis of the industrial English society among economic and moral decay in the 1930's (Magill 72).   Conflicts common in his works are those between war and peace, corruption of modern society, and the "dichotomy between the rich and the poor" (Barrows 317).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "The Age of Anxiety" is, in general, a quest poem.   Unlike the ideal quest, however, this quest accomplishes nothing.   The characters search for the meaning of self and, in essence, the meaning of life, but because their search is triggered by intoxication due to alchohol, the quest is doomed from the start.   Throughout the quest, the characters believe themselves to be in a form of Purgatory when they are allegorically in Hell.   They fail to realize this due to "the modern human condition which denies possibility but refuses to call it impossible" (Nelson 117).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In "The Age of Anxiety", there are four characters of significance. Quant, the first to be introduced, addresses himself in a mirror, an action typical to a drunken man.   He is an aging homosexual widower who finds refuge in the mirror because it offers him the easiest way of facing himself (Nelson 117-118).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Malin, the most dominant character overall, is a medical intelligence officer on leave from the Canadian Air Force.   His background labels him as the "would-be doctor and leader" in the world of "The Age of Anxiety".   His name is reminiscent, in relation to the war, of a malingerer, and the composition of his personality hints at the evil within him (Nelson 118).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rosetta, the most human of the characters, is a department store buyer, and comes closer to self-actualization than any of the other characters in the poem.   Emble is a young sailor and would-be prince whose

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Marriage as Slavery in Middlemarch Essay -- Eliot Middlemarch Essays

Marriage as Slavery in Middlemarch One of George Eliot's challenges in Middlemarch is to depict a sexually desirous woman, Dorothea, within the confines of Victorian literary propriety. The critic, Abigail Rischin, identifies the moment that Dorothea's future husband, Ladislaw, and his painter-friend see her alongside an ancient, partially nude statue of the mythic heroine, Ariadne, in a museum in Rome as the key to Eliot's sexualization of this character. Ariadne is, in the sculpture, between her two lovers. Theseus, whom she helped to escape from her father's labyrinth in Crete has already left her, while the jubilant God, Bacchus, her next lover, has yet to arrive. "By invoking the silent visual rhetoric of ancient sculpture," writes Rischin, "George Eliot is able to represent the erotic female body far more explicitly than Victorian conventions of... language would permit... By juxtaposing the statue with Dorothea, Eliot displays Dorothea's erotic potential." Here, Eliot uses an allusion to another typ e of narrative to fully illustrate her own heroine, and empower her with emotions that Victorian women were not supposed to possess.    Later, Eliot, the novel's omnicient narrator, uses a parabol to explain her theory of perspectivism. She compares the self-centered characters of her creation to candels, who all see "concentric" patterns of events ("scratches," in the parabol) develop around themselves because their vision ("light") only extends so far in every direction; not because, as they think, events revolve around them (ch 27). J. Hillis Miller, in "Optic and Semiotic in 'Middlemarch,'" explains the etymolgy of the word "parable," a word which Eliot herself uses in the midst of telling i... ...e institutionalized. --May West    Bibliography Bogdanor, Vernon, The People and the Party System, London: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Eagleton, Terry, "George Eliot: Ideology and Literary Form," in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck. Eliot, George, Middlemarch, Great Britain: Penguin, 1994. Graner, Suzanne, "Organic Fictions," in in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck. Miller, J. Hillis, "Narrative and History," in ELH (English Literary History), vol. 41 (1974). pp. 455-473. Miller, J. Hillis, "Optic and Semiotic in Middlemarch," in Middlemarch: New Casebooks, Ed. John Peck. Morgan, Kenneth O. (Ed.), The Oxford Popular History of Britain, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1993. Rischin, Abigail S., "Ekphrasis, Narrative and Desire in Middlemarch," in PMLA, vol. 111. pp. 1121-1132.   

Monday, September 2, 2019

Mary McLeod Bethune Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mary McLeod Bethune was an innovative leader because she took a story which was largely latent in the population, equal education rights for black children, and brought it to national prominence through the creation of the Bethune-Cookman college. She was also a visionary leader because of the incredible success she was able to attain in advancing the cause of equal education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bethune was such an effective leader because both she completely embodied her story and it became completely central to her life and persona. Bethune was able to embark on her incredible quest because of the educational opportunities she was provided by missionary teachers and therefore dedicated her life to ensuring that every black child had the opportunity to advance and prove themselves through education. In Leading Minds, Howard Gardner describes the many characteristics which comprise his cognitive model of leadership. In this brief biographical excerpt, Bethune meets them all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the characteristics Gardner uses to quantify cognitive leadership is the acquisition of power and the use of this power to implement policy. The segregated and patriarchical nature of the society Bethune lived in made it extremely difficult for her advance herself or her vision of equal opportunity education. However, despite these challenges, she was able to rise to a position of national prominence as a director of the divisi...

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Linguistics research Essay

1. Linguistics: Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language. 2. Phonology: The study of how sounds are put together and used in communication is called phonology. 3. Syntax: The study of how morphemes and words are combined to form sentences is called syntax. . 4 Design features: it referred to the defining properties of human language that tell the difference between human language that tell the difference between human language and any system of animal communication. 5. Psycholinguistics: The study of language with reference to the workings of mind is called psycholinguistics. 6. Language: Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. 7. Phonetics: The study of sounds which are used in linguistic communication is called phonetics. 8. Morphology: The study of the way in which morphemes are arranged to form words is called morphology. 9. Parole: it referred to the actual phenomena or data of linguistics. V. Answer the following questions as comprehensively as possible. Give examples for illustration if necessary: 1. Language is generally defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. Explain it in detail. First of all, language is a system, because Elements of language are com ­ bined according to rules. Secondly, language is arbitrary because there is no intrinsic connection between form and meaning, or between the sign and what it stands for. Different languages have different words for the same ob ­ject in the world. This fact is a good illustration of the arbitrary nature of language. This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are just Symbols; they are associated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by conven ­ tion. Thirdly, language is vocal because the primary medium is sound for all languages, no matter how well developed their writing systems are. The term â€Å"human† in the definition indicates that language is possessed by human beings only and is very different from the communication systems of other living creatures. The term â€Å"communication† means that language makes it possible for its users to talk to each other and fulfill their commu ­ nicative needs. 2. What are the design features of human language? Illustrate them with examples. 1) Arbitrariness As mentioned earlier, the arbitrary property of language means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. For instance, there is no nec ­ essary relationship between the word elephant and the animal it symbolizes. In addition, different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages, and even within the same language, the same sound does not refer to the same thing. However, language is not entirely arbitrary. There are words which are created in the imitation of sounds by sounds, such as crash, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. But the non-arbitrary words are quite limited in number. The arbitrary nature of language makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions. 2) Productivity Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the con ­ struction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences that they have never said or heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. 3) Duality The duality nature of language means that language is a system, which consists of two sets of structure, or two levels, one of sounds and the other of meanings. At the lower or the basic level, there is the structure of sounds, which are meaningless, discrete, individual sounds. But the sounds of language can be combined according to rules into units of meaning such as morphemes and words, which, at the higher level, can be arranged into sentences. This duality of structure or dou ­ ble articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system has duality or even comes near to possessing it. 4) Displacement Displacement means that language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation. 5) Cultural transmission Human beings were born with the ability to acquire language, but the details of any language are not genetically transmitted or passed down by instinct. They have to be taught and learned, but animal call systems are genetically trans ­ mitted. 3. How do you understand the distinction between a synchronic study and a diachronic study? The description of a language at some point in time is a Synchronic study; the de ­ scription of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A synchronic study of language describes a language as it is at some particular point in time, while a diachronic study of language is the study of the historical development of language over a period of time. 4. Why does modern linguistics regard the spoken form of language as primary, not the written? First, the spoken form is prior to the writ ­ ten form and most writing systems are derived from The spoken form of lan ­ guage. Second, the spoken form plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed and it serves a wider range of purposes finally, the spoken form is the medium through which we acquire our mother tongue. 5. What are the major distinctions between langue and parole? The distinct, ion between langue, and parole was made by the famous Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure early this century. Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community, and parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use. Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to follow while parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules. Langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use, but parole is concrete; it refers to the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable, it does not change frequently; while parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation. 6. (1) What if there were no language? (2) What if there were only one language the world over? (3) What can we learn from this Bible story? Language is powerful as a tool of human communication. 7. (1) What measures do you suggest for protecting dialects as well as languages? (2) Do you think that someday people all over the world will speak only one language, or someday no dialect will exist? 8. Can our pets learn human languages? Why or why not? No. They are genetically not endowed with the 9. What role does body language play in language commun