Language & Stereotypes

   Language is perceived the way it is due to a combination of many factors. While the words may be spelled one way on paper, they are often spoken differently, and to another speaker, they may sound completely different. The way a language is spoken contributes to English speakers’ stereotypes  about speakers of that language.

   One example of this is Arabic. The Arabic language has many "velar" and "uvular" sounds that English doesn't have. An example of a velar sound is the final sound in the word "loch". To make that sound, one has to make a "k" sound, but in the back of the throat. An Arabic example of this is the word "خضراء” (“xaḍrāʾ”), which means “green”.

Velar and uvular sounds can sound harsh to people who don’t speak Arabic. The non-Arabic speaking wife of an Arabic speaker notes that, “When I listen to my husband and his friends speak most of the time I assume there is something wrong or they are disagreeing with something [...] the words to me seem harsh and very pronounced.” As noted in the quote, these sounds contribute to stereotypes about Arabic - namely, the stereotype that Arabic people are “aggressive”, as velar sounds often sound harsh and abrasive to English speakers.

   Another example  is Chinese. The Chinese languages, especially Mandarin Chinese, are some of the most stereotyped languages in the world. Chinese has six variants of a single sound, “t͡ɕ”, which is similar to “t͡ʃ”, a sound that English speakers spell "ch". This, combined with their common use of the "ng" sound, help create the most common stereotype of Chinese: "ching chong". A rhyme that was common in the early twentieth century plays off of this:

Ching Chong, Chinaman,
Sitting on a wall.
Along came a white man,
And chopped his tail off.

While incredibly racist, this rhyme shows how the sound of the language can contribute to stereotypes- not just the “ching chong” stereotype, but the idea that Chinese people are “outsiders” who don’t belong. This mindset is much less of a problem in languages that share many sounds with English, such as Dutch and German.

A third example of this is French. The French stereotype is very popular in America, especially the stereotype that “ze Fhhrench speak like zees” and laugh nasally like “hon hon hon”. These stereotypes stem from French phonology, where r’s are trilled (/ʁ/), some vowels are nasal (/ɑ̃/), there’s no “th” sound, and there’s no /ɪ/ (like in English “bin”). This is often made fun of, as the nasal vowels in French can seem almost “uppity” to some English listeners. According to the site TV Tropes, these stereotypes are common in television, with a few famous examples being “Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther, Lumière in Beauty and the Beast, all the French characters in 'Allo 'Allo!, and Pepe Le Pew.” In addition, these stereotypes can also make French people seem goofy, as shown by the fact that many characters in entertainment have stereotypical French accents for no apparent reason. One example is in the movie Shrek, where Robin Hood speaks English with a French accent for no reason other than to generate laughs.

In conclusion, one can deduce that the way a language sounds can affect stereotypes of speakers of that language. Some sounds can seem agressive, like Arabic /x/. Some sounds can seem otherly, like Chinese /t͡ɕ/. Other sounds can even sound goofy, like French /ɑ̃/. The cooperation of these sounds with other sounds from their languages can give the languages a personality that is projected onto speakers of that language.

Works Cited

"How Does Arabic Sound to Foreigners?" How Does Arabic Sound to Foreigners? EgyptSearch, 23 July 2004. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Newman, D. The Phonetics of Arabic (n.d.): n. pag. Durham University Community. Durham University. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Duanmu, San. "Chinese (Mandarin), Phonology of." Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics,. 2nd ed. N.p.: Elsevier House, n.d. Print.

Lee, Mary Paik, and Sucheng Chan. Quiet Odyssey: A Pioneer Korean Woman in America. Seattle: U of Washington, 1990. Print.

"National Stereo Types: Western Europe." TV Tropes. TV Tropes Foundation, LLC, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

Elkhoury, John. "French Phonetics." French Crazy. N.p., 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

No one likes being bored, this is the reason the entertainment industry makes so much money every year. Every week professional athletes put their bodies on the line to entertain the public. But the question is do sports fans value entertainment more than safety? Sports such as football, boxing, and bull riding are very physically demanding jobs, everyday people are seriously injured from doing these activities. People keep supporting the sports industry even though it is dangerous to the players just because it is entertaining.

In recent years, the NFL has been doing research to see the long term effect of football on its players. These studies are the result of former players now starting lawsuits against the NFL for hiding the long term consequences of the sport, even though they knew the risk. Neurologists have determined that football can lead to many brain diseases, a major one being CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Some people who suffer from this have been known to have very short memories and others have even taken their own lives to try to cope with the pain the disease comes with. CTE includes symptoms such as memory loss, impaired judgement, anxiety, depression, and suicidality just to name a few. CTE also leads to Alzheimer's disease or worse ALS. Fans are very well aware of the consequences of playing professionally. This still does not stop them from encouraging huge hits and dangerous contact. Some players receive blows to the helmet and fans cheer for the collision. These same fans then turn to say that they would not allow their children to play the sport. Hall of fame quarterback Brett Farve said in an interview that even though he loves the sport is and glad he played, he would not allow his son to play a sport that violent. This shows that the safety of others is not important to them as long as they are entertained in the process. When injuries happen people even mock the player who has been injured, This is horrible and inhumane in every way possible.

The NFL is now involved in many lawsuits from former players for negligence and fraud because of head traumas found after their playing careers. An example of this is former NFL cornerback Paul Oliver. His repetitive head traumas led him to become moody, have memory loss, and anger issues. As a result of this, he shot himself in the head in front of his wife and children.His family and neurologist claim the suicide was a "direct result of the injuries, depression and emotional suffering caused by repetitive head trauma and concussions suffered as a result of playing football, not properly appreciating football's risks with respect to head trauma"   They say the NFL knew the long term risk of the sport but hid them.

Unlike football, the intent in boxing is to physically beat an opponent. The whole concept of the sport is violent. Fighters come into the match expecting to knock their opponent unconscious. Some doctors will call the process a severe concussion because of the similar trauma experienced. Muhammad Ali now suffers from Parkinson's disease because of the many blows taken to the head in his career. This has essentially left him paralyzed for the rest of his life.  The list of boxing injuries goes on and on.  The sport is so violent that some have even been brutally beaten to death in the ring. Spectators care in absolutely no way. They instead come up with sayings like if you cant take the beating stay out of the ring. Boxing has generated a lot of its money through bets placed by fans. This is something they can do to entertain themselves while the fighters spend months training for a fight. People then throw parties to watch the fight. The whole time they cheer for a certain fighter to knock the other out.

Unlike football and boxing bull riding does not have as many fans, but still has a reputable amount of fans. These fans come to rodeos to see if their favorite cowboy can stay on a bull for 8 seconds. The fans in this sport don’t necessarily cheer for violence but do support it in one way or another. Some fans cheer hoping their cowboys make it the 8 seconds to qualify and others stand hoping they fall off. When a rider falls off the bull, he is in more danger than most people will ever be in. Unlike a head to head collision in football or a strong uppercut in boxing, when hit by a 2,000 pound angry animal most people may not get up. Fans never want to see this happen but do support the idea of the sport. They love the thrill and anticipation of every ride knowing inside what could happen if those 8 seconds are not reached. Fans are entertained by the idea of not knowing what could happen in the run.

During human life, there are many different oppertunities people have to conflict with themselves, all of them having to do with fitting into a specific category of person. Questions about identity are incredibly common, due to the discomfort one receives when feeling abnormal or different. It’s natural to feel such a way, which is why categories are established- to feel normal, and to be able to simplify others to feel comfortable with them. These different categories/binaries include race, class, interest, occupation, and one of the largest, gender. We see gender in every social system; whether it be in schools, at work, or simply when having to use the bathroom. The gender binary pressures individuals to classify themselves as one gender or another, specifically the gender that pertains to their sex,  leading to misconceptions about the existence of genderfluidity or any exploration of gender.

Monique Slusher, the author of an article explaining what it means to be “genderfluid,”  uses a metaphor of three cups: one labeled “woman,” another “man,” and a third with no label at all. One some days, they say that the woman cup will be completely full; because they feel like a woman completely in every aspect. One other days, the man cup will be full, because they feel like a mix of both a man and a woman. And on some days the unlabeled up will be full, because being “man” or “woman” doesn’t describe how they feel at all on that day. (The Pacific Index.)  The idea of genderfluidity is having a completely flexible and ever changing gender identity. The fact that this concept is extremely uncommon and at times causes lots of distress and discomfort proves the oppressiveness of the gender binary. The pressure to simply be “man” or “woman” and to completely live as man or woman puts pressure on individuals to identify themselves specifically as one gender or another.

A Sand Creek high school in Colorado Springs  caused quite an uproar when they crowned a transgender student, Scarlett Lenh, to be homecoming princess. One parent had even said "I'm very sympathetic that he's transgender, but he should be on the boy's side, not the girl's." A high school junior also stated that  “I think it’s wrong because he’s actually a guy, he’s not a girl, and he hasn’t been doing this his entire life – he’s only been doing it recently.” (KOAA.com) Because Lenh identifies as a girl, she is still part of the binary. However,  both of these statements prove in multiple ways the negative effect of the gender binary, because of the automatic use of personal, masculine pronouns to describe Lenh, only because she was a boy at birth. The idea one must stay on the “boy’s side” because they were a boy is language that clearly states the discomfort in anything that doesn't completely cooperate with the binary that has been established, which is therefore why so much pressure is put on individuals to classify as one specific gender for their entire existence, and that any exploration of gender cannot exist.

More Shoe, More Human

Humans first used shoes as a simple tool, most likely to protect the wearer’s feet while still accommodating various terrains. Almost in an evolutionary sense, shoes grew along with people such like industry and clothing. In the first world culture, the shoe is the most important part of the outfit. This importance came from the psychological role shoes have played for people, being around for so long.

It is difficult to say man's absolute first reason for creating footwear, but not so difficult to infer. There are many people who chose not to wear shoes, one of which is a woman named Bea Marshal. Bea said she’d “stepped in glass and dog dirt”, bare footed. Though, not have doing significant damage to her it could have been worse. Due to humans being quadruped, feet have the overall most contact to the ground. Being that the ground has a plethora of things on it, feet would be susceptible to encountering most anything. Shoes are a useful yet simplistic way of keeping various bacteria, sharp objects and such away from any feet, as well as weathering effects like rain, snow and hot sand.

Shoe wearing has been a dedicated part of life and human nature for some time now. Even though some people choose not to wear shoes, those who deny them are making a big statement simply by doing so. The oldest shoes to date are typically sandals and such. These shoes then evolved into moccasins, and now into what people wear today. Each style of shoe came about in a different era of humanity. The shoe represents the culture and expression of people, as well as the environmental hardships they’ve been through. People have worn shoes for thousands of years; in fact the oldest shoe can be dated to 3500 b.c (National Geographic). Humans tend to be attached to things they’ve been with for a long time, personally and generationally. Take dogs for example. Dogs are known as man’s best friend for their long term coexistence with human beings as a pet or as family. The same can go for clothing, especially shoes. People tend to hold shoes the longest out of any article of clothing. People also tend to wear the same shoes with multiple outfits. Picking a pair of shoes is key and it represents who a person is.

In the first world, clothing industry style is key, and depending on the look someone’s going to get a specific shoe to match. The shoe is key because it is the most classic or erratic part of the outfit. It can also be a bland to neutral to tone the outfit down. Shoes aren’t just all about style however, they are also about comfort, appropriateness, and personal aid. A footwear company named Mtb has shoes to specifically prevent health problems, and to aid comfort. Avoiding harmful contact with the wearer’s feet is one thing, but shoes that can reduce the amount of bodily pain already held is a totally different ballpark. The Company claims to reduce pressure in specific areas while walking or standing. This decreases the amount of pressure exerted through a body, thus decreasing the amount of pains from such pressure. Being as though shoes do so much for people, there's no wonder why some might be so attached to them subconsciously.

Concludingly, there are phrases that suggest the importance of shoes are expressed all the time. Phrases along the lines of those shoes with that top, or being told not to step on Jordans are said eveveryday. That is the physiological importance shoes have in the outfit in a first world country. This is how the shoe came to represent human expression.

Works Cited:

Ravilious, Kate. "World's Oldest Leather Shoe Found-Stunningly Preserved." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 09 June 2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100609-worlds-oldest-leather-shoe-armenia-science

Guy, Peter. "Painfreefeet | Foot Notes Blog." Foot Notes Is a Blog Commenting on Foot Health Issues Written by Peter Guy Chiropodist. Painfree.CA, 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.

http://www.painfreefeet.ca/index.cfm?id=24340&modex=day&modexval=04/25/2011#1

Marshall, Bea. "Experience: I Don't Wear Shoes." Theguardian. Theguardian, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/14/i-dont-wear-shoes-experience

Even though an 18 year old is considered an adult,the national legal drinking age in the United States is 21,  Even with this age restriction in place, so many get caught under the influence at younger ages. Keeping in mind that the United States is the only developed country with a legal drinking age of 21, the rest being around 18, the U.S. is behind in the times. The United States should lower their drinking age to 18 and the U.S. needs to catch up with the rest of the world’s developed countries.

The United States is inarguably conservative with their Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA). Only 4% of the world’s countries set their legal age at 21 and, out of this 4%, the U.S. is the only fully developed country. 71% of countries have a legal drinking age of between 16-19, averaged at about 18. They’re MLDA, which was established in 1984, is outdated even though it was established long after countries like the U.K. established their drinking age. The United Kingdom passed the Intoxicating Liquor act in 1923, which restricted liquor sales to individuals over 18. This MLDA has worked well for them for 91 years so what’s to say it wouldn’t work for the United States.

The CDC states that 126,438 accidental deaths occurred in the U.S. during 2010 and of that about 88,000 were attributed to alcohol, coming out to about 69%. In the United Kingdom, 17,201 accidental deaths were recorded in 2010 with 8,367 of these deaths being from alcohol, a total of 48%. A country with a lower MLDA also has a lower alcohol related death rate. A lower drinking age does have an impact on the statistical, alcohol related deaths but it’s a positive one. People tend to want to do what they can’t so when an American 18 year old is offered beer at a party, they’ll drink as much as they can since this isn’t an opportunity that arises daily. If a British 18 year old was offered a beer, they’d most likely accept, but it wouldn’t be such a huge deal since they can go to the store and pick up a six pack whenever they please. If teens were educated properly and given the responsibility of drinking, then the U.S.’s alcohol related deaths would decrease.

Drinking is a matter of responsibility. One needs to be considered mature enough to handle the intoxication with class and not harm anyone in the process. However, it’s questionable about what age that maturity begins. The age to join the military has been set at 18 since 1942. There are soldiers who are considered mature enough for an AK-47 but not a beer. The logic in that is incredibly skewed. The United States trust these men and women with the lives of their comrades and civilians but can’t trust them with their own lives. If a citizen is old enough to enlist than they should be old enough to consume alcohol. Not only can a 21 year old enlist, they can apply for a credit card, serve on a jury, sign a binding contract, marry without parental consent, vote, and be charged as an adult in a court of law. A 18 year old is no longer a minor and is considered a full fledged adult in all aspects except one. Clearly, 18 year olds are considered mature enough for mostly everything so drawing the line at alcohol consumption is arbitrary.

Alcohol can be dangerous if not used responsibly, that much is clear. About 88,000 deaths are caused annually by alcohol. Only 5,000 of these were caused by underage drinking. According to Choose Responsibility, an organization in favor of lowering the MLDA,  the number of underage deaths has been going down since 1970, 14 years before the MLDA act was passed. Therefore, no correlation can be drawn between the two and the act is not responsible for decline in alcohol fatalities amongst underage people. Choose Responsibility says,"... twice as many 21-year-olds died in alcohol-related auto accidents as 18 year-olds. Such a staggering statistic speaks volumes: a policy that claims to be saving thousands each year may simply be re-distributing deaths over the life cycle to the point at which it becomes legal to drink alcohol..." If the MLDA in it’s current state is simply postponing drunk driving accidents until drinking becomes legal, then it seems the problem isn’t young people drinking, it’s how the youth is being educated on the dangers of alcohol. If educated properly, an 18 year old would be much more responsible than an uninformed 21 year old.

Ever since hockey was first played fighting was always a part of it.  It’s a whole element of the game that some think it would change the game if it wasn’t allowed.  Lots of people would agree it should be banned for many reasons but the Professional leagues for the most part say keep it in.  Fighting is only allowed in professional Hockey because of the entertainment aspect and the money it brings in.

When teams whose hometown’s are relatively close to each other’s play each other that usually means it’s a rivalry game.  It’s not common to see a lot of hitting and fighting during rivalry games.  Recently NBC Sports has started broadcasting these games nationwide no matter what city the game takes place in.  This is so new comers see all the physical contact and are immediately hooked.

If the fights didn’t bring in new fans they wouldn’t be allowed.  A lot of fans go to the games or watch the games just to see a fight or two.  If there was no fighting these fans would lose interest therefore making the pro leagues losing lots of money.

Along with fighting comes many injures.  At least 2 NHL “enforcers” have committed suicide in the past 10 years due to depression that is linked to their role on the ice.  The sole purpose on an enforcer or goon is to fight for their team.  Most of the time these players get little to no points a season and are only brought in for big games where they’re expecting a lot of fights.  Without fighting these players may not have lost their lives.  A counter argument to that is that they would’ve never gotten where they were if Hockey wasn’t allowed but a life outweighs a job in any situation.

Fighting is considered part of Hockey.  It’s been allowed in Professional leagues since it all started.  It’s never been allowed in non-pro leagues.  How can something be part of the game if only a select few are actually allowed to fight?.  Rec leagues and school leagues do not allow fighting.  Basically once money gets involved fighting is allowed.  Is that a coincidence? No.  It’s allow about the money and keeping fans entertained.

Many leagues in the East have banned fighting.  There’s a much bigger penalty than just 5 minutes in the penalty box in those leagues.  There hasn’t been any suicides linked to players in those leagues because there is no enforcers in a game of non-fighting.  Ironically these are the leagues that aren’t as popular.  The NHL is without a doubt the biggest league in the world.  They do allow fighting and They do make the most money of any professional hockey players.  

In the long run the only reason there’s still fighting in Hockey. The revenue it brings in is too large to get rid of it.  If it didn’t bring in a lot of money it would’ve been gone years ago.  Progress has been made but as long as players are getting hurt enough progress hasn’t been made. Soon enough it’ll come to an end.  Yes, it’ll change the nature of the game but it’ll be changed for the better.

Lots of adults believe that rock and roll is the leading cause for teenage rebellion. To say this implies that teenagers did not act a certain way until a song promoted it. Considering that a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds made up majority of the first rock and roll bands that changed music and that they only had their own life experiences to write about proves that teenagers already acted this way. This behavior now just began to be the topic of songs. The rebellious stage of teenagers' lives has been the underlying enabler to rock music being one of the most successful genres in music.

During the early ‘60s, The British Invasion was the term used for these very successful British rock bands expanding their music to America. These bands, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks, came in with a bang and changed American music forever. George Harrison of the Beatles proves young teens themselves started rock and roll, being that “Two weeks before his 15th birthday, George officially became a member of the band.” It is true to say that not everyone was acting the, “rock and roll” image before the music got popular, but rock didn’t influence teens to act this way, teenagers influenced other teenagers to act this way. Teens and some of their rebellious habits, such as drinking, drugs, sex, and reckless behavior, have been the root of the rock and roll genre and style, and by this music relating to so many and becoming so popular caused for it only to be influential to those who may not have acted this way before they heard the music.

The Who was another band who made their break and carried over their music to America. One of their most famous songs, “My generation,” contains the lyrics “I hope I die before I get old.” This made a huge statement for the teenagers of that generation because of new topics for their music. Rock and roll was hated by parents and the adult generation because it was said that the vulgar and passionate lyrics promoted sex, drugs, and reckless behavior. Some songs, even some classic ones by The Beatles and The Stones, were banned because of certain lyrics. The Beatles’ very famous song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ was banned because the initials were thought to have stood for LSD. The younger generation now was not only acting out even more as the songs caught on, but they now held a strong grudge against the parents of that generation considering they were being kept from their beloved music. By stating ‘I hope I die before I get old,” was just more teenagers writing about life experiences. “Getting old” to them meant going against all they loved, rock and roll and the lifestyle it brings.

A teenage rebellion article on TeachRock speaks to the idea that “Rock wasn’t just changing the lives of teenagers, but of everyone in some sort of way. Rock and Roll was an expression of that teen rebellion and of the growing gap between generations.” Parents felt their children drifting away, kids acted out towards adults, and adults and teens began to live in two totally separate worlds that despised the other. The media began to speak on behalf of all adults of that generation being as they were banning these songs. Little did they know is that the more they showed the hatred of the music by the older generation by publicly displaying it the more children got on the bandwagon of it. This only gave the teens something to rebel against. Those who couldn’t relate to this music before were now given a reason to listen to it.

The rebellious stage of teenagers' lives has been the underlying enabler to rock music being one of the most influential genres. If the older generation stopped to think about it, they would realize that the promotion of rebellious behavior does not just involve the rock music that was being blamed, but the media that was actually trying to demote the music as well. Teens started it, parents hated it, and the media ended up helping the side they were directly trying to go against. All in all, the promotion of rebellious behavior gave rock music its success.

Work Cited:

"The Beatles Biography." - the Beginning, the Rise, and the Aftermath of the Greatest Band on Earth. N.p., n.d. W

"My Generation by The Who Songfacts." My Generation by The Who Songfacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.eb. 21 Sept. 2014.