Critically Evaluating the Relationship Between Language and Social Processes free essay sample

The development of language and how these changes have impacted on learners’ literacy will be discussed throughout this essay, conveying factors such as the relationship between language and social processes, how language and literacy is influenced by personal, social and cultural factors also relating to the effects that barriers to learning have as well as shared contextual knowledge of language that learners’ have. Various other reasons for language change and development such as accents and dialect, differences between spoken and written English and the influences the internet has from social networking sites, the use of text messaging as a form of communication and the effect it has on literacy will be discussed and argued. Language is always evolving; this could be due to an array of factors such as the personal, social and cultural influences that have impacted on learners’ literacy. There are many personal factors that barrier learning. One of the main barriers that impact a learners’ literacy is gradual disengagement, this indicates that decisions to participate in learning post 16 are heavily influenced by their prior experiences of education. We will write a custom essay sample on Critically Evaluating the Relationship Between Language and Social Processes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Poor experiences are linked to lower participation rates. Engagement is not a simple choice for all learners; disengagement can be for various reasons, mild or severe. Disengagement is a cumulative process that can start from early education and increase throughout, in some cases it can be powerless to stop. In relation to this, motivation to learn is an important factor that influences engagement. The importance of motivation in order for meaningful learning to occur is well documented in their literature. Distinctions are made between learners who are motivated to learn and those who may be motivated but have many factors working against them. Both result in the same outcome, namely disengagement. From this can come a lack of self-belief, learners can develop unrealistic aspirations fuelled by a focus on the lifestyle of celebrities. The belief that becoming a celebrity as a realisable ambition can prevent people from engaging in learning because they neglect to focus on academic goals or developing life skills. Some learners develop an ingrained sense of failure. This can be due to the emphasis on academic achievement and measuring success by test results and levels of qualifications. (Jackson and Hudson 2009) Self-belief can also interlink with bullying, there is an increasing awareness of how bullying can have a detrimental impact on peoples engagement with learning, bullying is a key barrier in disengagement from learning. Family and social circumstances affect learning such as living in areas where incomes are generally low. Socially deprived geo-demographical areas has a large influence on language and literature, there is long standing concern by the government that people from deprived socio-economic backgrounds have lower rates of participation in education. People from deprived neighbourhoods are less likely to develop ambitions and achievable aspirations, however this is not always the case. People from lower socio-economic groups face increased barriers to learning compared to those from higher socio-economic groups. Forsyth, Furlong, 2003) Barriers to learning for disabled learners may be attitudinal, organisational or practical. The Disability Discrimination Act 2010 has a vital role to play in dismantling barriers and delivering equality of opportunity for disabled people in education. A physical disability may happen to any person at any time. It can be temporary or permanent, fluctuating, stable or degenerative and may affect parts of the body or the whole of it. There are 3 main groups of impairment that will impact learners’ literacy; congenital disability occurs during pregnancy at the birth e. . Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy. Inherited Conditions are passed from parent to child e. g. Haemophilia, muscular dystrophy. Impairments acquired during life such as accidents, Polio, Meningitis, and Physical Abuse. There are also hidden disabilities such as Epilepsy, Diabetes, and Haemophilia. These barriers to learning are many and complex and differ from person to person and often from day to day. (Tomlinson, 1996) The Moser Report 1999 stated that up to seven million adults in England have difficulties with literacy and numeracy, a bigger proportion than in any other western country. One in five adults are functionally illiterate. The report recognised a long term national strategy was needed, the government would have to spend six hundred and eighty millions pounds a year until the year 2005 to achieve the recommended target of halving the number of people functionally illiterate by the year 2010 (Moser, 1999) All of these aspects convey the fact that language is influenced and affected by such key factors. Home and community culture values may conflict with the cultural values of educational/academic establishments affecting learning. The influence of cultural values with learning may be particularly relevant, for example, Gypsy and Muslim women can experience conflict between their aspirations, their families wishes and educational/academic expectations, resulting in dislocation and anxiety having a long term effect on their learning. The power of language to reflect culture and influence thinking was first proposed by an American linguist and anthropologist, Edward Sapir (1884–1939), and his student, Benjamin Whorf (1897–1941). The  Sapir–Whorf hypothesis  stated that the way we think and view the world is determined by our language (Anderson amp; Lightfoot, 2002). Instances of cultural language differences are evidenced in that some languages have specific words for concepts whereas other languages use several words to represent a specific concept. Cultural differences have also been noted in the ways in which language is used pragmatically. New skills are typically taught and learned through verbal instruction (Slobin, 1979). In some cultures, new skills are learned through nonverbal observation. A distinction has also been made between cultures that encourage independent learning and those that encourage cooperative learning (McLeod, 1994). Learners rely on a shared understanding of an acquired vocabulary of the Standard English language in communication, and throughout the course of a lifetime this will extend, change and vary. Throughout education, learners are given repeated experiences of the meanings of entities within certain subject areas and depending on academic development, experiences and interests, these areas will broaden. Equally, interpretation of language will develop, modify and change. As a result, knowledge of language is dependent amongst other things within the educational, socio-cultural, and geographical backgrounds, contextual knowledge of a topic and the age and gender of the learner. Therefore the interpretation and understanding of language is reliant on external sources as well as facilitating and acquiring these skills through exposure to language learning material at an academic level. (Locke, 1971) The earliest known residents of the British Isles were the Celts, who spoke Celtic languages. Over the centuries the British Isles were invaded and conquered by various peoples, who brought their languages and customs with them as they settled into their new lives. There is now very little Celtic influence left in English. The earliest time that English was spoken was in the 5th century CE. From the Celts, the Romans ruled, followed by the Anglo-Saxons and then the Norman Conquest, bringing the French language to England, sparking the one hundred years war. The 17th Century saw the English vocabulary develop with Shakespeare creating two thousand new words that contributed to the English language that are still used today. King James’ Bible was discovered also, igniting the use of metaphors and still shapes the way English language is spoken. Following on from this was the Science of English. Influential scientific figures such as Hooke, Boyle and Newton flourished, forming the Royal Society and translating Latin to English. Between the years of 1583-1914 the British Empire stretched over 10 million square miles with a population of 400 million people that left new varieties of English language to develop all over the world. 1746 saw a Lexicographer called Dr. Johnson write a dictionary that contained 42,773 words that portrayed a standard spelling. The English language developed further and in 1857 the Oxford English Dictionary was written, it was completed in 1928 and is still developing as the language changes and the vocabulary broadens. The discovery of America brought more entries to the English language, taken from Native Americans and also the immigrants who resided there, a new language of capitalism also developed from this. In 1972 the first email was sent followed by the invention of the Internet in 1991. Speaking was largely replaced by typing and abbreviations developed to be an everyday spoken language. English is now a global language with 1. 5 billion English speakers, one quarter of these are native speakers and another quarter use English as a second language. http://www. open. ac. uk/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/english-language, 2011) Language also changes very subtly whenever speakers come into contact with each other. No two individuals speak identically: people from different geographical places clearly speak differently, but even within the same community there are variations according to age, gender, ethnicity and social and educational background. Through interaction, new words, expressio ns and pronunciations are encountered, and are integrated into everyday speech. Every successive generation makes a small contribution to language change and when sufficient time has elapsed the impact of these changes becomes more obvious. â€Å"Some method should be thought on for ascertaining and fixing our language for ever, it is better a language should not be wholly perfect, than that it should be perpetually changing† Jonathan Swift wrote these words in 1712. They express a sentiment that is still heard today, the idea that language should be fixed forever, frozen in time, and protected from the negative effects of fashion and social trends. Language change is almost always perceived as negative. During the eighteenth century, Swift and many other influential figures felt the English language was in a state of serious decline and that a national institution, which existed in Italy and France, should be created to establish rules and prevent further change. New words and expressions, innovative pronunciations and changes in grammar are derided, and are often considered inferior, such as the growth and development of abbreviations that have derived from the internet and text messaging. Yet because of its adaptability and durability, English has evolved into an incredibly versatile and modern language, retaining a recognisable link to its past. Many contemporary linguistic critics accept that change in language, like change in society, is an unavoidable process, but more often a means of refreshing and reinvigorating a language, providing alternatives that allow subtle differences of expression. Certainly the academies established in France and Italy have had little success in preventing change in French or Italian, and also the gradual shift in opinion of the Lexicographer, Dr Johnson, will evidently conclude this. Dr Johnson wrote in 1747 of his desire to produce a dictionary by which the pronunciation of language may be fixed and its purity preserved, but on completing the project ten years later it was acknowledged in the introduction that: â€Å"Those who have been persuaded to think well of my design, require that it should fix our language and put a stop to those alterations which time and chance have hitherto been suffered to make in it without opposition. With this consequence I will confess that I flattered myself for a while; but now egin to fear that I have indulged expectation which neither reason nor experience can justify† (Crystal, 2005) Samuel Johnson without a doubt realised that any attempt to set the English language in stone was useless, conveying the fact that the English language is forever changing and developing. The way learners communicate with one another through social networking sites and text messaging is becoming a vast debate with many critics due to the f act that it is believed to be the downfall and destruction of the English language and is also having a large impact on learners’ literacy skills. Wayne Learmond argues that it has become the antithesis and a big part of everything that is wrong with today’s society, text messaging has become a way of short cutting words that should be written properly. (Learmond, 2010) This development and change in language was undeniable when mobile phones and the Internet were invented, verbal communication has declined due to the social norm of chat rooms and text messaging, gone are the days when letter writing was the norm. Learmond, 2010) However, it could be argued that its just another part of the rich vastness and adaptability that language is capable of, that it keeps developing alongside the society it is in. It is also argued that text message abbreviations such as ‘LOL’ and ‘FYI’ are having a grammatical affect on learners’ literacy, as words are no longer being spelled fully and also verbally spoken to one another using this text talk. Learmond believes that the technological revolution has destroyed the English language and that academic systems and society have failed because of this. In contrast to this Nawaz argues that there is no significant difference and it is only the older generations that think it is annihilating Standard English yet it is video games, government budget cuts and unnecessary school absences that are the affecting learners’ literacy. Nawaz, 2010) On the contrary to abbreviations having a negative affect on learning it is developing their numeracy and literacy by having the knowledge to code switch from Standard English to ‘textisms’ (Crystal, 2008) saving time and money. Crystal also believes text messaging has a positive affect on learners’ language and literacy, in his book the gr8 db8 he puts forward a number of points suggesting this. Typically, less than 10% of the words are abbreviated in text messages, abbreviating is not a new language; nstead, it has bee n present for many decades, children and adults both use SMS language, adults being more likely to do so. Learners do not habitually use abbreviations in their homework or examinations. Sending text messages is not a cause of bad spelling because people need to know how to spell before they can send a text message and it improves peoples literacy, as it provides more opportunity for people to engage with the language through reading and writing. (Crystal, 2008) Such text messaging and various other factors discussed undoubtedly have both positive and negative affects, however, if and when used in the right context and the socio-economic environment of today it is arguable that it has a more positive affect on learners’ literacy. The English language is forever changing, updating itself, and developing to lay the foundations for a positive future for literacy learning and teaching. â€Å"Literacy underpins livelihood, it is at the heart of educational progress. Support for literacy is the best way the government can invest in the future of its people.