Premium Essay

John Mcwhorter: Article Analysis

Submitted By
Words 835
Pages 4
Euphemism has been apparent in our society for decades weather we realize it or not. John McWhorter's article goes into further detail describing how words and phrases have taken on a different tone and the words and phrases that have replaced them over time. As our society and our generation have changed, words and their meanings have changed too.
Similar to the phrase "good versus evil" there are what we call "god terms" and "devil terms" which is explained in chapter four of Communication in Every Day Life. While God Terms are words and phrases we view with a positive outlook, and devil terms we view in a negative outlook, this idea can be compared to the examples McWhorter expressed in his article. What once was called The International Society for Crippled Children, a name change was in order when the world "crippled" slowly became apart of the devil terms and was viewed in a negative and demining context in society. Due to this, we now know this company as Rehabilitation …show more content…
When you take the time to compare how you talk to people of different cultures or even people of different generations, you can almost immediately pick out the difference in words you use in conversation. McWhorter brings up a similar idea when comparing the different and shortened ways to asking where the bathroom is. When asking an adult or a teacher, you may find yourself saying "Where's the restroom at" which can be a relatively more formal way of asking compared to the way you ask your friends by saying something along the lines of "Where's the men's at?" Slang also is apparent as well when you're talking to those of different cultures, which has experienced euphemism along the years as well. Slang words that were once common years before such as "boogie", "hang loose", and "hip" has now been replaces by slang words known as "let's chill", "valid" and

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Future of Global Communications: an Analysis of, “What the World Will Speak in 2115”

...The Future of Global Communications: An Analysis of, “What the World Will Speak in 2115” Keren Gaona The University of Texas at El Paso Global Business 3304 May 19, 2016 According to the speculations of linguistic expert, John McWhorter, who wrote the article, “What the World Will Speak in 2115,” in one hundred years English will become the most widely understood language. If current trends continue, in the future one can imagine a world in which humans all share a single universal language. Having a common language would potentially open the doors to many opportunities for increased economic activity and cultural interaction. Additionally, as we travel into the 22nd Century, lesser used and more complex languages that are spoken today will become extinct. Subsequently, the few languages that survive will evolve into simplified versions making them much easier to learn. In agreement with McWhorter, is Andres Martinez, a reporter for Time Magazine who wrote, “Why Mandarin Won’t Be a Lingua Franca.” English is one of the languages that will withstand the test of time because of its strong presence in the world today. Martinez lends insight into how the French have watched English gain dominance in spheres of economic influence. A universal language does not mean the demolition of the diversity of cultures that we observe today, it simply means that English will be a middle ground among the nations. A professor and writer from Harvard Business Review, Tsedal Neeley, goes...

Words: 1442 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Critical Argument Analysis

...Critical Argument Analysis Gabriel Martinez ENG/215 November 9, 2015 Professor Stephanie Critical Argument Analysis “There’s not a man that can’t be thrown, not a horse that can’t be rode, a bull that can’t be stopped, there’s not a disco that I Coke La Rock can’t rock”. (DJ Coke La Rock 1973) This line spoken by Coke La Rock was the birth of rap and hip-hop music. This one bar made Coke La Rock the very first rapper in Hip-Hop and birthed a new genre of music, we now know today as Rap music. John McWhorter, Opio Lumumba Sokoni, and Desi K. Robinson all have written about their different views and opinions on the good the bad and the ugly of rap music. They all offer different arguments on the effects of rap music. Rap music began as a way for black families to focus on bringing families together and uplifting each other’s spirits in times of heartache and pain. However, now since its humble beginnings so much has changed and developed but the spirit of its heart and soul stays the same. John McWhorter argues in his article, “Mean StreetsTheater,” (2003) on the negativity of rap music and the violence that it promotes. He argues that the violence of rap music is causing the rappers to be murdered. He goes on to say that not only are rappers being murdered but also they’re being murdered in front of their children, exposing their children to the violence. Today in our society many agree with his point of view and are causing...

Words: 864 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Affirmative Action

...“To what extent are Affirmative Action programs no longer needed in the United States?” Affirmative Action is a policy in the United States that “aims to enhance educational and career opportunities for minorities and women by granting them preferences in college and graduate school admissions, promotions, and contract awards.” (Boxill) Such programs are designed to ensure that qualified individuals in America have equal access to opportunity in areas such as education and employment, and receive a fair chance to contribute all their abilities. As T.H. Andersen points out: “Supporters declare themselves the champions of racial justice, protectors of Martin Lurher King’s Dream, while the opponents see themselves as the defenders of merit, of colorblind equal protection enshrined by the U.S. Constitution.” (Anderson Preface X) Therefore, although at first these programs were considered a huge success, many argue that Affirmative Action has been out dated and is not working anymore. Affirmative Action has served its purpose, and is no longer needed and should be abolished or reformed, as it will no longer be useful in helping eliminate the racial gaps in the United States. Affirmative Action has achieved a great deal since it was first introduced in the 1960s. Politicians have characterized Affirmative Action as a policy “designed to right the wrongs of the past, as a quota system, or a set of remedial programs aimed to compensate for the inadequacies of people of color”(Crosby...

Words: 3395 - Pages: 14

Free Essay

Learning Organization

...research of organizational learning enters to the climax. Basic meaning of the learning organization is that an organization is continuous expending to create its future and it has been aimed to growth the ‘knowledge intensity’ of enterprises (Senge, 1990). However, whether in theory or practice in enterprises, learning organization and organizational learning are extremely easy to confuse the two concepts. Generally, many people believe that organizational learning and learning organization are two interchangeable concepts; but from the academic point of view, the two thoughts closely related while having qualitative difference. Just like the title says, a learning organization is not an organization, which can learn. This article will start from the definition of organizational learning and learning organization and some related theories, then will critically analyze practice in different companies, and will further discuss the relationship between these two concepts. Literature Review In order to have a better understanding the relationship between organizational learning and learning organization, the first concept should be...

Words: 4594 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

English Help

...Beyond Feelings A Guide to Critical Thinking NINTH EDITION Vincent Ryan Ruggiero Professor Emeritus of Humanities State University of New York, Delhi BEYOND FEELINGS: A GUIDE TO CRITICAL THINKING, NINTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2007 and 2004. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: MHID: 978-0-07-803818-1 0-07-803818-9 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President EDP/Central Publishing Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Editorial Director: Beth Mejia Senior Managing Editor: Meghan Campbell Executive Marketing Manager: Pamela S. Cooper Senior Project Manager: Joyce Watters Buyer: Nicole Baumgartner Design Coordinator: Margarite Reynolds Media Project Manager: Sridevi Palani Compositor: Glyph International Typeface: 10/13 Palatino Printer: R...

Words: 102651 - Pages: 411

Premium Essay

British Journal Od Business

...British Journal of Management, Vol. 16, 175–194 (2005) DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00453.x Revisiting Fayol: Anticipating Contemporary Management Lee D. Parker* and Philip A. Ritson *Corresponding author: Lee D. Parker, School of Commerce, Security House, North Terrace, The University of Adelaide, SA 5005 Australia Email: lee.parker@adelaide.edu.au This study argues that in classifying Fayol as a founding father of the Classical Management School, we have to some extent misrepresented this still important management theorist. The received Fayol portrayed in contemporary texts invariably emerges as a caricature of a much more insightful, complex, visionary and rounded management thinker. This study re-examines Fayol’s personal and career history, as well as the arguments presented in his original work, General and Industrial Management. It finds that he was a much more complex and multidimensional figure than his conventional stereotype today, and that his management theories embraced a wider spectrum of approaches and concepts than traditionally identified with the classical management school of thought. In marked contrast to his traditional portrayal, this study uncovers traces of ideas and concepts that anticipated aspects of the human relations movement, systems-based contingency theory, the movement towards greater employee involvement in decision-making and elements of knowledge management. Henri Fayol, the French industrialist and management thinker...

Words: 13494 - Pages: 54

Premium Essay

Management Accounting

...Handbook of Management Accounting Research Volume 3 Edited by CHRISTOPHER S. CHAPMAN Imperial College London, UK ANTHONY G. HOPWOOD University of Oxford, UK MICHAEL D. SHIELDS Michigan State University, USA AMSTERDAM – BOSTON – HEIDELBERG – LONDON – NEW YORK – OXFORD PARIS – SAN DIEGO – SAN FRANCISCO – SINGAPORE – SYDNEY – TOKYO Elsevier The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK First edition 2009 Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone ( 44) (0) 1865 843830; fax ( 44) (0) 1865 853333; email: permissions@elsevier.com. Alternatively visit the Science and Technology Books website at www.elsevierdirect.com/rights for further information Notice No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for...

Words: 187223 - Pages: 749

Free Essay

Introduction to Sociolinguistic

...Liliane Haegeman 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Andrew Spencer Helen Goodluck Ronald Wardhaugh Martin Atkinson Diane Blakemore Michael Kenstowicz Deborah Schiffrin John Clark and Colin Yallop 10. 11. 12. 13. Natsuko Tsujimura Robert D. Borsley Nigel Fabb Irene Heim and Angelika Kratzer 14. Liliane Haegeman and Jacqueline Guéron 15. Stephen Crain and Diane Lillo-Martin 16. Joan Bresnan 17. Barbara A. Fennell 18. Henry Rogers 19. Benjamin W. Fortson IV 20. AITA01 Liliane Haegeman 2 Introduction to Government and Binding Theory (Second Edition) Morphological Theory Language Acquisition Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Fifth Edition) Children’s Syntax Understanding Utterances Phonology in Generative Grammar Approaches to Discourse An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology (Second Edition) An Introduction to Japanese Linguistics Modern Phrase Structure Grammar Linguistics and Literature Semantics in Generative Grammar English Grammar: A Generative Perspective An Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition Lexical-Functional Syntax A History of English: A Sociolinguistic Approach Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction Thinking Syntactically: A Guide to Argumentation and Analysis 5/9/05, 4:36 PM An Introduction to Sociolinguistics FIFTH EDITION Ronald Wardhaugh AITA01 3 5/9/05, 4:36 PM © 1986,...

Words: 213157 - Pages: 853

Premium Essay

Nanotechnology Applications for Clean Water Solutions for Improving

...NaNotechNology applicatioNs for cleaN Water Micro & NaNo TechNologies series editor: Jeremy ramsden Professor of Nanotechnology Microsystems and Nanotechnology Centre, Department of Materials Cranfield University, United Kingdom the aim of this book series is to disseminate the latest developments in small scale technologies with a particular emphasis on accessible and practical content. these books will appeal to engineers from industry, academia and government sectors. for more information about the book series and new book proposals please contact the publisher, Dr. Nigel hollingworth at nhollingworth@williamandrew.com. http://www.williamandrew.com/MNt NaNotechNology applicatioNs for cleaN Water edited by Nora savage Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency and (in alphabetical order) Mamadou Diallo Materials and process simulation center, Division of chemistry and chemical engineering, california institute of technology Jeremiah Duncan Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison anita street Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency and Center of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign richard sustich N o r w i c h , N Y, U S A copyright © 2009 by William andrew inc. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying...

Words: 90139 - Pages: 361