Abstract
In this assignment, I focused on how the media has reinforced the image of Standard English as the ‘elite’ language by using outside sources and course readings to support my claim.
Mass-Media Language Manipulation
Change is inevitable and these changes in language have brought the feeling of panic among many. Throughout the years the English language has absorbed, changed, and has evolved, from Shakespeare’s era to the modern-day. No one has built a barrier around language that controls what forms of English are allowed and which are not. This lack of barrier around language has allowed the development of slang, Black English, Spanglish, Broken English, and more. The usage of these variations of the English language can also shift based on our setting. For instance, we use a different type of English at school, at the workplace, with friends, and relatives. These changes create worries or concerns to the group of people that think that Standard English might become extinct. Despite the obvious changes in language, it has not taken away how language is perceived in society. Language reinforces the idea of social superiority and identity. Language has been the cause of dividing people into groups, where you are either an outsider or an insider. Society has designated Standard English as the language that everyone must speak and write. Therefore, is any other type of language that is not considered standard English devalued by society? The rising question is who has influences on how language is viewed in society and what language we are expected to use? The current resource that has a great impact on influencing people worldwide is the media. The publication of language is now accessible to every induvial on the news, commercials, sports, broadcasting, television, books, shows, ads, and through other media. Society maintains Standard English as the dominant language through the use of the media and transmitting the wrong ideas about language. This is wrong because it causes social oppression and causes many individuals to abandon their cultural identity. The media is influencing how language is represented in society and is reinforcing the idea that Standard English is superior.
The mass media language can be used as a tool to influence the public to use Standard English. By limiting the non-standard English in the media and by referring to the grammatical structure, it is showcasing Standard English as the norm in society. In English Belongs to Everybody the author Robert MacNeil mentions that “Newspapers still clean up the grammar when they quote the ungrammatical, including politicians.” (192) This shows that by force of habit it has become the norm to adjust any grammatical errors that exist, even if this grammatical error comes from a powerful figure such as a Politician. This aids in conveying how we are prompted or programmed to follow and conform to the strict rules of Standard English. This conformity to this dialect is shown in Newspapers, interviews, books, journals and other forms of media, it is unavoidable for individuals to escape the rules for the language. To continue, by requiring that writing should be revised for grammatical errors before it becomes published in the media has created the mindset that this is the only form of language that is accepted in society. The need to make sure that the grammatical structure was followed has set the standards of what is required to the public, where the public will try to meet up to the standards because of the reputation that an author or writer holds. Therefore, according to society, there is no space for non-standard English in published literature. The presence of the grammatical structure in the media has shown the rules of standard English that we must conform to.
The media’s influence of making Standard English the “elite” or dominant language in the country has been shown by Radheshyam Jadhav, who holds a Ph.D. in Development Communication, in the article “A Critical Analysis of the Function of Mass Media Language a Tool of Social Oppression”. In his article, he showcases the influence the media has on language representation. “The print media is heavily ‘elite’ dominated and, accordingly, it has language preferences, language loyalty, language attitudes, and language choices. Language use relates to the use of words in a structured and conventional way to communicate…” (191)This shows the obligation of keeping Standard English as the prime language and its status through the media. By only focusing on the dominantlanguage it’s presenting other dialects as being less significant. Media is using being used as a tool to degrade any language that is non-standard language or native. This is causing social oppression to other dialects that exist in our diverse community. This causes others to be discouraged to use their native and non-standard languages in the open, endangering identities and different cultures. This unnoticeable social oppression of other languages in the media has displayed Standard English as being most acceptable in the eyes of the public. If society were to include other forms of dialects into the media it would be able to connect to our diverse society, by embracing the new forms of languages. However, the media has been used to do the opposite of embracing the new forms of languages. The mass media intuition has become one of the main tools for oppression. (192, Radheshyam Jadhav) Therefore, the public has been exposed to social oppression towards people who inhabit a native dialect, without being fully aware of it. Jadhav’s article connects with the ideas of MacNeil’s by. they both support the idea that the media reinforces standard English as the superior language. The author MacNeil supports this idea by stating how the presence of the grammatical structure in the media has set the rules of standard English that we must conform to. Jadhav extends this idea by mentioning how the unnoticeable social oppression towards other dialects in the media, has displayed Standard English as being most acceptable in the eyes of the public.
In the English journal, “The New Integrated Media Language”(1978), author Nancy Thompson, who studied in the University of South Carolina Colombia, asserts that the language on media is the required spoken language in society and suggest that the public is exposed to this language are forced into adopting this language. She backs up this claim by she conveys how we are affected and influenced by the language exposed in the media. Thompson appears to write in hopes of letting the people know the influence media in showcasing language to prevent the public from changing their views on the forms of languages. “…low level of awareness about its message exists among the general viewing public. People are being influenced to the point that they are losing their freedom of thinking and freedom of choice.” (106) The media has the power to subconsciously miniplate a person’s mind. Therefore, it has allowed society to be able to enforce Standard English and keep its reputation through the influence of the media. To continue this idea, Yann P. Kerevel, in his article, “The Influence of Spanish-Language Media On Latino Public Opinion and Group Consciousness published in Social Science Quarterly”, addresses the topic of the use of language on media and argues that using a different language on media helps connects people who speak the same language. Karevelbuilds on the idea of the author Nancy Thompson of how society has been able to enforce Standard English and keep its reputation through the influence of the media. Yann P. kerevel extends the idea by conveying that language in the media can connect or neglect other cultures and languages that are not Standard English. “… it is possible that in the case of Latinos, access to Spanish-Language media designed to give special emphasis to Latino issues will influence perceptions of common group interest among Latinos.” (Kerevel, 512)This demonstrates the media can connect to different cultural groups of people by the type of language they use. In this case, Latinos are more likely to listen to Spanish -language media and trust in them, where this language use makes them feel more like at home. Therefore, the media has the power to target a group of people through the use of language. This justifies that the lack of non-standard forms in the media displays a disconnection with people with other dialects. This is typecasting this group of people’s language, culture, and identity as the outsiders. When comparing to a San Diego English broadcast to a Spanish broadcast, the English broadcast didn’t have information on immigration or international politics, unlike the Spanish broadcast. (512, Yann P. kerevel) This disregard forother cultures and languages only leaves room for the intended language of America, the standard English.
In the article “Why Do cartoon Villains speak in Foreign Accents?” the author Isabel Fattal refers to the research made by Calvin Gidney, a professor, and specialist on sociolinguistics, on the topic of language patterns in animated films. The author argues how the “bad” characters are the ones who usually inhabit non-standard or foreign accents. The author mentions how television and animated films are transmitting the wrong cultural messaging to children. “…American adults tend to evaluate the British dialect…as sounding smarter. Funny characters, on the other hand, often speak in German or Slavic accents (Dobrow offered as an example the associates of the evil Dr.Claw in Inspector Gadget)…” (3, Isabel Fattal)It is a known fact that certain dialects are presented as being more profound and in some sense more superior, in this example it is the British dialect. In children shows the media is associating character traits with different dialects, this association can be misleading. By portraying a funny character with a German accent or any other accent is sending the message that those with these accents shouldn’t be taken seriously or not as respected. Furthermore, these associations of personality traits with dialect through the media are developing stereotypes towards these dialects. The way the media are representing these dialects can discourage the use of these dialects and be promoting the use of Standard English where “…most of the heroic characters in their research sample were American-sounding; only two heroes had foreign accents.” (2, Isabel Fattal) To continue, “Henchmen or assistants to villains often spoke in dialects associated with low socioeconomic status, including working-class Eastern European dialects or regional American dialects such as “Italian-American gangster” …”. (3, Isabel Fattal) The connection that the media is conveying between economic status and different forms of English is devaluing non-standard dialects. This builds up the stigma that to be economically successfully we must not inhabit these different forms of English. Therefore, from the perspective of those who are exposed to these messages through the media, Standard English is being presented as being superior and the language that will bring a person economic success. As the author Walt Wolfram adds on and points out, these dangerous messages to kids can have a great influence on them and are the reason that there are accent discrimination and stereotypes towards different variations of English. Specializing in social and ethnically dialects of American English, Walt Wolfram, in his article, “Sound Effects”, published in Teaching Tolerance magazine, addresses the topic of children being taught language prejudices. He argues how the media plays a part in developing language prejudice to make Standard English the dominant language. “Even the voices in Disney animations reinforce stereotypes- main characters speak in Standard English…It’s not surprising that young children develop prejudices about language differences that can accompany them through life…”(28, Walt Wolfram) The influence that the media has and it’s power over the public is often overlooked. Media plays an essential part in this period and is popular among the youth. Therefore, any message that is transmitted to someone young can be taught and grow up with certain ideas. Walt Wolfram mentions an experiment conducted by Marilyn S. Rosenthal, where they asked children to listen to the audio of one person who spoke Standard English and another person who spoke African- American. When the children asked to choose which sounds nicer, the children choose the Standard English. (27, Walt Wolfram) The children ages ranged from 3 through 5, which shows that children acquire certain attitudes towards different languages at an early age. The media can be used as a tool to reject and not allow other forms of English or accents to be accepted in society. Without the embracing of other dialects through the media, Standard English remains as the aristocratic of society.
Critics who oppose the idea that media is only structured to enforce the standard English may argue that media has incorporated diverse languages. “Today, Facebook — the world’s most popular social networking site — is available in over 70 official languages. The list includes indigenous languages like Cherokee and Quechua.” (Lydia Emmanouilidou) Journalist and author Lydia Emmanouilidou claimsthat themedia has embraced a different language and are visible in social networking sites, such as Facebook. However, the incorporation of other languages in the media does not take away how media is making Standard English the dominant language. With a bachelor’s in sociology, the author Teddy Kokorors challenges Lydia Emmanouilidou by explaining that the media promotes other dialects on the media. “Most major foreign-language movies released in the United States come with subtitles in English.” (Teddy Kokoros) TeddyKokoros conveys how even though there is a foreign language movie being presented, the superiority of Standard English will still be present. Another example is the children show Dora the explorer, where the show does incorporate the Spanish language. The purpose of this show is to create a second language development. (Teddy Kokoros) However, the number of times the character spoke in Spanish was far less than when she spoke English. In the show, the main character Dora also interreacted with other characters using the English. The media showcases Standard English as the required language that one must learn, where learning a second language is acceptable just as long as Standard English is kept as the primary language. This contributes to the idea that despite the fact that other dialects are included in the media it wouldn’t be able to defeat the superiority of Standard English. The media has reinforced the image of Standard English as the ‘elite’ language.
The dominantlanguage that has been designated to our country has been the Standard English. Throughout years, the standard English has maintained a profound status in the eyes of the public. The media has been used as a tool to influence the use of Standard English and presented it as being superior. Through television shows, newspapers, books, shows, ads, and through other media it has been able to social oppress other dialects. Therefore, the media has been able to keep Standard English as the primary language in society. The media should be more aware and responsible of the way they portray the non-standard speakers.
work cited
Emmanouilidou, Lydia. “For Rare Languages, Social Media Provide New Hope.” NPR, NPR, 26 July 2014, www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/07/26/333732206/for-rare-languages-social-media-provide-new-hope.
Fattal, Isabel. “Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 Jan. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/01/why-do-cartoon-villains-speak-in-foreign-accents/549527/.
Kokoros, Teddy. “Mass Media and Its Effect on Language Maintenance and Acquisition.” Ideas and Innovations In Early Childhood Education, Ideas and Innovations In Early Childhood Education, 12 Sept. 2018, www.earlychildhoodeducationandcare.com/bloggers/2018/9/12/mass-media-and-its-effect-on-language-maintenance-and-acquisition.
MacNeil, Robert. “English Belongs to Everybody”.Wordstruck: a Memoir. Viking, 1989
Wolfram,Walt. “Sound Effects: Challenging Language Prejudice in the Classroom”.Teaching Tolerance, vol.43,2013, pp.29-31
