History and Culture A _ 2012-2013

A class blog Patricia Bou. English Studies. UV

Friday 30 April 2010

Green Day "Minority"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDBlqu6KF4k

I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

I pledge allegiance to the underworld
One nation under dark
There of which I stand alone
A face in the crowd
Unsung, against the mold
Without a doubt
Singled out
The only way I know

I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

Stepped out of the line
Like a sheep runs from the herd
Marching out of time
To my own beat now
The only way I know

One light, one mind
Flashing in the dark
Blinded by the silence of a thousand broken hearts
"For crying out loud" she screamed unto me
A free for all
Fuck 'em all
You are your own sight

I want to be the minority
I don't need your authority
Down with the moral majority
'Cause I want to be the minority

Arizona Immigration Bill becomes Law

The Language of Prejudice





April 24, 2010 -- Updated 1749 GMT (0149 HKT)

Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) -- Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill Friday that requires police in her state to determine whether a person is in the United States legally, which critics say will foster racial profiling but supporters say will crack down on illegal immigration.
The bill requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there is reason to suspect that they're in the United States illegally. It also targets those who hire illegal immigrant day laborers or knowingly transport them.


More on:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/23/obama.immigration/index.html

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Thursday 29 April 2010

Sexist language used in the Austrian Anthem

"Land der Berge, Land am Strome
Land der Äcker, Land der Dome,
Land der Hämmer, zukunftsreich!
Heimat bist du großer Söhne => sons
Volk, begnadet für das Schöne
Viel gerühmtes Österreich!
(...)
Mutig in die neuen Zeiten
frei und gläubig sieh uns schreiten,
Arbeitsfroh und Hoffnungsreich.
Einig lass in Brüderchören => choirs of brothers
Vaterland dir Treue schwören =>fatherland
Viel geliebtes Österreich!"

This are the lyrics for the Austrian Anthem and there are some "sexist" phrases in it. In Austria there has already been a discussion about changing the lyrics into for example: sons and daughters.
Personally I don´t believe that the lyrics should be changed, this is a part from Austria and I don´t feel offended by those lyrics.

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Come on everybody!!! We can do it!!!

Exams, spring, hot weather, thiking on vacation time, worried about failing...

leave those speech acts and BEHAVE!!!!


Clara :)



Clara Lucía Tronch (2009-2010)

Curious!!! Austin or Lakoff? DELITO POR INJURIAS.ECUADOR

According to what Joaquín Primo Pacheco presented in class on speech act theory, I have found of much interest an example that, from my point of view, exemplifies the Austin-Lakoff disagreement on their views of what a speech act. Furthermore this youtube entrance shows how sociolinguistics affect not only the bibliography we got to finish our studies (oh, we'r almost in the end ,come on! one last effort mates!!! ) but also our daily grind and, such powerful areas as politics, in which language is used (not to say manipulated) in order to keep power.


Clara Lucía Tronch (2009-2010)

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Sunday 25 April 2010

Gema Olaso - TALK SHOW - About The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle"

The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle is a British sitcom that was originally aired on BBC 2 in 2007. The programme was written and created by Jennifer Saunders and Tanya Byron.

The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle sees Saunders play a talk show host called Vivienne Vyle, a caricature of Jeremy Kyle and other talk show hosts. The programme also stars Miranda Richardson as the talk show's producer.

Vyle will resolve paternity disputes with her now weekly DNA reveal slot (subtly named: 'who's the daddy?'). Show contributors come on either crying or shouting (usually both) and are then treated to what is now famously referred to as the 'Vyle treatment': Vivienne's own brand of straight-talking honesty which is always direct, blunt and dare I say it, often hard hitting and uncompromising.

Vyle will say what she thinks in a way that feels at times admonishing and even mocking - especially when she uses the audience to make a point whether it be a subtle raise of an eyebrow that gets an audience jeering or a direct invitation for the audience to support one of her longer diatribes with wild cheers and applause.

Gema Olaso (2009-2010)

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Friday 23 April 2010

Some controversial email about gender in Spanish

Hi there! Just got this mail a few days ago about the relatively recent tendency in the Spanish language to create a feminine gender for some professions. From my point of view she started up pretty well, showing her good education background (unless the victims of the LOGSE), but then.... well, you can check it out by yourselves and give some feedback about the issue. Do you agree that we should say "presidentE" to a woman?

CONTRA LA TONTUNA LINGÜÍSTICA , UN POCO DE GRAMÁTICA BIEN EXPLICADA

Yo no soy víctima de la LOGSE. Tengo 48 años y he tenido la suerte de estudiar bajo unos planes educativos buenos, que primaban el esfuerzo y la formación de los alumnos por encima de las estadísticas de aprobados y de la propaganda política.

En párvulos (así se llamaba entonces lo que hoy es "educación infantil", mire usted) empecé a estudiar con una cartilla que todavía recuerdo perfectamente: la A de "araña", la E de "elefante", la I de "iglesia" la O de "ojo" y la U de "uña".

Luego, cuando eras un poco más mayor, llegaba "El Parvulito", un librito con poco más de 100 páginas y un montón de lecturas, no como ahora, que pagas por tres tomos llenos de dibujos que apenas traen texto. Eso sí, en el Parvulito, no había que colorear ninguna página, que para eso teníamos cuadernos.

En EGB estudiábamos Lengua Española, Matemáticas (las llamábamos "tracas" o "matracas") Ciencias Naturales, Ciencias Sociales, Plástica (dibujo y trabajos manuales), Religión y Educación Física. En 8º de EGB, si en un examen tenías una falta de ortografía del tipo de "b en vez de v" o cinco faltas de acentos, te suspendían.

En BUP, aunque yo era de Ciencias, estudié Historia de España (en 1º), Latín y Literatura (en 2º) y Filosofía (en 3º y en COU). Todavía me acuerdo de las declinaciones (la 1ª.: rosa, rosa, rosa, rosae, rosae, rosa en el singular; -ae, -ae, -as, -arum, -is, -is, en el plural; la segunda;-us, -e, -um, -i, -o, -o, en el singular; -i, -i -os, -orum, -is, -is, en el plural; no sigo que os aburro), de los verbos (poto, potas, potare, potavi, potatum, el verbo beber), de algunas traducciones ("lupus et agni in fluvi ripa aqua potaban; superior erat lupus longeque agni": el lobo y el cordero bebían agua en el río; el lobo estaba arriba, lejos del cordero; "mihi amiticia cum domino erat": yo era amigo del señor).

Leí El Quijote y el Lazarillo de Tormes; leí las "Coplas a la Muerte de su Padre" de Jorge Manrique; a Garcilaso, a Góngora, a Lope de Vega o a Espronceda...

Pero, sobre todo, aprendí a hablar y a escribir con corrección. Aprendí a amar nuestra lengua, nuestra historia y nuestra cultura. Aprendí que se dice "Presidente" y no Presidenta, aunque sea una mujer la que desempeñe el cargo.

Y... vamos con la Gramática.

En castellano existen los participios activos como derivado de los tiempos verbales. El participio activo del verbo atacar es "atacante"; el de salir es "saliente"; el de cantar es "cantante" y el de existir, "existente". ¿Cuál es el del verbo ser? Es "el ente", que significa "el que tiene entidad", en definitiva "el que es". Por ello, cuando queremos nombrar a la persona que denota capacidad de ejercer la acción que expresa el verbo, se añade a este la terminación "-nte".

Así, al que preside, se le llama "presidente" y nunca "presidenta", independientemente del género (masculino o femenino) del que realiza la acción.

De manera análoga, se dice "capilla ardiente", no "ardienta"; se dice "estudiante", no "estudianta"; se dice "independiente" y no "independienta"; "paciente", no “pacienta"; "dirigente", no dirigenta"; "residente", o "residenta”.

Y ahora, la pregunta del millón: ¿nuestros políticos y muchos periodistas (hombres y mujeres, que los hombres que ejercen el periodismo no son "periodistos"), ¿hacen mal uso de la lengua por motivos ideológicos o por ignorancia de la Gramática de la Lengua Española? Creo que por las dos razones. Es más, creo que la ignorancia les lleva a aplicar patrones ideológicos y la misma aplicación automática de esos patrones ideológicos los hace más ignorantes (a ellos y a sus seguidores).

Me gustaría que esto llegue finalmente a esos ignorantes semovientes (no "ignorantas semovientas", aunque ocupen carteras ministeriales).

Lamento haber aguado la fiesta a un grupo de hombres que se habían asociado en defensa del género y que habían firmado un manifiesto... Algunos de los firmantes eran: el dentisto, el poeto, el sindicalisto, el pediatro, el pianisto, el golfisto, el arreglisto, el funambulisto, el proyectisto, el turisto, el contratisto, el paisajisto, el taxisto, el artisto, el periodisto, el violinisto, el taxidermisto, el telefonisto, el masajisto, el gasisto, el trompetisto, el violinisto, el maquinisto, el electricisto, el oculisto, el policío del esquino y, sobre todo, ¡el machisto!

FEMINISM? Sarah Saiz (2009-2010)

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Sunday 18 April 2010

Peter Pan Statue in Kensington Gardens (London)

The Peter Pan bronze sculpture in Kensington Gardens is one of the most popular statues across London. It was erected by sculptor Sir George Frampton in the year 1912, following an original commission by J. M. Barrie himself, creator of the fictional character.

Peter Pan first appeared in stories which Barrie told to the sons of his friend, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, with whom he had a special relationship. It then appeared in print in The Little White Bird (1902), a fictionalised version of Barrie’s relationship with the Llewelyn Davies children
. In fact, the spot chosen for Frampton’s sculpture, is the very spot where Peter Pan lands in Barrie’s story. In the story, the boy flies out of his nursery and lands beside the Long Water lake – on the spot where the statue actually stands (in a leafy glade about half way along the west bank of the Long Water).

Barrie began thinking about a Peter Pan statue in 1906. He took a series of photographs of the six-year-old Michael Llewelyn Davies wearing a special Peter Pan costume. This was Barrie's ideal vision of Peter Pan that he planned to give to a prospective sculptor. Six years later, in 1912, Barrie paid Sir George Frampton to create the statue.

There was no pre-publicity or formal unveiling ceremony. Barrie, who not only failed to get permission to place it in Kensington Gardens, insisted that it be erected in the middle of the night to give the illusion that the sculpture had appeared by magic. Thus, the statue appeared ‘magically’ on 1st May 1912 (May Day), the very same day in which Barrie placed the following announcement in The Times:

"There is a surprise in store for the children who go to Kensington Gardens to feed the ducks in the Serpentine this morning. Down by the little bay on the south-western side of the tail of the Serpentine they will find a May-day gift by Mr J.M. Barrie, a figure of Peter Pan blowing his pipe on the stump of a tree, with fairies and mice and squirrels all around. It is the work of Sir George Frampton, and the bronze figure of the boy who would never grow up is delightfully conceived."

The statue features Peter Pan standing on a tree stump playing a flute (supposedly a set of pan pipes) whilst a collection of fairies, rabbits, squirrels and other little creatures adorn the base. The main fairy is believed to be Tinker Bell reaching towards the boy. Curiously enough, Frampton described his work as follows: "The animals and fairies on the statue are listening to the Pipes of Pan, one of the mice is completing his toilet before going up to listen to the music, and the squirrel is discussing political matters with two of the fairies."

Despite the words in the announcement, Barrie was not completely satisfied with Frampton's work. The sculptor had not modelled Peter Pan on Michael Llewellyn Davies as Barrie had intended, but instead, had used another boy, possibly James W. Shaw or William A. Harwood. Barrie said of the statue: "It doesn't show the Devil in Peter." Other people were not happy with it either. Questions were asked in the House of Commons about whether an author should be permitted to promote his own work by raising a statue of one of his characters in a public park.

However, visitors to the gardens loved the statue. Barrie and Frampton had hoped it would give "quiet pleasure to nannies and their young charges as they walked passed and played in the Park." The sculpture quickly achieved iconic status and soon all images of Peter Pan looked like the Kensington Gardens version. Copies were made from Frampton’s mould and there are now Peter Pan statues in Egmont Park in Brussels (1924); Bowring Park in St. John’s (Newfoundland, Canada, 1925); Queen’s Gardens in Perth (Australia, 1927); Liverpool (1928; originally in Sefton Park, but now in storage due to vandalising); Glenn Gould Park in Toronto (Canada, 1929); and in Rutgers University in Camden (New Jersey, USA).
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I first came to know the Peter Pan statue when I watched Steven Spielberg’s Hook (1991), several years ago, maybe when I was about six years old. I have watched the movie several other times throughout my life, and every single time that I have, I have experienced a growing interest on the statue, that appears close to the end of the motion picture. However, I have not been able to find out whether or not the scene was actually shot at Kensington Gardens or not, with the original sculpture featuring in the film.
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In any case, I definitely look forward to visiting it when I finally travel to London. Here is a photograph taken by my father in May 1987. I could have been there too, since I was already born, but in any case, I was rather too small, either to look at the statue ‘properly’ as I would today, or simply to remember the experience!
JOAQUÍN PRIMO (2009-2010)
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Friday 16 April 2010

Lorenzo-Dus (2009) "Emotional Conflict Talk and Reality Television"

Sara Saíz (2009-2010)

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Tuesday 13 April 2010

Herring (2007): "A Faceted Classification Scheme for CMD."

Gema Olaso (2009-2010)

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Lakoff, "Political Correctness" and Hate Speech [Enlarged]

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