Language Investigation #2

Growing up in a city referred to as white lily Littleton exposed me to no more than one ethnicity: Caucasian. I went to a high school where the number of students who were not the typical middle-class Caucasian could be counted on one hand. The few who were not white lived like they were, conforming to the “high class” attitude Arapahoe High School took pride in portraying. This school suffers from very few of the issues circulating within America’s schooling system. Updated technology, qualified teachers, cultural differences, textbooks, supplies, and funding were never issues that affected the student body. Going to a high school like this made me completely oblivious to the harsh consequences of these issues many schools in the United States undergo. Unlike most of the students, my family did not fall into the “upper-class” category of social hierarchy. My background as being part of the middle class did not hinder my language use in the classroom. Even though I am a first generation college student, I was exposed to an intellectual use of language at home. Going into a “privileged” high school, I was fully prepared for the kind of language I was expected to use in my writing. As I went through schooling at Arapahoe, my reading and writing skills improved as specific guidelines were laid out for each assignment.
In regard to English, my freshman year of high school was filled with structured five paragraph essays. We wrote about controversial issues and the literature we were reading. For the controversial issue paper, we were required to use research and quote the material as support for our stance on the issue. I specifically remember filling out a step-by-step outline for this paper and many others. It was literally blank lines with titles labeling them. We were expected to fill in the blank following each title, making writing feel very much like a math problem. Part of the outline went as follows:
Introduction Paragraph:
Introductory sentence:
Introductory paragraph:
Thesis Statement: Concerning the issue of (your issue) I feel that …. Because (Reason 1), (Reason 2), (Reason 3).
Body Paragraph 1: Reason 1
Introductory sentence:
Lead-in:
Quote:
Lead-out:
Explanation:
Transition:
This outline was literally a fill-in-the-blank task that left little room for creativity or originality. As a freshman, however, this type of outline was helpful as we learned what should be included within a thorough and “correctly written” paper. The regulation and structure of these essays allowed me to organize my papers, and exposed me to the many puzzle pieces that make up an entire essay; that form the big picture all the puzzle pieces make when put together.
Through my sophomore year of high school, my teachers expected this basic form of an essay when we were assigned to write. These were the rules and guidelines to follow when writing if you wanted a good grade. Teachers were able to clearly see the ideas and proof included within your paper as you organized your writing in this “correct” way. With little critical thinking involved, papers about literature or issues were simply math problems with words.
My junior year, I had an instructor who taught students how to think critically. She introduced us to idea of being able to jumble around the puzzle pieces of a paper, and still achieve the puzzle’s picture at the end. The picture you created in this way, however, had different shades, tones of color, and small details that would have been absent if the “rules” or writing an essay were followed to create it. Thesis sentences strayed from being a list of ideas you were going to prove with textual evidence or research; they became fancy academic ways to play with words and still get your point across. The use of appropriate academic language became the only regulations in writing. As creativity and freedom sparked within my writing, the love for literature and writing became a fire within me. This teacher conducted her class like a college course, assigning what seemed like insane amounts of reading each night. She created a positive self-fulfilling prophecy by having high expectations of her students, which inspired many students to work hard and meet those expectations.
Once I was taught how to think instead of do, I was prepared for college. After high school, I was able to easily adapt to college reading and writing. As far as grammatical regulations and rules go, I was never given any lessons about them past middle school. By the time I got to high school, I felt confident with my use of punctuation, and was rarely corrected past a few misplaced or needed commas. I never had a teacher address problems students were having with punctuation or grammar. Rhetorical Grammar is teaching me more about grammar than I have ever known. I am pleased to find the information Kolln presents to be guidelines and not “rules”. Without having a teacher who taught me how to think critically, I believe that I would find college reading and writing to be much more difficult. The basics of writing an essay are not enough for college. Reaching beyond the “rules” of writing and analyzing is needed to create the best picture possible. Without knowing the different possibilities you have with the pieces of writing, the picture you create will look like everyone else’s. Guidelines should never be disregarded, but need to be seen as an optional approach one can take. My background in school and at home prepared me for the language I would be expected to use in college. I was one of the lucky ones introduced to critical thinking early, and had time to practice its use. Using critical thinking reaches far beyond the classroom, and needs to be used in all situations. This will allow all people to have all the pieces they need to create their own perfect picture of life.

Language Investigation #1

The use of language depends on similarities and differences among the members of a community. In a setting where people have diverse backgrounds, communication is easier to achieve if the language exchanged is simple. In these communities, going back to the roots and basics of language ensures comprehension. Within the communities of my small group of five friends, my work, and my cheerleading squad, I have experienced three different uses of language according to similarities.
There is a time and place to be casual with language. Within the community of your small group of friends, there is no better place. My friends and I have ages that range no more than two years apart and have many similarities. We all share the same neighborhood, school, ethnicity, and experiences. Within our group, we have words and phrases we have our own meanings to. Our group is very connected through music. When any of us have had a bad day or experience, we tell each other “just dance, it will be ok”. These are the lyrics of a song we all listen, dance, and sing to in the car together. Hearing these words brings you back to those good times and instantly makes you feel better. In regular conversation, we look to the most basic way of words. We speak the way we text. We say “brb” and “omg” to each other to communicate we will “be right back” or that we are surprised. We are comfortable to use abbreviations, incorrect tenses, and a simple vocabulary. This language would not be appropriate or understood in a sophisticated setting.
In a professional environment, language use is formal. I work at a small pizza restaurant called Il Vicino in Denver. For the sake of being courteous and suitable to a business surrounding, one must adapt to proper language. We must use formal and appropriate language around customers and managers. Within the restaurant, we have phrases and terms that employees are familiar with that would confuse the public. We have positions of runners, register, and barista, which would confuse anyone unfamiliar to restaurant work. The titles are straightforward, but what each job description requires if assigned is something only the employee would know and understand. As a runner, the employee runs the drinks, salads, and pizzas to tables while the barista prepares the drinks, takes care of To Go orders, and buses empty tables. The person on register takes the customer’s order and manages sales. We have labels for tables (A1-D9) that only employees would be able to indicate. We have terms such as “as a calzone”, “sos”, “as an entrée”, “1st outs” and many more that is part of our common language during a shift. These terms tell the cook to make the pizza a calzone, to put the sauce on the side (salad dressing or marinara sauce), and to time a salad or bowl of soup to come out with the meal. “First outs” is a term servers use to indicate what jobs need to be done before clocking out for a shift. Everyone who understands and uses these terms has the commonality of being employed at Il Vicino. Every member of a sports team or club becomes engaged in a language only that group or sport has to offer.
The language of a cheerleading squad is impossible to decode without being familiar with the terms that accompany the sport. The language usage on a cheerleading squad is jargon. Some terms for stunting include flyer, base, back spot, full, arabesque, liberty, extension, elevator, heel stretch, cradle, pop, re-load, and basket-toss. To explain a few, the flyer is the person who stands on her bases, the people holding her up, and has a back spot behind her to catch her. A full is twisting in the air before cradling, which is where the bases and back spot catch the flyer. For tumbling, or gymnastics, the labels round off back-hand-spring, back tuck, full, and layout are used. The counting, the motions, the uniforms and more are all included in the language of practices, games, and competitions. All cheerleaders can speak this language and comprehend what everything is because they have being a cheerleader in common. To any outsider, the terms and phrases used would sound like a different language.
Types of language use have their time and place. Based on similarities or differences, a person can judge how well a community will comprehend the type of language they use. The environment and connections around a person are the source to determining what type of language will be appropriate and understandable. Without different communities in our lives, the many wonderful aspects of language would be left unexplored.