Sociolinguistics - Language, Dialects and Society

Language is central to social interaction in every society, regardless of location and time period. Language and social interaction have a reciprocal relationship: language shapes social interactions and social interactions shape language. What is Sociolinguistics? Sociolinguistics is the study of the connection between language and society and the way people use language in different social situations. It asks the question, How does language affect the social nature of human beings, and how does social interaction shape language? It ranges greatly in depth and detail, from the study of dialects across a given region to the analysis of the way men and women speak to each other in certain situations. The basic premise of sociolinguistics is that language is variable and ever-changing. As a result, language is not uniform or constant. Rather, it is varied and inconsistent for both the individual user and within and among groups of speakers who use the same language. People adjust the way they talk to their social situation. An individual, for instance, will speak differently to a child than he or she will to their college professor. This socio-situational variation is sometimes called register and depends no only on the occasion and relationship between the participants, but also on the participants’ region, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and gender. One way that sociolinguists study language is through dated written records. They examine both hand-written and printed documents to identify how language and society have interacted in the past. This is often referred to as historical sociolinguistics: the study of the relationship between changes in society and changes in language over time. For example, historical sociolinguists have studied the use and frequency of the pronoun thou in dated documents and found that its replacement with the word you is correlated with changes in class structure in 16th and 17th century England. Sociolinguists also commonly study dialect, which is the regional, social, or ethnic variation of a language. For example, the primary language in the United States is English. People who live in the South, however, often vary in the way they speak and the words they use compared to people who live in the Northwest, even though it is all the same language. There are different dialects of English, depending on what region of the country you are in. What Sociolinguists Study Researchers and scholars are currently using sociolinguistics to examine some interesting questions about language in the United States: There is vowel shift occurring in the North, in which pattered alterations to vowels is occurring in certain words. For example, many people in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago are now pronouncing bat like bet and bet like but. Who is changing the pronunciation of these vowels, why are they changing it, and why/how is it spreading?What parts of African American Vernacular English grammar are being used by white middle-class teenagers? For example, white adolescents might compliment a peer’s clothes by saying, she money, a phrase associated with African Americans.What will be the impact on language in Louisiana due to the loss of monolingual French speakers in the Cajun region of Southern Louisiana? Will the French features of language be sustained even when these French speakers are gone?What slang terms do younger generations use to show their affiliation with certain subgroups and to distinguish themselves from their parents’ generation? For example, in the ea rly 2000s, teenagers described things that they enjoyed as cool, money, tight, or sweet, but definitely not swell, which is what their parents would have said when they were teenagers.Which words are pronounced differently according to age, gender, socioeconomic status, or race/ethnicity? For instance, African Americans often pronounce certain words differently than whites. Likewise, some words are pronounced differently depending on whether the person speaking was born after World War II or before.Which vocabulary words vary by region and time, and what are the different meanings associated with certain words? For example, in Southern Louisiana, a certain breakfast dish is often called lost bread while in other parts of the country, it is called French toast. Similarly, which words have changed over time? Frock, for instance, used to refer to a woman’s dress, while today frock is rarely used. Sociolinguists study many other issues as well. For instance, they often examine the values that hearers place on variations in language, the regulation of linguistic behavior, language standardization, and educational and governmental policies concerning language. References Eble, C. (2005). What is Sociolinguistics?: Sociolinguistics Basics. http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/sociolinguistics/sociolinguistics/.

Essay on Nucor Case Analysis - 1235 Words

Nucor Corporation – Case Study and Recommendations on Strategy Nucor Corporation – Case Study and Recommendations on Strategy Introduction Nucor Corporation: Competing against Low Cost Steel imports deals with leading steel manufacturer Nucor Corporation and trends in the steel industry affecting Nucor. Steel manufacturing is an old business, but is currently facing the fast changes associated with new technologies, the rise of globalization, and changes in cost and efficiency. To date, Nucor has maneuvered business cycles and market challenges to maintain a positive profit margin in every quarter since 1966 (Thompson, 2008). The company’s strategy of decentralized structure, focus on disruptive technology, unique employee engagement†¦show more content†¦The increased level of empowerment allows each division manger control over day-to-day decisions that will increase profitability. This key success factor contributes to mitigating threats related to price and cost including the cyclical nature of industry, raw material cost, and low cost competitors. Strong Employee Relations - Nucor’s employee relations practices were a key factor in their successful growth through the ability to produce steel at margins that could compete with imports. Perhaps Nucor’s most important key factor of success, the building of successful employee relations is more difficult to imitate by competitors than tangible business factors. Use of Disruptive Technology – Nucor has an extremely a strong technological focus. Their introduction of the mini-mill has proven to be industry changing with the manufacture of raw sheet for the auto industry. Additionally Nucor introduced the first electric arc furnace, continuous casting, the process to avoid reheating billits, and the twin shell furnace. The value added by Nucor technology in mitigating threats is proven by a high sales volume and steady profits. Strong leadership – While Nucor did have a decentralized management structure, it relied heavily on the aligned visions of managers under the charismatic leadership of Ken Iverson. The companyShow MoreRelatedNucor Case Analysis4059 Words   |  17 PagesIndividual Case Analysis BUS490 Comprehensive Examination Nucor Steel Corporation Written by: Lukas Kubilius Professors: Bonnie J. Straight Julian J. Prewitt Lithuania Christian College 2 March 2005 Overview of situation Nucor Corporation with 24 plants/divisions and 8,000 employees, operated in nine states recycling more than 10 million tons of scrap steel annually. Producing carboy and alloy steel in barsRead MoreNucor Case Analysis4046 Words   |  17 PagesIndividual Case Analysis BUS490 Comprehensive Examination Nucor Steel Corporation Written by: Lukas Kubilius Professors: Bonnie J. Straight Julian J. Prewitt Lithuania Christian College 2 March 2005 Overview of situation Nucor Corporation with 24 plants/divisions and 8,000 employees, operated in nine states recycling more than 10 million tons of scrap steel annually. Producing carboy and alloy steel in bars, beams, sheet, andRead MoreNucor Case Analysis Essay2164 Words   |  9 PagesNucor Corporation Case Analysis Section 1: Recommendations Recommendation 1: To expand more internationally by building plants in lower property taxed areas with low tariffs to ship products out. Recommendation 2: To put in place job descriptions for employees. 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Understanding Poetry By Robert Penn Warren And Cleanth Brooks

As defined by Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks in his book ‘Understanding Poetry’ published in 1978, â€Å"poetry is a kind of saying. It is a kind that many people, until they become well acquainted with it, feel is rather peculiar and even useless. They feel this way for two reasons: the â€Å"way of saying† and the â€Å"nature of the said.† As for the way of saying, the strongly marked rhythms, the frequent appearance of rhyme, and the figurative language may seem odd and distracting; and as for the â€Å"nature of the said,† it generally contains neither a good, suspenseful story nor obviously useful information. Poetry, in short, may seem both unnatural and irrelevant. Yet poetry has existed from the time of the emergence of the human race from shadowy prehistory and has survived, in one form or another, in every society since that time. When we realize this, we may be inclined to consider the possibility that poetry only seems unnatural and irrelevant. We may even decide, on reflection, that it does spring from deep human impulses and does fulfill human needs. Probably its most obvious feature is its strongly marked rhythm. Rhythm is we know, the repetition of time of a perceptible pattern. Poetry, focuses on the feelings and attitudes in such a context, and not on the actions or ideas as such. Poetry is a response to, and an evaluation of our experience of the objective, bustling world and our ideas about it. â€Å"In the book, ‘A Poetry Handbook,’ written by Mary Oliver and

Consultation and Advocacy free essay sample

A collaboration of works was examined to answer the following questions. How do you see yourself related to advocacy or consultation as you become a professional within your area of specialization? Within your own definition, do you see consultation and advocacy similar or different? How does advocacy benefit the care provided for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families related to the specific specialty area that you plan to practice? Within the context of the examined works institutional and social barriers were also addressed. In an effort to further relate advocacy to the area of focus a hypothetical situation was created that tied in advocacy, consultation and collaboration. It is important to understand the role we have as advocates of social change and how that affects the individuals we serve. Counselors are encouraged to consider the role that their profession plays within the dominant culture to reconcile the role of healer with that of social change agent and to advocate for systematic change on behalf of clients (Moe, Perera-Diltz, Sepulveda, 2010). Advocacy for both clients and for the profession is essential for the future of counseling (Myers, Sweeny, White, 2002). A national plan for advocacy is needed; the effectiveness of this plan depends on professional identity, promoting a positive self image, and effective interprofessional collaboration (Myers et al. , 2002). The need for professional advocacy can be traced in the history of mental health counseling, dating back to the 1700’s when the advocacy for persons’ with mental illness emerged as a moral issue (Myers et al. , 2002). Mental illness expands across the board and includes various levels of intensity and includes dual diagnosed individuals. Prout and Strohmer (1998) note that persons with mental retardation often have been served in the mental retardation, developmental disability, and rehabilitation service delivery systems. However, when their problems extend into the mental health area, there appear to be some difficulties accessing the full range of services (p. 115). It has been a common occurrence that when a dual diagnosed patient is brought to the hospital in crisis they are often diverted or sent home without being properly assessed by the on call psychiatrist due to the simple fact that the psychiatrist is unable to distinguish if the presenting issues are related to the patients’ cognitive disability or their mental health disorder. This is where advocacy comes into play for our dually diagnosed clients. When mental health agencies are made aware of clients that are in crisis and can benefits from a respite from their residential setting, the mental health agency can advocate and collaborate with the treating hospital to provide crisis intervention. Myers et al. (2002) indicates that within any given setting the needs of clients can best be met through collaboration efforts of all professionals. Merriam-Webster defines advocacy as supporting a cause or proposal. Advocacy and consultation plays two diverse roles in the counseling field and serves two distinct purposes for clients and can be utilized simultaneously to achieve one desired goal. In other words, advocacy and consultation should be used together to optimize the successful outcome for any vulnerable client. According to Moe, Perera-Diltz, and Sepulveda (2010) scholars have identified that consultation and advocacy share conceptual grounding in modes of practice that encourage counselors to act outside of the counselor/client interaction. Practice such as collaboration with multiple groups may promote marginalization of vulnerable community members are used by advocates to achieve desired goals (Moe et al. , 2010). According to Knight and Oliver (2007) recent policy has emphasized the need for advocacy services for children and young people, developments that have gone hand-in hand with greater levels of participation of young people in decision making. Advocacy for young people is especially important, as they are a particular vulnerable group and have, traditionally, been even more excluded from decision making about matters affecting their lives. In today’s culture we readily accept the role of nurturer and protector of all vulnerable individuals and we may not understand how that might in fact be harming the individuals even at a young age. Society traditionally sees disabled children as being passive, vulnerable and in need of protection and that makes advocating for disabled children particularly challenging (Knight and Oliver, 2007). Many disabled children and young people are not used to being asked for their views and may not think that what they have to say is important (p. 423) Advocates must be cognizant that most children and adolescents have guardians and/or parents and have been taught at a young age that their opinion does not matter. Further more most if not all children and adolescents have been raised in a society where their parents and guardians have the ultimate say and the clients as minor have no rights. Looking at the lives of individuals down the line as they reach adult hood a common theme emerges. Stanley and Vahe (2012) established that advocacy in the mental health system promotes that advocacy strives to return decision-making authority to consumers and thus to empower them to play a more central role in their own care, treatment, rehabilitation, and life choices. Although not intended as treatment, advocacy may have therapeutic effects. It may reduce the barriers to fulfillment of consumers’ own goals for recovery and enable solutions to problems of everyday life. Advocacy also may reduce stigma that impairs consumers’ ability to improve their own life circumstances (p. 115). Moe, Perera-Diltz, and Sepulveda (2010) suggest that a practice mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was established to facilitate the equitable and effective services to individuals with disabilities by way of behavioral consultation and the use of functional behavioral analysis and assessments to promote empowerment of clients. Consider the case of a developmentally disabled adult whose behaviors have become increasingly problematic in his residential and day program setting. Michael is a 68 year old Caucasian male born with Down syndrome who resides in a group home setting and attends a day time activities program. Michael’s state appointed support coordinator reached out to the mental health agency, which is treating Michael for Bi Polar disorder. The state support coordinator requested the mental health agency complete a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) since Michael’s behaviors have increasingly worsened and medication changes have been unsuccessful. Michael’s support coordinator advises that Michael has been increasingly obsessive, aggressive towards group home staff, and been arrested twice for his aggressive nature and threats in the community. In this case, the mental health counselor along with Michael’s assigned case worker collaborated to complete a case review which will be utilized for the mental health agency to review the case and provide feed back and possible new interventions aside from medications. Following the case review, the mental health counselor will conduct interviews with the client’s guardian, group home provider, and day program provider to obtain a clear idea of the target behaviors, antecedents, and desired replacement behaviors in order to complete the FBA. Once all interviews are completed and the FBA is finalized it will be reviewed with Michael’s team consisting of state support coordinator, guardian, group home staff and day program staff. Interventions will be addressed and the team will be advised and trained on how to implement the interventions recommended in the FBA. In this scenario, it is evident that the mental health counselor requires a strong sense of professional identity to be an effective advocate for the client. The client is in need of strong supports that are capable of collaborating and consulting on his behalf in order for his treatment to be successful. The main goal for Michael’s team is to ensure his safety and keep him out of jail. Walsh and Bricout (1997) point out that family members and professionals can advocate for change in treatment of people with mental illness in jail. For some younger adults, jails have served as sites for containing deviant behaviors that in many cases are more reflective of mental illness than of criminality. Jails are not well-suited to the care of people with mental illness because they were not designed to serve that function. Problems associated with serious mental illness in jails include increased suicide risk, the need for extra staff attention, the disruption of normal jail activities, the potential for violence, and abuse by other inmates. Without proper care such people may experience a resurgence of symptoms and become less able to function in the community after release (P. 420-421). As Advocates it is fundamentally important to note as Walsh and Bricout (1997) suggested that mental health professionals must ensure that families and people with mental illness receive appropriate services during and after incarceration.