Discourse Analysis

While I don’t believe all discourse analysis is inherently political and critical as Gee suggests, I do believe that often is the case.  The 3 readings reminded me of a topic being discussed in another of my classes whereas education, in its origins in this country, is a means of control.  Although it has evolved into a much larger and critical portion of today’s society education still is a somewhat deceivingly efficient method of dominance; Training individuals to be seemingly knowledgeable, productive, morally sound, law abiding citizens while securing the classes’ unbalanced state with little to no growth or upward mobility.  The elite create an ideology promoted by the intellectuals for all to follow through education, having teaching individuals to confirm to a limited cultural model.

In Language, the narrator talks about the idea of “the oppressors’ language” in relation to various ethnic groups but mainly focusing on blacks here in the United States.  Black Africans, being displaced, took bits and parts of the English language creating their own form of the English language in order to communicate and progress.  Similar to how the British viewed American English as a bastardized form of their language, so did the well educated Americans when viewing the southern black vernacular.  When submitted in use in critical essays, editors would correct it according to Standard English claiming it needed to reach a more inclusive audience.  Gee spoke of two principles that serve as the basis of ethical human communication and interaction, the second being of people having a moral obligation to change a cultural model into a primary theory when there is reason to believe that the cultural model advantages oneself or one’s group over other people or other groups.  The rejection of the usage of the southern black vernacular in works of literature as a means of introducing another cultural model to me is a clear example of long standing political views.

Although my primary language is English and British English at that, my recent experience in Brazil as well my experiences immigrating to New York as well as growing up in Corona, Queens allowed me a find a better connection with the stories told in Eleanor Klutz’s Outsider to Insider”.  I moved to New York when I was 9 and it was a bit of a culture shock adapting most everything I learned as being ‘right’ to what was ‘a better way’ as a classmate told me and basically trying to fit in speaking as ‘proper’ as I did.  Living in a Mexican and Dominican dominate area of Queens where most of my friends spoke Spanish was another experience.  Hearing them converse and Spanish and or Spanglish and usually not understand what was being said around me.  When spoken to in English, at times I did not understanding the meaning/context of some of the words and the slang spoken being that most because I recently moved to the country.  While that didn’t entirely compares to the experience of Quy, Abby or Sophia, my trip to Brazil gave me such an understanding as to what it’s like to feel like an outsider.  While in Brazil I had the opportunity to take martial arts classes.  While acquiring the movement patterns was as difficult as in any other setting, trying to understand and analyze the instructions and corrections was at times discouraging.  I often didn’t want to speak or would only speak in response to a question.  I was determined to get through each class and learn as much of the language and the skills I could but it was a factor I had to deal with but I was able to work through it positively; I’m used to throwing myself “into the fire”.  I felt the more I learned in those classes, the better I would be mentally, physically and definitely verbally far as being able to converse in somewhat complete sentences and not just fragments.

I felt Gee’s analysis on the theory was well explained especially highlighting the impact the cultural models we hold have.  I thought of the good 4 Agreements, namely the first agreement ‘be impeccable with your word’.  Words all have a story attached to them and it’s important to know that story to actually understand the word.  That story as a variety of influences that are internal, external, conscious and unconscious and even in the same cultural model will vary vastly from person to person.  With that in mind many of those same sources, the people and things that influence the story, are often influenced by those well aware of the power of a word and use their model as the basis when establishing societies; A dominant cultural model helps maintains social order on a larger scale. 

Language and the use of the language is a powerful tool.