doctoral candidate in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication
Archive for March, 2004
Wednesday March 10, 2004
0Monday night’s linguistic class centered around the linguistic differences between men and women. Did you know that it’s been proven that men dominate conversation? Did you know that while men and women’s conversational style are equally effective, it changes when men and women mix. Women’s style becomes subdued to a man’s.
What I find most alarming, though, is that I’m in a class full of 20-somethings and they keep saying that the feminist perspective was wrong and that it did nothing to better the language. That saying “chairman” versus “chairperson” is preferable.
While one word doesn’t necessarily bother me, I am alarmed that young women of today don’t seem to realize that really good practices came out of the feminist movement. The feminist movement FORCED the status quo to change and become more encompassing. It forced language to be more gender and sex neutral to allow more people the ability to take part in conversation, in the workplace, and in life in general. Women were no longer delegated to “kitchen” talk and could fully take part in any discourse.
It’s ok to not consider yourself a feminist. It’s not ok to ignore the great strides that women before you took to make it possible for you to even be in school pursuing a degree that used to be a male-only field or to make it possible for you to take part in this type of discourse. Ridiculing the past only makes these young women appear mean and ignorant.
–
Then I have to remember that they are young. 22 is young. The majority of them haven’t lived life. I chuckle when I hear them say that the playing field is even in the workplace. How do they know? Have they been out there, working in the workplace? Have they put in their time, year after year, to know that the playing field is even? Because I can tell them from personal experience that it’s not. Not by a long shot.
–
Tonight we discuss linguistic differences between ethnicities and races. This should be fun. 
–
Ok…enough seriousness…this is totally silly and really not on track for me but fun.
You’re Invisible Man!
by Ralph Ellison
Most of your life, people have either ignored you or told you that youwere wrong. You’ve been duped, mistreated, misled, and neglected. Maybe it was becauseof your race, or some other uniqueness that people were quick to condemn, but now youjust want to crawl into a hole and disappear. After all, nobody knows your name. But you just might speak for everyone.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.
 You’re Ireland!
 Mystical and rain-soaked, you remain mysterious to many people, and this makes you intriguing. You also like a good night at the pub, though many are just as worried that you will blow up the pub as drink your beverage of choice. You’re good with words, remarkably lucky, and know and enjoy at least fifteen ways of eating a potato. You really don’t like snakes.
Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid
differences
08 years ago
Monday night’s linguistic class centered around the linguistic differences between men and women. Did you know that it’s been proven that men dominate conversation? Did you know that while men and women’s conversational style are equally effective, it changes when men and women mix. Women’s style becomes subdued to a man’s.
What I find most alarming, though, is that I’m in a class full of 20-somethings and they keep saying that the feminist perspective was wrong and that it did nothing to better the language. That saying “chairman” versus “chairperson” is preferable.
While one word doesn’t necessarily bother me, I am alarmed that young women of today don’t seem to realize that really good practices came out of the feminist movement. The feminist movement FORCED the status quo to change and become more encompassing. It forced language to be more gender and sex neutral to allow more people the ability to take part in conversation, in the workplace, and in life in general. Women were no longer delegated to “kitchen” talk and could fully take part in any discourse.
It’s ok to not consider yourself a feminist. It’s not ok to ignore the great strides that women before you took to make it possible for you to even be in school pursuing a degree that used to be a male-only field or to make it possible for you to take part in this type of discourse. Ridiculing the past only makes these young women appear mean and ignorant.
–
Then I have to remember that they are young. 22 is young. The majority of them haven’t lived life. I chuckle when I hear them say that the playing field is even in the workplace. How do they know? Have they been out there, working in the workplace? Have they put in their time, year after year, to know that the playing field is even? Because I can tell them from personal experience that it’s not. Not by a long shot.
–
Tonight we discuss linguistic differences between ethnicities and races. This should be fun. 
–
Ok…enough seriousness…this is totally silly and really not on track for me but fun.
You’re Invisible Man! by Ralph Ellison
Most of your life, people have either ignored you or told you that you were wrong. You’ve been duped, mistreated, misled, and neglected. Maybe it was because of your race, or some other uniqueness that people were quick to condemn, but now youjust want to crawl into a hole and disappear. After all, nobody knows your name. But you just might speak for everyone.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.
You’re Ireland!
Mystical and rain-soaked, you remain mysterious to many people, and this makes you intriguing. You also like a good night at the pub, though many are just as worried that you will blow up the pub as drink your beverage of choice. You’re good with words, remarkably lucky, and know and enjoy at least fifteen ways of eating a potato. You really don’t like snakes.
Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid
Tuesday March 9, 2004
0Alright…the MOMS at Xanga are out in force…winking at Mallaidh. You said you aren’t a good mom but you’re doing a FINE job with me, missy! laugh No, Mom…I didn’t go to the doctor. I know, I know…I should have. If my headaches continue, I will, though. I promise. Really. 
–
snowpeanut, I did consider redwood fencing because it’s so beautiful. Then everyone told me that it has to be treated every few years and it’s a LOT of work. I’m too lazy for that. Heh. Plus, if I”m spending all of this time treating that much fencing, when would I have time to actually plant a garden?
And that brings me to SPRING…glorious spring. It’s not really here. Mother Nature likes to play with our emotions, get us thinking of being outdoors again and then wollops us with a good dose of winter before she winks her eyes and sends us spiraling into a hot summer.
So, while the weather is nice (for all of 3 days), I’m thinking of what I’d like to do with my new property. I know I’d like a butterfly garden. I know I’d like some trees. The thing is, I have to contend with high winds, prairie dogs, and a cistern (which means my water is HAULED and not delivered through the water systems). Plus, I live in a desert. Yes, I live in the mountains and we get snow and rain (a lot) but it’s still the desert…well…we’re still in the midsts of a 5 year drought, anyway.
I want to do xeriscaping. I want to plant things that are native to here and that don’t require a whole lot of water. I think it’s the responsible way of planting if I’m going to plant. The problem is…those plants are extremely expensive. They charge us more for things we could go out and dig up than they do for things they have to haul in. What’s up with that?
Ok, I can’t really go dig them up because they are on public lands and I could end up in the federal pen for that. BUT…the premise is still there. These plants are all around me and now I’m being charged to do “good.”
Ahhhh…so this is what it’s like to own a home. My life now belongs to THE MAN (I love those old terms that make the government sound like HE’S coming to stomp on you). 
–
Am I goofy or does everyone get excited to get their mortgage bills and see that they are paying on their homes? Ok, I know the majority of it goes towards interest but I LOVE getting this bill that says that I actually OWN something more than my little car. It’s such a joy.
I know. I am goofy.
Y’all play nice and have a good day today!
ownership
0Alright…the MOMS at Xanga are out in force…*winking at Mallaidh*. You said you aren’t a good mom but you’re doing a FINE job with me, missy! laugh No, Mom…I didn’t go to the doctor. I know, I know…I should have. If my headaches continue, I will, though. I promise. Really. 
–
snowpeanut,
I did consider redwood fencing because it’s so beautiful. Then everyone told me that it has to be treated every few years and it’s a LOT of work. I’m too lazy for that. Heh. Plus, if I’m spending all of this time treating that much fencing, when would I have time to actually plant a garden?
And that brings me to SPRING…glorious spring. It’s not really here. Mother Nature likes to play with our emotions, get us thinking of being outdoors again and then wollops us with a good dose of winter before she winks her eyes and sends us spiraling into a hot summer.
So, while the weather is nice (for all of 3 days), I’m thinking of what I’d like to do with my new property. I know I’d like a butterfly garden. I know I’d like some trees. The thing is, I have to contend with high winds, prairie dogs, and a cistern (which means my water is HAULED and not delivered through the water systems). Plus, I live in a desert. Yes, I live in the mountains and we get snow and rain (a lot) but it’s still the desert…well…we’re still in the midsts of a 5 year drought, anyway.
I want to do xeriscaping. I want to plant things that are native to here and that don’t require a whole lot of water. I think it’s the responsible way of planting if I’m going to plant. The problem is…those plants are extremely expensive. They charge us more for things we could go out and dig up than they do for things they have to haul in. What’s up with that?
Ok, I can’t really go dig them up because they are on public lands and I could end up in the federal pen for that. BUT…the premise is still there. These plants are all around me and now I’m being charged to do “good.”
Ahhhh…so this is what it’s like to own a home. My life now belongs to THE MAN (I love those old terms that make the government sound like HE’S coming to stomp on you). 
–
Am I goofy or does everyone get excited to get their mortgage bills and see that they are paying on their homes? Ok, I know the majority of it goes towards interest but I LOVE getting this bill that says that I actually OWN something more than my little car. It’s such a joy.
I know. I am goofy.
Y’all play nice and have a good day today!
Monday March 8, 2004
0I guess I should have prefaced my discussion of linguistics with a tongue in cheek. Since I’ve been on the ‘net for so long, I’ve seen an incredible amount of different linguistic forms that I would call dialects. People on the ‘net tend to write as they speak and that lends to some amazing and wonderful forms.
What I’m learning from linguistics is that we, as humans, can be so discriminatory in our beliefs of language. Many who speak what would be considered Standard American English call those who speak African American English uneducated or ignorant. That is so far from the truth. They speak a DIALECT of English…not unlike our own. This is akin to the English, who speak the Queen’s English, or proper English, calling those who speak Standard American English ignorant. It’s simply not true and it’s ignorant on that person’s part to say so.
This week we are discussing the linguistic differences between men and women. Heh. This should be interesting.
–
I’m feeling better, physically, after my fall. I have a bruise the size of Asia on my left hip and it’s a pretty yellow-green around the edges and mottled purple in the middle. Anyone wanna see?
The residual effect, however, is a migraine that won’t go away. It’s lurking, behind my eyes, holding me hostage. Blech. Yesterday it was bad. Today it’s a bit subdued but still not enjoyable.
–
The men in my family (dad, brothers, brother-in-law) are coming over this weekend to put up fencing around my yard. I priced all of the supplies in December and it was under $1000 to fence an entire 2 1/2 acres. Since then, steel prices have gone up thanks to the laws signed by our president putting stiff embargos on foreign steel to try to save our steel economy and the prices have gone up by 50%. My fencing now costs over $1500…and I’m not happy about it. To feel safe in my own home, I have to subsidize our steel industry. Are they subsidizing me? Nope. And I could use it, too.
–
The weather is beautiful right now. We are actually getting into the 60s which, for March, is not common. This is way above normal. However, on Thursday we’re supposed to get rain or snow.
Of course this would happen just as people are going to be working on my yard. It’s March, Murphy is an Irish name, and it’s Murphy’s law.
Ok…tha was a stretch but it was fun to make. Heh.
standards
08 years ago
I guess I should have prefaced my discussion of linguistics with a tongue in cheek. Since I’ve been on the ‘net for so long, I’ve seen an incredible amount of different linguistic forms that I would call dialects. People on the ‘net tend to write as they speak and that lends to some amazing and wonderful forms.
What I’m learning from linguistics is that we, as humans, can be so discriminatory in our beliefs of language. Many who speak what would be considered Standard American English call those who speak African American English uneducated or ignorant. That is so far from the truth. They speak a DIALECT of English…not unlike our own. This is akin to the English, who speak the Queen’s English, or proper English, calling those who speak Standard American English ignorant. It’s simply not true and it’s ignorant on that person’s part to say so.
This week we are discussing the linguistic differences between men and women. Heh. This should be interesting.
–
I’m feeling better, physically, after my fall. I have a bruise the size of Asia on my left hip and it’s a pretty yellow-green around the edges and mottled purple in the middle. Anyone wanna
see?
The residual effect, however, is a migraine that won’t go away. It’s lurking, behind my eyes, holding me hostage. Blech. Yesterday it was bad. Today it’s a bit subdued but still not
enjoyable.
–
The men in my family (dad, brothers, brother-in-law) are coming over this weekend to put up fencing around my yard. I priced all of the supplies in December and it was under $1000 to fence an entire 2 1/2 acres. Since then, steel prices have gone up thanks to the laws signed by our president putting stiff embargos on foreign steel to try to save our steel economy and the prices have gone up by 50%. My fencing now costs over $1500…and I’m not happy about it. To feel safe in my own home, I have to subsidize our steel industry. Are they subsidizing me? Nope. And I could use it, too.
–
The weather is beautiful right now. We are actually getting into the 60s which, for March, is not common. This is way above normal. However, on Thursday we’re supposed to get rain or snow.
Of course this would happen just as people are going to be working on my yard. It’s March, Murphy is an Irish name, and it’s Murphy’s law.
Ok…tha was a stretch but it was fun to make. Heh.
Thursday March 4, 2004
0I have an uncanny ability to find trouble wherever it may be. I live alone and much of that is to save myself from dealing with trouble. Relationships are trouble for me…they never work out well and they just cause…well…trouble.
For me.
I visit this chat area online and I rarely post. It’s easier to keep quiet than to get embroiled in all of the bruhaha that tends to go on. I posted once in an attempt to be silly and it was taken seriously. All attempts to clarify were ignored and I was lambasted by a few people who felt they knew what I ACTUALLY meant and not by what I actually WROTE.
So…I find trouble. I try to find my way out of it but I usually just end up back in trouble.
–
I fell down my stairs this morning. I fell hard. There might have been some ice on them but I can’t really say for sure because I can’t remember anything from this morning. My head hurts. My back hurts. My hips hurt. My neck hurts.
I hurt.
–
Linguistics is slowly taking over my life. I’m noticing such silly things as topic shifts, disfluencies, synchrony, interruptions, and various other things more and more often with both spoken and written conversations.
It’s a bit disconcerting.
What is it like you may ask. Imagine that you’re talking to someone and they have a piece of food at the corner of their mouth. You know how distracting that is? That’s how these linguistic components have become for me. They are distracting. Now, if everyone could write and speak *perfectly* it would make life so much less distracted.
–
I’ll be back.
Really.
write right
0I have an uncanny ability to find trouble wherever it may be. I live alone and much of that is to save myself from dealing with trouble. Relationships are trouble for me…they never work out well and they just cause…well…trouble.
For me.
I visit this chat area online and I rarely post. It’s easier to keep quiet than to get embroiled in all of the bruhaha that tends to go on. I posted once in an attempt to be silly and it was taken
seriously. All attempts to clarify were ignored and I was lambasted by a few people who felt they knew what I ACTUALLY meant and not by what I actually WROTE.
So…I find trouble. I try to find my way out of it but I usually just end up back in trouble.
–
I fell down my stairs this morning. I fell hard. There might have been some ice on them but I can’t really say for sure because I can’t remember anything from this morning. My head hurts. My back hurts. My hips hurt. My neck hurts.
I hurt.
–
Linguistics is slowly taking over my life. I’m noticing such silly things as topic shifts, disfluencies, synchrony, interruptions, and various other things more and more often with both spoken and written conversations.
It’s a bit disconcerting.
What is it like you may ask. Imagine that you’re talking to someone and they have a piece of food at the corner of their mouth. You know how distracting that is? That’s how these linguistic components have become for me. They are distracting. Now, if everyone could write and speak *perfectly* it would make life so much less distracted.
–
I’ll be back.
Really.