ACTS analysis

The text type is rather clear. It is reflective of an event that occurred in the past specifically “…out of the year 1853”, it is written as a story in the first person, and there is dialogue for different characters. For example, the dead guy said “let me lay my head on your breast.” This is an excerpt from a memoir. It merely informs of a person, presumably a nurse’s, experience in Jamaica during the Yellow Fever Crisis. It could be interesting to people who want to know about the experiences of nurses during periods of epidemic.

The text reviews the experiences of a nurse, presumably British, in disease-stricken Jamaica. It goes specifically over her experiences with one of the patients. His name was not released; however we know he was a young surgeon. She conveys the fact that the death affects those around him or her more than it does the unfortunate person who is dying.

It seems to be melancholy about her past. For example, “Habituated as I had become with death in its most harrowing forms, I found these scenes then any I had previously borne a part in.” Also she talks about how the death of people affected other people, in the following line: “It was a terrible thing to see young people in the youth and bloom of life suddenly stricken down.”  The atmosphere is very bleak. For example, “needful; for the yellow fever never made a more determined effort to exterminate the English in Jamaica than it did in that dreadful year.” Another example is, “Death is always terrible, no-one need be ashamed to fear it.”

Rationale

I choose to do a task on the effect of technology on language; specifically I choose to use texting. So I choose several articles by one of the experts of this field, David Crystal. At least one, in this case, ur a gd mn mr gum ;-) became my primary source due to its presences in a published magazine. It had to be in such a magazine because I choose to write two letters to the editor. I choose this format because it granted me the most freedom with regard content. I felt like it would be a good idea to show varying levels of understanding on the topic, thus I choose one to be from a poorly educated mother in Ohio, worrying about the education of her sons. I also wrote a letter as an English professor who has of experience with this first hand. But in order for it to be a letter to the editor it has had to be in reference to a particular document with many opinions and ways to fix the problem. My hope was to convey a side less seen in this debate. I wanted to provide some new ways of looking at text speak. And I think  I did so rather well.

Written Task #1

To whom it may Concern,
I am very concerned about the article I just read in your magazine. My name is May Everymom I am a mother of three living in Ohio. I have heard that technology and texting have been ruining English. The kids, instead of learning the proper way of doing things, use nonsensical shortenings and lack of grammar and punctuation.  The article ur a gd mn mr gum ;-) in The Zurich Magazine states that technology and texting is a good thing of English when it is clearly not. My sons English scores tell it all. He is now entering the 10th grade and his grades in English, particularly grammar, have been very low. His teacher has told me that these weird sort of abbreviation found in texting have been in his essays. So I confiscated his phone until he improves them and it has worked very well. I have a few ideas about what you could change to resolve this blatant lack of knowledge. You should go out and actually talk to a teacher, for example. Get the opinion right from the people who have the most knowledge on the subject. Or talk to the kids. I read somewhere that kids admit that this so called 'text speak' makes it into essays and exams all the time. For that matter where does this David crystal come off acting as though he can see into the minds of our kids? He acts like this horrid lack of capability to function as the logical progression of the English language. Which makes no sense because 'text speak' constitutes a complete disregard for the rules. Another way to address this issue of misinformation is to consult another so called 'expert'. It is important to get more than one view for these things. Another point of view is lacking in your magazine. This leads to incorrect assumptions about the topic. People would see this and say "I guess it is the truth since no one argued", which is no the case. The lack of representation in your magazine is something that needs to be address. What happened to the days when you could trust what you read to give you all the information? It is important to get a good education, without one you will not make it anywhere in life. Education is all about learning the facts and rules of the past. I want a good education for my kids, the kind i never got. I hope you will take my thoughts into consideration.
Sincerely,
May Everymom


To whom it may concern,
My name is Mr. Prof, Eng Lish Prof. I am a high school language and literature teacher. While looking for some material to use for class i came across the article ur a gd mn mr gum ;-) in The Zurich Magazine. I thought it would be beneficial to you and to the general population if I informed you of some small things you overlooked. Firstly, Mr. Crystals theory is not flawless. He admits this himself. And those little abbreviations get in more often then David may believe. Last week on an exam I saw at least ten different kids use 'gonna'. 'Gonna' is not a word; however it is one of those 'text speak' abbreviations. Additionally I did some asking and the kids said that many of the abbreviations he mentioned are unused. Some of them the kids did not even understand. Those seemed to be so specific that they were put out of use long ago. This does suggest that Mr. Crystal is grasping for possible examples to prove his theories and find validity in them. That is another thing. The good professor is not exposed to the kids all the time. He finds research done rapidly. They call the kid out, ask them a few questions, and then move on. The kids are likely to lie how often things like 'gonna' happen. This occurs, not to intentionally falsify scientific experiments, but to save face. The kids do not know of the man asking them about how often they make grammar errors is not from the board of education. Also Mr. Crystals sources remain rather vague. This is not to imply that he is falsifying information, but to suggest that he should make them more public if he wishes to publish or be in interviews. Additionally such research should be conducted by the man himself in order to minimize possible errors. He should not be published or interviewed in anyway until these sorts of things have been established, nor should anyone for that matter. That is only some advice to assist the public in finding the most accurate knowledge available. Additionally it may be beneficial if you talked to people of a differing opinion. Or just people who are directly effected by the circumstance and feel strongly about it. I hope you will consider such revision and such matters in the future.
Sincerely,
Eng Lish Prof.

A letter to the Editior

http://socialjusticenonsense.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/cultural-appropriation-and-why-i-dont-give-a-fuck/
To whom it may concern,

I have a few qualms with the article known as Cultural Appropriation and why I Don't Give a F***. Firstly I would like to say, your title does not come across the way I believe you want it to. It seems that you are aware of cultural appropriation and don't care that it is an insult to a peoples why of life. The title also seems to imply you are one of those minorities that have experienced that sort of affront. In reality, the only people that can forgive and truly say with any certainty that something is no longer offensive is someone from the culture being robbed.
You also kindly provide some of the worst examples of cultural appropriation. Being the Native American Headdress, Dreadlocks, Bollywood 'Garb' etc. The true horror of these things is not even really that they belonged to someone else culture before. It is that the meaning is not cared over. Meaning that by wearing that headdress you devalue it and its original culture. In essence saying, "Not only we will discriminate against you, but we will also take the things we mock you for". Even if the reason behind doing something like this is dressing for a party, it is still offensive. It brings cultural pillars down to nothing more than a costume to be worn by someone who knows nothing of their costumes past.
While it may be true that you and your ancestors had nothing to do with the original harming of say the Native Americans, you do not know what your ancestor of later on may have done. The oppression of many did not occur all at once.
Dispute all my qualms, there is one thing you have mentioned that I have to agree with. The  use of cultural appropriation for insult is wrong.
I advice that, in future, you write about things you know more about, or at least do more research on.

Sincerely,
A concerned internet guy