Adele - Someone like you
I heard that you're settled down
That you found a girl and you're married now.
I heard that your dreams came true.
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you.
...
I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.
Never mind, I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
Don't forget me, I beg
I'll remember you said,
"Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead"
These lyrics present the picture that the text producer is deeply saddened that her ex partner has left her and consequently 'settled down' in a relationship and married. Straight away, it seems as though the text producer is resentful of his new wife, "Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you". This leaves questions in the minds of the implied reader (her ex partner) and the actual reader, as it is not made clear what she 'didn't give'. She also goes on to seem as if she is plotting some sort of revenge, further emphasising her appeared bitterness, 'for me it isn't over'. Although it seems that she is hoping her ex partner (the idealised reader) sees this and feels guilty, the lyrics 'I wish nothing but the best for you' show that she isn't actually 'angry' at all; it seems that the text producer is (in a way) content and civil. This links to the phrase 'don't forget me, I beg' showing that the implied reader meant a lot to her, and the readers can then understand that, in the subtext, 'for me it isn't over' means that she will remember him for a long time. 'I hate to turn up out of the blue...I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it' suggests that although she knows the love between the text producer and implied reader is unrequited, she may have returned to where the pair used to live to see how he was coping or still cared about her; 'I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it' suggests that she still loves him but, against what was metaphorically fighting her, she couldn't resist returning.
Bruno Mars - Grenade
Easy come, easy go
That's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all
But you never give...
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked
'Cause what you don't understand is...
I'd catch a grenade for you
Throw my hand on a blade for you
I'd jump in front of a train for you
You know I'd do anything for you
Oh, I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain
Yes, I would die for you, baby
But you won't do the same...
If my body was on fire
Oh, you'd watch me burn down in flames
You said you loved me, you're a liar
'Cause you never, ever, ever did, baby
Alike Adele's lyrics, some lyrics in this song devote the text producer's love for the implied reader and seemingly ex partner, with multiple declaratives using extreme hyperbole, 'I'd catch a grenade for you', 'I'd jump in front of a train for you' etc. These incredibly exaggerated statements show how much the implied reader meant to the text producer, but could possibly seem as if the narrator is trying to make the person feel guilty, showing just how much this person cared compared to the implied reader, as the lyrics state that she is selfish, "take take take it all but you never give" and doesn't care about the text producer, showing levels of love for each other are at the extreme opposite ends of the 'love' spectrum, sparking the narrator to make these comments, "I gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash". This figurative language brings out the emotions of anger and resent of the text producer, quite the opposite of Adele's lyrics of content and civility.
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
Monday, 25 January 2016
Gender Research
Deborah Cameron - Discursive Model
One of the more recent theories relating to Gender is Cameron's discursive model; she believes that men and women do not use language differently, and that belief is one of the 'greatest myths of all time'. One of her famous quotes is that 'your genes don't determine your jeans'; by this, she believes that we 'do' gender, meaning we change our language based on the situation we are in. Men use female connotations when, for example, talking to a baby, and women are believed to use men's usual language when, for example, talking in a role of a manager or high in the hierarchy of the workforce.
O'Barr and Atkins
This pair of theorists believe that gender does not influence the way people speak, it is more the situation you are in, and relates to the power held in a conversation. Their evidence comes from 30 months of research in courtroom cases; in particular, a numerous amount of men and women were extensively studied, and neither of them spoke characteristically like their respected sexes, showing that there is no real connection between gender and language.
Opposing to Lakoff's deficit theory , they believe that after studying a wide range of women's language, there wasn't a substantial use of Lakoff's ideas of women using stereotypical women's language traits such as hyper-correct grammar and intensifiers.
Pamela Fishman against the Deficit theory
Fishman's book 'Work Women Do' reveals her belief that conversations between different sexes fail; this is not however because of women's 'abnormal or deficient' language, but because men have ways of responding unbeknown to women. She also explains that Lakoff's belief that 'women asking questions shows insecurity' is wrong, rather it shows an attribute of interactions, showing power.
Geoffrie Beattie's evidence that challenges Zimmerman and Wests'
Compared to Zimmerman and West having 55 experiences of interruptions occurring between an unrepresentative, small sample size, Beattie has evidence of 10 hours of tutorial discussions, totalling 557 interruptions where the frequency difference between men and women interrupting was just 0.3% (men - 34.1%, women - 33.8%) along with the fact that this is a much larger sample size, the difference in frequency is not enough to make the judgment that men interrupt significantly more than women.
John Grey - Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
John Grey's book relays the point that men and women try to diverge with each-other when communicating, and overall claims that:
Language and communication matters more to women than it does to men;
Women talk more than men (opposing the Zimmerman and West theory) and overall have better verbal skills than men;
Men aim to 'get things completed' when using language, compared to women wanting to make connections with people;
Men's language is of a competitive nature, whereas women's consists of wanting to cooperate with people.
Grey believes that all of these factors lead to a miscommunication between men and women, linking to Fishman's idea that conversations between the sexes fail.
Mary Beard
Mary Beard believes that vocal women are not treated the same as vocal men, claiming the females are treated completely wrong; she believes that men are allowed to appear vocal because they come across as a 'deep voiced man with connotations of profoundity' compared to females voices not being linked in any way to authority.
One of the more recent theories relating to Gender is Cameron's discursive model; she believes that men and women do not use language differently, and that belief is one of the 'greatest myths of all time'. One of her famous quotes is that 'your genes don't determine your jeans'; by this, she believes that we 'do' gender, meaning we change our language based on the situation we are in. Men use female connotations when, for example, talking to a baby, and women are believed to use men's usual language when, for example, talking in a role of a manager or high in the hierarchy of the workforce.
O'Barr and Atkins
This pair of theorists believe that gender does not influence the way people speak, it is more the situation you are in, and relates to the power held in a conversation. Their evidence comes from 30 months of research in courtroom cases; in particular, a numerous amount of men and women were extensively studied, and neither of them spoke characteristically like their respected sexes, showing that there is no real connection between gender and language.
Opposing to Lakoff's deficit theory , they believe that after studying a wide range of women's language, there wasn't a substantial use of Lakoff's ideas of women using stereotypical women's language traits such as hyper-correct grammar and intensifiers.
Pamela Fishman against the Deficit theory
Fishman's book 'Work Women Do' reveals her belief that conversations between different sexes fail; this is not however because of women's 'abnormal or deficient' language, but because men have ways of responding unbeknown to women. She also explains that Lakoff's belief that 'women asking questions shows insecurity' is wrong, rather it shows an attribute of interactions, showing power.
Geoffrie Beattie's evidence that challenges Zimmerman and Wests'
Compared to Zimmerman and West having 55 experiences of interruptions occurring between an unrepresentative, small sample size, Beattie has evidence of 10 hours of tutorial discussions, totalling 557 interruptions where the frequency difference between men and women interrupting was just 0.3% (men - 34.1%, women - 33.8%) along with the fact that this is a much larger sample size, the difference in frequency is not enough to make the judgment that men interrupt significantly more than women.
John Grey - Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
John Grey's book relays the point that men and women try to diverge with each-other when communicating, and overall claims that:
Language and communication matters more to women than it does to men;
Women talk more than men (opposing the Zimmerman and West theory) and overall have better verbal skills than men;
Men aim to 'get things completed' when using language, compared to women wanting to make connections with people;
Men's language is of a competitive nature, whereas women's consists of wanting to cooperate with people.
Grey believes that all of these factors lead to a miscommunication between men and women, linking to Fishman's idea that conversations between the sexes fail.
Mary Beard
Mary Beard believes that vocal women are not treated the same as vocal men, claiming the females are treated completely wrong; she believes that men are allowed to appear vocal because they come across as a 'deep voiced man with connotations of profoundity' compared to females voices not being linked in any way to authority.
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