THE ART OF COMPOSITON: SLANG AND DIALECTS

Hi! Professor Panda here again!

Today we are going to continue our discussion of the art of composition in both English and Japanese; and in particular, we will continue our discussion on the use of slang as well as talk about the use of dialects.

First, let us review the use of slang in compositions. The writer should remember that the making of appropriate word choices establishes a common ground with their readers.

Unless one is writing for a specialized audience and truly has good reason to believe that this particular audience would welcome slang and other forms of informal language or jargon, the following advice can hem them to achieve good usage:

SLANG IS EFFECTIVE IN ONLY A FEW RHETORICAL SITUATIONS.

RHETORIC

What does “rhetorical” mean? It simply means that something is used for, belongs to, or is concerned with the style or effect of speech or the written word.

To be a little more specific, rhetoric is the art of dialogue, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western tradition. Its best-known definition comes from Aristotle, who considered it a counterpart of both logic and politics, and called it “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion.”

MORE ABOUT SLANG

Slang is usually defined as words used primarily by people in a particular age group, locality, or profession. Slang, in fact, covers a wide range of words that are considered to be casual, facetious, or even fashionable — any of which can either appeal to readers or (more often than not) alienate them. For example, using the word “shrink” for “psychiatrist” may convey disrespect for a field of medicine. Although such words are often used in private conversation, they are not appropriate for academic or professional writing.

A clear sense of your audience is essential if you want to use sang effectively. If a slang word or expression is new, your audience may not understand what you mean. If it has been around for a long time, your use of it can make you seem out of touch with popular culture.

Frequent use of such words as “whatever,” “awesome,” or “dude,” for example, can make you sound as if you are still living in the twentieth century. Use of these words can, and often do, mark the user as being rather stupid.

For a further example of the effective use of slang, let’s look at two paragraphs from Angel Dust, a contemporary police novel set in San Francisco in 1972:

Six hours earlier, Washington, also known as “Mandingo,” had walked out the front gate of San Quentin Prison in fashionable Marin County, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, after having spent the past three years under lockdown on a charge of armed robbery. Nevertheless, the State of California was generous and had granted him parole, just in time for Christmas, and two hundred dollars to get him going again. He knew that the two hundred wouldn’t really go very far, but Leroy was determined to make the best of it. First, a little food, then score a “lid” (ounce) of “pot” (marijuana), and then get himself a gun. That was a very good start, he decided; there would be time enough tomorrow to rob some careless tourist downtown and score some more money. Then he would move right on up.

Four hours later, he had eaten his fill of fresh fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and biscuits with butter; purchased a pint of cheap whiskey and drunk half of it; bought himself an inexpensive .38 special snub-nose revolver from one of his con- nections in the “hood” (neighborhood); and best of all, that “lid” of “pot,” all for himself. “Now,” he asked himself, “what would be good? Maybe a little porno to top of the evening would be so fine.” Quite satisfied with his decision, he sauntered east, down Eddy Street, toward the Tenderloin and the O’Farrell Theater. He was cool and he walked like he was cool, so that everyone would know he was cool; after all, he had done “hard (prison) time” and he was going to be even cooler real soon.

Note the use of the slang words “lid,” “pot,” “hood,” and “hard time.” The author is describing the thoughts and actions of a man who grew up and was educated in a black ghetto; therefore, the use of slang, commonplace to the character, is of benefit in accurately portraying his language and thoughts. However, without an explanation of the word (in parenthesis), the use of the words would tend to exclude any reader who is not familiar with those particular slang terms. As it is, by using the slang terms, and providing a parenthetic definition for them, the author has brought the reader into that particular world in which the character lives, making him and “insider,” and his use of the words and their definitions also serves to educate the reachder. Without the definitions, the reader is alienated and left out of a nuance of the story.

CONVERSATIONAL OR COLLOQUIAL WORDS ARE USUALLY TOO INFORMAL FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING.

Words that are labeled as colloquial in a dictionary are fine for casual conversation and can be used by writers when composing dialogue or a personal essay on a light topic. Such words may sometimes be used for special effect in academic writing, but you should usually replace them with more appropriate words. For example, conversational terms such as “dumb,” “belly button,” and “kid” can be replaced by “ignorant,” “navel,” and “tease.”

DIALECT (or “ben”)

Here is an important rule for writers about using a local ben or dialect, whether in English or Japanese:

DO NOT USE DIALECT EXCEPT TO GIVE THE FLAVOR OF LOCAL SPEECH. AVOID ILLITERACIES.

Words and usages that are peculiar or distinct to one section of a country, province, or city are dialects; for example, in Japan, there is the style of speech, most often casual speech, unique to Ōsaka, Ōsaka-ben or the Ōsaka dialect. There are similar ones for Kyōto, Nagoya, Tokyō, and there are overall dialects which encompass the Kansai region and the Kanto region.

In various regions, for example, a dragonfly is called a darning needle, a snake feeder, a snake doctor, and a mosquito hawk. In the same way, the speech and linguistic patterns of a particular social group, especially an ethnic minority, are often referred to as a dialect.

There is absolutely no reason to erase all characteristics of a dialog from written or spoken language. They are a cultural heritage and a continuing source of richness, flavor, and variety; but in general communication, it is wise to avoid expressions which are not widely understood or which reflect ignorance of standard usage.

For the same reason, ILLITERACIES, which are found in the language of people who are unable to read and write, should be avoided in speech and writing unless you are describing the actual speech pattern of a person or character in a story.

For example: She ain’t ready yet. Would you care to set awhile? This is a common speech pattern of the American South; however, one would not want to write a paper or story using this pattern: one would be marked as stupid or illiterate, and incapable of quality writing if they did.

Here are two examples of the use of both slang and dialect from Angel Dust:

That night, there was no live strip show, according to a sign on the front door. “Musta given da bitches da Christmas Eve off,” he thought. “No big deal! The price is cheaper dat way and I can stay all night if I wants.” On days like Christmas Eve, the theater instead ran non-stop pornographic “flicks” and the management didn’t really care how long a patron stayed: they had the guy’s money, “so what the hell.”

“What’s your friend’s name?” asked Kelly, stepping even closer to the man. Kelly was taller and much more powerfully built than the subject was, and O’Neil thought that perhaps he was using his height advantage to intimidate the guy or at least to discourage him from doing anything stupid.

“Bob, man! Yeah, his name’s Bob.”

“How long have you been waiting for Bob?” asked Kelly.

“Hey man, I just got here. Whatchu mean hasslin’ me? This is poolice harassment.”

“You just got here? All those cigarette butts say otherwise,” growled Kelly, pointing to the ground.

The man looked. “Dey ain’t mine.”

“They aren’t? I just bet you they are yours. You wanna bet me?”

“Hey, you harassin’ me man! What’s the fuckin’ charge?”

The use of slang here is for the distinct purpose of demonstrating the manner of speech that a specific character uses, which is itself characteristic of the neighborhood and period in which the story is set; thus, adding both color and accuracy to the incident described.

Well, that’s all for today. Next time we’ll talk a little bit more about dialect and some other things that you might want to use or avoid in your writing.

See ya then!

THE ART OF COMPOSITON: SLANG

Hi! Professor Panda here!

Today we are going to continue our discussion of the art of composition. Here is another basic rule of writing that applies to both English and Japanese:

USE SLANG ONLY WHEN NOTHING ELSE WILL SERVE WELL.

What is slang? Well, putting it as simply as I can, slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard within the speaker’s or writer’s language or dialect, but which are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often used as a synonym or rewording, and may use an informal vocabulary in order to identify with one’s peers.

Slang is a colorful, non-standard language which, when considered from not only a grammatical viewpoint but from a sociological viewpoint, is invented by special groups, which can include various subcultures such as racial groups (most often within an urban environment), cliques, neighborhood gangs, and even professions. For example, the seamen who sailed the tall ships of the 18^th and 19^th centuries had slang words for everything on and around their ships (including the weather), words which continually confused and vexed those who only spoke and understood the standard language of the time. This, however, is regarded by some linguists and grammarians as a matter of jargon rather than slang; jargon being the technical vocabulary of a particular profession, which implies that the user (or reader) is familiar with whatever is being referred to, or with a group of people who are familiar with that profession and use terms particular to that profession. When writing (or speaking) however, the use of jargon can become exclusionary, even snobbish, and potentially leave many readers unable to comprehend fully what is being said; thus, it should be used only sparingly and carefully.

As the poet Carl Sanburg described it, slang is “language that takes off its coat, spits on its hands, and gets to work.”

Colorful as it may be, slang has very real weaknesses for the writer. Its effectiveness really depends on its freshness and novelty. As such, this form of language and grammar has a vocabulary that changes or adds new variations almost constantly. Slang words rapidly go in and out of style; they “wear out” from overuse, and thus become outdated.

Teachers, university instructors, editors, and even employers object to the use of slang in everything from student papers to business communications on the basis that slang is too often an easy, popular rubber stamp which only approximates exact, precise, thought. Slang is regarded as a lazy way of avoiding the effort needed in order to find an exact and equally vivid standard word or phrase. If a person were to say, “He’s a jerk,” they would not be communicating very much. After all, what does this statement mean precisely, other than that he is in some vague and unspecified way unattractive or unpleasant?

Another problem with written slang is that it may turn out to be incompatible or inconsistent with the writer’s intent or even his subject, and it can even be regarded as funny: but at the writer’s expense. Slang expressions are particularly open to criticism when they are placed, innocently enough, into a moderately formal context, as shown in the following sentences:

·         The violin virtuoso’s performance on the cello was a real bomb.

·         When Macbeth recoiled at the thought of murder, Lady Macbeth urged him not to chicken out.

Slang and its use in writing (or speech) may also, rightly or wrongly, be regarded as a reflection of the writer himself, as lazy, poorly educated, sloppy, or unsophisticated.

That is not to say that slang is all bad. Slang words, particularly when they are quite vivid, often become part of the vocabulary of Standard English. “Skyscraper,” “bus,” and “mob” (a shortening of the Latin words mobile vulgus) were once themselves slang; and if you think about it, what other word can convey the same meaning as the word “date”?

A good rule of thumb is to use slang sparingly, cautiously and thoughtfully, and only in the proper context.

Lastly, when writing, particularly in the case of creative writing or fiction, the use of slang may prove quite useful in adding a sense of authenticity in describing a character’s manner of speech or thought, ultimately leading us to the topic of dialect, which we will approach next time.

See you then!

Hi! It’s Professor Panda here!

Here is a basic rule of writing that applies to both English and Japanese:

USE STANDARD ENGLISH OR JAPANESE EXCEPT ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS, AND ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR DICTIONARY ON QUESTIONS OF USAGE.

The language in generally accepted use is known as either STANDARD ENGLISH or STANDARD JAPANESE, which are characterized as the language of educated persons. They are the common language of the great majority of those who communicate in English or Japanese, and that is why they are taught in schools and colleges.

Nonstandard language, in the same way, refers to usages, spellings or pronunciations, such as regional dialects, not typically found in the speech or writing of educated people.

Always consult your dictionary for definitions of the status or usage labels it uses. For example:

·         Slang

·         Dialect

·         Colloquial (conversational, everyday, idiomatic)

·         Informal

·         Obsolete

·         Archaic

The best sources of information are dictionaries which record usage both current and past.

The real question is, “What is appropriate,” rather than, “What is correct?” Unfortunately, a dictionary does not tell you what is “right.” Instead, it describes usage: it tells us who uses what and lets you, the writer, make your own choices.

In minor matters, dictionaries do not always agree with one another. In current dictionaries, for example, you will find the forms cooperate, co-operate, and cooperate for the same word.

If you are studying English or writing in English, I suggest the following dictionaries:

·         The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

·         The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, (College Edition)

·         Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language

·         Webster’s New Collegiate dictionary, Eleventh Edition

A good dictionary is one of the most valuable tools I use as a writer and as an editor; in fact, I can’t tell you how many times a day I refer to one in my work. And even when I’m simply reading to relax or for pleasure, you can bet that a dictionary is close by, just in case I have a question about the meaning of a word or I find a word I am unfamiliar with.

A good dictionary can be a bit expensive (don’t use the small, pocketbook or abridged editions but instead a full-sized dictionary) but it is well worth the investment. You will find yourself referring to it more and more as you work to improve not only your vocabulary, but to improve the style and quality of what you write.

Next time we’ll discuss a little bit about the use of slang. Hope to see you then!

WHAT IS GRAMMAR?

こんにちは！

パンダ教授再登場です。さて、私たちは、研究論文からの短編小説や小説に至るまで、どうすればより良い作品を書くことができるのかを、これからシリーズで紹介していこうと考えています。前回は言葉遣いやスタイルについて話しました。今回も、作家として必要な文章術について、重要な点をピックアップして簡単に説明します。

文法

　1926年にヘンリー・ファウラーが書いた『現代英語語法辞典』のなかにある「文法」のセクションは、学習意欲が一気に低下するようなゲンナリする話ばかりです。

多分、当時，彼はちょっと機嫌が悪かったのかもしれません。私たちにとって文法は言葉の形式や構造を扱う言語学の一部です。文法は英語を書く話す人が直感で得たものをもっと明確に表現するためものです。私たちが、これは文法通りだとか、文法を無視しているというとき、世界中どの言語であろうと、その判断の基準になっているのは，語法のルールに従っているのか無視しているのかということです。文法は非常に古い時代から研究されている一筋縄ではいかない分野です。

文章を主語と動詞に分けることを最初に考えたのがプラトンです。彼は、文法を学んでいる人をグラマリアンと名付けました。

,語法

語法は話す,あるいは書くときの言葉の使い方です。わたしたちは目的によって言葉を使い分けています。これにはいくつかのレベルがあります。英語は大きく分けると３種類あります。

語法のレベル

１：標準英語（フォーマル）：They have done nothing.

２：標準英語（インフォーマル/口語）They’ve done nothing.

３：非標準英語（フレンドリー）ほとんどスラング、あるいは方言

They haven’t done anything,

“Dey ain’t done nothin’,

標準英語と非標準英語の主な違いは、代名詞と動詞の形に現れてきます。

例えば　標準英語を話す人は“brought”を使いますが,非標準英語では”brung”になります。

非標準英語と言われている単語,文章は、スラング以外にもたくさんあります。

どの文法を学ぶか

文法ってそんなにたくさんあるの？　ひとつだけじゃないの？

はい、そのとおりです。時代と共に言葉がどのように変化していったか,また言語の比較も含め,文法にはいくつか種類があります。でも、大丈夫。私たちが学ぶ文法は２種類だけです。あなたのスピーチとライティングを改善するために学ばなければならない文法はたった２種類だけです。

記述言語学によって生成される文法（Descriptive grammar）はモノに名前を与えます。（名刺,形容詞,動詞などの品詞のこと）

この文法では、品詞と,その働きを学習します。

いい加減な学び方をすると,下記のようなことを言い残して、あっという間に海に転落します。

「連結動詞”appear”の叙述名詞（主格名詞）として機能する動名詞句のなかで、balloon は動名詞の目的語である」

でも、こんな専門的な話はしません。とはいえ、個々の単語,フレーズが正しいか間違っているかを理解するためには品詞を覚えることは大事なことです。

これから学ばなければならない文法の大部分を占めているのが機能文法（Functional grammar）です。これは言葉が適切に働いているときに,どのような振る舞いをしているのかをあなたに教えてくれます。文章が正しく組み立られていることを保証し、伝えようとしていることにフィットするもの。”I”なのか”Me”なのか、どちらを使えばいいのか悩んでいるとき、それは機能文法の問題を解いているのです。文法の勉強を成功させるために、この公式を使います。

記述文法少々＋機能文法たくさん= 良い文法

今日のレッスンはここまでです。次回はスラングと標準英語についてお話しましょう。

それではまた。

Hi! This is Professor Panda again. Today we are going to continue with our series of articles on how to write better compositions, everything from research papers to short stories and novels. Last time we discussed diction and style and we will continue along that line with a brief discussion of some things that are very important to one’s success as a writer: grammar and usage.

WHAT IS GRAMMAR?

“Grammar,” Henry Fowler wrote in his 1926, Dictionary of Modern English Usage, is “a poor despised branch of learning.” Well maybe he was a bit grumpy that day. However, to the rest of us, grammar is a branch of linguistics (the study of language) that deals with the form and the structure of words. It is an attempt to make clear what the skilled writer and speaker of English does by instinct. When people are said to have “good” or “bad” grammar, the understanding is that they choose to obey or ignore the rules of accepted usage associated with their language whether it is English or Japanese.

Grammar is one of the oldest fields of study, as well as one of the most durable. Even Plato can be labeled as an early grammarian (a person who studies grammar), because he was responsible for dividing the sentence into subject and verb, a division still exists today!

WHAT IS USAGE?

Usage is the normal way we use language in speaking and writing. Because we use language for different purposes, there are various levels of usage. The following table lists the “big three” in English:

LEVEL OF USAGE

1. Standard English (formal usage) – “They have done nothing.”
2. Standard English (informal (conversational) usage) – “They’ve done nothing.”
3. Non-Standard (“Friendly-speak”) usage – “They haven’t done anything,” or the extreme “Dey ain’t done nothin’,” which is almost entirely slang or might even be considered part of a dialect.

The main difference between Standard English and Non-Standard English (“Friendly-speak”) appears in the use of pronouns and certain verb forms. For example, where a speaker in Standard English would use “brought,” a speaker of Non-standard English would use “brung.” There are also several words and expressions that are considered non-standard, such as slang words.

DECIDING WHICH GRAMMAR TO LEARN

Which grammar? Does that mean that there is more than one? Yes, indeed there are several different types of grammar, including historical (how language has changed through the centuries) and comparative (comparing languages). But don’t worry too much. Here we will only be interested in two types of grammar: the two you have to know in order to improve your speech and writing.

Descriptive grammar gives names to things: the parts of speech and the parts of a sentence. When you learn descriptive grammar, you understand what every word is (its part of speech) and what every word does (its function in the sentence). If a person is not careful, however, descriptive grammar can go overboard fast and you can end up saying things like “balloon is the object of the gerund, in a gerund phrase that is acting as the predicate nominative of the linking verb ‘appear’.” Don’t worry because we will not go into that level of terminology; besides, I’m not quite sure what that all means anyway. There is, however, one important reason to learn some grammar terms and that is to understand why a particular word or phrase is correct or incorrect.

Functional grammar makes up most of what we will learn. Functional grammar tells you how words behave when they are doing their jobs properly. Functional grammar guides you to the right expression; that is, the one that fits what you are trying to say, by insuring that the sentence is put together correctly. When you are agonizing over whether to say “I” or “me,” you are actually solving a problem of functional grammar. So in order to be successful in our study of grammar, we will use this formula: a little descriptive grammar + a lot of functional grammar = better grammar overall.

Well, that’s today’s lesson. Next time we will talk more about Standard English as well as slang. Hope to see you then!

英語を勉強しましょう LET'S STUDY ENGLISH!

過去数年にわたって、私は非公式のレッスン (英語の文法、語法、スペル、および 作 文)を提供してきました.

日本の 友人たちに、レッスンを少しだけ展開し、私の"生徒が レッスンをできる場所, 米国とカナダではなく英国でも 話されている"西洋の英語"で問題を議論し解決策を見つけ、実践できる場所を日本で提供することを決めました.

.

老若男女 - 英語を勉強したい人は誰でもご参加ください、

一緒に英語を楽しみましょう！

2009年、 岐阜の友人たちのすべてのための個人的な英語のクラスを開くつもりです

英語を勉強しましょう

SIGHT WORDS

Hi! It's me - Professor Panda with a new and really important new English lesson. Today we are going to revisit, SIGHT WORDS! What is a SIGHT WORD?

• A sight word is any word that should be known to a reader automatically. Sight words are pronounced without thinking about how the word is spelled. A common first sight word is a person's name. Beginning readers are at an advantage when they learn to read sight words that occur frequently in print. However, it is possible to read a word on sight but not know the meaning of the word. For example, a student might be able to read on sight "there, their and they're" but not understand the differences in meaning. So, learning words by sight only, should not be seen as a complete reading solution.

• It is estimated that there are approximately 100 to 220 common words in English that require specific memorization.

So, here are the first group of sight words for you. Memorize them and if you are not clear on their meaning or use, look them up in a nice dictionary.

A very good way to learn sight words is to make a flash card for each one. Write the word down on one side, and on the other, write down a sentence using that word. Look at these cards at least once a day, or more! The more you practice, the more automatic they will become, and the better your English will be.

Here are the first 15 sight words you should know:

the Did you see the dog?

of I saw two of them.

and I saw Kimiko and Ichiro.

a I saw a cat.

to Takumi went to the store.

in Shou is in the house.

is Mr. Saito is here.

are Are you going home?

that Did you see that bird?

it I put it on the table.

he He took my bike!

was Kouhei was late for school.

for Mai made this for you.

on The cat is on the chair.

are Aoi and Aya are cute.

Remember: Each sentence begins with a capital (big) letter and ends with either a period, question mark, or exclamation mark. As you practice these sight words and become more comfortable with them, try to make up your own sentences.

THE WONDERFUL TEAKETTLE: QUIZ ANSWERS

Here are the answers to the quiz on the Japanese story, The Wonderful Teakettle:

Answers:

1. Why was the old priest so happy? Because he had found a new treasure - his "new" teakettle.
2. What was his new teakettle made of? Brass
3. What did the third boy see whenhe peeped through the screen? He was just in time to see the new teakettle give a spring into the air, turn a somersault, and come down in the form of a furry, little badger.
4. What did all the boys see when they looked through the screen together? Only a teakettle.
5. What did the teakettle do when the old priest put it on the fire to heat? The kettle gave a leap up into the air, spilling the hot water all over the floor! “Hot, hot! I’m burning!” it cried. And, like a flash, it was no longer a kettle but a little furry badger.
6. Who did the old priest sell the teakettle to? The tinker.
7. Where did he take the teakettle to after he bought it? He took it home with him, where he bent it back into shape and mended it.
8. What did the badger say he liked to eat now and then? The badger said, "Oh! I like a little sugar now and then.”
9. What did the people who saw the dancing badger on the tightroop do after they saw it? Those who had seen it once came to see it again.
10. Where did the owner of the teakettle put the teakettle after he bacame rich? He put his beloved teakettle in a little temple on top of a hill.

11. Bonus question: Using the story, describe what a badger looks like. It was furry, had four feet, and a bushy tail.

How did you do?