Our First Podcast

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Examine the Resurgence of Endangered Languages in Ireland and New Zealand. In these Instances how could Language be Considered a Tool for Resistance?

Before we examine the return of these close to extinct languages, we should now what an endangered language is and how they could become extinct. An endangered language basically means a language that is close to extinction. A small community might speak it, but the community might be the only community that communicates in that language. One of the main ways they can become extinct is through colonization (A country might enforce its language on the country it is colonizing), or communities might adapt to the surrounding language that dominates the country that they are in and the generation might just forget eh language completely. Now we answer, how they can be used to be a tool for resistance. Using the example = of colonization, people might use it to show their defiance against the rules they enforce on the people of the country. They might use it to attack the colonizers by using their language in the vicinity of the colonizers. This can show that they don’t want to follow what they set on them. This can also be shown as a way of retaliation or revival of a community that has been discriminated against where they have been put in a lower class just for speaking the language or put in a lower class because of the origins of where the culture of their language comes from. Language can also define the class and privileges a person might have during a time period. People might learn their under-privileged language as a way to show that they are proud with their privileges. Or they might learn a higher-class language just to prove the flaws of the class-being-defined-by-language system.

Stereotypes

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

Personally, I think people have the freedom to promote, advertise, and endorse their product however they feel like necessary. Maybe the product itself is for a specific audience and the producers want to advertise their products so that it will appeal to the audience that it desires. 

This will also depend on the medium that the company chooses to advertise its audience. The reason why they might choose different mediums is to appeal to their audience who use the platform. For example, Video Sharing Sites (YouTube, Vimeo), and Social Media Sites (Facebook, Twitter). If people decide to advertise their product on YouTube and Facebook, who’s audience are older millennials who won’t have an easily offended audience, then there won’t be numerous complaints about offensive content. However, if the company decides to promote their product on TV, which people viewing TV can’t decide what is televised and broadcasted to them, then they will probably get many criticisms about offensive content being aired publically taking in the audience.

People can also be offended very easily as well. Many people may have had either experienced the situation before hand, or are just people are offended easily. This can cause protests against the product and could lower the reputation of the company.

Print Ad

In class, we have been assigned a print advertisement. This blog post is going to be an analysis of the print advertisement.

The ad focuses mostly on the cultural context. Mostly tradition. In the ad, the woman is wearing a wedding gown and is tying the shoe laces of her converse shoes. This usually isn't worn in a traditional wedding. Usually the bride wears and expensive, or white heels, traditionally. But this is meant to go against tradition. Beside the subject (the bride), there is a text that reads "Never Follow". This is linked with the shoe. The shoes are meant to symbolize the subject not following the tradition.  The shoes she is wearing are mostly cheap and are more casual. they shouldn’t be worn in a special occasion, especially a wedding where people, especially in western societies, take it very seriously. Also, the setting of the ad is very odd for a marriage to take palace and for her to be fitting her wedding costume on a set of stairs. The word play of the company also can play in to the ad. Hour Choice is the name of the company and sounds like Our Choice. This can also connect with the rebel side of the viewer and be inclined to wear the watch because of what it symbolizes and the ideology it possesses.

Historically, in this generation especially, people have done this type of thing before. Being wed in an “extravagant” place. Some people mix nature in their wedding by being married in a forest. This could be because people are to insecure about the fact that people try to be the same and the traditional marriage occasion is set. People try to stand out in the crowd and be special. Or the feel like the experience would be more enjoyable if they express their emotions on their special day.

This could also be a movement if seen general. One of the biggest issues that people face is the choice of conformity. Most of our subjects that we take in classes are focused on the topic and/or concept of conformity. This could make people break traditions and make their own ideologies and not to follow society norms and make their own rules. This again could make people more inclined to buy the product because of what it symbolizes.