'If a woman is swept off a ship into the water, the cry is "Man overboard!" If she is killed by a hit and run driver, the charge is manslaughter." If she is injured on the job, the coverage is "Workmen's compensation." But if she arrives at a threshold marked "Men only," she knows the admonition is not intended to bar animals or plants or inanimate objects. It is meant for her'; as quoted by Alma Graham. Language is the main source of power in our modern society, it shapes our thinking. The English language can have an effect on women with vocabulary containing bias, misogyny, stereotyping and chauvinism. There is unique dominance of the masculine viewpoint in the development of English.
Of all the things that can control our thinking, language is the most dominate. Language is in fact the bridge to our thinking. The relationship between words and thoughts are the same, as one cannot think without words.
Distributing copies of the Canadian Charter of Rig...
United States
United StatesFrench philosopher Etinne Bonnet De Condillac says, "We think only in the medium of words. The art of reasoning is nothing more than language well arranged." One can argue that feelings from your senses can determine your thoughts, but it is more difficult to know what you are feeling if you cannot identify the linguistic terms. In the seventeenth century, philosophers, linguists, scholars and theologians began to examine the relationship of language and thought. Hebrew scholar William Chomsky writes: "We do not first have thoughts,ideas, feelings, and then put them into a verbal framework. We think in words, by means of words. Language and experience are inextricably interwoven." Johann Gottfried Von Herder adds that Language sets limits and contour for all human cognition. There are over a thousand languages being spoken today, some more complex than others. The basic principle...
Discussing "English is the most highly evolved language" and "Mother Nature"
While reading through your essay, I stumbled upon some sections that clearly weakened the piece. The first came in the form of a statement "English is the most highly evolved language". As there are no citations, one can easily beleive that this statement is nothing but your own opinion. Can you really argue that English is more evolved than German, or used in a more technical manor then Mandarine? This statement does not only seem bias, but unfounded. English is probably one of the easiest languages to learn and therefor one of the most widespread. This does not make it the most evolved.
The second aspect I found rather torubling was your interpretation of the term "mother nature". To many, this does not represent the fagility of femininity, yet it incompasses all of it's strenghts. It paints a portrait of woman as the creator (and destroyer) of life, the emblem of fertility and the goddess of protection. Nature is the only part of our world that "man" cannot yet seem to control. Sure one can attempt to predict the weather, but one cannot stop a hurrican from striking. In addition, the term "Mother nature" does not take it's roots from the english language, and has in fact been seen throughout history. It can be found in early Hinduism and in Paiganism. If it were not for "mother nature", (as the story goes) the Buddha would never have attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
Other than that, I found the essay to be well written and thouroughly enjoyed the openening statement. PEACE.
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