DD’s Weblog

Devin Dadigan

WRT 205

Professor Yonker

30 January 2008

 Noguchi, Y. (2005, December 29). Life and Romance in 160 Characters or Less. Washington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/28/AR2005122801430.html Noguchi argues that there is a whole new meaning to brevity with the newest electronic written culture called text messaging. In fact, since text messaging only allows for 160 characters, users are learning how to be more concise and using more abbreviations and shortcuts of the English language than they did in the days of instant messenger. However, some individuals like text messaging, because they claim that they can express their emotions without even feeling like they said it. Noguchi also suggests that this reliance on text messaging could cause social problems such as, lack of expressing feelings, weak personal skills, and public speaking difficulties. Barker, O. (2006, May 29). Technology Leaves Teens Speechless. USA Today. Retrieved January 25, 2008, from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2006-05-29-teen-texting_x.htm This generation of teenagers will not likely be able to have professional discussions, because they are losing very natural, human, instinctive speaking skills. A 2005 report states that employers were dissatisfied with 45% of college graduates, since these recent graduates struggled with personal skills and had trouble communicating with fellow employees. The argument is made that teens will not be able to spontaneously answer questions in interview situations, because they can’t think on the spot. Teens are text messaging and instant messaging non-stop, which enables them to reread conversations and rethink their choice of words. As the author puts it, the oral kinds of conversations are becoming as uncomfortable as braces. 

Thurlow, C. (2003). Generation Txt? The sociolinguistics of young people’s text-messaging.

Discourse Analysis Online. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from http://scholar.google.com/ scholar?hl=en&rls=DGUS,DGUS:2006-21,DGUS:en&q=text+messaging+digital+cultur

e&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=ws

 Cultural critics agree that we live in an age where the diminutive, brief, and simple are prized in communication. These critics looked at various aspects of text messaging to find social patterns in our culture. This study, examining what people are using text messaging for and to what extent they are using the convention English language, shows that people text mainly to maintain friendships and arrange social activities. The study also found that texting is quite intimate, meaning people are not as afraid to express their feelings over a message.     Barr, J., & Rovegno, L. (2006, May 31). Text Appeal. Outside the Lines. Retrieved January 27, 2008, from http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2461072  Text messaging is becoming one of the most popular ways to recruit high school athletes. Under NCAA regulations, text messaging is not considered a phone call; so many collegiate coaches are taking advantage of this loophole. However, high school athletes are receiving up to 20 messages a day, which some think is an invasion of their privacy. Texting has completely changed the recruiting process and is now almost concrete in our culture. Strong, G. (2007, October 2). Has txt kild the ritn wd? The Age. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from LexisNexis database. Strong argues that English has always been a language that has sponged up other linguistic and cultural influences. Now we are expressing our feelings in text pictures called emoticons. Since we live in an age of short attention spans and texting allows us to avoid uncomfortable confrontations, people text their feelings with an emoticon—without unveiling their true tone of voice. English experts strongly resent the idea that people are expressing emotions in text messages with these little pictures, because emotion is much more than (:-S).

Noguchi, Y. (2005, December 29). Life and Romance in 160 Characters or Less. Washington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/28/AR2005122801430.html Noguchi argues that there is a whole new meaning to brevity with the newest electronic written culture called text messaging. In fact, since text messaging only allows for 160 characters, users are learning how to be more concise and using more abbreviations and shortcuts of the English language than they did in the days of instant messenger. However, some individuals like text messaging, because they claim that they can express their emotions without even feeling like they said it. Noguchi also suggests that this reliance on text messaging could cause social problems such as, lack of expressing feelings, weak personal skills, and public speaking difficulties.

Devin Dadigan

WRT 205

Madeline Yonker

24 January 2008

Eubanks response #4

The State of the Union Address is a speech delivered every year, by the President of the United States of America. The main purpose of this speech is to clearly summarize the events of the past year, list the goals of our country, and emphasize the seemingly positive bills and initiatives passed by the President. As I read further into the 2003 State of the Union Address, given by George W. Bush, I noticed that this was more than just a dry summary of our nation. This speech contained numerous literary figures that served the purpose of presenting both our nation and president in a positive light.

            If you remember back to 2003, our country just started a war with Iraq, the economy was in a state of stagflation, and the threat of terrorism was more powerful than ever. Faced with these ever present problems, President Bush was able to deliver an address that put a positive spin on all of these negative issues. George W. Bush gave the speech in a narrative-like fashion, giving Americans a story and linking that story to the events of September 11^th, 2001. Using this narrative device helps to justify why our country has taken a stand on the War Against Terror, because it reminds the American people of that horrific day and also makes them cognizant of the threat of Terrorism that still exists worldwide. Throughout the address, Bush talked about our “Country” and how we the “People” can make a difference. However near the end of the speech, the President switches views by telling us that we are dependent upon a higher power. Bush used two similar metaphors in his conclusion, “The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world, it is God’s gift to humanity,” to show how the human race is dependent upon God.              The 2003 State of the Union Address includes other metaphors to help link the story and shed a positive light on The United States of America. First and foremost, instead of saying our country is in a time of tumultuous distress Bush states, “That we are in a whirlwind of change, hope, and peril.” This small metaphor sounds much more pleasant than saying our world is a disaster—here are our problems. One problem Bush addresses is our recovering economy. He states that our unemployment rate is growing and we need to create more jobs with smaller businesses. In doing this he uses a metaphor when he says we must grow the economy. This can actually be compared to growing a flower. You don’t want to grow it too slowly—where it doesn’t blossom, or too quickly—where it turns into a bunch of weeds. A flower must be closely watched and nurtured, but still left alone to grow at its own pace. This is similar to our economy, and it’s quite beautiful to think of our economy as a flower. The Federal Reserve System watches over our economy to make sure it grows at about 2.5% per year, matching the full unsustainable level of real GDP. If we try to grow it too fast, like Bush is suggesting, our country could be in a state of inflation. A recovering economy due to terrorist attacks, corporate scandals and stock market declines, takes time to fix. However, this metaphor of growing a flower completely blocks out the negatives aspects of why our economy has been hovering at the same level. The metaphors above were used to gloss over the negative issues of our country. The next few metaphors show the connections to the War our country is faced with. Instead of being forthright and saying terrorists, President Bush calls them a “scattered network of killers.” This metaphor helps to justify the reasons that our country is engaged in war. Bush also uses the word threat as a recurrent theme throughout the entire speech to remind the American people that a safer, less threatened world will exist as a result of this war effort. Another war metaphor, that shows up in this speech deals with our troubled healthcare system. Bush states, “These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system that dictates coverage and rations care.” When you think of rations, you immediately think of war, food rations. President Bush makes another war related connection by saying that we will fight illegal drugs. It may not be possible to fight a drug, yet the connection to the War on Illegal Drugs is clear. These creatively worded metaphors connect the entire speech and maintain my inclination that they were used to shed a more positive light on both our nation and President. So, each and every word must have been carefully chosen, because these metaphors and narratives utilized a positive spin that ultimately helped Bush’s argument in the 2003 State of the Union Address. 

Source:

Bush, G.W. (2003, January 28). President Delivers “State of the Union.” Retrieved January 19,

2008, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html

Devin Dadigan

WRT 205

#4

Eubanks response

The State of the Union Address is a speech constructed every year, by the President of the United States of America. The main purpose of this speech is to clearly summarize the events of the past year, list the goals of our country, and emphasize the seemingly positive regulations passed by the President. As I read further into the 2003 Address, given by George W. Bush, I noticed that this was more than just a dry summary of our nation. This speech contained numerous literary figures that served the purpose of presenting both our nation and president in a positive light.

             If you remember back to 2003, our country just started a war with Iraq, the economy was in a stage of stagflation, and the threat of terrorism was more powerful than ever. Even faced with these vast problems, President Bush is able to deliver an address that puts a positive spin on all of the negative issues. George W. Bush gives the speech in a narrative-like fashion, giving America a story and linking that story to the events of September 11^th, 2001. Using this narrative device helps to justify why our country has taken a stand on the War Against Terror, because it reminds the American people of that evil day and also makes them consider the threat of Terrorism that still exists worldwide. Throughout the address, Bush talks about our “Country” and how we the “People” can make a difference. However near the end of the speech, the President switches views by telling us that we are dependent upon a higher power. Bush uses two similar metaphors in his conclusion, “The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world, it is God’s gift to humanity,” to show how the human race is dependent upon God.              The 2003 State of the Union Address includes other metaphors to help link the story and shed a positive light on The United States of America. Fist and foremost, instead of saying our country is in a time of distress Bush states, “that we are in a whirlwind of change, hope, and peril.” This small metaphor sounds much more pleasant than saying our world is a disaster—here are our problems. One problem Bush addresses is our recovering economy. He states that our unemployment rate is growing and we need to create more jobs with smaller businesses. In doing this he uses a metaphor when he says we mush grow the economy. This can actually be compared to growing a flower. You don’t want to grow it too slowly—where it doesn’t blossom, or too fast—where it turns into a bunch of weeds. A flower must be closely watched, but left alone to grow at its own pace. This is just like our economy. The Federal Reserve System watches over our economy to make sure it grows at about 2.5% per year, matching the full unsustainable level of real GDP. If we try to grow it too fast, like Bush is suggesting, our country could be in a state of inflation. A recovering economy due to terrorist attacks, corporate scandals and stock market declines, takes time to fix. However, this metaphor a growing a flower completely blocks out the negatives aspects of why our economy has been hovering at the same level. These metaphors above were used as answers to all of the negatives. The next few metaphors show the connections to the War our country is faced with. Instead of coming out and saying terrorists, President Bush calls them a “scattered network of killers.” This metaphor helps to justify the reasons that our country is at war for. Bush also uses the word threat as a recurrent theme throughout the entire speech to remind the American people that a safer, less threatened world will exist as a result of this war. Another war metaphor, that shows up in this speech deals with our troubled healthcare system. Bush states, “These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system that dictates coverage and rations care.” When you think of rations, you immediately think of war food rations. This statement just reconnects this part back to the war metaphors.

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