"There was Once" by Margaret Atwood - Language

1. What does the conversation tell us about the opening phrase, "There was once a poor girl, as beautiful as she was good, who lived with her wicked stepmother in a house in the forest"?
The descriptions of the girl are stereotypical and exaggerated. It's very fairy tale like with a clear protagonist that's "poor" and an antagonistic "wicked" stepmother.
2. What sort of things does the second speaker object to?
Sterotypes, biases, descriptions - anything subjective
3. What is the principle behind the objections?
To write an objective piece, with no descriptions that discriminate, or no descriptions in general.
4. Is the principle reasonable?
No, because most things are subjective, and without detail there is no story.
5. What would happen if the second speaker applied her own principle to her own speech?
She would have writer's block if she were writing, and would not say much if she were speaking since she finds fault with everything that the first speaker says.
6. What can we learn about language from this dialogue?
Language is subjective. The piece also highlights the importance of diction, or word use and the importance of being politically correct. It also tells us a lot about positive and negative connotations to words chosen.

Week of December 6th 2009

Aside from looking at language and how it relates to cutlure (see Language post for answers to questions), we also looked at the phrase "Time flies like an arrow"
We had to add punctuation to it to get different meanings.
2 of the meanings mentioned were that;
time flies, like an arrow. Hence, time passes fast
time: flies like an arrow.
time flies; like an arrow. This one was suggested to mean timing flies.
An interpretation that I came up with was that time flies like an arrow in the sense that you can't go back in time, as arrows aim ahead. So all there is is the present, moving in the direction of the future. However when I said this, people gave me weird looks since it was a different/weird interpretation, but I still stand by it and hopefully someone else will eventually see the phrase the way I did.

Week of November 22nd

This week we recieved a worksheet on language and what it's used for. We also had to evaluate a source, find a biased article, and invent an English word. Language is a way of communication, to communicate thoughts, ideas, feelings, or send messages. It's used everyday, all around us, by people through speaking, or writing. The biased article that I found was one on mobile phones and it stated that a certain brand was 'better' than the rest. The next TOK lesson, we were supposed to discuss language and its impact on society but I was sick/absent.