English Language Reasearch

Factually speaking, it becomes apparent that, at a maximum, 37% of rap music withholds derogatory terms held against women. Through the casual utilisation of the words '*****' and 'ho' within the rap industry, a profusion of women are presented as promiscuous and degraded abundantly. Moreover, in eleven of fourteen songs of the album 'Marshall Mathers' by 'Rap God' Eminem, there are coherent elements of misogyny in which nine of these songs relate to the killing of women; as Eminem is such a globally admired artist, such terms go unnoticed. Subsequently, it is indisputable that the degradation of women within the rap genre is unfortunately somewhat 'accepted', this is due to the ways in which 'authenticity' is gained within the rap sector along with the discharge of such lyrics; a way of gaining status should we say. With acknowledgement of the offensive terms used, many women have lyrically responded through the used of lyrics to demand respect, empower women, provide self-help and solidarity and to come to the defence of black men that are misrepresented. Overall, I believe that the utilisation of misogynystic terms within rap music is beginning to become casual, in a manner that shouldn't be allowed. Shockingly, it appears to continue, especially through the recent years' equality and feminism successes where I personally doubt the need for female negativity within the music industry.

Through semantic derogation, there are an abundance of ways in which men are featured as superior to women; through terms in which express women's titles as 'just the female equivalent of a male role', we can interpret how equality amongst the sexes isn't in fact what it seems in the modern day. Additionally, the addition of '-ess' and '-ette' to a male's postion title, almost presents women in a highly inferior way due to the connotations of improvisation and laziness. As women are not granted their own terms and titles, in many ways it can be viewed that such titles aren't in fact created for women, thus upholding the previous stereotypes of working women. Moreover, the distinction between 'bachelor' and 'spinster', although given the same meaning of 'unmarried', gives a negative approach to women, where the term 'spinster' is given associations of 'unwanted, decrepit and old' and the 'bachelor', is viewed as 'free, young and choosing to stay single.' Such terms used in favour of men are still utilised in the modern day, to which I don't agree with, I confidently believe that equality amongst the sexes is still struggling to be present as a result of such terms; it creates a 'second best' image for women, in which men are the superior sex, and apparently more deservant of their own original titles. 

There are an array of reasons as to why people tend to code-switch and code-mix, some associating with employment, some with upgrading social status, where the majority of humans in the modern day appear to do so, unknowingly, on a daily basis. Within the teaching occupation, in the modern foreign langauges sector, many teachers would utilise code-switching in order to demonstrate words or phrases in the specific language in which they're displaying; putting emphasis on a specific word in another language can often express the meaning, help develop pronunciation and help to understand the language in more depth. Another way in which code-switching and code-mixing is applied is in situations of gaining social status or in order to 'fit in', where people tend to adjust their dialect to accomodate that of the person in which they're talking to. This would further allow them to relate and accept the other, creating a more casual, personal vibe within the relationship. Furthermore, in an attempt to impress or gain something from another person, such techniques are again used, mostly unconsciously, where speech is accustomed to a somewhat more prestige form, or in some cases, a complete transfromation of accent; this is often done to provoke a positive opinion of oneself from another, mostly in the process of a job interview.

Predominantly, we become aware of the plethora of occupational areas in which lexis differs in each one, and where there will always be a semantic field of something within each sector. For example, in the daily jobs of doctors, GP's, nurses and surgeons, the semantic field of medicine and recovery will remain intact, this is mostly due to the professional expectations of patients and the need for ability to confide in such people. Language such as 'prescribe', 'illness' and 'medication' may be utilised within the GP's office, of which would express the educational ability and expertise of the GP, allowing a patient to infer his accuracy. However, within the music industry, a different form of lexis would be applied in suitability to those of whom are working in this sector. 'Chords', 'vocal' and 'strings' would all be utilised to demonstrate knowledge of their particular occupation. Overall, it becomes evident that distinctive lexis within the job industry is completely necessary and important as some occupations have different terminology in which they use to communicate with their colleagues and clients, thus giving everybody a variety of professional, expertise language and knowledge, rather than it all being similar, of which we would find it hard to fully understand.

Fundamentally, most agree on RP being the 'most prestige' of all accents in the UK, granting the Queen, the upper class and most politicians the 'elite' title in society. Arguably, some believe that all languages and linguistics are wholly equal. With the high titles of society often speaking in RP, we are programme to believe that this is the most opulent form of speech, however I believe that it differs across the country. For example, in London, there are areas in which speak in a dialect promoting a somewhat negative image for the town due to the array of slang, swear words and unnecessary emphasis on specific words, yet there's the RP speaking side also. Similarly, on the Wirral, and applicable to every other county in Britain, there are area's in which the accent is classed considerably as prestige, e.g. Calday, and some areas in which the accent isn't seen as particularly 'attractive' from an outsider. Although I do not agree with the ways in which this process of accent judgement pans out, I'm aware that it will always continue and that judgements on prestige will most likely always be made, despite the fact stated that every accent and language is supposedly classed as equal.