Attitudes to Multi Modal Language

So far, we've looked at the nitty gritty of how multi modal language works - if you can't give me at least six features that you might expect to appear in a multimodal text, then you seriously need to do some swotting up. Next up is attitudes to these variations in language usage. As you'll discover in Y13, attitudes to language change in the media are nearly always negative. So, first up, I want you to read either or both of these articles from The Daily Mail or The Daily Telegraph, that are all to do with Voldemort's reaction to Twitter and the language changes he forecasts will result (Twitter, in case anyone has forgotten, puts limits on characters so your message has to be short, in the same way that text messages had to be as they used to cost 10p a pop years ago).

Well, the first thing I'll direct you to look at is this old counter argument that comes from the Guardian years ago (the essay written by the Scottish schoolkid is a hoax, incidentally). Once you've looked at that and completed the tasks that I've set in class, if you are feeling really brave, have a look at this from the Languagelog blog, which does a fairly useful job of demolishing ideas established in the Mail and Telegraph articles. (Y13s - if your language investigations look like this then I'll be a happy man)

Before I sign off, I'm going to point you in the direction of the fantastic SFX Language blog, which is my go to page when I need articles in the media related to language issues. If you haven't added this to your Google Reader and keep up to date with it, then you'll score less than somebody who has. Simple simple simple.

Finally finally, if anyone is reading this who isn't in my Y12 class, you might be interested to know that according to my Y12s, some of the more obvious MML features are falling out of use. Whereas standard English used to be the language of rules, exam papers and 'the man', it is now the only viable option for articulate 17 year olds who wish to avoid using MML features, and the 'trampiness' that they apparently now connote.

OED online access

This is really easy, and it is free!

1. Get a library card from the local library (Radcliffe, West Bridgford, wherever)
2. Click on this link here
3. Click on the 'Sign in' tab on the top right hand corner
4. Enter your library card number - it will have a letter at the start, and then have 8 numbers. Older cards have a letter, then 10 numbers - so just enter the letter then the first 8 numbers
5. Enjoy all the etymology you could ever need!

Trust me, you'll be visiting this post again and again come investigation time.