Letter to the Editor in Regards to a Daily Mail Article

After reading the article about the negative impact ‘text speak’ has on children on the online site, I realized that “Text speak” - as it was called - does, in fact, have some negative impact on students – in this case, the use of it in formal assignments. However, to say that “text speak is eroding hard earned knowledge” and that “children are in danger of growing up with limited vocabularies” due to spending time on Facebook is an overstatement. In fact, I have heard that texting and spending time on social media can have a favorable effect on students. Of course, I agree that ‘text speak’ does not necessarily have a place in academics but it should have a place in student’s lives and can help develop their use of language. This is in part due to the wider newer range of vocabulary that they experience on social media sites and the short interesting articles that can be observed on Facebook. I have also heard that the word limit in twitter can help students use their language creatively and be more concise with their messages, which in turn causes them to lean to communicate thoughts accurately and more clearly. It is also a well-known fact that practice makes perfect, and according to David Crystal, a notable linguistic “technology provides great opportunities to use and practice language through texting and reading posts”. Another very important aspect of this topic to note brought forth by another linguistic, John Mcwhorter “texting is not writing at all” Texting can be considered fingered speech, it is very loose and you don’t focus on the spelling and complexity of the sentences in the same way that you wouldn’t when speaking. Overall I think that although students should be able to decipher when and where to use “text Speak” it should not be completely eradicated from their lives.

Omar Ismail ‘16

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Article: file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/Twtr__It_s_majorly_bad__Leading_headteacher_condemns__text_speak__for_eroding_schoolchildren_s_language_skills___Daily_Mail_Online.pdf 

Exclusive Interview With Tupac Shakur

Rolling Stone magazine caught up with Tupac Shakur after a great performance in L.A to talk about the influence of his music and what it represents.

Rolling Stone: Tupac that was an awesome performance man I really enjoyed it

Tupac: yea man , I ‘ppreciate it, ‘ppreciate, I was just glad to be a part of it. 

Rolling Stone: There was quite a variety of rapping styles and hip hop artist from different backgrounds, how do you feel about that. 

Tupac: well you know that’s what hip hop music….that’s what rap is all about, you know what I mean. This is real life music representin’ not only da music of certain places, everyone out there represents a culture; black culture, inner city life, you know what I'm sayin’. So this was a great way of representin’ dat. 

Rolling Stone: You’re a big part of the east coast vs west coast hip-hop rivalry, is that what your rap is about? 

Tupac: The west coast east coast rivalry is just a small part of what hip hop music is really about, like I always been loyal to da west coast, but it’s not about yelling “Brooklyn in the house” or “Hollywood” at every ****** show. That’s not what music is about. But let me tell you one thing, why ain’t nobody got a problem with biggie startin’ beef in his music or any of the other rappers out there that start wars talking about the different gangs and such, but when I do it its suddenly a problem. All im tryna say is like…. Is this what were gonna be doin’ talking about where were from and call it hip hop. 

Rolling Stone: How was it growing up in the inner city with a single mom, do you speak for this in your music? 

Tupac: Man, okay, so like usually when you’re born, you’re born into a family, into a legacy that you have to live up to whether it be a family profession or a family name, you know, following in your father’s footsteps. There’s none of that where I grew up, not just relating to me, this was da case wid all da guys in the “outer city” as I like to call it cuz we’re left out. That’s how it is in the black community, you know, you have to build your own future instead of fulfill it. But the truth is that its not easy on a 18 year old or a 21 year old to build their own future, it’s a lot to ask. And I try to embody dat in my music and in my lyrics, you know what I'm sayin’.

Rolling Stone: rap has often been criticized for the accounts of violence included in songs, some of the most notable examples being “My Block” do you feel its necessary, or is it a use of dysphemism?

Tupac: Look its not about necessary or not necessary its just like, if I start rapping like everything’s peaceful, put your guns down, no violence and all that, that’s hypocritical, you get what im sayin’. If I didn’t talk about the violence, everybody would be actin’ like theres nothin’ wrong there’s no violence, which is far from the truth. I’m just tellin’ the story how it is how my community and my people suffer. Yea definitely it is a use of dysphemism cuz I don’t want my lyrics to nudge some people, I want my words to sucker punch them in the face, you get what I mean…. wake them up from their dillusional lives. 

A Tale of Two Tongues

This is a short memoir I decided to write relating to the topic of bilingualism and identity which we just covered in class. I chose to talk about one of the interesting moments I had one time while visiting my home country of Egypt where they speak Arabic.
____________________________
As the plane landed; touching the hard concrete with stiff bumps and jolts – finally reaching the stable ground, I dreamt of the times I have had here and the great times to come. There was no pace like Egypt, the rich and sophisticated landscapes and high-rise buildings stood side by side with dusty desert dunes and the impoverished slums. Some might not perceive it attractively, but to me it was different, it was my country. I liked to believe that even though I had lived abroad most of my life, I had a strong acquaintance with my home. Finally, I could meet up with old friends and family, eat the food I love and walk through its busy streets.
The weather was a warm embrace compared to the scorching lash that I was familiar with in the UAE. But all of this was forgotten when I heard the voice of an airport official greeting me. The words danced on my eardrums briefly before allowing me to absorb them. The words were so simple but listening to the uniqueness of the Egyptian dialect gave me deep pleasure. Now I was home.

I spoke nothing but Arabic, with my cousins, my friends and with everyone I met, from street vendors to taxi drivers. After a few weeks had gone by, one of my cousins came to visit from Canada. It had been over a year since I last saw her and we immediately struck up a conversation, talking about what’s new in our lives, how it is living where we live and such. Suddenly I realized we had been talking in English, for the first time since being in Egypt I was talking in English. When the rest of my cousins came over to my house we sat down to play a popular card game in Egypt. Everyone spoke Arabic, the game was more of a heated exchange of jokes and laughter than a real game, but nonetheless, it was great.
An hour after midnight my Friends and cousins went back to their homes and the house was drenched in silence. The only person left was my cousin from Canada who sat with me watching TV. She was looking at me in the most peculiar way, I was so perplexed that I just had to ask what she was thinking. She told me that I was completely different when talking in Arabic than I am when talking English. “Really?” That’s all I could say as my mind backtracked through the times I spoke the two languages as I tried to decipher between them. At first, I didn’t think of it too much, but the more I spoke, the more I became self-conscious of my personality and how I interacted with others. Which personality of mine was better? was I funnier in Arabic or English? It was something I didn't really understand.

Then came the day when some friends and I were watching an Arabic movie it had gone to a commercial break. It was fun watching Arabic commercials as they were sure to make us laugh. One of the funniest ones was a coca cola commercial and caused us to all break out in laughter, well all of us except my cousin; she didn't seem to get it. I suddenly realized that English commercials are not seen as a form of entertainment as they are here in Egypt. I then noticed that my cousin mostly spoke English and was not acquainted with the Egyptian cultural markers and pop culture icons, which is most like;y why she didn't understand the commercial. Then it hit me, our culture and our language shapes who we are, so since I am exposed to different cultural markers and appropriations from tow different languages I am different when speaking each one. So in the same way that some words cannot be translated into other languages, some personal and cultural traits cannot be translated either.

After coming to this realization, I felt more content understanding a bit more about myself and I went back to enjoying the movie with my friends and family. 

The Mother Tongue

Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and discrimination. you may hear these words and think that they don't apply to you. but whether you admit it or not, we all either face them or use them. Think of a certain nationality or race - (Mexican, American, Asian). now think of their personality, how would they act? what would they look like? would they have an accent? If you answered any of these questions, then you have been stereotypical or culturally biased. This is because there is no true way of determining answers to such questions without actually meeting the person. Language has proven to be one of the major attributes of a personality that can cause people to be discriminated against.

"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan is a great example of how language can have an impact on how people may treat you if you travel to a foreign country. the story highlights and brings forth the suffering that Tan's mother had to endure living in the U.S speaking broken English. It was shocking to see the extent of the issues that arise as a result of this. It seems unfair to me that people all over the world - not only in the west - can be insulted, abused, refused essential services such as health care, and treated differently overall as a result of the tongue in which they speak. I tried once to picture any reasons as to why this occurs and kept asking myself questions such as Could they be perceived as less literate or intelligent due to the fact that they can't speak a certain language? Could they be misunderstood due to the language barrier? or does the accent or language in which they speak emphasize the stereotypes that are associated with their race? to me, those reasons didn't make sense and were definitely not significant enough to justify why people treat others in such ways. I also felt that this was not the main reason that caused people to discriminate against different people. then it hit me, the word different is always used when describing foreigners. It has been proven that humans are not the biggest fans of change due to the feeling os loss of control, concerns about competence and loss of face("why people hate change". Harvard Business Review. 2012. 2016). I feel that this is the most significant cause of the abuse towards the foreign population. In fact, the specific name for the hatred of foreigners is called Xenophobia or the unreasonable fear or prejudice against people from different countries (dictionary.com. 2016). However, the main word we should be focusing on here is "Unreasonable". That is the best way of describing such a strange phenomenon. the more i think about it the more i realize that the way this world functions when addressing this topic is wrong and that there is truly no reason for the injustice and prejudice that occurs all over the world. I hope that eventually, people will be able to accept and accommodate different people and live sided by side in a single community.

By the way, be sure to let me know if you or someone you know has had a similar experience, or talk to me about your concerns in general!!!

The Mother Tongue

Cultural Bias, Stereotypes, and discrimination. you may hear these words and think that they don't apply to you. but whether you admit it or not, we all either face them or use them. Think of a certain nationality or race - (Mexican, American, Asian). now think of their personality, how would they act? what would they look like? would they have an accent? If you answered any of these questions, then you have been stereotypical or culturally biased. This is because there is no true way of determining answers to such questions without actually meeting the person. Language has proven to be one of the major attributes of a personality that can cause people to be discriminated against.

"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan is a great example of how language can have an impact on how people may treat you if you travel to a foreign country. the story highlights and brings forth the suffering that Tan's mother had to endure living in the U.S speaking broken English. It was shocking to see the extent of the issues that arise as a result of this. It seems unfair to me that people all over the world - not only in the west - can be insulted, abused, refused essential services such as health care, and treated differently overall as a result of the tongue in which they speak. I tried once to picture any reasons as to why this occurs and kept asking myself questions such as Could they be perceived as less literate or intelligent due to the fact that they can't speak a certain language? Could they be misunderstood due to the language barrier? or does the accent or language in which they speak emphasize the stereotypes that are associated with their race? to me, those reasons didn't make sense and were definitely not significant enough to justify why people treat others in such ways. I also felt that this was not the main reason that caused people to discriminate against different people. then it hit me, the word different is always used when describing foreigners. It has been proven that humans are not the biggest fans of change due to the feeling os loss of control, concerns about competence and loss of face("why people hate change". Harvard Business Review. 2012. 2016). I feel that this is the most significant cause of the abuse towards the foreign population. In fact, the specific name for the hatred of foreigners is called Xenophobia or the unreasonable fear or prejudice against people from different countries (dictionary.com. 2016). However, the main word we should be focusing on here is "Unreasonable". That is the best way of describing such a strange phenomenon. the more i think about it the more i realize that the way this world functions when addressing this topic is wrong and that there is truly no reason for the injustice and prejudice that occurs all over the world. I hope that eventually, people will be able to accept and accommodate different people and live sided by side in a single community.

By the way, be sure to let me know if you or someone you know has ahad a similar experience or talk to me about your concerns in general!!!

The Name That Is 'Omar'

I never really thought much of my name and what it really means to me. I was indifferent to it. I liked it because it was the name my parents had given to me and that it was nice and simple - just 4 letters that were easy to pronounce. But today in English as we talked about identity and how names can possibly have influence over identity I decided to dig deeper into myself and begin to understand one of the essential parts of my master identity. 

The story of my name begins in 579 A.D with the birth of Omar Ibn Al Khattab, a tall physically powerful man renowned for his skills in horse riding, swordsmanship, wrestling, and literacy. Once strongly opposed to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, - he came close to assassinating him - Ibn Al Khattab eventually became one of the closest friends of the Prophet and was the one who inspired the Muslims to practice their religion openly. On the day of his conversion he stood in front of his polytheist tribe and prayed openly and dared anyone to stop him or other Muslims from doing so, his power was so great such that not a single person dared to come closer. He went on to become the second leader or caliph of the Islamic world after the death of the Prophet and came to be known for his kindness, intelligence but most of all his bravery. He led his army all the way to the far reaches of Spain spreading the religion of Islam peacefully. In fact, he ordered his army to leave the natives of the land in peace and allowed them their freedom of religion. Before becoming Caliph, Ibn Al-Khattab was the master architect of the Islamic world and built many cities to form the caliphate. It was no doubt that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab was a great man, listed #52 on the list of the 100 most influential men in history it is impossible to negate his legacy amongst the Arab world. 

Now to find a connection between the name and my personality. Personally, I feel that I have a strong connection between my personality and my name based on some of Omar Ibn Al Khattab's Characteristics and ideas. I believe that I embody some important aspects of his personality such as intelligence and kindness and dedication to culture and religion. 

Cultural Markers

Cultural Markers are certain facets of our society that can indicate some of our cultural norms that may only be understood by that culture. These cultural markers are used extensively in many aspects of our lives such as advertising to target or reach out to a specific group or population of people. One of the best examples of cultural markers is Mcdonalds Ads or - to be more specific - the diversity that can be observed in Mcdonald's Ads depending on the country targeted. Each country responds differently to different things. For example, in China people may respond well to cute animated animals in Mcdonald's advertisements. However, this would receive a completely different response in the west as people like to dissolve the connection between the animals and the meat in the burgers. 

In Egypt, cultural markers play a major role in society: in our jokes, tv shows, advertisements and much more. one of the most important cultural markers has to do with the Holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of prosperity, forgiveness, generosity and patience in the Muslim world and is a major event in Egypt. Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset showing patience and commitment to God. One of the symbols directly connected to this month and has become a cultural marker in Egypt is the Cannon. Every day in Ramadan as the sun dips below the horizon and gives way to the stars. The great boom of the cannon echoes through the city, ricocheting off of the tall buildings. The firing of the cannon triggers the breaking of the fast and allows people to finally indulge in the lavish feasts that await them. This tradition began during the reign of the Ottoman empire to announce that it was time to break their fast. This was essential at the time as people did not wear watches and there were no clocks hung up in people's homes. Before cannons were available people would use the shade cast off of a stick to determine the time but this causes some variation between when people were breaking their fast, so the cannon was a way to unify the people and have one specific time to break the fast. 

This cultural marker can be misunderstood or misinterpreted by other cultures in many ways due to the true nature of a cannon. Our belief is contrary to popular belief that the cannon is a symbol of power, destruction, war, and intimidation. Instead, it represents Ramadan - a holy time - and prosperity, generosity and an end to a struggle. This, however, is what makes this cultural marker specific and unique to my culture. The use of this symbol is seen in various forms of pop culture, media and advertisements so the understanding of this symbol will allow for you to become involved socially with the culture and recognize that the firing of the canon signals a specific event. 

I would be interested to hear some of your cultural markers so don't forget to comment below!!!