Showing posts with label writings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writings. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Writing- The Rhetorical Situation
Understanding the rhetorical situation can helps contribute to strong, audience-focused, and organized writing. The PowerPoint presentation in the Media box above is suitable for any classroom and any writing task. The resources below explain in more detail the idea of the rhetorical situation and can be used along with the PowerPoint saffecides.
The Rhetorical Situation
Writing instructors, and other professionals who study rhetoric, use the phrase “rhetorical situation” to refer to any set of circumstances that involve at least one person using some sort of communication to modify the perspective of at least one other person. In this context, “rhetoric” means any communication used to modify the perspectives of others.
Doesn’t “Rhetoric” Mean Something Like “Persuasion”?
Yes and no. Throughout much of history, “rhetoric” used to have a more narrow meaning like “the art of persuasion.” However, over the course of the 20th century, “rhetoric” came to be used as a descriptor for all use of communication (ancient Greeks known as the Sophists also had a broader view of the term "rhetoric"). The simplest explanation for this is that “rhetoric” in the persuasive sense implies an effort on the part of speakers to get what they want out of other people.
The newer sense of “rhetoric” implies that whenever humans communicate with other humans, they seek to elicit any number of responses ranging from understanding to emotional reaction to agreement to enlightenment or any one of almost limitless reactions. At its most basic, communication is the set of methods whereby humans attempt to identify with each other.
“The” Rhetorical Situation vs. “A” Rhetorical Situation
There is no one singular rhetorical situation that applies to all communication. Rather, all human efforts to communicate occur within innumerable individual rhetorical situations that are particular to those specific moments of communication. Even so, each individual rhetorical situation shares common elements with all other rhetorical situations.
Elements of a Rhetorical Situation
Every rhetorical situation has a four basic components: an author, an audience, a text of some sort, and a context in and through which each situation occurs. All these terms (author, audience, text, and context) are fairly loose in their definitions and all of them affect each other. Also, all these terms have a specific qualities that affect the ways that they interact with the other term. Below, you will find basic definitions of each term, a brief discussion of the qualities of each term, and then finally, a series of examples which illustrate various rhetorical situations.
Author
“Author” is a fairly loose term used to refer to anyone who uses communication. An author could be one person or many people. An author could be someone who uses writing (like in a book), speech (like in a debate), visual elements (like in a TV commercial), audio elements (like in a radio broadcast), or even tactile elements (as is used in making Braille) to communicate.
Whatever authors create, authors are unavoidably human beings whose particular activities are affected by these general constraints: authors have specific purposes that guide their actions in communicating, authors have a specific attitudes which affect what and how they communicate, and authors have specific backgrounds that inform the nature of their communication.
Author’s Purpose
Author’s Attitude
Attitude is a much overlooked element of rhetorical situations, but it affects a great deal of how a rhetorical situation unfolds. Consider if an author communicates with a flippant attitude as opposed to a serious attitude, or with drama as opposed to comedy, or calmly as opposed to excitedly. Depending on authors’ purposes, audiences’ specific qualities, the nature of the context, and other factors, any of these attitudes could either help or hinder authors in their efforts to communicate depending on the other factors in any given rhetorical situation.
Author’s Background
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, December 24, 2010
Pennsylvania Dutch English
Do you know that even though there are many English dialects in USA, one of them stands out and would be recognized easily how different it is from other dialects. Pennsylvania Dutch English is dialect located in Pennsylvania where it is significantly influenced by contact with English language and is unrecognizable to most Americans. It is known for “attempting to speak English as a literal translation of the German Idiom and known for its unique Pronunciation” (Wilson 1). Approximately 250,000 people in North America speak this language and it is derived from descendent of 17th and 18th century US immigrants from Germany and its surroundings. “It has reached the popular magazine article, where its oddities of vocabulary match the social characteristics of its people in affording amusement to the casual reader” (Page 203). Additionally, even though Pennsylvania Dutch is unique in its own way, it is gradually disappearing from print.
As mentioned, Pennsylvania Dutch speakers tries to speak English in term of German’s set of phrase. Each part of Pennsylvania Dutch speakers have small differentiation in the way they speak. For example, Snyder County, instead of saying ‘drinking glasses’, they will say‘drink glasses’; or ‘drink water’ instead of ‘drinking water’. They would also say ‘He saw me yesterday’ as in he did not see me until yesterday. There are also other examples, where they use sentences without a true subject. For example, if a Pennsylvania Dutch wife had a sudden pain in her back while working on something, they would probably say ‘my wife she was sweeping the bed from in under out, and it flew her in the back’. This might seems confusing to you, but it is perfectly understandable by Pennsylvania Dutch speakers.
There are also some words that are often used in unusual way in this dialect. For example, the verb ‘make’ is a verb that is generally used in Pennsylvania Dutch. They would say sentences or phrases such as ‘it makes down’ as in it is raining; or ‘this pig of my own make’ as it is of my own butchering; or ‘it is getting ready to make’ as in to rain. Another verb that is often used as well is ‘want in’ and ‘want out’ where the verbs ‘to go’ and ‘to come’ are absent. ‘Want in’ means go and ‘want out’ means come. You could say ‘you want out’ as in ‘you go’ or ‘the dog want in’ as in ‘the dog come’ where “ the preposition seems to take on the activating force of the verb” (Wilson 3). There are all different kinds of examples about different words Pennsylvanian Germans take for granted, but that is not all, there are also different ways of how different groups among them talk, depending if they are educated or not.
` Among Pennsylvania Dutch speakers, there are levels of speech. Educated people such as doctors, lawyers, or professors, would use words like, ‘machine’ (automobile), ‘pike’ (highway), ‘sledding’, ‘sidewalk’, gravy ‘dressing’, and ‘outing’ (picnic). They also often use “present for the past tense and of the perfect or the past for the past perfect tense” (Page 204). For example, they might say ‘He said he came three week ago’ or ‘I wasn’t here five minute when he came’ or ‘I asked him did he do it’. These kinds of examples are highly used by educated people in Pennsylvania more than anywhere else. On the other hand, average speakers share some common characteristics with educated people’s speech, but there are additional characteristics that distinguish both speeches. For example, they use the verb or noun ‘blutz’ instead of bounce or bump, and the noun ‘tut’ for paper bag. They also have a different ways of spelling some words. For example, if you ask average person to spell Smith, he “will spell it mechanically with equal stress and spacing from letter to letter” (Page 205). Instead of spelling it S M I T H, instead he will say SM I Th. SM and TH will be quickly pronounced while I will be the slowest. This is the way the average person spells most of the words.
Pennsylvania Dutch speakers also include a unique way of writing their newspaper. They often write in a tone that we usually never use while writing a formal article. They usually use words and sentences such as ‘spritz’, or ‘I will a few lines to you about the work’, or ‘Why it’s to far to work’, or ‘I have no machine to go’ or ‘blutz’ or ‘outen the light’. For example, “ ‘Rutchie’ appears regularly in print, as in this tipical headline from Reading Times: ‘City Police to Patrol Eight Rutchie’(Streets for the use of sleds); put the verb ‘rutch’(to slide) only occur in speech (Page 205). Unfortunately today, this unique way of writing is decreasing, and instead “Reading Times” irregularly publish an article in Pennsylvania German often for the purpose of laughter.
In conclusion, Pennsylvania Dutch is a very unique American English dialect since for one reason; you can distinguish easily how different it is from other English dialects. It is only spoken by a small portion of Pennsylvanians and its surroundings. It is influenced by both English and German’s rules of speech. Pennsylvania Dutch will probably continue to be spoken in it regions, proven by these examples shown above. Perhaps, it might yield to standard American English but there is no sign that it will yield to it quickly.
Work Cited
Page, Eugene R. "ENGLISH IN THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN AREA." American Speech 12.3 (1937): 203. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
Wilson, Arthur Herman. "ENGLISH SPOKEN BY PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS IN SNYDER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA." American Speech 23.3/4 (1948): 236. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
busygirl thanks indeed
As mentioned, Pennsylvania Dutch speakers tries to speak English in term of German’s set of phrase. Each part of Pennsylvania Dutch speakers have small differentiation in the way they speak. For example, Snyder County, instead of saying ‘drinking glasses’, they will say‘drink glasses’; or ‘drink water’ instead of ‘drinking water’. They would also say ‘He saw me yesterday’ as in he did not see me until yesterday. There are also other examples, where they use sentences without a true subject. For example, if a Pennsylvania Dutch wife had a sudden pain in her back while working on something, they would probably say ‘my wife she was sweeping the bed from in under out, and it flew her in the back’. This might seems confusing to you, but it is perfectly understandable by Pennsylvania Dutch speakers.
There are also some words that are often used in unusual way in this dialect. For example, the verb ‘make’ is a verb that is generally used in Pennsylvania Dutch. They would say sentences or phrases such as ‘it makes down’ as in it is raining; or ‘this pig of my own make’ as it is of my own butchering; or ‘it is getting ready to make’ as in to rain. Another verb that is often used as well is ‘want in’ and ‘want out’ where the verbs ‘to go’ and ‘to come’ are absent. ‘Want in’ means go and ‘want out’ means come. You could say ‘you want out’ as in ‘you go’ or ‘the dog want in’ as in ‘the dog come’ where “ the preposition seems to take on the activating force of the verb” (Wilson 3). There are all different kinds of examples about different words Pennsylvanian Germans take for granted, but that is not all, there are also different ways of how different groups among them talk, depending if they are educated or not.
` Among Pennsylvania Dutch speakers, there are levels of speech. Educated people such as doctors, lawyers, or professors, would use words like, ‘machine’ (automobile), ‘pike’ (highway), ‘sledding’, ‘sidewalk’, gravy ‘dressing’, and ‘outing’ (picnic). They also often use “present for the past tense and of the perfect or the past for the past perfect tense” (Page 204). For example, they might say ‘He said he came three week ago’ or ‘I wasn’t here five minute when he came’ or ‘I asked him did he do it’. These kinds of examples are highly used by educated people in Pennsylvania more than anywhere else. On the other hand, average speakers share some common characteristics with educated people’s speech, but there are additional characteristics that distinguish both speeches. For example, they use the verb or noun ‘blutz’ instead of bounce or bump, and the noun ‘tut’ for paper bag. They also have a different ways of spelling some words. For example, if you ask average person to spell Smith, he “will spell it mechanically with equal stress and spacing from letter to letter” (Page 205). Instead of spelling it S M I T H, instead he will say SM I Th. SM and TH will be quickly pronounced while I will be the slowest. This is the way the average person spells most of the words.
Pennsylvania Dutch speakers also include a unique way of writing their newspaper. They often write in a tone that we usually never use while writing a formal article. They usually use words and sentences such as ‘spritz’, or ‘I will a few lines to you about the work’, or ‘Why it’s to far to work’, or ‘I have no machine to go’ or ‘blutz’ or ‘outen the light’. For example, “ ‘Rutchie’ appears regularly in print, as in this tipical headline from Reading Times: ‘City Police to Patrol Eight Rutchie’(Streets for the use of sleds); put the verb ‘rutch’(to slide) only occur in speech (Page 205). Unfortunately today, this unique way of writing is decreasing, and instead “Reading Times” irregularly publish an article in Pennsylvania German often for the purpose of laughter.
In conclusion, Pennsylvania Dutch is a very unique American English dialect since for one reason; you can distinguish easily how different it is from other English dialects. It is only spoken by a small portion of Pennsylvanians and its surroundings. It is influenced by both English and German’s rules of speech. Pennsylvania Dutch will probably continue to be spoken in it regions, proven by these examples shown above. Perhaps, it might yield to standard American English but there is no sign that it will yield to it quickly.
Work Cited
Page, Eugene R. "ENGLISH IN THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN AREA." American Speech 12.3 (1937): 203. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
Wilson, Arthur Herman. "ENGLISH SPOKEN BY PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS IN SNYDER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA." American Speech 23.3/4 (1948): 236. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Dec. 2010.
busygirl thanks indeed
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Regret
I placed the receiver down with trembling
fingers. I felt my heart pound unceasingly against my chest. The
tears that flew down my cheeks were hot and raw with emotion.
For some reason, guilt and hurt oozed out of my veins. How long
was it since I saw her? How long since I actually left aside my
busy schedule, picked up the phone and called to ask her if she
was alright? How long since I saw her face and felt the warmth of
her tender touch? How long did I let myself cry in front of her,
allowing her to block the flow of tears just like I did when I was in
high school?
When did I last wake up the sound of her
voice saying ‘’ PRABHU! BREAKFAST! ’’ And rush down stairs to
see the steam of the waffles rise up high in the air? How long
since I sat beside her and talked to her, even for just a few hours?
How long since I stared at her blank eyelids while she lay fast
asleep, and thank God for such a wonderful blessing? How long
since I heard her sigh while she hugged me so tight after my
journeys abroad? Three years. Three years since I last saw her
and three years since I felt all that. And now lying lifelessly in my
isolated apartment I realized it was too late. Too late to go back,
even for a day and ask for those moments and those lost feelings.
I sat up on my bed, and stared blankly at the
wall in front of me. The stinging of the veins on my head was in-
curable. I was in a slight state of shock and realized that the front
of my t-shirt was drenched in the tears that flew from my naked
eyes. And now I realized one more thing. I wouldn’t be able to see
her again. This time I had no voice at the back of my head saying
‘’ I have nothing to worry I am going to see her … in a month or in
a year’’ instead that voice was replaced by ‘’ I can never see her,
again...’’
Except this one last time… I walked to the hall
where her corpse lay. The whole crowd of mourners made way for
me. My gaze focused only on the person that was ahead of me. I
looked down upon her angelic face, took her hand and watched
my tears fall over her eyes. ‘’Forgive me mother’’ were the last
words my voice would ever whisper into her ears.
writing by maryam93
thanks indeed
fingers. I felt my heart pound unceasingly against my chest. The
tears that flew down my cheeks were hot and raw with emotion.
For some reason, guilt and hurt oozed out of my veins. How long
was it since I saw her? How long since I actually left aside my
busy schedule, picked up the phone and called to ask her if she
was alright? How long since I saw her face and felt the warmth of
her tender touch? How long did I let myself cry in front of her,
allowing her to block the flow of tears just like I did when I was in
high school?
When did I last wake up the sound of her
voice saying ‘’ PRABHU! BREAKFAST! ’’ And rush down stairs to
see the steam of the waffles rise up high in the air? How long
since I sat beside her and talked to her, even for just a few hours?
How long since I stared at her blank eyelids while she lay fast
asleep, and thank God for such a wonderful blessing? How long
since I heard her sigh while she hugged me so tight after my
journeys abroad? Three years. Three years since I last saw her
and three years since I felt all that. And now lying lifelessly in my
isolated apartment I realized it was too late. Too late to go back,
even for a day and ask for those moments and those lost feelings.
I sat up on my bed, and stared blankly at the
wall in front of me. The stinging of the veins on my head was in-
curable. I was in a slight state of shock and realized that the front
of my t-shirt was drenched in the tears that flew from my naked
eyes. And now I realized one more thing. I wouldn’t be able to see
her again. This time I had no voice at the back of my head saying
‘’ I have nothing to worry I am going to see her … in a month or in
a year’’ instead that voice was replaced by ‘’ I can never see her,
again...’’
Except this one last time… I walked to the hall
where her corpse lay. The whole crowd of mourners made way for
me. My gaze focused only on the person that was ahead of me. I
looked down upon her angelic face, took her hand and watched
my tears fall over her eyes. ‘’Forgive me mother’’ were the last
words my voice would ever whisper into her ears.
writing by maryam93
thanks indeed
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A Study on Chomsky’s Propaganda Model, and an Examination of whether it confirms the Mass Media Coverage of the Vietnam War?
The Vietnam War is considered to be one of the most controversial wars in American History. During the early 1960’s, a civil war emerged between North Vietnam and South Vietnam posing the threat of communism over the country. This was not acceptable to the United States government and thus felt it was its responsibility to interfere and bring peace to the Asian region. The war was widely criticized and the mass media hosted many debates for and against the war. Some of the difficult issues debated were: the cost of the war, United States’ right to get involved in foreign conflicts, death toll of Americans soldiers, and the amount of money that had been spent by US and its allies. The mass media’s primary function according to Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman is to increase the public support without being controlled by any elites while helping the government and private sectors to achieve their basic principles. Chomsky and Herman, the authors of Manufacturing Consent, explain how the mass media operate by defining a propaganda model. “The propaganda model is an analytic framework that attempts to explain the performance of the US media in terms of the basic institutional structure and relationship within which they operate” (2). Chomsky and Herman explain the propaganda model by dividing it into five filters. These five filters are ownership (profit oriented), funding (advertisement), sourcing (interviewing the elites), flak (criticism to pressure the mass media to change it coverage), and anti-communism. If the mass media introduces the government’s ideology, did the Vietnam War confirm with Chomsky’s Propaganda model?
The mass media as defined by Chomsky and Herman while working to achieve their own interest helps portray the governments' ideology and supports them as well. The mass media and the government do not portray the whole truth but instead promote news mixed with falsehood for their own agenda. They only say what people want to hear while gaining profit and reversing the roles of victims and criminals (Chomsky and Herman 1-2). This is all part of their Propaganda. The Propaganda Model according to Chomsky and Herman in this case basically explains the media’s behavior and performance. The Propaganda Model explains how the media promotes specific codes and values to the public that would incorporate them to a massive role in their society. It also explains how the mass media promotes these believes basically for money and power, and how they permit the government and elites to get their point across to the public (Chomsky and Herman 2). In addition to this, it should be known that the government and private sectors do NOT control the mass media and command them to promote their values; rather it is with their own free will. According to Chomsky and Herman, “the propaganda model focuses on the inequality of wealth and power and its multilevel effects on mass media interests and choices” (Chomsky and Herman 2). The elite such as the government, with the mass media’s help use money and power to influence the mass media and convey their ideology to the public. According to Patterson III, the author of “Television's Living Room War in Print: Vietnam in the News Magazine”, the Mass media critics and historians concurred that the media played an important role in both how the war was won or lost, and on emphasizing the government’s decision in this period (1). Therefore, the mass media, not just the government, would take flak for their portrayal; since it helps the government promote their ideology about the Vietnam War, so that the government easily commits their crimes against Vietnamese. Also, the mass media does not report all the news that occurred at that time. Also, “ the same underlying power sources that own the mass media and funds them as advertisers, that produce flak and proper-thinking experts, also play a role in fixing basic principles” (Chomsky and Herman I). This explains how the mass media serves the interests of the elite while publicizing the information provided by the government. It also explains how the media increases the money by the elites, while trying to promote their ideology for their own advantage and changing the actual news.
Chomsky and Herman created a process called “filtering” where the real news is filtered or altered by the mass media. Filtering is basically a process that explains how the mass media focuses on news that benefits them and the governments as well. The mass media before broadcasting their news, they get a lot of information, and since it is impossible to broadcast all the information, they only pick what will promote them and increase their popularity (Chomsky and Herman 2). The mass media throughout the war represented the idea that many of the US soldiers died to “protect” Vietnam, to hide their crime and promote their popularity. Even though Vietnam in this case is the real victim, the Mass media still viewed and portrayed the US as the real victim (Anderson 48). The United States were the “real victims” because according to the mass media, the United States tried to help Vietnam with their conflict while they lost many soldiers and money. In more detail, “ Almost from the moment those soldiers started humping through the jungles of South Vietnam, journalists publicized their acts of bravery and cruelty, feelings of loneliness and comradeship and bitterness, and expressions of patriotism and manliness” (Huebner 10). The mass media portrayed the soldiers as saviors of the war, whereas the soldiers were distressed with the conditions and the death toll of their fellow soldiers. The mass media rarely stressed about the death toll of Vietnamese citizens. The mass media for many years showed the United States as the victim of the Vietnam War making hard to distinguish what is the real truth to the public. On the other hand, the Vietnamese were portrayed as immoral, but in reality the mass media suppressed the facts on the outcome of war and made the victims look evil while creating myths (Chomsky and Herman XXXIV). Soldiers were all being portrayed as heroic; however the argument remained whether the mass media showed too much or not enough.
The Vietnam War came when television was the primary source for news. “Never before in history has a nation allowed its citizens to view uncensored scenes of combat destruction and atrocities in their living rooms, in living color” (Chomsky and Herman 199). With television now, public were able to view what happening in Vietnam, such as mass destruction, that were not available to see in the past. Addition to that, with television, the mass media only showed positive aspects about the Vietnam War and approved of the United State involvement in the war (Anderson 52). Television also played a big role creating myths about American’s involvement in the war. The mass media could easily promote a false idea about the war through television and make it believable. Before 1968, “for example, of those military operations reported on television in which some conclusion was offered as to who won or lost, 62 percent were reported as victories for the U.S and its allies, 28 percents as defeats, 2 percents as stalemates” (Hallin 8). This means that the mass media ignored the defeat of US military and instead, most of the time, only showed the battles that the US won. When they expose US military losing a battle, it was only a small percentage, making the public believe that the US is winning. At that time, it was not easy to distinguish who won or lost, but the mass media made it believable that the US military is gaining a victory. The positive assessments of the overall military situation in Vietnam outnumbered negative assessments by ten to one in television coverage” (Hallin 8). Since positive assessment was ten to one, it was very hard for viewers to think about US military might lose, which mean that the mass media did contribute to fixing some basic myths about the Vietnam War that were not necessary true. Even though, there was broadcasting of villages being destroyed, and civilians killed, it did not promote public to oppose the war but instead promote US involvement in Vietnam’s conflict (Hallin 9). The mass media made it even more harder to consider US losing, by drawing the idea, that the US have powerful weapons and military, that it would be hard for the enemies to defeat them. “News reporting assumed that given the superiority of American weapons, a constant feature of coverage, the enemy would surely be defeated” (Anderson 50). Eventually, the mass media trick of portraying that the enemy will lose helped stop the public from opposing the war for a while but it did not last. In conclusion, television played a role, promoting US ‘victory and making public oppose the war at the end.
One of the large criticisms about the media is it constantly promoted US soldiers as “heroes” while covering up their lies as stated above. According to the article, “My Lai: The Struggle over Outrage”, by Truda Gray and Brian Martin, the mass media always portrayed the American soldiers as innocent of all their actions toward Vietnam no matter how guilty the soldiers were. The United States led a forged investigation to represent them as always being fair. The article classified these types of actions into five methods that the Commanders of United States and their allies used to compose the idea of the United States being a savior toward Vietnam. These methods were “covering up evidence; devaluing the victims; reinterpreting the episode as a military victory; setting up superficial investigations that gave the appearance of justice; and intimidating those who might speak out” (Gray and Martin 1). The mass media at the time of Vietnam War always covered up evidence that would reduce the support for the war. They also sometimes made up fake examinations that would portray the Vietnamese as the criminals and US soldiers as the saviors, even though that not the case. No matter how much crime the United States forces committed toward Vietnam, the mass media always tried to find a way to justify the US forces’ actions.
One image of a little Vietnamese girl expressed the horror of the Vietnam War proving that the war took many innocent civilians from Vietnam. This girl, named was Kim Phuc, signified the human cost in Vietnam. Her image showed how the US was after bombing Kim and her two cousins as well. Kim Phuc expressed guilt, sorrow, and pain when the US military announced this attack as “unintentional” (Anderson 58). If the attack was just an accident, then the government would try to support the US right to interfere with Vietnam’s conflict. In other words, any time the mass media portrayed the killing of Vietnamese as the accidental, it becomes acceptable, but as the war continues, and as we notice more “accidental” death, it cannot be comprehended that it is an error. In fact, “the years of U.S. military intervention witnessed the deaths of over 1.9 million Vietnamese, 200,000 Cambodians, and 100,000 Laotians” (Anderson 59). In addition to this witness of many “accidental” deaths, the fact that now people can witness an actual victim in pictures, an innocent girl, and knowing her actual name, it is realized even more that there is something wrong in this war. The picture makes the public realize that there isn’t justice in this war since there are innocent children such as Kim Phuc who had been killed and humiliated.
During the chaos of the Tet offensive, North Vietnam invaded every part of South Vietnam. A military campaign fought alongside with the allies against the National Liberation front and Peoples' Army of Vietnam with the intention to topple the Saigon government. The United States and South Vietnam were surprised when North Vietnam had the ability to attack them with strong military army. The United States was always portrayed as the strongest in the whole world to the public promoting the belief that there is no country that would be able to beat them or bypass their power. Eventually, the public were shocked when they found out that the communists were capable of starting such a huge effort against the US and its allies. This goes back to the propaganda model that the mass media use to portray the United State as capable of defeating anything that their enemies for sure would not be able to surpass them. Eventually, “the mass media coverage of the Tet offensive had been the centerpiece of the mass media for ‘losing the war’ by their incompetent reporting and their anti-government bias reflecting their passion for confronting authority” (Chomsky and Herman 211). The mass media portrayed the United States as powerful enough to defeat the communists and that it is their duty to get rid of the communist, to the public. The public eventually realized that the US made a mistake in launching the Vietnam War, which led to the defeat. The mass media was then blamed because it created myths about the Vietnam War and portrayed the United States as a winner, helping to the lost of the support in the war.
Eventually, the mass media not just the US military blamed for the consequences of the Tet Offensive. “The mass media turned the public against the war by leaving the impression that the Tet was a defeat for the American and South Vietnamese forces. But the Tet Offensive was not a victory for the North Vietnamese” (Anderson 53). The mass media persuaded again the victims were the American and the South Vietnamese forces after their loss and that the “criminals” North Vietnamese won. Even though the fact this is not entirely true, since the North Vietnam suffered more losses and more territories than the South and the Americans. “But with the public, against the war because of the press coverage, the military could no longer fight the victory and instead had to end the war in defeat” (Anderson 53). Since the public realized the war was injustice and since US with great surprise lost the fight, it was impossible to win it. Moreover, since the US was not a capable of launching a “total victory” in the mass media coverage of the Tet, it supported the claim that the mass media was disloyal during this war that was misrepresented from the beginning (Anderson 53).
The incident of My Lai (South Vietnam district of Son My) Massacre was one of the most important incidents in Vietnam War. 500 people died in this village in an operation conducted by the US Army in March 1968, of which the majority of victims were women, children, and elderly. At that time, “the news of the massacre at My Lai had taken twenty months to reach the American public”(Anderson 56). The mass media ignored the My Lai incident and decided not to mention it for a long time. Eventually, “there were many who accepted, rationalized, or fully justified the killings as being a normal part of war in which soldiers were doing their duty” (Gray and Martin 12). In addition, during this incident, when an officer was charged with mass murder, at the end the charge was dropped. Instead of investigating the situation of My Lai massacre, the lieutenant was then blamed such as an officer for everything. The mass media would never blame the soldiers since “the Supreme Court had ruled earlier that US soldiers could not be charged in civilian courts for crimes committed outside the country” (Gray and Martin 14). In the conclusion the audience thought that United States government was responsible for the tragedies but had only a diminished role in it as observed. This was all due to US government being responsible for this situation with the mass media helping them cover up all the criminal activities which led to My Lai. Additionally, “ My Lai did not prompt the mass media generally- there were some individual exceptions-to take a deeper look at the nature of the war, or to display an interest in reports of similar events in nearby areas that suggested its unexceptional character” (Chomsky and Herman 198). This meant that the My Lai massacre was less important in the mass media compared to other events such as the death toll of American Soldiers, how they struggled, and showing them as heroes and saviors, which eventually led to the anti-war.
The anti-war movements of the Vietnam War were one of the most important outcomes of the ongoing conflict between the relationship of the United States involvement in this war and the mass media. For the first time a war that was exposed and debated through the public of the United States. The anti-war movement was composed of independent interests such as journalists and labor unions who worked to mainly oppose the Vietnam War and the way the mass media covered this war. It was also composed of the coverage of anti-protesters that dominated television while the crime conducted by US soldiers was forgotten. The mass media focused instead on the anti-war protests that were against the United States because these protesters would reveal to the public what is really happening in Vietnam and the mass media wanted to stop this act. Focusing on these protesters or other subjects such as soldiers being “heroes”, would also take the American public mind away from focusing on the crime happening in Vietnam. Unfortunately, this plan did not last and the American public became against the Vietnam War believing it was a mistake. Chomsky and Herman examined “how as the war progressed, elite opinion gradually shifted to the belief that the U.S intervention was a “tragic mistake” that was proving too costly” (172). The elite expressed their idea of the Vietnam War that the United States should not have involved itself in a war that has nothing to do with them. It resulted in great expense since for example there were victims from both sides, the United States and Vietnam.
The cruelest critic about the mainstream mass media was that it portrayed the United States involvement in this war as a way of helping with the civil war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Although by 1969, it had become the most worlds and most Americans that the United States linking itself to the Vietnam War was a terrible misdeed (Chomsky and Herman 173). The mass media throughout the war portrayed that the US had the right to interfere with the Vietnamese to stop the civil war happening in that country. Even thought, when the war was coming to an end, “A war that had for years been characterized as “ winnable”, “clean”, and “just” had suddenly became brutal, messy, and costly” (Anderson 51). It is estimated that 223, 748 Vietnamese soldiers died compared to only 58,148 American soldiers, and the US spent 140 billion dollars over a war that could have been avoided. However, most of the Americans realized at the end that, the Vietnam War, “was a delusion to attempt to build a nation on the American model in South Vietnam” (Chomsky and Herman 173). Basically, the mass media and government made an illusion to defend entering the Vietnam War as necessary for defending South Vietnam from North Vietnam’s Communism. Although, the US was to create a nation that would confront with the American system in South Vietnam, it failed when the war finished. Even though, the mass media, most of the days, talked about how many enemies defeated and how the “war was winnable and progress was being made”, the public realized the illusions the mass media used eventually.
In conclusion, the mass media throughout the Vietnam War often used misinformation to fix their basic principles. The mass media is not controlled by the government, but it portrays by itself what they want the public to believe for their own advantage such as power. Chomsky and Herman discuss this in by describing the Propaganda Model according to their terms. The propaganda model helps us understand how the mass media conveyed the Vietnam War by examining it according to Chomsky and Herman, and by comparing it to other sources. It helps us understand how the mass media creates myths to make the enemy, “the saviors”, and the victims, “the criminals”. Unfortunately, even though the mass media succeeded at first in getting the support of the war but at the end the public realized what was happening, and began to withdraw from supporting this war. At the final stages, they witnessed how many innocent Vietnamese civilians died including innocent girls like Kim Phuc in a magazine. Unfortunately, the mass media until today still play some of the tricks seen in the Vietnam War.
writing by busygirl: sister thanks indeed
The mass media as defined by Chomsky and Herman while working to achieve their own interest helps portray the governments' ideology and supports them as well. The mass media and the government do not portray the whole truth but instead promote news mixed with falsehood for their own agenda. They only say what people want to hear while gaining profit and reversing the roles of victims and criminals (Chomsky and Herman 1-2). This is all part of their Propaganda. The Propaganda Model according to Chomsky and Herman in this case basically explains the media’s behavior and performance. The Propaganda Model explains how the media promotes specific codes and values to the public that would incorporate them to a massive role in their society. It also explains how the mass media promotes these believes basically for money and power, and how they permit the government and elites to get their point across to the public (Chomsky and Herman 2). In addition to this, it should be known that the government and private sectors do NOT control the mass media and command them to promote their values; rather it is with their own free will. According to Chomsky and Herman, “the propaganda model focuses on the inequality of wealth and power and its multilevel effects on mass media interests and choices” (Chomsky and Herman 2). The elite such as the government, with the mass media’s help use money and power to influence the mass media and convey their ideology to the public. According to Patterson III, the author of “Television's Living Room War in Print: Vietnam in the News Magazine”, the Mass media critics and historians concurred that the media played an important role in both how the war was won or lost, and on emphasizing the government’s decision in this period (1). Therefore, the mass media, not just the government, would take flak for their portrayal; since it helps the government promote their ideology about the Vietnam War, so that the government easily commits their crimes against Vietnamese. Also, the mass media does not report all the news that occurred at that time. Also, “ the same underlying power sources that own the mass media and funds them as advertisers, that produce flak and proper-thinking experts, also play a role in fixing basic principles” (Chomsky and Herman I). This explains how the mass media serves the interests of the elite while publicizing the information provided by the government. It also explains how the media increases the money by the elites, while trying to promote their ideology for their own advantage and changing the actual news.
Chomsky and Herman created a process called “filtering” where the real news is filtered or altered by the mass media. Filtering is basically a process that explains how the mass media focuses on news that benefits them and the governments as well. The mass media before broadcasting their news, they get a lot of information, and since it is impossible to broadcast all the information, they only pick what will promote them and increase their popularity (Chomsky and Herman 2). The mass media throughout the war represented the idea that many of the US soldiers died to “protect” Vietnam, to hide their crime and promote their popularity. Even though Vietnam in this case is the real victim, the Mass media still viewed and portrayed the US as the real victim (Anderson 48). The United States were the “real victims” because according to the mass media, the United States tried to help Vietnam with their conflict while they lost many soldiers and money. In more detail, “ Almost from the moment those soldiers started humping through the jungles of South Vietnam, journalists publicized their acts of bravery and cruelty, feelings of loneliness and comradeship and bitterness, and expressions of patriotism and manliness” (Huebner 10). The mass media portrayed the soldiers as saviors of the war, whereas the soldiers were distressed with the conditions and the death toll of their fellow soldiers. The mass media rarely stressed about the death toll of Vietnamese citizens. The mass media for many years showed the United States as the victim of the Vietnam War making hard to distinguish what is the real truth to the public. On the other hand, the Vietnamese were portrayed as immoral, but in reality the mass media suppressed the facts on the outcome of war and made the victims look evil while creating myths (Chomsky and Herman XXXIV). Soldiers were all being portrayed as heroic; however the argument remained whether the mass media showed too much or not enough.
The Vietnam War came when television was the primary source for news. “Never before in history has a nation allowed its citizens to view uncensored scenes of combat destruction and atrocities in their living rooms, in living color” (Chomsky and Herman 199). With television now, public were able to view what happening in Vietnam, such as mass destruction, that were not available to see in the past. Addition to that, with television, the mass media only showed positive aspects about the Vietnam War and approved of the United State involvement in the war (Anderson 52). Television also played a big role creating myths about American’s involvement in the war. The mass media could easily promote a false idea about the war through television and make it believable. Before 1968, “for example, of those military operations reported on television in which some conclusion was offered as to who won or lost, 62 percent were reported as victories for the U.S and its allies, 28 percents as defeats, 2 percents as stalemates” (Hallin 8). This means that the mass media ignored the defeat of US military and instead, most of the time, only showed the battles that the US won. When they expose US military losing a battle, it was only a small percentage, making the public believe that the US is winning. At that time, it was not easy to distinguish who won or lost, but the mass media made it believable that the US military is gaining a victory. The positive assessments of the overall military situation in Vietnam outnumbered negative assessments by ten to one in television coverage” (Hallin 8). Since positive assessment was ten to one, it was very hard for viewers to think about US military might lose, which mean that the mass media did contribute to fixing some basic myths about the Vietnam War that were not necessary true. Even though, there was broadcasting of villages being destroyed, and civilians killed, it did not promote public to oppose the war but instead promote US involvement in Vietnam’s conflict (Hallin 9). The mass media made it even more harder to consider US losing, by drawing the idea, that the US have powerful weapons and military, that it would be hard for the enemies to defeat them. “News reporting assumed that given the superiority of American weapons, a constant feature of coverage, the enemy would surely be defeated” (Anderson 50). Eventually, the mass media trick of portraying that the enemy will lose helped stop the public from opposing the war for a while but it did not last. In conclusion, television played a role, promoting US ‘victory and making public oppose the war at the end.
One of the large criticisms about the media is it constantly promoted US soldiers as “heroes” while covering up their lies as stated above. According to the article, “My Lai: The Struggle over Outrage”, by Truda Gray and Brian Martin, the mass media always portrayed the American soldiers as innocent of all their actions toward Vietnam no matter how guilty the soldiers were. The United States led a forged investigation to represent them as always being fair. The article classified these types of actions into five methods that the Commanders of United States and their allies used to compose the idea of the United States being a savior toward Vietnam. These methods were “covering up evidence; devaluing the victims; reinterpreting the episode as a military victory; setting up superficial investigations that gave the appearance of justice; and intimidating those who might speak out” (Gray and Martin 1). The mass media at the time of Vietnam War always covered up evidence that would reduce the support for the war. They also sometimes made up fake examinations that would portray the Vietnamese as the criminals and US soldiers as the saviors, even though that not the case. No matter how much crime the United States forces committed toward Vietnam, the mass media always tried to find a way to justify the US forces’ actions.
One image of a little Vietnamese girl expressed the horror of the Vietnam War proving that the war took many innocent civilians from Vietnam. This girl, named was Kim Phuc, signified the human cost in Vietnam. Her image showed how the US was after bombing Kim and her two cousins as well. Kim Phuc expressed guilt, sorrow, and pain when the US military announced this attack as “unintentional” (Anderson 58). If the attack was just an accident, then the government would try to support the US right to interfere with Vietnam’s conflict. In other words, any time the mass media portrayed the killing of Vietnamese as the accidental, it becomes acceptable, but as the war continues, and as we notice more “accidental” death, it cannot be comprehended that it is an error. In fact, “the years of U.S. military intervention witnessed the deaths of over 1.9 million Vietnamese, 200,000 Cambodians, and 100,000 Laotians” (Anderson 59). In addition to this witness of many “accidental” deaths, the fact that now people can witness an actual victim in pictures, an innocent girl, and knowing her actual name, it is realized even more that there is something wrong in this war. The picture makes the public realize that there isn’t justice in this war since there are innocent children such as Kim Phuc who had been killed and humiliated.
During the chaos of the Tet offensive, North Vietnam invaded every part of South Vietnam. A military campaign fought alongside with the allies against the National Liberation front and Peoples' Army of Vietnam with the intention to topple the Saigon government. The United States and South Vietnam were surprised when North Vietnam had the ability to attack them with strong military army. The United States was always portrayed as the strongest in the whole world to the public promoting the belief that there is no country that would be able to beat them or bypass their power. Eventually, the public were shocked when they found out that the communists were capable of starting such a huge effort against the US and its allies. This goes back to the propaganda model that the mass media use to portray the United State as capable of defeating anything that their enemies for sure would not be able to surpass them. Eventually, “the mass media coverage of the Tet offensive had been the centerpiece of the mass media for ‘losing the war’ by their incompetent reporting and their anti-government bias reflecting their passion for confronting authority” (Chomsky and Herman 211). The mass media portrayed the United States as powerful enough to defeat the communists and that it is their duty to get rid of the communist, to the public. The public eventually realized that the US made a mistake in launching the Vietnam War, which led to the defeat. The mass media was then blamed because it created myths about the Vietnam War and portrayed the United States as a winner, helping to the lost of the support in the war.
Eventually, the mass media not just the US military blamed for the consequences of the Tet Offensive. “The mass media turned the public against the war by leaving the impression that the Tet was a defeat for the American and South Vietnamese forces. But the Tet Offensive was not a victory for the North Vietnamese” (Anderson 53). The mass media persuaded again the victims were the American and the South Vietnamese forces after their loss and that the “criminals” North Vietnamese won. Even though the fact this is not entirely true, since the North Vietnam suffered more losses and more territories than the South and the Americans. “But with the public, against the war because of the press coverage, the military could no longer fight the victory and instead had to end the war in defeat” (Anderson 53). Since the public realized the war was injustice and since US with great surprise lost the fight, it was impossible to win it. Moreover, since the US was not a capable of launching a “total victory” in the mass media coverage of the Tet, it supported the claim that the mass media was disloyal during this war that was misrepresented from the beginning (Anderson 53).
The incident of My Lai (South Vietnam district of Son My) Massacre was one of the most important incidents in Vietnam War. 500 people died in this village in an operation conducted by the US Army in March 1968, of which the majority of victims were women, children, and elderly. At that time, “the news of the massacre at My Lai had taken twenty months to reach the American public”(Anderson 56). The mass media ignored the My Lai incident and decided not to mention it for a long time. Eventually, “there were many who accepted, rationalized, or fully justified the killings as being a normal part of war in which soldiers were doing their duty” (Gray and Martin 12). In addition, during this incident, when an officer was charged with mass murder, at the end the charge was dropped. Instead of investigating the situation of My Lai massacre, the lieutenant was then blamed such as an officer for everything. The mass media would never blame the soldiers since “the Supreme Court had ruled earlier that US soldiers could not be charged in civilian courts for crimes committed outside the country” (Gray and Martin 14). In the conclusion the audience thought that United States government was responsible for the tragedies but had only a diminished role in it as observed. This was all due to US government being responsible for this situation with the mass media helping them cover up all the criminal activities which led to My Lai. Additionally, “ My Lai did not prompt the mass media generally- there were some individual exceptions-to take a deeper look at the nature of the war, or to display an interest in reports of similar events in nearby areas that suggested its unexceptional character” (Chomsky and Herman 198). This meant that the My Lai massacre was less important in the mass media compared to other events such as the death toll of American Soldiers, how they struggled, and showing them as heroes and saviors, which eventually led to the anti-war.
The anti-war movements of the Vietnam War were one of the most important outcomes of the ongoing conflict between the relationship of the United States involvement in this war and the mass media. For the first time a war that was exposed and debated through the public of the United States. The anti-war movement was composed of independent interests such as journalists and labor unions who worked to mainly oppose the Vietnam War and the way the mass media covered this war. It was also composed of the coverage of anti-protesters that dominated television while the crime conducted by US soldiers was forgotten. The mass media focused instead on the anti-war protests that were against the United States because these protesters would reveal to the public what is really happening in Vietnam and the mass media wanted to stop this act. Focusing on these protesters or other subjects such as soldiers being “heroes”, would also take the American public mind away from focusing on the crime happening in Vietnam. Unfortunately, this plan did not last and the American public became against the Vietnam War believing it was a mistake. Chomsky and Herman examined “how as the war progressed, elite opinion gradually shifted to the belief that the U.S intervention was a “tragic mistake” that was proving too costly” (172). The elite expressed their idea of the Vietnam War that the United States should not have involved itself in a war that has nothing to do with them. It resulted in great expense since for example there were victims from both sides, the United States and Vietnam.
The cruelest critic about the mainstream mass media was that it portrayed the United States involvement in this war as a way of helping with the civil war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Although by 1969, it had become the most worlds and most Americans that the United States linking itself to the Vietnam War was a terrible misdeed (Chomsky and Herman 173). The mass media throughout the war portrayed that the US had the right to interfere with the Vietnamese to stop the civil war happening in that country. Even thought, when the war was coming to an end, “A war that had for years been characterized as “ winnable”, “clean”, and “just” had suddenly became brutal, messy, and costly” (Anderson 51). It is estimated that 223, 748 Vietnamese soldiers died compared to only 58,148 American soldiers, and the US spent 140 billion dollars over a war that could have been avoided. However, most of the Americans realized at the end that, the Vietnam War, “was a delusion to attempt to build a nation on the American model in South Vietnam” (Chomsky and Herman 173). Basically, the mass media and government made an illusion to defend entering the Vietnam War as necessary for defending South Vietnam from North Vietnam’s Communism. Although, the US was to create a nation that would confront with the American system in South Vietnam, it failed when the war finished. Even though, the mass media, most of the days, talked about how many enemies defeated and how the “war was winnable and progress was being made”, the public realized the illusions the mass media used eventually.
In conclusion, the mass media throughout the Vietnam War often used misinformation to fix their basic principles. The mass media is not controlled by the government, but it portrays by itself what they want the public to believe for their own advantage such as power. Chomsky and Herman discuss this in by describing the Propaganda Model according to their terms. The propaganda model helps us understand how the mass media conveyed the Vietnam War by examining it according to Chomsky and Herman, and by comparing it to other sources. It helps us understand how the mass media creates myths to make the enemy, “the saviors”, and the victims, “the criminals”. Unfortunately, even though the mass media succeeded at first in getting the support of the war but at the end the public realized what was happening, and began to withdraw from supporting this war. At the final stages, they witnessed how many innocent Vietnamese civilians died including innocent girls like Kim Phuc in a magazine. Unfortunately, the mass media until today still play some of the tricks seen in the Vietnam War.
writing by busygirl: sister thanks indeed
Monday, November 1, 2010
Suicide
Suicide
I have never wondered why many people, especially non-Muslims, chose to put an end to their lives. It has always been clear to me how and why they chose that horrible unthinkable step. I only wished if they could wait and give themselves minutes to know what they were born to seek and explore. I am sure those few minutes would have changed statistics so considerably.
I have read Birkin, a famous character in ‘Women in Love’ By D.H. Lawrence. I disliked him and yet found him very thought-provoking. He has got such a dark view of humanity and life in general. However, he talks beautifully of death and how it is a purification of the soul from the filth put on it here. He said it is a consummation, the final of all experiences. Death is inhuman. Because to know is human and not know is inhuman. Since because we do not know death, then the latter is inhuman. Birkin hated all social norms and principles he had to abide by in the corrupted community where he had to pretend to have relations and bonds with humans. He asked why he had to claim connection with people. For him nature, vegetation, and a woman are the elements of a clean soft and final world, where the soul is satisfied separate in its conjunction with the other soul (woman). Marriage, the legal connection that brings man and woman together is abhorrent to him. He dreams of two separate souls, clean souls that are two forces balancing each other in a world beyond what we know. It is to live freely and experience something outside the known. Death is sweet and better than his life. Death is a final sweet destination. And since it is an inevitable end, why should we fear it or fear the final step but one?
The interesting about what I have said earlier is the notion of death and how it is darkly-viewed by Birkin who thinks death to be better than a thousand lives ill-lived. I can hardly believe that Lawrence did not share his characters’ opinion. I felt that it was Lawrence who talked through Birkin and that the latter’s views are no different from Lawrence’s.
I confidently admit that so many people, nowadays, and throughout history, believed in Lawrence’s opinion. Those who held those ideas and mystery about life non-existence and saw death as the eternal form of real unabased unquestioned free existence are the ones that preferred to move their lives to a complete darkness and chose a meaningless end to it. In fact, it is not meaningless as long as it makes meaning to many others who learn from their ancestors’ experience.
If fact, suicide should be thought over and over. The reasons are many, the victims are different, but the end is one: DEATH. The truth is one like death: there is nothing that can drive us beyond our limits and intellect in a moment of craziness and uncontrollable flow. Humans should be more conscious of their being better than animals. Even animals do not kill themselves for no or with reason. I hoped people would be animal-like when it comes to suicide. I hoped that humanity would stop for a while and question itself. Questions too lazy to ask. I can’t blame them. After all, we are all humans.
Writing by : Essentiel
Essentiel thanks indeed
Essentiel thanks indeed
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tiznit : A Glorious History and A Promising Future
Tiznit : A Glorious History and A Promising Future
The city of Tiznit has occupied a place of choice in the province of Tiznit and in the region of Souss throught the history of Morocco. It is characterized by its situation of crossroads, connecting the North of the kingdom with the Saharan provinces. As a commercial and cultural crossroads, Tiznit has always been known as a traditional crafts centre, particularly for the making of silver jewellery. Its position as a historical meeting point, binding the Saharan provinces with the Anti-Atlas Mountains and the low valley of Souss has earned this imperial city a rich and original cultural heretage.
The strategic and military importance of Tiznit is illustrated by its ramparts; built in the 19th century, they turn out to be the last military defence of the Maghrebian-Andalusian type in Morocco. It is as such that Tiznit has been classified as National Heritage since 1932. Tiznit counts at present 60000 inhabitants among whom more than 50% live in the historical part of the city (known as old Medina) which host about 80% of the city’s urban activities.
Tiznit remains one of the rare historical cities provided with a palm grove known as “Targua” that is still an integral part of the urban space. The palm grove of Tiznit extends over about 70 ha in the northeast of the medina. Even today more than 500 city families live out of market gardening and food crop activities related to Targua.
Tiznit prides itself in particular in its prestigious handicrafts, essentially silver jewellery and leather sandals. As the capital and administrative centre of the province, Tiznit reigns over a diverse and heterogeneous area connecting the Atlantic Coast with the summits of Anti-Atlas. Its countryside, rich with an inestimable material and immaterial cultural and religious heritage, is animated by a population known for its tolerance and openness and for its dynamism entrepreneurial spirit.
Strong with all these assets, Tiznit is determined to play a central role in guaranteeing a prosperous and sustainable futuree for its inhabitants and the whole region.
thanks for the author
The city of Tiznit has occupied a place of choice in the province of Tiznit and in the region of Souss throught the history of Morocco. It is characterized by its situation of crossroads, connecting the North of the kingdom with the Saharan provinces. As a commercial and cultural crossroads, Tiznit has always been known as a traditional crafts centre, particularly for the making of silver jewellery. Its position as a historical meeting point, binding the Saharan provinces with the Anti-Atlas Mountains and the low valley of Souss has earned this imperial city a rich and original cultural heretage.
The strategic and military importance of Tiznit is illustrated by its ramparts; built in the 19th century, they turn out to be the last military defence of the Maghrebian-Andalusian type in Morocco. It is as such that Tiznit has been classified as National Heritage since 1932. Tiznit counts at present 60000 inhabitants among whom more than 50% live in the historical part of the city (known as old Medina) which host about 80% of the city’s urban activities.
Tiznit remains one of the rare historical cities provided with a palm grove known as “Targua” that is still an integral part of the urban space. The palm grove of Tiznit extends over about 70 ha in the northeast of the medina. Even today more than 500 city families live out of market gardening and food crop activities related to Targua.
Tiznit prides itself in particular in its prestigious handicrafts, essentially silver jewellery and leather sandals. As the capital and administrative centre of the province, Tiznit reigns over a diverse and heterogeneous area connecting the Atlantic Coast with the summits of Anti-Atlas. Its countryside, rich with an inestimable material and immaterial cultural and religious heritage, is animated by a population known for its tolerance and openness and for its dynamism entrepreneurial spirit.
Strong with all these assets, Tiznit is determined to play a central role in guaranteeing a prosperous and sustainable futuree for its inhabitants and the whole region.
thanks for the author
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Unexpected Journey by asi007
Life … My mother” This is the two first words Farah uttered mournfully when I asked her to recount her story. Farah a young beautiful Moroccan lady in her thirties who illegally made it to Belgium
Afterwards, she looked at my eyes and said to: “Now you know who is my dear friend and I would allow myself to share all the secrets Diyae and I endured”.
I looked at my watch; it was about three o’clock in the morning ,Farah was somehow sleepy yet she was forcibly trying to keep her eyes opened .I told her let us go “tomorrow will be a new day for us to sit down under the dark shiny sky and meet our star friend for a new chat”
The following day, I invited Farah to the cinema. We watched a very touching film about a romantic love story between two lovers who tragically ended up their immense love. Farah was someway hurt but I chose not to be curious. After the movie, we were very hungry. We planned to go to the restaurant to have something to eat. We stayed there till nine o clock then we came back home to continue our Shiraz
I went to the kitchen to make some coffee to keep us awake all nightlong. We sat in the balcony as the earlier night; she put her head on my lap and asked me to caress her hair and penetrate her long dark strands tenderly and she commenced:
“My life was somehow rough, my dad died when I was nine years old, my mother and I lived in a small room in a big house with a lot of neighbours. Each family occupied a room. The only thing we shared is the bathroom. My mother used to work for a rich family as a maid. She spent the whole day in their mansion as the way was too far to come back home at her free time. The habitual pace I went through is as follows: When I return from school, I eat something; I go to play with some girls outdoors, and then go home to do my homework. I don’t deny the fact that I was the first in my class I read a lot even the teacher did not ask us to do so. All my free times I used to go to the library to bring home some books and finish reading them so quickly to go back and bring some others. The time passed through, I finished my secondary school straight to high school and because of my high grades the administration put me in a classroom considered to be the class of the best hardworking students all over the institution most of them belonged to well -off families, although I could not fit in, I challenged myself to work hard, get my baccalaureate and better my miserable situation which my mother and I bitterly underwent.
I passed my first year with distinction. They held us in the same class even it was unbearable to me to stay with the same group because all the girls were sometimes making fun of me because of my poor condition , my worn out shoes and my old rags that were tattered from frequent use.
I ignored all about that and I concentrated firmly on my only objective which is to obtain my baccalaureate degree with distinction, while my mother’s concern was to see me having a better situation than hers. She never allowed me to do chores, her famous statement was: “mind your future and let me do it all by myself”.
One day, I came home and I found my mother lying in the bed sweating of pain, tightening a small scarf around her forehead. I did not know how to control my anxiety and at the same time help her, whether to fetch a doctor or to take her to the hospital. I was really shocked when I saw her in that bad condition. I called one of my neighbors to come and help me. She called the doctor who came up and examined her. He told us that we must take her to the hospital so immediately for her situation was really in danger. After several days of analyses, it showed that my mother was having Hepatitis C affecting her liver, and must be operated so urgently otherwise her life is in danger, I fell down on the floor I couldn’t stand strong after what I heard even I couldn’t imagine how I could get the needed sum of money for her operation, I thought deeply of a way to obtain that money. I called the family with whom my mother was working and I explained to them all what happened with her. The household apologized then he promised he would help me and give some; I had nothing to do but to accept his offer. The time was running and the operation could not be belated and I was still missing the other half of money. The following day, I went to the hospital to make the doctor known that I will be having the whole sum tomorrow for the operation to take place as quick as possible. While we were talking, the nurse entered and informed him that the patient in the chamber eight had died.
I could not turn my face towards the nurse to make sure of what she said even I could not move my tongue to talk. I got the most shocking news in my life and I said to myself: “I lost my mother”.
My ordeal had started the day I lost my mother. I had no relatives or acquaintances; no one to ask about me. I left the school and I felt sorry for that for it was my only ticket for a bright future, even one day my school’s director had visited me in my humble room and asked me to restart my studies again. But I sadly told him that I hardly found something to eat and I had to work in order to pay the rent, if not I would live in the street.
One day I was sitting home alone, crossing my legs and thinking profoundly of a way to find a work, any kind of work just to better my condition. All of a sudden, someone knocked the door, it was my neighbours’ daughter she came to ask me if I could join them for dinner but I apologized .I was not in a good mood to get together with anyone. She told me that she would finish her dinner and come over and spend the night with me.
Khadija was my neighbour’s daughter. She was working as a sewer in a lingerie factory that exports clothes outside the country. I was wondering if she could get me a position with her in the same factory. When she came home at night, I told her about my miserable financial situation and that I needed a job to survive. The following day, I was eagerly waiting to hear from her any news about the subject, but in vain I did not receive any.
I stayed at home for three days, depressed, monotonous and so worried about my life that is accelerating downward. On the spur of the moment, the door knocked, I went through the door with cautious steps and a torn spirit. To my surprise, it was khadija and the news was to change my life forever. She said: “There is this lorry driver who transports ready lingerie to Belgium every six days, and that he helped so many workers to make it to the other side of the sea”. I did not understand her at first; I asked her to be more obvious, for what she was talking about was a little bit puzzling. Her quivering voice and her twinkling eyes were so convincing She said she wanted me to leave my country, my people, and my land; as I have nothing to stay for and that I should risk my life in order to live a better one .At that particular moment, things started to alter in my head. New imagination mixed with hope and desire started to enlighten my path and uplift my thoughts. I stopped for a while and I asked her “how come he would help me for free without giving him anything in return?” She replied that I did not have to worry as she persuaded him of my bitter circumstances. She also told me to be prepared for the next week. She would take me to the factory at night in order to introduce me to the man and make the departure at that very night.
We got to the planned spot, a big store behind the factory where big boxes full of clothes were stocked; I was astounded to find two other girls to undergo this adventure.
I kissed khadija goodbye and embraced her for what she did for me. Then the three of us followed that lorry driver to show us how to hide ourselves in the container as quickly as possible so as not to be noticed. The lorry was like a long and large dark corridor. It contains about five huge boxes and we had to hide in the first box at the deep end of the lorry because the first ones are obviously checked by the guards.
Leila ,kenza and I ,the three of us inside the container, buried under ladies clothes and three holes in the size of peanuts on each side of four square box through which we could breathe some fresh air .I remained quiet and silent questioning myself how my life would be in a new land which I did not know anything about. The two girls were in high spirit and very excited about the moment when they would mark their feet on the promising land and that all of their dreams will come true. “This is one big step towards the dream.” Kenza said, while I kept thinking until I was imprisoned by sleep. I woke up at a noisy sound outside. It was the driver talking and laughing with the guards. It sounded like they get well along with each other. My heart was about to stop beating, I thought this was the end and that we were about to get caught. The girls lingered in an absolute silence merely trembling and hearing each other’s heartbeat. After a while, the door closed. “Praise is to God, we made it” Leila said with a blissful voice .I stayed speechless for I had nothing to add. I was not feeling at ease, my only concern was how to confront this unknown life. After a couple of hours, we were in the other part of the world, no guards no control over there. The driver pulled over near a forest and there he opened the door and let us do our biological needs. After that, we ate something, hungry but did not feel like eating. I washed my face with cold water from the bottle of mineral water that the driver bought from my homeland. My heart shivered for a while, and I got back into the lorry .the weather was extremely cold and I could not put up with it. We went through the same process the following two days driving in the day and having some rest at night. All the way long I felt discomfort. Something weird was about to happen. It as like the lull that precedes the storm. Exactly after three days. We reached Antwerpen, a city near the capital Brussels
We got out of the lorry to find ourselves inside a big store where a lot of containers were stored. Four well built body men were standing with their eyes sparkling as if they caught a prey; our eyes popped out of fear and puzzlement. Laila proclaimed wondering «What is going on? Where are we?” The men replied in a colossal, strong and thundering tone“You must obey our orders without uttering any word”.
They bandaged our eyes with a black ribbon, grabbed and drove us viciously inside a vehicle. Afterwards we found ourselves in a dark basement standing in front of two Flemish women and one Algerian man and the other one was Moroccan.
“Your dream was to arrive at Belgium and here you are in Belgium
I held my breath, bewildered by what I heard. Whilst the two girls screamed stridently complaining, cursing and crying, the two women were talking and the Moroccan guy was translating from Flemish to Moroccan Arabic. They said that all what we need to do is to work in a night club to serve and satisfy all the customers’ needs. “What!” Kenza cried with a shaking protesting tone.
“Exactly as you heard miss” answered back the Algerian. “We could not do such things, we belong to honest and conservative families and our religion does not allow us to do so”. We all objected, but one of the women responded: “neither religion nor families do matter in our business. You are here to obey, serve and execute orders; any kind of objection is a one way ticket to your doom”. After that, they took us to the other part of the same basement where there were about sixteen girls from different nationalities all gathered in one enormous room and each one was lying in her bed. I looked around the room, staring resentfully at each corner. Everyone was looking toward us; their eyes were telling too much about what was awaiting us.
The door was locked behind us and we stayed all inside one room, shocked looking at each other. Leila and kenza could not stop crying, all I could do at that particular time was to gaze with my two eyes in wonder and linger soundless and motionless.
We were given some bread with butter and a bottle of water each during three days. The forth day we were served a very royal dinner and offered some beautiful outfits though naked they were. We subdued to their wishes, put on the dresses, ate and rode to the external world after four days prison.
It was eight o’clock in the evening. The night club was empty and a blond lady came towards us with a smiling face: “your first night is going to be about observation only. You observe and see how we treat our clients. The more tables you serve the more Euros you get.”
After one month I was able to mark my name in that night club. I had to sacrifice my morals, my religion, my culture, my education; but never my dignity. “Douae I was the only “virgin prostitute” in that night club. I know that it is somehow difficult to be believed but this is the truth. I never practiced my religious or cultural rituals, but I always believe in Allah and that I am always Moroccan Muslim deep in my heart What I want you to bear in your mind is that no matter how harsh the world is your soul must be crystal pure to resist all types of temptation and destruction”.
Two years had passed; I was fed up with my slave life where I did nothing but obeying the orders. I lived in a place where the law of the jungle was sovereign and the survival was for the fittest. If you are not cruel enough you will not be able to survive. Each time we would come back to our cave. I used to sit next to the window and look at the stars and pray Allah to send his mercy to rescue me from that desperate state of mind and health, but once I behold my star Diyae shining in the velvet sky I feel contented deep inside. I tried to keep myself positive and expect anything that will occur later on.
One day, I decided with a firm self-confidence to flee that place. I planned for the whole thing during my lonely nights. And I seized the opportunity once I got it. It was nine o’clock in the evening. I waited until the night club was swarmed with clients. Here I was preparing myself for the first step. On my way to the toilet I observed a white arrow drawn on the reddish wall of an empty corridor whose light was fading the deeper I walked in it. Indicating the way of the exit I followed the arrow till I noticed a gate. My eyes were glistening with joy for that I was about to grasp my freedom again. But, unfortunately, “the winds do not blow as the vessels wish». I was caught by a tall, handsome and well-built body guard; I was trembling between his hands. He asked me with a thundering voice: “what are you doing in this place? You did not read this area is restricted” I did not know what to say but to tell him the truth that I was running away from Janette and her followers. He kept silent for a moment and asked me to pursue him to the exit and there he gave me an address and he asked me to go and ask for a woman named Bella, “give her this address and she will understand”. He waved down for a taxi that got me to the exact address.
I knocked the door and the woman answered “who are you?” and who are you asking for”? “Mr. Khalid who works in the nightclub sent me here and asked me to give you this piece of paper” I responded. “Khalid the handsome young bodyguard” the woman answered back. “yes it is him” I replied. Later on, she took me to a bedroom and gave me a pillow and new sheet then left and closed the door gently on her way out. I wondered “how can a woman host a stranger in her home?
The following day, Khalid came and we had breakfast together and I told them the entire ordeal I went through and how I was tricked by the lorry driver and the things I was forced to undergo with that mafia. And that I become a homeless illegal migrant.
Khalid, a Moroccan man who lives in Belgium
Time passed on. Our feelings started to grow towards each other. He comes and visits me every morning before he goes to sleep to be ready for a new night. Sometimes at the weekend, we enjoy a barbecue with the old lady for I could not go out with him anywhere. He was kind to me and very tender. In a particular day, he surprised me when he came and asked to marry me. It was like another unbelievable shock, but in a positive way. Frankly, I do not deny the fact that I was so hopeless that one day I would get married.
Khalid had contacts with important acquaintances that helped him finish all my documents of residence rapidly so that we could get married as soon as possible.
A few months later, Khalid and I got married; I moved to live with him in his house. After, I enrolled in the university and I majored in Law. After I got my Master degree, I could not go for Doctoral degree for the reason that I was pregnant with my first daughter Diyae. I was a caring housewife during pregnancy, later on; Khalid had quit his job from that sordid night club. We moved on Brussels
In our first holiday, we went to Morocco
“Morocco
Thursday, July 1, 2010
DISTINCT DISCURSIVE FEATURES OF NEWS
Faculty of Letters and Humanities Discourse Analysis
English Department
S6 Moh
DISTINCT DISCURSIVE FEATURES OF NEWS HEADLINES USED IN THE BBC’S AND ALJAZEERA’S WEBSITES.
Prepared by Driss Belgnaoui
Supervised by Dr. Fatima Zahra Lamrani
Academic year: 2006-2007
Introduction
Recently, there has been a major renovation in the way news is presented. This evolutionary change is the result of the appearance and the implementation of the Internet device in journalism and in other forms of Mass Media. Now, it has become much easier for any one who has a computer, or even a mobile phone connected to the World Wide Web to get access to breaking news with their in-depth analysis as they occur in surrounding or in far-off places. The significance of the role the Internet plays in spreading information has led many large media corporations to build up websites and strive to make them look as perfect as possible because these websites allow such corporations to produce sections which complement the various programmes they broadcast on air. I believe that the news reported in such websites reflects ideological agendas, and that it tends to shape and alter people’s views about what is really going on both at a national and an international level.
Therefore, this paper will try to examine the ways with which such corporations report news in their websites. For practical and methodological reasons, however, I shall concentrate on examining the way two website news, namely Aljazeera* (1) and the BBC* (2) report the situation in Iraq
Despite the fact that a lot has been said on the way Aljazeera and the BBC have covered the Iraqi war, little focus has been given to examine how this coverage reveals distinct ideologies. I, thus, feel it is necessary to draw attention to this fact. The purpose behind this exercise is to show how the use of ideologically embedded language in the reports of Aljazeera and the BBC websites affect viewers’ opinion on the war in Iraq
My data consists of samples of headlines drawn from the websites of both the BBC and Aljazeera. The data is collected according to a synchronic approach. That is why; I have narrowed down my scope of study to collecting a corpus drawn from coverage of the situation in Iraq
This paper is divided into two chapters. The first chapter includes two sections. The first section will discuss Discourse Analysis from a theoretical framework and the different approaches to the Critical Study of Language. In this section I will try to examine the relations between discourse and power and the interrelations between Discourse and media, power and ideology.
The second section in the first chapter is the section of methodology, in which I shall present the study design of this paper, including the research questions and I will present the procedures I have followed to collect the samples of my data. In chapter II I will analyse some samples of the data I have gathered and a theoretical background about the linguistic methods used to analyse the discursive features that characterise Aljazeera and the BBC’s discourse on their websites.
Chapter I
I .Review of literature
1.1. Critical Discourse Analysis.
The interests of Discourse Analysis cover a wide range and a broad area of language study. That is to say, it is an interdisciplinary approach to language that contains a variety of approaches which differ in both the ways they view language and the methods they use in studying it. (Wetherell et al. 2001: i) define discourse analysis as a 'set of methods and theories for investigating language in use and language in social contexts' (qtd.in Katie MacMillan).While Fairclough (1989: 20) describes Discourse Analysis as the study of language which views “language as a form of social practice”. He maintains that critical study of language tends to account for the ways social and political domination is reproduced by different forms of language, particularly text and talk. Furthermore; Fairclough (1989:5) explains that the term ‘critical’ is used to show the role Discourse Analysis plays in breaking the text apart in order to know the motivations behind the social struggle for power and the various interrelated connections between language, power and ideology . Thus, it is obvious that studying Discourse Analysis will make it possible for us to unearth the deliberately embedded and hidden ideologies in any form of discourse (i.e. spoken, written, visual and so on). Critical discourse Analysis also allows us both to know the social conditions behind the production of any discourse and to determine the social factors that evoke our response and interpretation concerning any given discourse. Fairclough (1989:5) adds that
“CLS analyses social interactions in a way which focuses upon their linguistic elements, and which sets out to show up their generally hidden determinants in the system of social relationships, as well as hidden effects they may have upon that system.”
It goes without saying that once one manages to discover the ‘linguistic elements’, which are tools used to exercise power in social interaction, one would be able to engage actively in the struggle for power through the use of particular discourses according to the various situations where social interaction takes place. Therefore, the acquisition of the knowledge of Critical Discourse Analysis gives us access to a comprehensive view and a high stance in any social relationships where one can identify the tools to emancipate from the social conventions and the ‘common sense assumptions’, and at the same time provides him/her with the linguistic devices that enables one to exercise power in relation to other members of his/her society.
As it deals with the complex interrelationships between language, power, and ideology Critical Discourse Analysis provides, as Fairclough (1985:13) states, a ‘broad conception of the social study of language at the core of language’. That is to say, it provides a theoretical framework for the study of language in social interaction by filling in areas ignored by other approaches to language (such as Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Pragmatics and so on). Although our present paper is not concerned in discussing the limitations of each of the above approaches to the study of language, they, according to Fairclough (1985:13), have provided the grounds for a more comprehensive theoretical framework for Critical Discourse Analysis as a theory which attempts to account for the use of language beyond the sentence and utterances boundaries (i.e. as a social practice) ,as well as to explain the connections between language and society and finally to describe the discursive features that characterizes the everyday communication in the society.
1.1.1 Discourse and the media
1.1.2.1. Discourse
Discourse is the context, environment, and conditions within which utterances are produced to make meaning and knowledge accessible to others. However, the definition of discourse remains ambiguous since it covers a wide range of areas. In other words, the meaning of Discourse as a form of what is spoken or written (printed texts, lectures, TV programmes, etc.) includes all that can be produced and interpreted within social interactions. Moreover, Discourse may involve the conventional, social, and institutional conditions behind the statements made. Fairclough (1989:25) describes discourse as involving social conditions which can be represented as “social conditions of production, and social conditions of interpretation.”
Therefore, one would safely assume that discourse is a vehicle through which relations of power, within any given society, are exercised and communicated to affect all aspects of social life. Fairclough (1989:25) claims that these social conditions not only influence the member resources which individuals produce either in the form of a text or a spoken discourse, but also the way other individuals interpret ‘MR’. As presented in figure.1.
Fig.1 Discourse as text interaction and context
Social conditions of productions
Social conditions of interpretation Context |
Source from (Language and Power: 1989, 25)
If we were to word the above figure, we would emphasise on illustrating the complex interrelationship between context, interaction and text on one had, and on the relationship linking the conditions of productions and interpretations with text on the other. In other words, to analyse any form of discourse (i.e. written, spoken, visual etc.), one should have a comprehensive overview of all the other dimensions of that discourse, including conditions of production and interpretation, processes of production and interpretation and text as the core via which all the other social elements interconnect.
1.1.2.2. Discourse and ideology
Being an environment or a context as mentioned earlier, discourse can be a means through which the connections of power and the struggle for power can give rise to social conventions. These conventions, which are, according to Fairclough (1989:2), the result of power relations and power struggle implicitly convey ‘common sense assumptions’. That is to say, individuals reinforce common sense assumptions through the every day social interaction by unconsciously communicating within and interacting in accordance to the linguistic conventions characteristic to the society where these individuals live. Thus, these ‘assumptions’ are in fact nothing but ideologies embedded in the various forms of discourse while interacting. Fairclough (1989:2) shows that “The exercise of power in modern society is increasingly achieved through ideology, and more particularly through the ideological workings of language.” This quotation states that the exercise of power, whose nature is not explicit, is dependent on embedded ideological assumptions through which power is exercised. Therefore, we can consider ideology as a close link to power, since it both legitimizes the struggle for power, and at the same time hides the differences between individuals according to their relation in the struggle for social power.
1.2.2. Power of the media discourse
1.2.2.1 Media
Media is viewed as one of the most influential forms of discourse, the reason why it has been adopted in contemporary global changes by states, large corporations and powerful individuals to exercise power and control in order to shape the way people think and act. That is to say, social consciousness can be shaped according to the will of those who are in control of the media, while the people upon whom this form of power is exercised are vulnerable to efficiently participate in the struggle for power or even challenge the producers of the Media discourse aimed at them. Fairclough (1989:49) describes it as being characterized by its ‘one-sidedness’ since it differs from face-to face discourse which requires two or more participants to interact simultaneously. (Curran et all, 1982: i) describe media as “powerful propaganda agencies brainwashing a susceptible and defenceless public” and triggering ‘word bullets’ that make their way deep into passive and helpless victims (i.e. audience). Fairclough (1989:49) goes on to refer to Media Discourse as being characterized by ‘hidden relations of power’ that media organizations tend to use, either to hide or to deviate people’s attention from reality , and therefore change their opinions and attitudes towards both national and international affairs. According to him, ‘mass media discourse’ is a field which is worth studying because of its unclear and often ambiguous role in revealing relations of power. In other words, media functions as a mediator through which power can be exercised in a disguised way, where the relations between the producers of any given discourse and the audience interpreting it are not immediate. This aspect not only makes of the media one of the most powerful tools to exercise different forms of power, but a place where relations of power and struggles for power exist as well.
1.2.2.2 .Media and ideology
As a starting point let us explore the definition of Ideology in the following quotation:
“The belief system, true or untrue, shared by members of a society or a subgroup within a society. Adherence to the belief system is an obligation of membership of the society or subculture. There are many ways in which ideologies can be identified. They may refer to a set of ideas held by a group of people, to ideas about social reality which are false (false consciousness), or to ideas, knowledge, or practices which result in the reproduction of social relationships characterized by inequality or contradiction. Following Marx, ideology serves to legitimate or mask the real state of social relations”.
From Oxford
The relation between media and ideology has been the focus of many theoretical approaches, such as the Marxist approach because of the nature of its dynamic role in establishing ideologies or denouncing others. Most of the media discourse tends to produce ways of representing the world where we live, and defines it by providing ‘ideal models’ for appropriate behaviours and attitudes. Fairclough (1989:49) illustrates this by referring to media as involving ‘hidden relations of power.” He determines this by raising questions to which media producers provide answers, which reflect the way their social conditions of production (i.e. their views and ideologies) view events .Thus, through the media we know the “appropriate” roles of men and women, or the roles of citizens and their governments. Moreover, media tells us what prosperity is and how it is obtained, and it also tells us what qualifies as a terrorist act and what qualifies as self-defence etc. These questions and many others constitute key concepts and fundamental questions about media and ideology.
So far, I have attempted to discuss the theoretical framework of Critical Discourse Analysis and I have tried to discuss discourse as a social practice where embedded ideologies are communicated to achieve power. Also, I have discussed the role of the media in reinforcing some ideologies and denouncing others. The following section is on Methodology.
1.2. Methodology:
This section is devoted to the study design which will include describing the study, the data, and the method of analysis used in collecting this data.
1.2.1. Study Design
1.2.1.1. The study data
The data of this study consists of headlines collected from two web based news services: the BBC and Aljazeera. I have collected 40 headlines during April and May, 2007. I have collected my data following three criteria: 1) headlines relevant to the Iraqi situation, 2) headlines that have been issued during April and May and 3) headlines that reflect both positive and negative attitudes towards the Iraqi ordeal. I have decided to collect headlines because:
_ Analysing whole articles will be time consuming.
_ Headlines are the first thing one sees in news articles.
_ Headlines catch the reader’s attention.
_ Headlines are precise summary of the news reports.
_ Headlines reveal hidden ideologies.
1.2.1.2.2. The method of analysis.
I will be using the methods of analysis proposed by Critical discourse Analysis (Fairclough: 1989). That is to say, my analysis will be based on three procedures:
1) The description of headlines.
2) Their interpretation.
3) The explanation of their significance.
Chapter II
Discursive Features of news headlines in Aljazeera and the BBC web sites.
Introduction:
This chapter intends to focus on the way Aljazeera and the BBC use headlines to report news about the Iraqi stand off. In other words, this analysis aims at describing discursive features that are characteristic of headlines in reporting news. I will focus on vocabulary features as well as sentence structures used in headlines, and I will try to interpret and explain the reasons behind using some of these linguistic features.
2.1. Description of headlines
2.1.1. Definition of headlines
The contemporary modern changes have made reading news articles an exhausting exercise. Most people do not have enough time to go through long articles. Therefore, news agencies have thrived to make reading news as readably accessible as possible by focusing on short, accurate and precise headlines. In other words, news agencies tend to use certain linguistic features of headlines that make them more catchy and memorable in order to have wide and effective impact on readers.
A news headline is defined as :
“a text at the top of a newspaper article, indicating the nature of the article below it. Headlines may be written in bold, and are written in a much larger size than the article text. Headline conventions include normally using present tense, omitting forms of the verb “to be” in certain contexts, and removing short articles like “a” and “the”. Most newspapers feature a very large headline on their front page, dramatically describing the biggest news of the day. A headline may also be followed by a smaller secondary headline which gives a bit more information or a subhead. (wikipedia)
Since they are carefully constructed, headlines tend to function an important role in either provoking the reader’s curiosity or deterring it by using certain linguistic features.
2.1.2 Linguistic Features of headlines.
This section explores the linguistic features that characterize headlines. The linguistic features of headlines, as suggested by Fairclough (1989:109), include features of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation. However, He argues that in analysing any given discourse, one should analyse the three dimensions that constitute it. That is to say, the dimensions of “text”, “interaction” and “context” ought to be taken into consideration before drawing any assumption or conclusion about discourse. (See Figure.1, page .6).
2.1.2.1. Vocabulary of headlines.
According to Fairclough (1989:112), vocabulary should be analyzed in accordance to three types of value that formal features may have: experiential, relational and expressive values.
2.1.2.1.1. Experiential value of words in headlines.
Fairclough (1989:112) states that “Experiential value is to do with contents and knowledge and beliefs.” In other words, the experiential value of words used in headlines as a written form of discourse shows how ideological differences between headlines drawn from Aljazeera ,(A1) and the BBC ,(B1) websites in their depiction of the Iraq War are coded in their vocabulary. The following set of headlines illustrates this point.
Extract I
Transcriptions of Arabic headlines | English translation of the Arabic headlines |
B.1. ʔidana . su n n eja . liƷidar alʔaʢdamja. | Sunni condemnation against Al-adamyaa Security Wall. |
A.1.Ʒidar aməri:ki liwaqəf al ʔiqtita:l al madhabi wa gejtes u:wa:silu zejartarahu | US wall to end sectarian killings and Gates continues his visit. |
Note: the letter (B) refers to headlines from the BBC and the letter (A) to Aljazee
In B.1 the BBC used the words ʔidana meaning condemnation, and the word sunneja meaning a religious branch in Islam (Sunnite) .This headline may appear innocent looking form the first glimpse. However; if we associated this headline with the situation in Iraq, we would definetly notice the absence of another religious branch,namely shiite ,which is directly involved in the sectarian violence in Iraq. therefore, this would raise a number of questions. For example, why only Sunnis condemn the building of the wall which is intended to reduce the amount of attacks against both civilians and coalition forces? Does the absence of shiite muslims exclude them from those who oppose the construction of the wall? Or does the BBC Want its readers to blame violence on Sunnis by foregrounding them as rejecting attempts to reduce violence?
Ultimately, such questions will lead us as Discourse Analysts to know or at least have some deduction on what was really going on in the mind of the producer of B.1.
A.1 differs from B.1 in the sense that it has used more and different words to report the same news, yet with a totally different point of view. The word Ʒidar ,( wall) is used along side with amri: ki ( American) , ʔiqtita:l ( fighting) and al madhabi ( sectarian) to suggest that there are three parties involved in this issue , which is a fact avoided in the first headline (i.e.B1) , but it is embedded in the second one (i.e. A1) through the use of vocabulary items to convey an ideological orientation in representing the Iraqi situation , which is different from the first one. By scrutinizing the two headlines in terms of vocabulary we can sense that Aljazeera is more critical in representing this situation as more chaotic, whereas the BBC tends to show that the situation is less problematic.
2.1.2.1.2. Relational value of words in headlines
Fairclough (1989:116) suggests that the choice of words in texts reveals a relational value in the sense that it does not only demarcate the interrelationship between the producers and the interpreters, but it also distinguishes the relations between different participants. Extract II serves as an illustration of this fact.
Extract II
Transcriptions of Arabic headlines | English translation of the Arabic headlines |
B.1.ʔassæfi:r alʔaməri:ki ju:dafiʢu ʢan Ʒidar baɣda:d. | Wall. |
A.1.ʔalma:liki jufawidu mussalæħi:n wa ʔal-qāʕida taʢdimu ʢiʃri:na ʃurrtjan | Al maliki negotiates with insurgents and Al-qaeda executes 20 police officers. |
the use of ‘ʔassæfi:r’ (ambassador) with ‘ ju:dafiʢu ʢan Ʒidar baɣda:d’ ( defends Baghdad wall) in B.1 suggests that the ambassador is performing a legal action , which is defending the decision to build the security wall. The producers of this headline could have used the ambassador’s family name instead of his title, but the term ‘ʔassæfi: r’ (ambassador) has the connotation of someone with good intentions. Thus, the words in B.1 establish different hidden relationships. The first one is between the ambassador and the Iraqi people (depicted in Baghdad US troops present in Iraq to reinforce and back up any decision taken by the US administration in Iraq
The first thing one can notice in (A.1) is that ʔalma:liki (Almaliki) who is the Iraqi prime minister is disassociated from his title as prime minister. The words ju: fa: widu (negotiates) and mussalæħi:n (insurgents) show that the tense relationship between the Iraqi government and the insurgents is about to be released through talks and negotiations. However, the words used in the second part of the same headline, namely ‘ʔal-qāʕida’ ( Alqaeda) which is one of the insurgency groups and ‘taʢdimu’ (execute) plays down the prospect of any agreement between the Iraqi government and the insurgents. The choice of the words in this headline is based upon an attempt by the producers to show their attitude towards the Iraqi government and therefore export their stance to their audience. That is to say, Aljazeera as an Arab news agency tend to depict the Iraqi government which is loyal to the occupying forces as having hard times dealing with the non-stop turmoil.
2.1.2.2. Experiential values of grammatical features in headlines
Various grammatical forms of a language are used alternatively to code, according to Fairclough (1989.120), happenings or relationships in the world. In other words, the choice of specific grammatical forms contributes to the domination of producers over their audience. Therefore, grammatical features are also ideologically significant.
2.1.2.2.1. Types of processes in headlines
Fairclough (1989:120) suggests that grammatical process types are ideologically significant in the sense that they are carefully selected to represent an event according to the way the producers wish. To elaborate on this, let us examine the following set of headlines.
Extract III
Transcriptions of Arabic headlines | English translation of the Arabic headlines |
B.1. maʒəlis ʔal əʔamn ju:di:nu taf ə ʒi:ra ʔal barlama:n ʔalʢiraqi | Security council condemns Iraqi parliament blast. |
A.1.ʔalqāʕida tanəsaħu : ʔal.ʔaməri:kijən bi ʢadami alʔbaħəti ʢan maxtu:fi ʔalmaħəmu:dia. | Al-Qaeda advise Americans not to search for Al-mahmoudia kidnapped soldiers |
The process type used in the above examples can be illustrated as follows: S. V. O. that is to say, B.1: maʒəlis ʔal əʔamn ( security council) (s) , ju:di:nu (condemns) (v) taf ə ʒi:ra ʔal barlama:n ʔalʢiraqi ( the Iraqi Parliament blast) (o) . While in A.1: (s) ʔal qāʕida (al-qaeda), (v) tanəsaħu (advises), (o) ʔal.ʔaməri: kijən (Americans). In B.1, The producers use the process type S.V.O to put emphasis on the action of the agent with respect to the object. This choice is ideological because the producers intend to make the act of exploding the parliament a criminal one by reporting the condemnation of the Security Council which is an international institution for settling conflicts and punishing those who don not comply with its resolutions. The key insight here is that the BBC implicitly introduces its point of view that denounces suicide attacks through the fact that the Security Council as a significant institution in the making and implementation of the international law condemns the violence committed by the Iraqis as criminal.
Likewise, in (A.1) we can notice the same process type as in (B.1), yet with a totally different ideology. The producers here treat /ʔal qāʕida/ (Al Qaeda) as the agent and therefore makes it appear as more powerful and more dominant than the American soldiers. In the sense that it is the element which is portrayed issuing warnings to Americans to stop searching for their kidnapped soldiers.
To sum up, the above section has been an attempt to determine that the linguistic features of headlines does affect and shift the opinions of readers. As we have seen, vocabulary and grammatical features are carefully selected by the producers to either background or foreground the facts and events taking place in Iraq
General conclusion
Having tried to analyze the discursive features of headlines drawn from Alajazeera’s and the BBC’s websites, I have sensed to a certain degree the importance of being conscious of social power, which is exercised in our daily life through language. The study focuses on one aspect of this power, namely that of the Media, since it is characterized with a discourse where participants are unequal in terms of power.
The key insight of this humble study is to make readers question all that they are being subjected to instead of taking every thing for granted. As more and more people have used the Internet, it has become an environment where the struggle for power is taking place that now it hosts largest media outlets such as Youtube and Liveleak which have given viewers the freedom to post uncensored news to the public. That is to say, the struggle for power in the internet has become more complex and more interrelated that it has become rather impossible to define who the real participants are. And if we are not aware of such struggles, we are likely to be unconsciously dominated by other forces. I have tried to determine the existence of such power by focussing on the way the BBC and Aljazeera shift their discourse to serve their own ideologies.
Nevertheless, the findings of this study are not sufficient enough to account for all the discursive forms used by news websites to have more influence on their audience. Thus, headlines constitute part of a much broader form of discourse used by media corporations to manipulate and control their audience. My study would have been more efficient if I had treated not only headlines, but other media forms, such as the use of video clips, images, articles and so on, since it is impossible to deal with all these aspects given time constraints, I hope these aspects and other new forms of media such as the appearance of websites like Liveleak (3) and Youtube (4) will be the initiation for further researches.
Appendix I
1.1 Footenotes
Aljazeera*(1): Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة, al-ğazīrä, [al.dʒaezi:.ra], meaning "The Island") is a television network headquartered in Doha , Qatar
BBC* (2): The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7.8 billion.). (wikipedia)
Liveleak*(3): based in the UK, is a website that lets users post and share videos, similar to sites like YouTube, but it allows some sexual content and emphasizes reality-based footage such as war scenes from various parts of the world, grisly accidents, executions, and crimes.
Youtube* (4): YouTube is a popular free video sharing website which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. Videos can be rated, and the average rating and the number of times a video has been watched are both published.( wikipedia)
Appendix II
1.1Phonetic conventions of Arabic consonants
Consonants | Arabic tanscroption | Arabic scripts |
glottal stop | ʔ | ء |
voiced pharyngeal fricative | ʢ | ع |
voiced post alveolar fricative | Ʒ | ج |
voiced palato-alveolar fricative | ʃ | ش |
voiced uvular fricative | ɣ | غ |
voiced labial stop | b | ب |
voiceless alveolar stop | t | ت |
voiced alveolar stop | d | د |
voiceless velar stop | k | ك |
labial nasal | m | م |
alveolar nasal | n | ن |
voiceless labial fricative | f | ف |
voiceless uvular fricative | x | خ |
voiceless glottal fricative | h | ه |
voiced pharyngeal fricative | ħ | ح |
labio-velar glide | w | و |
palatal glide | j | ي |
1.2. Vowels
i: high front unround
u: high back round
a: low back unround
ə : indicates a schwa
æ: low front unrounded
e: mid front unrounded
Appendix III
3.1 BBC headlines
Date of publication | Arabic headlines from the BBC | English translation of Arabic headlines |
2007/04/21 16:51:58 GMT | إدانة سنية لجدار الأعظمية | Sunni condemnation against Al-adamyaa Security Wall. |
2007/05/11 15:36:29 GMT | الجيش الأمريكي ينقل معركة العراق إلى يوتيوب | US Army takes |
2007/04/23 15:48:29 GMT | السفير الامريكي يدافع عن جدار بغداد | The |
2007/04/11 06:56:39 GMT | السياسة الخاصة بالعراق "تفرخ إرهابا من نوع آخر" | The |
2007/04/11 10:12:20 GMT | العراقيون يعيشون "معاناة" هائلة | Iraqis undergo great ‘’suffering’’ |
2007/04/11 21:18:54 GMT | امريكا تتهم ايران بتسليح المقاتلين في العراق | US accuses |
2007/05/09 07:41:34 GMT | انفجار سيارة مفخخة في أربيل، وتشيني في بغداد | A VBIED blasts in Arbil , and Cheney in |
2007/04/21 02:49:17 GMT | بوش: الخطة الامنية في العراق تحقق اهدافها | Bush: Security plan in |
2007/04/11 01:24:17 GMT | بوش يدعو الى مناقشة أزمة تمويل القوات في العراق | Bush calls for discussing the troops funding crisis in |
2007/05/04 02:11:56 GMT | "حان الوقت لاعتراف واشنطن ولندن بالهزيمة في العراق" | " It is high time |
2007/05/ 10 14:37:31 GMT | شبح حرب العراق يطارد بلير حتى بعد مغادرة داوننج ستريت | Iraq War haunts Blair even after he quits |
2007/05/12 02:03:19 GMT | طالباني: القوات الأمريكية تحتاج البقاء في العراق سنة أو سنتين | Talabani : US forces needs to stay in |
2007/05/02 14:12:33 GMT | لا حديث عن الانسحاب من العراق في شرم الشيخ إبراهيم الجارحي | No talks on pulling out from |
2007/04/09 13:40:07 GMT | مئات الآلاف يتظاهرون في ذكرى سقوط بغداد | Hundereds of thousands demonsrate in the anniversary of fall of |
2007/04/13 23:59:53 GMT | مجلس الأمن يدين تفجير البرلمان العراقي | Security council condemns the Iraqi parliament blast. |
ر 2007/05/11 19:15:31 GMT | مقتل 23 في تفجيرين انتحاريين ببغداد | 23 killed in two suicide explosions in |
2007/05/08 23:17:26 GMT | هجوم أمريكي" يودي بحياة أطفال عراقيين" | US raid " killed Iraqi children " |
2007/05/09 02:41:52 GMT | واشنطن: سوريا وحدها مسؤولة عن انتحاريي العراق ا |
3.2 Aljazeera headlines
English translation of Arabic headlines | Arabic headlines from Aljazeera | Date of publication |
US army expscts fightings to intensify in | الجيش الأميركي يتوقع تصاعد القتال في العراق | السبت 18/4/1428 هـ - الموافق5/5/2007 م |
الجيش الأميركي يخسر ستة جنود بالعراق ويقر بفقدان ثلاثة | لثلاثاء 28/4/1428 هـ - الموافق15/5/2007 م | |
Al-Qaeda advise Americans not to search for Al-mahmoudia kidnapped soldiers | القاعدة تنصح الأميركيين بعدم البحث عن مخطوفي المحمودية | لثلاثاء 28/4/1428 هـ - الموافق15/5/2007 م |
Al qaeda denies fighting with tribes and deaths in a police camp. | القاعدة تنفي الاقتتال مع العشائر وقتلى بانفجار بمعسكر للشرطة | السبت 18/4/1428 هـ - الموافق5/5/2007 م |
Al-maliki vows to stop Al aadamia wall and five Americans are dead. | المالكي يتعهد بوقف سور الأعظمية ومصرع خمسة أميركيين | الاثنين 6/4/1428 هـ - الموافق23/4/2007 م |
Al maliki negotiates with insurgents and Al-qaeda executes 20 police officers. | المالكي يفاوض مسلحين والقاعدة تعدم 20 شرطيا | الثلاثاء 30/3/1428 هـ - الموافق17/4/2007 م |
Bush sticks to stay in | بوش يتمسك بالبقاء في العراق والقاعدة تنفي مقتل زعيمها | لأربعاء 15/4/1428 هـ - الموافق2/5/2007 م |
US wall to end sectarian killings while Gates continues his visit. | جدار أميركي لوقف الاقتتال المذهبي وغيتس يواصل زيارته | الجمعة 3/4/1428 هـ - الموافق20/4/2007 م |
Dozens are dead and others are wounded in the non stop violence in | عشرات القتلى والجرحى في العنف المستمر بالعراق | الثلاثاء 14/4/1428 هـ - الموافق1/5/2007 م |
Dozens are dead in | عشرات القتلى بالعراق والأميركيون يخسرون خمسة جنود | الاثنين 13/4/1428 هـ - الموافق30/4/2007 م |
Dozens are dead ,and Alqaeda capture US troops | عشرات القتلى بالعراق والقاعدة تأسر جنودا أميركيين | الاثنين 27/4/1428 هـ - الموافق14/5/2007 م |
At least sixty are dead in two car explosions in | ستون قتيلا على الأقل بمفخختين ببغداد | الأحد 26/4/1428 هـ - الموافق13/5/2007 م |
Air strike on al sadar city, and violence claims more Iraqi lives. | غارة بمدينة الصدر والعنف يحصد مزيدا من العراقيين | الأحد 19/4/1428 هـ - الموافق6/5/2007 م |
Many killed and others wounded in two car bombs in Al anbar province. | قتلى وجرحى بانفجار مفخختين في محافظة الأنبار | الاثنين 20/4/1428 هـ - الموافق7/5/2007 م |
US strikes | قصف أميركي لبغداد وارتفاع قتلى انفجار كربلاء | الأحد 12/4/1428 هـ - الموافق29/4/2007 م |
16 are dead, and the government confirms a decrease in victims. | مصرع 16 ببغداد والحكومة تؤكد انخفاض الضحايا | الثلاثاء 14/4/1428 هـ - الموافق1/5/2007 م |
Two soldiers are killed and thousands others search for kidnapped soldiers. | مقتل جنديين أميركيين وآلاف آخرون يبحثون عن المخطوفين | الاثنين 27/4/1428 هـ - الموافق14/5/2007 م |
From. : www.aljazeera.net
Bibliography
-Fairclough, N. 1989 Language and Power, Longman Inc. New York
-Gurevitch, M, Tony Bennet, James Curran and Janet Woolllacott. 1986 Culture Society And the Media: The study of the Media. Methuen and Co. Ltd. New York
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