Generation Like

Do you believe that today’s youtube stars are being exploited or empowered?

I believe that YouTube stars are both empowered and exploited at the same time. Many Youtube stars have a large number of followers, such as Pewdiepie, who has over 40 million subscribers. With a fanbase as big as this, one person can have a very big impact by just uploading a video onto Youtube, which will then be seen by millions of people. This large audience empowers Youtube stars as they are able to voice their opinion to the public by uploading a video. Furthermore, users are also being empowered by their fanbase which look up to them and want to be just like them. As they have such a large fanbase, advertising product and making money can also be done very easily, which can sometimes feel empowering, but mostly is the exploitation of Youtube stars from big companies. Big companies often pay Youtube stars who have a large following a lot of money so that they endorse their product in a video, making it extremely profitable for companies at the expense of Youtube stars being exploited. In addition to this, the company Youtube, who is empowering Youtube stars by giving them a voice, also exploits them by placing ads on their page as well as making partnerships with the Youtube stars, so that for the exchange of much money, Youtube can place ads into the actual video, making it guaranteed that large amounts of viewers will see the Video. In conclusion, there are negatives and positives about being a Youtube star such as being empowered or exploited. 

Stereotypes

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?

In todays society, advertisements usually have some type of stereotype about people from one race, culture or country. I believe that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people due to several reasons, however I also understand why it is done by advertisers. First of all, when advertisers stereotype people, they generalise a whole culture or race and depict them to society as all the same people, ignoring their differences. This can be very offensive to some, especially when one’s cultural or race stereotype is used in order to make the advertisement funny. Furthermore, advertisers should also avoid stereotyping people as it imposes standards on society, which are most predominantly seen in the fashion and modelling industry. Advertisers choose to include stereotypes of people in ads due to various reasons. Using stereotypes of people saves valuable time in the explanation that is necessary to set the scene in the advertisement as the audience will most likely have prior knowledge of stereotypes.  Furthermore, stereotypes can easily create an association with the viewer and the ad itself, as well as make the ad in some cases more funny. Additionally, decorative and active portrayals of men and women in advertisements can often say a lot about the intentions of an ad in terms of appeals, which is also liked to the affect transfer concept. In conclusion, I believe that advertisers should avoid stereotyping people, however I do understand why it is done and its effectiveness. 

Print Ad Analysis

Audience and Purpose:

This type of text is a print advertisement targeted towards young women. It is targeted towards young women due to the female in the picture wearing a wedding dress, as well as due to the watches both on her wrist and in the bottom right corner which look like watches for females. The purpose of this print advertisement is to make the viewer want to buy watches from Hour Choice. It aims to do this by persuading the audience with the slogan “Never Follow”, meaning to be out of the ordinary and not mainstream.  

Content and Theme

In this print advertisement, watches by Hour Choice are advertised as seen by the somewhat transparent title at the top, and the several watches in the foreground of the ad at the bottom right. In the centre we see a young woman wearing a white wedding dress, sneakers and a watch. This is done to draw the viewers attention to this section of the advertisement as it clearly contrasts with the dark background. The sneakers and watch which the woman is wearing also contribute to the companies slogan in white text, which also stands out from the darker background, “Never Follow” as it implies that you should be different than the rest. Both the slogan and the female both build upon another to bring across the theme of being different.

Tone and Mood

The tone of the print advertisement is encouraging as the slogan “Never Follow” encourages change and being different from the rest. The atmosphere created is relaxed and daring because the female in the ad is willing to be different while wearing casual sneakers and a watch which create a relaxed and daring atmosphere. 

Style and Structure

This print advertisement encourages people to be different by using the slogan “Never Follow”. The text in this advertisement does not use any pronouns, however it does use direct speech as the slogan is addressed directly to the viewer. The text at the bottom of the advertisement show all of the different brands which Hour Choice offer. This is however made in a small text font in order to not draw away much attention to the main text, the slogan. The slogan itself effectively hooks and engages the reader as direct speech is used. The structure of this print advertisement is done in this way in order to focus most of the viewers attention to the centre of this ad as well as the watches in the bottom right of the ad. 

Turoyo Language Lawyer

• The Turoyo language has similarities to the Arabic and Turkish language, making it easier to learn.
• Due to its similarities to other languages such as arabic, armenian, kurdish and turkish, it is easier to learn these languages which would increase its global value.
• Adding to its ease of learning the language, the Turoyo language is documented in both the Latin and Serto Alphabet.
• Speakers of the Turoyo language (the Assyrian people) used to be spread all over the world (USA, Germany, Australia, Russia, etc.) due to civil wars and the Assyrian genocide by the ottoman empire During WWI, making the language easier to spread 
• The Assyrians are descendents of one of the oldest civilisations in the world, dating back to 2500 BC, bringing many unique traditions and values with it.
• English was forced to be taught by the western countries due to the strength of the nations which speak english such as the UK, USA, and its allies. The english language is in no way superior to any other language, and was only seen this way due to the oppression by the western countries on languages in the orient.

Endangered Language Podcast

Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/lukas-schroth/endangered-language-podcast

Most Meaningful Takeaway

"When I think of my tongue being no longer alive in the mouths of men a chill goes over me that is deeper than my own death, since it is the gathered death of all my kind. It is black night descending once and forever on all that world of forests, lakes, snow peaks, great birds' wings [...]"

This passage of the text The Only Speaker of His Tongue by David Malouf resonated with me due to its contents on language, identity and culture. If I were to think that my mother tongue would die out, I believe that I would have the same perspective on the matter as stated in the passage above, as it does not only mark the death of my language, but the death of all of my kind. Words unique to my mother tongue would be lost, traditions would vanish, it values would be forgotten.

In the passage, David Malouf describes the death of his tongue as "deeper than [his] own death", meaning that the death of a language has a greater effect than just on an individual as the language is "no longer alive in the mouths of men". The loss of a language marks the death of its culture, customs, inherited knowledge and its traditions "since it is the gathered death of all [its] kind." David Malouf describes the death of a culture as a "black night", empty and dark, without any light that would represent the life of a culture. With the culture's death, also die the culture's unique way of describing the world, such as its "forests, lakes, snow peaks, great birds' wings", as no two cultures are alike. Each culture, like its language, is unique.

What is the value of preserving indigenous languages?

Language is an important part of society as it enables us to communicate with each other and express ourselves. According to Back To Babel, when a language dies out, “it marks the loss of an entire culture”. I however disagree with this statement as I believe that a language is only a part of a culture, and not something that solely defines a culture. However on the contrary, I do believe that some of the knowledge and understanding of a culture is lost when its language is extinct. Even though most of the culture and some of its traditions can be preserved by writing or technology, certain things such as customs, inherited knowledge and oral traditions are lost, meaning that future generations lose a important part of the culture which is necessary in order to completely understand it. 

As not all aspects of a culture can be preserved after its language dies out, I believe that it is important to preserve indigenous languages. Each language is unique, no two are the same. When a language dies out, certain words which don't exist in other languages die out with it. For example, the word “Dadirri” from Aboriginal Australian, which is an ancient word that combines deep inner listening, contemplation, and quiet still awareness of creation and the creator. Furthermore, words such as these also gives us an insight into what was valued in the culture. If all of the indigenous languages were to die out, there wouldn't be such a great language and cultural diversity as certain aspects of these lost cultures are forgotten. Due to this, it is important to preserve all languages as they all give us a unique perspective on the world and their values in their culture.