Discourse: Where Youth & Adults Collide

DISCOURSEWhere Youth

and Adults Collide

Sherilyn CarrID # 00048321

LDP Assignment 3Due 9 October, 2009

Collision of worlds / wordsYouth don’t understand older adults

“what they went through isn’t the same” (13 yr old)

“times have changed” (18 yr old)

Older adults don’t understand youth“they haven’t experienced the things you have

that have influenced your thinking” (72 yr old)

Why don’t they understand each other when surely they’re speaking the same language?

But it’s not the same language!How would you ask the following to get ready to go to

the shops? A 2 ½ year old child A teenager A 40 year old A 65 year old

How do you react in the following situations where you are delayed?

in a supermarket queue at the doctors surgery waiting for a friend waiting for your partner

We use language appropriate to the context of a social interaction

“A form of language that varies according to participants, settings, and topics” (Berko Gleason & Bernstein Ratner, 2009, p 479)

As we learn language from early childhood we develop the ability to use a variety of registers and this development continues right through to old age((Berko Gleason & Bernstein Ratner, 2009, p 437)

Adolescent RegistersPhonologically

The use of intonation to “put down” someone. A mother compliments her 14 yr old daughter and

gets this response:

(The Weekend Australian Magazine, 12-13/09/2009, p9)

Adolescent Registers continuedSyntactically

Non-standard use of discourse markers such as “like” which may be used in a variety of ways: approximative, exemplificatory, metalinguistic,

hesitational/linking(Stenstrom, Andersen & Hasund, 2002, p 117)

SemanticallyUse of coined words, slang etc to provoke and

otherize outsiders while retaining bonds with peers (Stenstrom, Andersen & Hasund, 2002, p 67-68)

Similarities in the responses

Use of pronouns“they” to divide into us and them groups“you” and “yours” to include the listener as

part of the speaker’s group

“what they went through isn’t the same” (13 yr old)

“they haven’t experienced the things you have that have influenced your thinking” (72

yr old)

Similarities in the responses continued

Views of the world around themtheir agreement that the experiences of life are

different for both age groups

“what they went through isn’t the same” (13 yr old)

“times have changed” (18 yr old)

“they haven’t experienced the things you have that have influenced your thinking” (72

yr old)

Similarities in the responses continued

Views of the world around them continuedtheir presumption of the other age group being

ignorant

Okay, they can be different – why?

“Oneself-identity is inextricably bound up with one’s

language, for it is in the communicative process

– the process of sending out messages and having them “bounced” back –

that such identities are confirmed, shaped and reshaped.”

(Brown, 2007, p 69)

Youth vs. Adult RegistersPurpose of Discourse

Youth Adults

Self Identity Express oneselfShape identity

Express oneselfIdentify already formed

Resistance Dominated by adults since birth Now have language skills to resist during the process of becoming an adult

Used in a lesser degree as usually try to avoid situations of being dominated

Group Have left child’s world & not yet accepted in adult’s world but accepted with peers who speak the same language

As an adult there are many groups available to choose to join

Otherization Frequently used in order to retain self identity & keep unwanted members out, i.e. adults

May be used depending on type of group

Is there any hope of avoiding collision?We use a variety of language registers

throughout lifeNeed to recognise the register of adolescents

as valuableAs with new student-centred method of

education (Study Guide, 2009, p 21) perhaps adults need to relinquish their domination over youth

ReferencesBerko Gleason, J. & Bernstein Ratner, N. (2009). The development

of language (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education

Brown, H.D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (5th ed.). (pp. 57-75). White Plains: Longman

Maushart, S. (12-13/09/2009). No pain, no gain. (p 9) Brisbane: The Weekend Australian Magazine.

Stenstrom, A.-B., Andersen, G., & Hasund, I.K. (2002). Trends in teenage talk: Corpus compilation, analysis and findings. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins

Study Guide. (2009). Study guide for language, discourse & power. Massey University, School of Language Studies.

Appendix A

•For children living at home: Do you think that adults (between ages 50-80 yrs) understand you?Yes / No (circle one)

•For older adults: Do you think that children (between ages 12-25 yrs) understand you?Yes / No (circle one)

Give reasons why:

Give reasons why:

Two questions extracted from the questionnaire:

Appendix B – newspaper article