Blog Post: Language, Politics, & Regionalism
Due: Thursday by class time
Part I.
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Make and upload a screenshot of your results to your blog.
To make a screenshot, hold down SHIFT + COMMAND + 4. Then use the cursor to create a box around the part of the screen that you want to include in your image.
Upload the screenshot onto your blog by clicking the image icon in the menu of a new post.
Then, reflect on your results:
Were your results accurate? If so, what words do you think were major factors in correctly determining your location?
If not, why do you think the quiz miscalculated your location?
Why would someone take a quiz like this? Why do we care?
Part II.
Yesterday, you read, analyzed, and reflected on a New York Times opinion piece, Obama’s English.
In the article, the writer argues:
“...in a multiethnic, multicultural America where Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority and Asians are the fastest-growing minority, national politicians also will have to be fluent in multiple ways of speaking. For too long, sounding presidential meant sounding like a white, middle- or upper-class straight man” (Alim).
In this post, you are going to attempt to be fluent in a different way of speaking in order to persuade a specific audience.
Choose one of the following audiences:
persuade a three year old to eat their broccoli
persuade an Apple computer executive to hire you
persuade a Harvard admissions director to accept you
persuade a police officer to let you go without paying a speeding ticket
persuade a local band to hire you as a new bassist/singer/drummer
Then, address this audience in your post. Imagine you are talking directly to this person. Consider which words would best reach your intended audience. How would you need to change your ordinary style of speaking? In other words, in this post, speak their language to persuade them.
