Professor Joshua Belknap | Co Req ML | Spring 2023

Unit 3: Genre, Audience, Language 4/20/23

Part of the final Unit 3 research project is thinking about audience, and how to best communicate with that audience. Using different vernaculars/dialects/registers with different audiences can make for more effective communication, depending on context.

Respond in writing to the following:

  • How many languages do you speak? What are they? After you name the “official” languages you speak, name the other discourses, vernaculars and registers you speak, not necessarily national languages but languages you speak with friends, languages you speak with family, languages you may speak with people with whom you share a hobby like a sport.
  • To whom do you speak those different languages?
  • How do you feel about speaking different languages to different people in different contexts?
  • How does your intended audience impact how you speak to someone and the word choice you use?
  • How does the purpose for your communication impact what you say and how you say it?
  • How can you have a similar message or purpose for different audiences but use different word choice based on your audience?
  • How do you integrate all the languages you speak?
  • What kind of language or register or discourse are you going to use in your final project (Unit 3 research)? Explain, in detail, why this is the most effective mode of communication or register.
  • What genre is your project? If it is a traditional written academic essay, explain in detail why you decided that this is most effective. If it is a video presentation, explain why a video is most effective.
    • Write your reply here by replying to this post.

10 Comments

  1. Duc Giang

    I can speak two languages. They are Vietnamese and English. I speak English only in school and with my old teachers that I still communicate. Also, I speak Vietnamese at home with my friends, and family who know Vietnamese languages. I think it will be fine when I can speak two languages in different situations because can help me easy to connect with other people. If I speak Vietnamese a lot, my English will decrease. By having to provide more information about why I am writing about the topics I do, I have to consider my intended audience when I talk and choose words. The purpose of my communication impact I would say is people can understand what I want to say and convey. I think I integrate all the languages I speak is speak as much as I can in my target language. And using languages everywhere I can speak. I think I use English to discourse I going to use in the final project because it is easy to make everyone understand. The message I want to give us more clear. The genre in my project is an investigative report. I’ll write a standard academic essay since I can sum up everything I want to convey to my audience in that essay’s conclusion.

    • Duc Giang

      If I speak Vietnamese a lot, my English will decrease because my family doesn’t speak English I use my language to talk to them. This may prevent me from improving my English every day. Moreover, if I want to improve my English every day, I have to go to work and school to communicate with people and use less of my native language. I think I use English for presentations I will use in the final project because it’s easy to make people understand. Moreover, using English for the final project can improve my written language and people can understand what I want to convey. The genre in my project is investigative reports and infographics. I use these two categories because infographics make it easy for people to understand what I mean. For investigative reporting, I use it because it is accurate evidence through the use of pictures, figures, and specific information as well as evidence of racism in New York during a pandemic.

  2. Darianny Morales

    I consider myself to speak one language because i am not fluent on English maybe not when I talked with other person because when I am alone my English is more better. However, I speak Spanish. 

    I speak English only in college and when I have to go outside. And I always speak spanish with my closest friends and family. 

    I don’t know I feel normal sometimes its frustrating because I want to improve my English but I do not have that person who speak a constant English with me. 

    It’s depend because they are people where I have more confidence and I uses to speak more but when I don’t feel comfortable or that confidence I uses to stay silences and just listen what others have to say. The word choices I uses are depend the person who I talking to. 

    When I talking with someone else I always try to measure my words because I don’t know how that person is going to take my words because sometimes when someone say something the other person listening tend to understand other thing. Also when I am with someone I always analyze the person to find a effective way to communicate myself. 

    I can have a similar message and purpose depend on the audience I speak to. Also, I can direct my message in different language or speak in different tone like kind or strict, is always depend of the audience that speak to. 

    The language I will uses to my project is English. Even though Spanish is the way I communicate in the most effective way, I have to uses language because my audience are English speaker so I do not have an option. I may made my project bilingual but it’s something I have to think about.. but I don’t think I will do it bilingual. 

    My genre is a podcast because I want to express myself the best way posible.  

  3. Zakaria

    I’m Zakaria and I speak four (4) languages which most of are from and country name Burkina Faso located in the west Africa. I’m also learning how to speak Spanish as well, because I’ve got a lot of Spanish friend that have became family to me so I’m interested in knowing what they say when they speak the language. The four other languages are French, English, Mooré, and Bissa. I’ve known how to speak French through academic school back home which they teach in French because our country was colonized by French people. Mooré is basically a traditional language of another culture that is the most famous in Burkina Faso, so when I move frime my village to the city Mooré was an language that I have never known how to speak it until I move to the capital of Burkina which is Ouagadougou. Bissa is my own traditional language which I grew up with both of my parent are from that culture so that what I adapted growing up . As for today where I’m living now in New York I don’t usually speak Mooré much unless I talking to friends back home. French I’ve got couple friends and family menbers which I use with a lot and Bissa is the language I use all the time at home with my mother brother and sister and for English I used it all the time while playing soccer or working out so English is now my number one language that I use the most daily .

  4. Denisa

    I speak two languages, Albanian and English. With my high school friends and my family I speak Albanian in Gegë dialect, and with my college friends I speak English.

    I feel that I can create communication with different types of people in different types of languages.

    This is a more convenient way to understand different people’s opinions.

    My intended audience impact on how I speak and the word choice I make is by having to give more details about why I am writing about what I choose.

    By showing facts and using examples to prove my statements.

    I don’t integrate the languages.

    I will use English since this is an English class. 

    I haven’t decided yet. If I don’t have any good idea what kind of genre I will use I’m going to write an essay

  5. Sandra

    How many languages do you speak? What are they?I speak two languages, the languages I speak is Spanish and English.To whom do you speak those different languages?I speak Spanish at home with my mom.And English is speak that everywhere.How do you feel about speaking different languages to different people in different contexts?When speaking in Spanish I don’t really like it because I don’t talk good nor do I pronounce words correctly but I do understand what people are saying.How can you have a similar message or purpose for different audiences but use different word choice based on your audience?You can have a similar message but different audience by the way you explain it and who your trying to convince.How does your intended audience impact how you speak to someone and the word choice you use?The audience will impact you the way you speak because the topic your trying to convince or show the audience what your trying to prove.It also depends on humor.How does the purpose for your communication impact what you say and how you say it?Communication will impact what you say or show in what your trying to prove.The audience are the most important because their the ones your trying to get their attention for what your talking about, especially what kind of audience your trying to prove.I would also say humor because you wouldn’t want to be there and not be joking or doing anything except talking because that wouldn’t grabs peoples attention.It really depends on who your trying to convince and who is mainly for.Also language is a part of it everyone has their own part where they stand.

  6. carlagarcia

    I am a bilingual speaker. Witch is English and Spanish. When I’m with my family, I communicate mainly in Spanish, and if I run across bilingual friends, I’ll mix in some English as well. Spanish is the language I use with my friends, and we can communicate using slang terms. I feel more comfortable communicating with others in other languages because I can assist them if they need help. I may modify my vocabulary and word choice when speaking to various audiences in order to better suit their knowledge and background. For instance, to ensure better understanding when speaking with someone who speaks English as a second language, I could use simpler language and remain clear of idiomas. What I say and how I speak also depend on the goal of communication. For instance, if the goal is to convince, I can use more sentimental language and rhetoric to engage the audience’s feelings. Humans may find it difficult to adjust to different languages and subjects since each one may have a different structure, vocabulary, and cultural standards. Because English is a global language, it has a rich vocabulary and a flexible grammar structure, is the language of the internet and social media, and encourages creativity and cross-cultural exchange, I will be using it for my final project. Infographics are a good method to present complicated information in a way that is visually appealing and simple to understand. 

  7. Heylin D

    I speak English and Spanish. Since English is my first language and Spanish being my second. The discourages with speaking Spanish for me is I’m not as fluent when it comes to coming up with words I can’t think of in Spanish or translating. But I would say I am still pretty good with speaking Spanish because I’ve spoken and learning it growing up.

    I speak English with my close friends and cousins and speak Spanish mainly with my family.

    I feel okay when speaking different languages with different people because others may not understand the language, I know that they don’t meaning Spanish.

    It impacts what you say and how to say it, is for them to understand what I’m trying to say. Because for Spanish when I speak to my mom, she always corrects me with how I say a certain word or sentence. That’s why when it comes to translating it gets frustrating when I can’t think of a way to interpret how I should translate.

    I could have a similar message for the different audiences while saying it a different way, could depend how they view it in their heads but for I like to let people understand what I’m saying to get the clear message out, same thing with Spanish seven if it’s a little harder for me in that language.

    I don’t integrate both languages as they are different in they own ways, as I still struggle to translate.

    I’ll be using English for my final project. This is the most effective mode of communication because we all know English here. So interpreting that will do an impact on the audience for them to understand what’s going on.

    My genre will be comic but I still need to see if that will be my final option as I don’t know if my topic will fit with that genre. But I think doing a comic can be effective as it can open people’s eyes a bit more on my topic being social media negatively affecting teens mental health. With maybe visuals to show how it can affect the teens and can make the audience believe it more.

  8. Tanvir Zaman

    • I speak 3 languages. Bangla, English, Urdu. My original language is Bangla. I speak Bangla with my family and I speak English and Urdu with my friends.
    • I speak those different languages with friends and in school.

    

    • I feel interested because speaking different languages to different people in different contexts is an effective way to communicate with diverse groups of individuals. It can help to establish trust and build stronger relationships, demonstrate respect for different cultures, and avoid misunderstandings or miscommunications. 

    • I use a different vocabulary and tone when talking to a child than when conversing with an adult or a professional. Understanding the audience’s age, education level, cultural background, and interests can help you tailor your communication style to effectively convey your message.

    • I try to talk logically and point out a statement but sometimes I fail because I’m not fluent in English.

    • By combining words or phrases from each language into a single statement, phrase, or paragraph, Bengali, English, and Urdu can be integrated. This can be helpful for bilingual people who constantly transition between languages or for regions where multiple languages are spoken. Effective language blending requires careful study of the grammatical conventions and linguistic structures of each language.

    • I use English because that’s an English class and nobody can understand Bangla.

    • My genre is global warming and I will present this in the classroom. Why is it important and what do we need to do?
  9. Tatiana K

    I speak 3 languages. Romanian, Russian and English. I speak Romanian to my family, my friends from Moldova (country that I come from). The Romanian language that we speak in Moldova differs from the Romanian language that is spoken in Romania by certain slang. And I speak Russian home with my husband and at work as I work in a Russian area. With 30% of the customers I speak English, so I speak English at work and in school.

    Today I can freely switch from one language to a second or a third, I can speak three languages at the same time without confusing them with each other, but it was not always like this and while I got used to it there were difficulties.

    Communication with me is always easy positive and I always make people smile in my every speech there are certain words that cause laughter or jokes. I know from hearsay that people who have the hardest time always cover up their fatigue or their difficulty under a joke to make life easier for themselves and others around. And I think that’s true.

    I use a similar message in purpose for different audiences by using different word choice based on how I feel people. All people are different, and all people have their own kind of communication some are very serious, some like to joke, some are aggressive, some are kind and to everyone I have an approach and I feel when and what to talk to them in time.

    The difference in different languages is that each language has its own meaning, not every phrase that is translated from one language to another will retain the same meaning. So, in my unit-3 I will be written in English, I will try my best to write and say things in a way that has an understandable sense for people leaving in the United States. Since we all come from different countries and speak other languages besides English, English is the common language for all of us which can be understood by everyone.

    The genre I will write about is documentary and it will consist of videos and pictures. Every video will be explained in detail and commented on so my audience understands what is my video presentation about it and why this is important for them to know. I will use motivational phrases to entice people.

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