The media: a positive tool?

No doubt we are all affected by the media these days. We are surrounded by it because of the new technologies and the globalization phenomena. However, its negative effects are more noticeable and media is continuously criticised. But media is not just violence and explicit sex that harm and fill the mind with dust. We will see both sides of the coin.

            The media has brought the possibility of being updated of what happens all over our world. These international events are brought to us by the speed of technology. TV, online newspapers, and even Twitter, to mention some of the tools that the Internet has, send and make information available in minutes and seconds. An online newspaper is not reliable if the piece of news it publishes is delayed or has a difference of minutes compared to other newspapers.

The new necessity of knowing what is happening here and in the rest of the world has been created, and actually, the disinformation in social, political, economical and meteorological issues is a serious problem in our society. However, we are acquainted with yellow news and an earthquake seems to have the same importance as the divorce of an actress.

Finally, media has increased our awareness about the masses about social and moral issues, which forms the future citizens of this global community. Children’s first reading habits and enrichment of vocabulary are produced by newspapers and the possibility to influence them. It is responsible for changes in cultural and moral values and also attitudes and beliefs in mankind. It is said it has a strong impact in the lifestyle of society as it influences behaviour. Although our capability to tolerate and listen to other views, opinions and beliefs has been widen, and we can also publish what we want, from an opinion to an advertisement, consequences are not always positive, as explicit sex and violence had been spread even by cartoons. Nowadays it is normal to watch a film with intruding sex scenes that have nothing to do with the plot.

We criticize media and its effects hardly but in fact, we cannot escape, we do not want to escape and it is more comfortable not to escape from them as we have already got used to it.  

Actividades.

1.Choose one essay and make a summary of it. (50-100 words)




2.Write your own essay: (150-250 words)

     a- giving your views about any of the essays in this blog.

     b- about a different topic you want.

Languages are changing...

Languages are changing….

The “language” called Globish was coined by a business man who wanted language to be easier and universal, in order to do business. It has its advantages and disadvantages which are going to be explained in this essay.

From my point of view, the barrier for people who want to communicate among each other will continue to exit, although this man changed the language to make it simpler, and easier. He reduced the quantity of words, and he does not respect the rules as they are, which could mean that the language becomes easier, but anyway, there will be people who will not learn the language, and those people who learn this language, will acquire it in a wrong way. In other words, he is killing the language, without taking so much advantage from it.

What is more, Globish meets a communication need regardless of the English culture and traditions which mean that the people who use that language do not worry about the language itself; but only about the negotiations they can do using this .I do not agree with the fact that using Globish, you are not taken into conisderation the culture and the history of the language and the society where the language is spoken.

Another aspect to take into consideration, from my point of view, is the pronunciation of this new language. Thinking carefully, we are able to recognize that one of the most important aspects of a language is the pronunciation. The Globish language does not take this into consideration. They see language only as a tool.It is also important to take into consideration that the creation of Globish is also commercial. For them it is like a product which they want to commercialize, not a language. They only want to take advantages of it, and make money, without taking into consideration all its important aspects.

However, it has some advantages such as the possibility of speaking a language which will be understood by everyone, as a result of globalization. But I still disagree with this because of all the reasins mentioned above.

All in all, every human, is different and this is great. When we as human choose to do something, like speaking a new language which is simplified, thinking that we can communicate with one another using the same method; we are affirming that we do not want to be who we are, and that we are not taking into consideration the importance of being different.

Misunderstandings...

Consumerism and its possible effects...

Consumerism….

Firstly, when we talk about consumerism, we should take into consideration what it means. As we know we refer to consumerism as the habit of buying and buying new products, without taking care of how much money we spend.

Once upon a time, people were not used to spend money as people do now, and the reason for this is that they were not so exposed to new things, because the media did not get to all the people it reaches now; and the other reason is that people took care of more important things, in the sense of buying and having new things, did not represent happiness for them.

Actually, people live for buying and having the new products which are in the market because this is the meaning of happiness for them. As we mentioned before, the media also has its effects on people decisions. Nowadays, people are exposed to a lot of different “propaganda” , which tells them that this or that product is excellent, selling them the product, and convincing them that if they do not have an x product, they are nobody, and that they will not be happy. These are consequences of Globalization.

Globalization allows us to know what is happening all around the world in exactly the same moment. Communication has improved our way of living, things which were unthinkable, like knowing what is going on in the other side of the world, or communicating with your friends in a cheaper and intimate way, are possible thanks to Globalization; but the question is: “ ...has it only good effects, or benefits?

Globalization has also bad effects on people and one example of it, is when people consume and consume, without taking care of other things. As we know, the media tries to convince us that we need all what they offer to be happy, and we as human beings believe it. Another bad effect is that we disconnect ourselves from the real world, for instance, when we chat with others, through Facebook, or when we make comments on Twitter, thinking that we are much more connected and that in this way we are more communicative with others, when in fact this is not true. While using all the benefits Globalization gives to us, we are not enjoying common things like

spending time talking face to face with our parents or friends. As a consequence we are less communicated among us.

More or less the same happens with people who consume a lot in the sense that as they are shown that they are nobody if they do not have the latest product, they buy this new thing. The media does not only sell us all new products and objects in the market, but also imposes a way of living. And what is worse, it convices us that we can be happy, only if we have all these things, and it does not give any value to real life situations which are enjoyable.

It is necessary to take into consideration that not all the people react in the same way. There are some people who are able to make a clear distinction when believing in something the media says about a new object in the market, but, sadly, these people are very few.

What is more, some of those people who believe in everything the media says become “compulsive buyers”, in the sense that all they see, they buy, and by this way, they get in enormous debts. Some of them lose all they have because they buy and buy, without taking into consideration that maybe they cannot afford these things they buy. What is more, there are very intelligent people who studied how to atract people using marketing and as a result they convince the most intelligent person who can discern what is necessary for them and what is not necessary.

All in all, it can be said that the major responsible for consumerism, from my point of view, is the media, and its actions which are made intentionally, for convincing people to consume an x product, but it is also important not to forget that people themselves choose what to do, in relation to this topic.

Advertising and our buying habits

Advertising has been increasing and developing itself throughout history, since its beginnings, more people have been involved in trying to develop and think about the many benefits it has on sales. Some sociologists are hired to measure the effects advertising has on people to think about the different products to be launched.

Advertising, is to some extent, a means of communication, but not any kind of, it is a one way of communication whose only purpose is to show a product to the people to be bought by them. Advertisements are full of words such as ‘the best’, ‘the fastest’, ‘the cheapest’, ‘save money from’; all these words combined in different ads may lead us to buy certain products which appear in those ads. People do not often consume products which are unknown to them, on the contrary, many tend to buy things that they saw on the T.V., or in Internet, or different means of communication.

Many people believe that the ads provoke a desire to consume those products that are shown there. This is, at the same time, one the main basis of consumerism and its effects on people. By being exposed to different ads, a necessity of owning them is created and we are all affected by those ads, but, we may react differently. According to our social status we may afford different amounts of products, especially if we are wealthy enough. In contrast to this, some people who cannot afford this kind of products may react differently, for example they may just give up the idea of buying it in that moment, waiting for the time they can afford it. But, in this same case, some people who cannot afford it, and at the same time, cannot wait to have the money to buy it, have started stealing products or even robbing money to get them.

The main theme is how can we leave this aside and go on without being influenced by ads? It is difficult to leave them aside, because we are always looking at ads, they are everywhere. From my point of view, it is a matter of self-consciousness, in which we should think of those things that are really relevant for our lives at the time we are living. Unfortunately, it looks like a chain, which we cannot be apart from, and we need to consume in order to remain in it.

CONSUMERISM & ADVERTISING

Nowadays, no one can deny that we live in a consumerist society. But, to what extent does advertising determines our buying habits? Are we all affected in the same way?

To begin with, the term consumerism refers to “a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts”.[1] In other words, consumerism is the act or practise of an increasing consumption of goods. In general, the basics of consumerism are: the extraction of resources, the production of goods, the distribution, the consumption and the disposal. According to Mr Fortunato, consumerism can be defined as the “distorted desires to possess and consume things beyond what is necessary”.    In order to accomplish this, companies hire commercial advertisers to generate increased consumption of some services and products through the creation of different publicities.

Moreover, some people think that advertising cannot sell any product if the person does not want to buy it. On the other hand, other people argue that advertising is so effective that it can brainwash us and make us spend money in unnecessary things. So, entrepreneurs are always designing new products, creating new necessities, and thinking on how to advertise them so that we, as consumers, will (want to) buy them. 

Furthermore, what is true is that countless enterprises invest billions of dollars to get our minds and hearts and to influence our choices when buying.  For this reason, they create commercials in which the products effects on people are exaggerated and what they offer is an opportunity to be part of the “cool” people; to make you feel better about yourself. To do this, companies improve their marketing techniques through: emotional appeal testimonials, scientific appeal, glittering generalities, etc.

What is more, frequently the products that are advertised are: cosmetics, alcohol and cigarettes. In fact, the amount of money that is spent in advertising this kind of products it much greater than the money used to improve society.

Besides, advertising makes happiness be seen as equivalent to having, rather than to being. In this way, Philip Saltier says: “Americans become unhappy and vicious because their preoccupation with amassing possessions alleviates their loneliness. This is why production in America seems to be on such an endless upward spiral: every time we buy something we deepen our emotional deprivation and hence our need to buy something.” Therefore, in many cases people are willing to work long hours, to steal, etc. in order to get the products on offer and to keep the same standard of living as the people who are around them.

Also, advertisements can provoke people to be disappointed with what they already have, and make them want even more. Thus, people are exposed several times to products that they cannot afford, thus creating a feeling of dissatisfaction and frustration. Continuing with this line of thought, not all the parents can afford the dolls, toys, cars, etc. that their children see on TV. 

In addition, it is important not to forget that every kind of advertisement is targeted towards a specific population/segment. For example, children, teenagers, adults, etc. 

However, people are not interested in advertising anymore. Research has shown that people try to skip from two-thirds to eighty per cent of the ads. For this reason, companies have a big interest in placing brands in films, soap operas, etc. In this way, they advertise their products in a subtle way.

Taking everything into account, there is no doubt that we are immersed in a consumer society. But, what is important for us is to know  whether advertising determines or not our buying habits and what are the effects that advertising has on us.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerism

Artists and charity

Artists have always been involved in charity and it has always been a controversial topic. Most of the famous people that do charity are musicians. It seems to be a contradiction that very rich people, many millionaires can have the poorest and weakest in their agenda. Many people inquire if they really help because they see the need or just as a marketing strategy.

A distinction among artists has to be made in order to put tags about honest and not honest. There are artists that use their fame, influence and their fans to help organizations and artists who want to help to be tagged as “generous” and win more fans.

The commonest way of helping is by organizing a concert or releasing a single or album and giving away the proceeds to charity or non governmental organizations.  They give the money to the government, and the doubt if the people in need really receive this financial aid  exists. There also exist the doubts about organizations that do not give clear numbers or where there are not clear objectives of areas in which they want to help.

Whatever we want to tag artists, I liked the way the New Zealander singer, songwriter and musician Brooke Fraser helped a wonderful organization called ‘Charity Water’. They build sustainable water projects in Africa for the people to have access to drinkable water. She made a campaign for her birthday and she asked her fans as a gift to donate and reach the goal of U$S 50.000 for Charity Water. She included the link of donations in her website and social network. In the period of one month, she reached the asked amount of money, which she personally gave to local communities in Africa, where Charity Water located the most urgent need. Together with the organization, they documented the donation with pictures, videos and in one year, they will upload to the Internet the documents and the satellite location coordinates of the new water projects.  In my opinion, an original and clear way to help charities and a clever way of not to be tagged as ‘an artist who wants to appear as generous’.

GLOBALIZATION HAS LED THE WORLD TO BECOME A GLOBAL VILLAGE

Globalization has led the world to become a global village. But, what are the different aspects of this process?

According to Thomas L. Friedman globalization can be defined as “the inexorable integration of markets, nations-states and technology to a degree never witnessed before … in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before, and in a way that is enabling the world to reach into individuals, corporations, and nation-states farther, faster, deeper than ever before.”

Moreover, globalization has allowed people to be in contact with people from all over the world in a matter of seconds due to the use of the Internet, cellphones and computers. They have also allowed people to connect to each other and learn about every aspect of every culture around the globe. In this way, we have access to other´s countries ideas, costumes, habits, happenings, etc. For instance, we can buy food from other countries or regions. For example, we can buy sushi in whatever restaurant in Montevideo.  

Furthermore, globalization has unified the world through the English language. It has affected education around the world because in many countries students have to learn English since elementary school. This is the case of China where English is one of the most important courses and has to be learnt since elementary school. It has also affected education because we have to learn about other cultures and being informed of what is happening around the world.

However, globalization has negative aspects too. Globalization kills culture. The number of language has steadily decreased since the early 16^th century. The biggest decline occurred in the late 1990s as it dropped about 200% (Francis, 2004).

In addition, transnational companies such as McDonald’s, Google, WAL*MART, Nike, Microsoft have a great impact on our lives. Some of them are becoming more powerful than democratelly-elected governments. Today, there are more than 70.000 transnational companies. For example, McDonald´s is now available in over 100 countries and it disrupts the local eating habits, especially among the younger generations, increasing obesity rates. People argue that they buy fast food because it is cheap, easy and fast.  Nike shoes, pants, shirts are made by workers in countries such as in Saipan, Vietnam and Indonesia where the owners make their workers work more than 24 hours straight and only pay them less than 2 dollars. Many of the people who work in this kind of sweatshops cannot even work enough to support themselves and in some cases women are forced to have abortion. We can all try to stop these sweatshops by buying fair trade products from that assure that the people work in good living conditions.

Thus, globalization has also spread forced labor, human trafficking in a massive scale, exploitation, etc. For example, it was discovered some months ago that the multinational Nike had offered jobs to people from Malaysia. They were forced to sign a three year contract in a language they could not read and their passports were confiscated. They were trapped. For this reason, in order to buy their passports back, they had to live and work in unhealthy conditions. Many of the people who work in this kind of sweatshops cannot even work enough to support themselves and in some cases women are forced to have abortion. We can all try to stop these sweatshops by buying fair trade products from that assure that the people work in good living conditions.

Taking everything into account, globalization is a process in which the people of the world have been unified in a single society. But, as every process, it has positive and negative aspects. 

Globalization

Everytime we read the news, we get to read stories about how the process of globalization influences the lifestyles of million people around the world.

First of all, it is necessary to define what "Globalization" is, and its scope. When talking about "Globalization", we mainly refer to the process in which all the countries in the world are economically connected. This is achieved by breaking down barriers between countries, in terms of trade, taxes, etc. Yet, you may wonder why is all about economy, and not general facts as we all know. This happens because at the beginning, when the term "globalization" started widespreading around the world, it was used to refer to economical processes only, because nobody knew (or believed) that that process would undergo other situations.

So, what is known as "Globalization" nowadays? It is how we call the process of being in touch with all the communities of the world, in more than one aspect only. We get benefits from: faster news, cheaper goods, work online, study, etc. In other words, we can say that the world is connected, everybody lives in a "Global Village", where everybody knows about each other, and what is happening in very distant places, as well as interacting with them. Consequently, we would be dealing with an integrative concept, which includes social aspects, economical aspects, educational, technological, etc. Consequently, it has many effects on people's everyday life, which tend to be perceived as all positive, but if we think carefully, we will see that it has disadvantages too.

On the one hand, I believe that globalization is pretty good for us, because it enables us to keep in touch with people from faraway places, with whom we would have lost contact in previous decades. One of the most relevant issues regarding this contact is the communication that teachers and students, and business people can have, which leads to better results. For example, workers can share ideas and products easily and in a cheaper way. Likewise, teachers and students can work altogether through mail, blogs and social networks, to keep in touch with the students and help them to improve more.

On the other hand, all the positive points that were considered in the previous paragraph have pernicious consequences. Have you ever thought about how those big multinational companies sell products all over the world with relative low prices? They exploit people, for example, in sweat factories, by making them work very long hours, in filthy life conditions, and earning very little money. Sometimes, those people know that they are being exploited, but as the salary is enough to survive, they do not complain. There are foundations in certain cities that want to cut off globalization, and are called "anti-globalization" movements. However, if they succeed, those workers would be left unemployed.

To sum up, I believe that globalization has both, positive and negative aspects. The problem appears when we go to extremes, when the rich wants to be richer and (s)he does not think about the others. In this case, globalization is just a weapon against equiality, like a poison candy in a very nice envelope.

Globish: the language of the Globalization

Globalization has led to many improvements in our societies, such as better and faster means of communication. This is no less important if we take into account the impact it has on languages, specially the spread of English in the Internet (which is referred to English imperialism) and the threat it means to other languages.

Nowadays, even English is being threatened by a new product of Globalization, that is Globish. This is a simplified version of English, specially for business. One of its most interesting arguments is that you can only speak Globish with 1500 words. Thus, it is a new way out for people who want to integrate the globalised world. But at the same time it is a threat to English and other languages as well.

These days, we may find books and courses about Globish. So, this also implies that many languages may become extinct, and it seems to be that Globalization will allow this if there isn’t any change about this. For example, some European countries were implementing some protectionist laws against English in order to protect their mother tongues. It is mainly a policy to foster and protect the tradition and use of their mother tongues.

So, if we let Globish get into our lives without being conscious enough of what it really implies, we can lose an essential feature of our identity as a nation and as a people. As it is stated above, this is a business language, which may work or not, but it is not an entire corpus full of traditions and culture such as a language (for example the English language). We should take it, just for what it is meant to be, a way out to the –many times- difficult negotiations between two or more countries whose languages are different.

DO YOU THINK VIRTUAL CONCERTS MAY ONE DAY REPLACE REAL ONES?

Virtual concerts have been created for those people who do not have the opportunity to go to real ones. Personally, I think that virtual concerts have both positive and negative aspects. 

To begin with, virtual concerts allow people to see and listen to their favourite bands and singers when -for example- the recitals are far away from their house, in another country, or when the tickets are very expensive.

However, virtual concerts cannot be compared with real ones. I remember when I was fifteen and I went to a concert of “El Cuarteto de Nos”. The place was crowded and when they appeared on stage everybody began to sing, to jump, etc.

What is more, I could feel the adrenaline running through my veins. It was amazing. Nevertheless, I think that although you have the best sound quality in your house, you cannot recreate the atmosphere that is created in real concerts.

Moreover, I believe that virtual concerts are suitable for shy and lonely people. Nonetheless, in the text it is stated that “people aren't just here out of convenience or economic necessity. They're seeking community.” In other words, as Eric Hobsbawn states in his book The Age of Extremes (1994): “there is no society, only individuals”. Perhaps, this is the reason why so many people are part of virtual worlds; because they are looking for something that they cannot find in their real lives, something very important such as being part of a community.

Apart from this, I think that artists do not lose money in virtual concerts. On the contrary, they use these kinds of spaces to broadcast their music freely. In this way, people from all over the world can see and listen to them.

Taking everything into account, virtual concerts have both, their positive and negative aspects. But, in my view, I do not think that virtual concerts will ever replace real ones.

Advertising

Does advertising determine our buying habits? Are we all affected in the same way?

Nowadays, many people believe that advertising determines our buying habits because we live in a Global Village, where everything can be bought to achieve happiness.

To begin with, I think that marketing has a huge influence on our buying habits, but it does not determine them. While it is generally true that we do not need something until we have it, our buying habits come from the culture in which we live. It can be claimed that living in a globalized world forces mankind to join consumerism, but there are still some communities that live without luxury things. For instance, several tribes in Africa do not know what Coca Cola, Mc Donald’s, Nike or Nokia mean. That happens not only because of the lack of exposure to the means of communication of their countries, but also because they live in a non globalized world, with different lifestyles.

What is more, everybody is not affected in the same way by publicity, and it depends on how we think. People who are not educated since childhood are much more likely to believe in everything they see on the television, where famous people show up advertising some products that are supposed to have “magic” effects on people. Since the first years of highschool, students are taught and trained to criticize everything they see, for example in the subject “Crítica de los Saberes” in 4^th Grade. In that way we can make sure that students have at least a basis to sceptic and independent thinking, tools that make people aware of the false products that they can be offered to buy.

In other words, it is like going full circle, because when people are not aware of the false things that the TV shows they end up believing that, feeling that they will gain happiness only if they buy a certain product. What those people do not know, realize or even care about is that nothing is built to last, and every single gadget created today will be replaced by newer versions in just a few days. Then, those persons get used to having that and they need to buy a new version of the same product but with some little differences, until something new appears and they feel like having it, just to fulfil their self-esteem. For that reason I believe it is a chain that begins with a thing you buy, and then with the massive attack of the media you cannot stop consuming, unless you are clever enough to discern what is worth being bough and what is not.

To sum up, we live in a material world, where the littlest thing we buy is supposed to give us happiness. Most of the times it is fostered by the media, but in the end it is all a cultural matter, and it depends on us and the education we have to tell whether something is necessary or not.

Big Brother and reality shows: valuable service or complete rubbish?

Reality shows is a controversial issue since they appeared on television in the 90’s. They have been defended as a scientific experiment, which results are worthy to observe. They have also been strongly criticised because of the artificial behaviour of the participants, and the values they promote. We will try to analyse both sides of the coin.

One of the positive sides of realities is the use and development of strategies while playing. In the words of a participant of Big Brother Africa, “Big Brother house is a positive prison”. The easy access to popularity and jobs in the TV and theatres are just some benefits of the reality. People who are studying to be actors, models, singers or people who just want to become famous of a sudden are the ones who enter into the house and allow the world to see them acting, cooking, sleeping, arguing, having sex and going to the bathroom. Scientists study behaviours when they are observed with a camera (or hundreds of cameras). It has been seen that when “brothers” enter into the house they are careful with what they say and do, but when days go through they forget about cameras and that is the starting point for an interesting TV programme.

The negative sides of Big Brother are well known. The spectacle of seeing twenty actors and actresses doing whatever they want is potentially dangerous. The apparent reality of the programme consists of showing the people as they are in the real life. It is almost impossible to know them in depth because of the isolation they suffer, the exposure they suffer and the conditions that rule the programme. They apparently receive psychological support, but in fact it is not true, as it is easy to manipulate a person who is not psychologically stable. It is easy to obtain verbal violence and sex and nudity scenes from people who are risking their privacy, past, present and near future to a TV programme. Counter-values and four letter words have been spread in our country by the Argentinean Big Brother.

In my opinion, I do not like those realities which manage large amounts of money and play with psychological and emotional conditions of isolated people living without privacy, willing to do whatever to win money and become famous. Although it is their decision to enter Big Brother, I think it is not appropriate content to show our kids or to sit and watch in family.

The effects of music on living beings

Many people believe that music is part of their lives and they could not imagine life without it. Many of them take music as an entertaiment (like many of us may think it really is), but at the same time they might ignore the effects that it has upon us. And not only on us, but also on any kind of living organism. Music is not only played to entertain people, it is played and it has been played in religious ceremonies and in many aborigine tribes as a way to iniciating youngsters in the daylife and activities of the tribe.

Music can be a very good companion for people in different circumstances, for example it is played at nightclubs where people are having fun at weekends or even in pubs where many people gather after working all day long to relax and drink something. Many people like to listen to music when they are doing the housework. Music plays an important role in their lives. Whatever the kind of music they like, it is something that they have chosen because they like it and it makes them feel good.

Some people who have researched the effects of music on humans, say that it does not only affect human’s mood, but it can also affect their body physically. Music has the power to change their moods, to help them relax after a long stressing day or to make them feel even worse. It has also the power to make them feel angry. In spite of that, the music that people really like has to play an important role, too. Personally, I like some sort of music, but there are times, when I am very tired or I have such a terrible headache that I do not want to listen to any kind of music.

Scientists also claim that music has effects on humans’ organisms. They found that the rhythm of slow classical music can influence the beat of humans hearts and make their blood stream go slower. With fast classical music the influence is the same, it makes their heart beat faster and also changes the speed of the blood stream.

The effects of music on animals have also been researched by some curious people. The most amazing experiment was done by an university student who exposed some mice to classical music 24 hours per day, and took another group of mice and exposed them to heavy metal. The experiment was meant to see what influence music may have on them. He found that those mice which were exposed to classical music had increased their ability to solve mazes, but he had to stop the experiment because the other group of mice (the ones which were exposed to metal music) started killing each other. This means that music has the power to influence not only humans but also animals. On the one hand, there is the classical music power, which helped the mice increase their intelligence. On the other hand, there is the metal music power which led mice to let their beast and angry instinct take control of them and became very violent.

A further point to add here is about experiments on plants. Retallack carried out an experiment which consisted of playing different kinds of music to plants and seeing how they (plants) grow up. The researcher used different kinds of music such as rock and pop, country and jazz. Those plants which were exposed to country and jazz music, grew healthily and very well. But the ones which were exposed to rock, grew tall and in a sad way. These ones died in just a fortnight.

All in all, music is around everything, and it has been around probably since the beginnings of the human race. It may sound strange to talk about the powers of music, but it may be because those powers were ignored until today. Now that experiments have enlightened something about the influence of music it could be a good idea to go on with these experiments. Some of them have shown that music can help people with some diseases, like Autism, and they have also shown that classical music is good to develop memory or increase intelligence, even to relax.

Language Variations

What do you think about language variations and linguistic imperialism around the world? Think about the joke below.

An American visiting England walked into a hotel lobby. "The lift will be down presently", said the receptionist. "Oh, you mean the elevator." "No, I mean the lift." replied the Englishman. "I think I should know what it is called", said the American. "Elevators were invented in the States." "Perhaps" retorted the Englishman. "But we invented the language.

Nowadays, the Globalization process has lead humanity to share cultural traits. One of the most common ways to be connected is through language, and consequently there is always one or two which are favored.

To begin with, the language that appears to be preferred nowadays is English because of many reasons. It is simpler than others, it is widely used and recognized by people from very distant communities, and it is the language used by the most powerful countries in the world, so everybody needs to manage it. One may believe that when a specific language is established, it will never change and all its users will get used to it as it is. However, as every living language, it suffers from various series of changes during its existence. How? When people speak, let us say English, they modify it in several aspects, from pronunciation to spelling. After some time of dwelling with those modifications (as they are shared by a group of people) they become part of the language in the form of coined terms, or even new sublanguages.

Some examples of those new languages are Chinglish, Globish, Spanglish, etc. Those dialects began as English, but as their native people began to use it and modified it, those changes remained until they turned into a new language. This always leads to misunderstandings, jokes, problems and other issues that are generated by the native speakers of the main language, who usually feel negative emotions towards the various changes that their mother tongue suffers. Subsequently, we should consider what is important for a language, whether its origins or its actual use. In other words, we all know that a language cannot stand the test of time if it does not evolve according to peoples’ needs and new trends. That happened with coined languages such as Esperanto (that failed because of a lack of context), and also with Latin, as its users widespread around the world and kept on modifying it to be able to communicate with different cultures.

Furthermore, something similar happened with the different varieties of languages like the Spanish from Spain and the one from Latin America (and the different varieties within this continent), and American, British, and other varieties of English. At the beginning, the different regions felt animosity towards the rest and the way they used the language, but then they started to get along and accept their differences. Nevertheless, there is still rivalry between American and British English, like the enmity between American and British English institutes in Uruguay. Sometimes English people look down on Americans because of the modifications they have done to the language, but it is actually because they have different lifestyles. Besides, the USA is newer, so it is seen as less important or serious, and it opens its doors to people from all cultures, while British people are less flexible in this aspect, they do not want to have modifications in their language.

All in all, English is the language preferred by the inhabitants of our Global Village, who usually modify it. This is controversial, but we should consider those changes as the core of its existence, and try to be open minded and keep updated.