Analysis of the Use of Tag Questions Essay Example for Free

Analysis of the Use of Tag Questions Essay Tag questions are those fragments at the end of a sentence when a person is asking to be affirmed. Instead of a statement being declarative or imperative, the use of the interrogative fragment at the end of the sentence reformulates the statement into a tag question (Akmajian 2001). Examples of variations of tag questions include â€Å"†¦, will you? †, â€Å"†¦, isn’t it? †, â€Å"†¦, okay? †, and â€Å"†¦, right? † Use of these interrogative fragments at the end of sentences are often referred to as leading questions, in that the questioner is desiring the answerer to verify what one is saying is true. In studying the use of tag questions among random groups of people of varying occupations and genders, it is interesting to note the ways in which certain tag questions are used in a wide range of settings. Men and women differ in their use of particular tag questions, as do people who are more or less familiar with one another (Lakoff, 1973). People from different cultures also use tag questions in various ways, placing emphasis on different word choices in various settings (Moore Podesva, 2009). This study aims to describe the ways in which tag questions are used in various populations and to make an assessment of the most widely used tag questions. In narrowing down the tag questions being studied, it is assumed that â€Å"okay† and â€Å"right† are the most commonly used tag questions. â€Å"Okay† is a tag question which is more open-ended and allows for the answerer to have more leeway in answering negatively. â€Å"Right† is a tag questions which is more close-ended and places more pressure on the answerer to answer affirmatively. In beginning to study linguistic patterns and collect data, it is hypothesized that the most often used tag question will be the use of the tag â€Å"okay†, with â€Å"right† being used more often by males than females. Methodology In studying the linguistic patterns of people in speech and writing, data was collected about the speakers and contextual situations, including the tag question being used, the gender of the questioner, the gender of the answerer, the familiarity of questioner and answerer, and the channel of communication. There were various situations in which the use of tag questions was identified, including discussions between men, women, elderly, adults, children, spouses, coworkers, friends, and strangers, and in informal settings, formal settings, stores, workplaces, face to face, telephone, and electronic messaging. Each noted tag question was recorded in a small notebook, collecting data on the diverse amounts of tag questions being used in a wide range of natural settings. By paying attention to nearby conversations and online messages, one is able to gather a significant amount of information about linguistic patterns, including the prominence and level of occurrence of various tag questions. It is important for linguistic researchers to be good listeners and to make careful observations of the situations they are attempting to describe. The moment in which a tag question is utilized comes very suddenly, and the good linguist has one’s ears perked for these significant moments and is able to take a virtual snapshot of the scene, including and emphasizing the use of language. In this study, 50 different random occurrences of the use of tag questions in society were collected, with significant identifiers and situational circumstances being recorded.

Buried at Sea :: Creative Writing Essays

Buried at Sea "Ahh, there's no wind today," sighed Cobi as he tacked his sail around and headed for the shore. Cobi was a sailor. Cobi wasn't a typical sailor, Cobi was a National Championship winning sailor. A sailor who thrived on high winds and rough seas, who has accomplished everything there is to accomplish in Canadian sailing. He is the envy of every young sailor and child. They wish, aspire, and dream to be like Cobi. "Hii Cooobiii," wines Julie. Julie just happened to be standing on the dock of the Yacht Club as Cobi tied his luminous, new, nine-thousand dollar boat to its mooring. Julie, was just one part of Cobi's large female entourage, who followed and prayed on his every move and breath. Cobi Jones was not only very skilled in the nautical art of sailing, he was the most popular, the best looking, and even one of the smartest kids in school. "Hi Julie," moaned Cobi in reply, "what are you doing here?" A shocked, but smiling Julie answered, "Just came to see ya." "Well visiting hours are over," Cobi uttered as he pushed past Julie and trekked up the rocky shore to his home. His home! His home was a picturesque array of hand-crafted pillars and intricate woodwork that beautified even the aesthetic sandy ocean beach that encompassed it. As always, after sailing practise, he was greeted by a honk and a wave from his father returning from work. His father was a partner in Jones, Jefferson, and Deveau, the most successful law firm in Nova Scotia. He was able to fund Cobi's sailing career from the start, and his money played a very large role in Cobi's sailing success and popularity. Other than Cobi's majestic surroundings, Cobi led a typical eighteen year-old after school life. He ate, did homework, spoke to his many friends the phone, and then fell asleep with a remote control in his grip. This evening wasn't an exception. The following day at school, Cobi was greeted by all of his friends and sailing cohorts and he sauntered to his first class. The greetings ranged from "Hey man", to "What's up", and to the simple "Hi". Cobi habitually responded with a mumbled "Yo." Sometime after an insightful, and invigorating lecture from his favourite English teacher Dr. Noble, he ran into his friend and sailing crewman Greg. "Hey man, what're ya doin' after school today?" asked Cobi. "Nothin' man, it's too messy out. That hurricane's gonna hit tonight you know," replied Greg. "I know man, that's why I asked"

Larkin – a look at the mood poems were written in by Larkin

Larkin is an established poet and was cherished by people all around the world. He won the respect of many readers, critics and non-critics. He was gifted in his writing and through this gift he bought us the poems we have today. Larkin therefore can be said to be a memorable poet and this will now be investigated. How is he memorable? And what makes him memorable? To start the investigation off I am going to look at the mood poems were written in by Larkin. Each poem is set in its own mood and the mood can help the reader to understand the poem. â€Å"Dockery and Son† is the first poem. It is about Larkin going to a funeral and remembering one of his university colleagues called Dockery. Larkin has found out that his son now attends the university and this leads on to the general image of the poem. â€Å"†¦In '43, when I was twenty-one. If he was younger, did he get this son At nineteen, twenty? Was he that withdrawn†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Larkin page 152 Dockery and Son) This quote shows the awe that Larkin shows at this point in time. The poem was written in a sad mood as it is a remembrance poem. He then continues the poem in much the same way showing his point of view and talking about a popular concept for him, life. â€Å"Life is first boredom, then fear. Whether or not we use it, it goes†¦..† (Larkin page 153 Dockery and Son) Life is a matter that Larkin talks about a lot of the time. Whether in high spirits or in low. Therefore the next poem I will look at is â€Å"High Windows†. This is yet another example of Larkin's preoccupation with the disappointing nature of experience, which I have illustrated for Dockery and Son. High Windows is the culmination of Larkin's disappointment. He says that as age comes along, fantasies from the younger years of a person's life, seem to disappear as well. â€Å"I know this paradise Everyone old has dreamed of all their lives- Bonds and gestures pushed to one side Like an outdated combine harvester,† (Larkin page 165 High Windows) In this poem, Larkin is emphasising to what extent he feels cheated by his experience of life. However, although Larkin is dissatisfied with what his generation has been allowed, he looks at how life treated those who were old when he was young. As Larkin looks at the freedom given to the generation which has succeeded his own in the poem â€Å"High Windows†, he is confronted with an optimistic image of endlessness. This is yet another one of his popular subjects and does also occur quite frequently in his poems. It can be seen from the above examples and quotes, that Larkin writes poems that have certain moods and thoughts behind them. This is an important factor for a poet and this helped Larkin to be remembered in the way that he is today. Another matter that could help to see why Larkin is such a memorable poet is whether or not he is arrogant in his poems. Some say that he is and others disagree. Hence I will investigate another few poems to see if he is or is not. The poem I am going to look at to start this part off is â€Å"The View†. This is a poem looking on life from the elderly person's point of view. Larkin says in this poem that life doesn't turn out to be what you expected when you were younger. It changes and becomes drear: â€Å"What's left is drear. Unchilded and unwifed, I'm Able to view that clear: So final. And so near.† (Larkin page 195 The View) He does not appear to be arrogant in this poem. He seems very modest, as can be seen from the quote, and he also is being realistic. This brings about the idea that Larkin is not arrogant. To end this part of the investigation off, I shall look at another poem called â€Å"Wild Oats†. This is about two young women walking into Larkin's workplace and he looking at them in amazement. One in a beautiful â€Å"English rose† , the other a â€Å"friend in specs†. Larkin finds that he can talk to and go out with the one with specs. â€Å"But it was the friend I took out, And in seven years after that Wrote over four hundred letters Gave a ten-guinea ring†¦.† (Larkin page 143 Wild Oats) He does everything with her but still has a â€Å"crush† on the â€Å"English Rose†. This leads the girlfriend of his to then say to him: â€Å"That I was too selfish, withdrawn, And easily bored to love.† In all I can say that Larkin is not an arrogant poet from the poem that I have read. I can say that sometimes, when he doesn't understand something, he might knock it down a little but does actually respect it. Finally I will look at if Larkin keeps his life hidden. In his poems he talks a lot about life events and things that are not fiction. He therefore brings his life into the poems that he writes but does not base the whole poem upon these happenings. From the quotes listed above, it is possible to say that life is an important factor in his poetry and it is because of the realism that is involved in his poems, that he is such a memorable poet. Larkin writes from different perspectives and he does so well. He will write a poem to reflect a mood or an experience that might occur in life. To write a poem on this is what forms the base of a real ingenious poet and Larkin is this in my opinion. Therefore I join in saying that Larkin is made a memorable poet and am happy to agree with that statement overall.

When Does Fair Use Become Theft and Viceversa - 680 Words

Who really owns ideas, and how long should they hold them? When does Fair Use become Theft and vice versa? Those are the question raised in Brett Gaylors documentary RiP: A Remix Manifesto, raises alarms for those who think copyright holders have become too aggressive about protecting their intellectual property. The documentary highlights the popular music artist known as Girl Talk. Girl Talk consists of one man named Gregg Gillis and he takes parts from different songs (usually popular ones) and creates new music of his own. He doesnt use any of his own materials at all. A lot of people consider his work stealing and what is known as Copyright infringement; even though he changes the music so much, you can’t even tell what all of the songs he uses are. Girl Talk is known as a mash-up artist, and according to the documentary, mash-up artists have stirred up quite a controversy with both the Copyright Company and the other artists they take their material from. Copyright problems arose with the advent of the free availability of information on the Internet. It was easy for people to steal music, movies and images from the internet and use them to create their own mash-up piece. Prior to the internet copyrighting actually encouraged creativity. Once music sharing websites like Napster began, musicians and other artists began suing and copyright laws became more rigouous in their scope and enforcement. As sample-pop star Girl Talk (AKA former biomedical engineerShow MoreRelatedHrm Lecture Notes for Pu, Mba 2nd Semester9501 Words   |  39 Pagesorganizations, work locations etc. d) Compensation data- current salary, salary history, bonus, overtime payments, deduction from salary, tax information,award received etc. e) Performance data- current past performance appraisal data Uses of HRIS †¢ Human resource inventory development †¢ Human resource forecast †¢ Human resource development †¢ Job analysis †¢ To make succession and replacement planning †¢ To determine current probable productivity of