Language And Hip-Hop Culture

For my entry this week, I am going to refer to the lyrics of a song in relation to verbal communication. Specifically, this entry is going to explore language used in Hip-Hop culture, what it represents and how it has affected (and is still affecting) mainstream communication, media and culture. Hip-Hop has always been regarded as a sub-culture, where external elements such as beat-boxing, hip-hop fashion and hip-hop slang have derived from. However, nowadays, Hip-Hip culture (which consists of music, movies, dance, fashion, DJ-ing, beat-boxing, break-dancing, graffiti art, rap and Hip-Hop lingo), is considered more of a mainstream phenomenon, as opposed to a mere underground movement.

One of the main reasons why I decided to focus on Hip-Hop culture this week (apart from being a fan of Hip-Hop and Rap music myself) was due to all the recent endorsements of Hip-Hop musicians by the fashion industry. Many big fashion labels and departmental stores have approached famous Hip-Hop artists such as, Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake, to design their own clothing lines and thus, establish their own fashion labels. Adidas has been using Missy Elliott as their spokesperson for the past few years. Thus, the Hip-Hop genre presents a huge profitable market for companies and business organisations to tap into.

Plus, lately, local television programmes on Channel 5, Channel NewsAsia and even media texts such as, The Straits Times newspapers, and numerous local magazines have incorporated hip-hop lingo into their vernacular. It is common to hear reporters in the news use terms like “bling”, “phat”, “dis” and “crib”. This shows that hip-hop lingo is now very commercialised and is being used (in the context of Singapore) to appeal to a younger audience.

Language and words help to convey ideas, opinions, thoughts, emotions and influences the way we think. In terms of Hip-Hop, a lot of the influence on language has come from rapping, also known as the delivery of rhymes in rhythm. The quick repetition of repartee’ and speech resulted in people incorporating the style of rap, into verbal communication. Rap has got American Blues, Jazz, West-African and Caribbean-style DJ’ing roots. This can be seen in the Jamaican, reggae, and dancehall influences in today’s Hip-Hop music and lingo.

Historically, Hip-Hop emerged as a cultural movement in America in the 1960’s and 1970’s among the urban youth in New York (Bronx), Miami and California. As Rap was associated with gangs and crime, Hip-Hop emerged as a conscious alternative to violence. The White population had their Rock ‘N’ Roll, and the middle and upper class Black communities were into Jazz and Blues. Thus, Hip-Hop was embraced by the poorer Black and Hispanic communities and they used it to express their views about society, their social status and issues like race and gender. That is why Hip-Hop artists use expletives to express themselves in their music, as that is how they want to talk about their problems; without any restrictions and censorship, as that defines their reality and represents the “raw” aspect of their culture and socialisation. Thus, Hip-Hop lingo is viewed as a symbol of freedom and identity.

In terms of the properties of Hip-Hop, the language in the genre has a very unique and distinctive slang. Compared to other musical spheres, such as Rock, Pop, Alternative, Indie, Classical and Jazz, where the language used is predominantly mainstream vernacular, Hip-Hop has its own system of symbols. The phonemes or pronunciation of words are usually similar to mainstream English, but spelt differently. For example, “phat” is pronounced just like “fat”. Plus, the semantics or meaning of words used in Hip-Hop usually differ from mainstream English. “Hood” does not literally refer to a hood, but to a neighbourhood. “Holla” (sometimes spelt as “holler”), is used to say goodbye and end a conversation. In Lil’ Kim’s “Doing It Way Big”, she mentions “frontin”, which means pretend. The reason for this would be to establish their own way of communication and the difference in the meaning of words would also represent the different socialisation and experience of the African-Americans in the 1970’s and 1980’s, as hip-hop was emerging.

In terms of the impact of Hip-Hop, the language used tend to propagate a particular lifestyle and culture, filled with power, money, respect, sex and drugs. Thus, a lot of the terminology used in Hip-Hop culture is symbolic, in its affiliation to success and power. In reference to the lyrics indicated below, the title itself “Doing It Way Big”, reflects abundance. Plus, the song talks about taking shopping trips to Greece and Lil’ Kim (whose real name is Kimberly Jones) also professes to getting gold from her own mine in Africa. The whole song talks about living the high life, like a billionaire and being spoilt with extravagances (Hermes bag, Tiffany Silverware, Rolls Royce, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Versace). Many Hip-Hop artists rave about money and power, due to the fact that they grew up poor and on the streets. Thus, now that they finally have the recognition and means, they feel that they have the right to enjoy and flaunt it. Nevertheless, a lot of Hip-Hop artists portray a persona in their music and videos, but in reality live a much simpler and less glamorous life. The persona acts as a form of artistic freedom and expression. This can be seen in the use of nicknames, such as Lil’ Kim, Lil’ Jon, Lil’ Bow Wow, Jadakiss, Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco and Ms. Dynamite in Hip-Hop music.

In terms of language-based barriers to communication, Hip-Hop jargon is still not understood by everyone, and only those who listen to the music and expose themselves to the culture, would be aware of the slang.

Social Blindness

This theory can relate to other forms of social interaction, but it specifically concerns telephone use and how it affects socialization.
Some social critics and theorists have blamed the telephone for cutting down on purer forms of socialization, ones that promote both trust-building and unfiltered reinforcement. On that note, I’ve found that many individuals avoid using the telephone specifically because it forces them to rely too much on their imagination. (An even extremer form of imaginative communication would be epistolary correspondence, which relies on all kinds of fantasy devices due to the absence of both auditory and visual cues.)

Concerning telemarketing, I posit that many individuals’ animosity comes from an inability to see the person on the other side, something that strips them of their ability to assess intention. In other words, the mind becomes frustrated with being addressed personally by an impersonal entity it can’t see.) The result is a kind of social blindness, or an inability to openly confront the other person.

Many individuals that I’ve talk to also described frustration while trying to work out problems over the telephone with friends or family. One individual, a woman in her early twenties, described telephone arguments with her boyfriend as being suffocating:


It’s like trying to find a key at the bottom of a swimming pool with a blindfold on. I would much prefer talking face-to-face, being able to read the other person and know when or where to adjust.

The most telling thing about this subject’s response is that she described her conversations in conscious terms, as though she could remember controlling her nonverbal cues and responses. This is highly unlikely, because nonverbal cues are given and received subconsciously. Still, her response does show that she values, even needs, face-to-face communication.

movie for entertainment~~

Depression

What is DEPRESSION?


Well, in our daily life, depression occurs in every single person in this world. There are different types of depression such as human depression, economics, mathematics, etc. Among those depressions that I have mentioned, I will only explain about human depression. Before I move on, let me explain about the word “depression”. The term “depression” or “depressed” refers to both expected and severe levels of sadness, helpless, hopeless, loss pleasure, and other related emotions and behaviors.

As for human depression, everyone have different reasons that cause depression in their life. For example, adults in a development country, they normally get annoyed about losing their jobs or family. When the country is having recession, workers start to worry about losing their jobs. After losing their jobs, 80% of the adults will have depression and in that situation, it will affect the family. As a result, they end up being in a suicide or death case.

As for teenagers; exams, love, family, and other problems will lead them to depression. This is mainly caused by the pressure in them coming from their family and friends. Teenagers usually care more about their love life compared to others and when this happens, their academic achievements decreases. The main consequence is that this disappoints their family and affects their love life. Teenagers will later feel depressed and tries to avoid their problems by suicide. In conclusion, human depression does not only cause sadness to the people but also a difficult way to solve their problems such as suicide.

LAUGHTER

According to OXFORD dictionary, they define laughter as an audible expression, or appearance of merriment or happiness, or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure.

From my point of view, that a person who laughs will always bring happiness and cheerful feeling towards others. There are ways that might work on a person to laugh by telling jokes, tickling, funny face and other stimuli. From the negative point of view, a strong laughter can sometimes bring out tears from a person and even moderate muscular pain from the mouth, throat, stomach and other parts of the body.

Well, laughter is a GREAT EMOTION because when we laugh we will feel good and relief. When we study in primary, secondary, college or maybe from our parents, we heard the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine”. For example, Norman Cousin had overcome his diagnosis with his laugh therapy. From this situation, we know that laugh can improve a person’s healthy. Moreover, laughter can reduce the level of stress and other distraction.

How to use laughter?

· By watching comedies film



- Tell jokes with your friends or family

· Find humor in your life

· Reading books

REMEMBER THIS "LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE"

XD

Face Expression

Face expression is one way to give sign and communicate with others. we use it all the time when we are in a meeting or in class or in a conversation.

Example: Im talking to Sean and his cousin. so when his cousin says something i might not agree with like when his cousin says: hey Sean go for a movie and i dont want too.. so i just give sean a look and he will know that i don't agree with that idea.

To be polite we can use this facial expressions but make sure the other person doesnt notice it they might get offended.

THIS IS A ONE FACIAL EXPRESSION

This guy is showing that he is shock. hehe :)
from his face we can already know that he got shock from something.
this is what i mean by expression we can see it om peoples face and know how they are feeling.

not only words but also actions can show how we feel inside!!

ANDREW JAMES

SIGNS

we can communicate through signs.
the sign that people do to actually pass signals to other are like moving any part of the body.

example:. Im walking with Reshan and we see a girl. she just beside us. i cant actually say hey damn she so hot.. cause she might hear it, so i just wink at him and give a smile. He will notice then notice her and if he thinks the same he will smile back.

It depends on how well two people kow each other too. the relationship they share. how well do they know each other to actaully understand these signs. Another expample is.

example: Sean and me are in a class room and his pen fell dowm, he didnt notice it.. i call tap his hand and look down he will also look down and see his pen. He will then just pick it up cause he knows that i was telling him his pen fell.

there are many ways to actaully communicate we dont have to always use words to communicate with others.

ANDREW JAMES

Arts and science of sign language...

As we all know sign language a way of communicating among people who are having hearing disabilities. It comprises of hand gestures, face expressions, body language and lip patterns. Their spatial grammar are different from normal grammar of spoken languages. Hundreds of sign languages are used around the world and are at the cores of the local Deaf Cultures. Some sign languages have obtained some form of legal recognition, while others have no status at all. In addition to sign languages, various signed codes of spoken languages have been developed, such as signed English and Walpiri Sign Languages. These are not to be confused with languages, oral or signed; a signed code of an oral language is simply a signed mode of the language it carries, just as a writing system is a written mode. Signed codes of oral languages can be useful for learning oral languages or for expressing and discussing literal quotations from those languages, but they are generally too awkward and unwieldy for normal discourse. For example, a teacher and deaf student of English in the United States might use Signed English to cite examples of English usage, but the discussion of those examples would be in American Sign Language.

Uses Of Signs In Hearing Communities

Sign language can be used in various different types of situations, where speech is not permitted or practical for example, in cloistered religious communities, scuba diving, television recording studios and stock exchanges. Sometimes, if the prevalence of deaf people is high enough, a deaf sign language will be taken up by an entire local community.