Leo's English Journal

Isabelle Kerr’s article identifies how the use of slang language in modern times is corrupting the use of traditional English. I agree with her that the excessive use of slang terms has become somewhat of an annoyance and that it is also interfering with our usual learning style in school. However, what I don’t agree is the way that Isabelle delivered her views but with a proper in depth look you can identify the point she is trying to get across.

Isabelle Kerr, a woman as young a herself would have some understanding of what modern language has become now. Some people would see her as a hypocrite for using slang terms in her own statement such as ‘we’re not all apathetic, ASBO-wielding yobs’ or other somewhat informal vocabulary such as ‘I had no idea what twerking was before all this kicked off’. But those comments would be from the real critics. Kerr is young and is a part of this generation so it is understandable why parts of some sentence structures would be different to that of someone who was writing from the perspective of a previous generation. She is trying to explain that even at her age she does not agree with the constant use of these slang terms as part of the traditional English language and she does give examples of other young people who agree with her; one saying ‘no wonder there is so much youth unemployment’ suggesting that it is because of slang terms youngsters are not giving off that great first impression in the interviews or they are fired because of the way they conduct themselves.

Another young Twitter follower said ‘what has the world come to?’ My response to this is that no one just decided to use slang terms in public just on the spot, all these terms are coming from some sort of media whether it is from T.V where Miley Cyrus twerked on T.V or words are picked up from viral videos online. People say these terms and do these actions just as a joke and no intention of it becoming a trend. The public would be the ones responsible for the use of these terms and actions seeing as how some people got a lot of attention like this they might be able to get the same kind of attention. Kerr says that words such as ‘twerk’ or ‘selfie’ have been added to online dictionaries, these dictionaries are the kinds that can be edited easily, however, that doesn’t mean everyone agrees with it. Some people prefer to stick with the traditional language and even now as I am writing this ‘twerk’ and ‘selfie’ are underlined as misspelt. Kerr is using the kind of vocabulary she is using because she is well-educated. This indicates that the kind of people who use slang terms are the kind of people who spend too much time watching T.V or going on the Internet and trying to find new ways to make themselves popular instead of focusing fully on their education.

Through my own education in English I discovered that there is an exception to the use of slang and that is Shakespeare who some can say was the King of slang. Shakespeare uses slang and shortens words to make his work original, however, when people here in the twenty-first century use slang it is considered as poor language. ‘Shakespeare will be turning in his grave’, the difference between Shakespeare and the people is that when he uses slang he uses it in way that makes it seem artistic and in most cases it’s to put on a good show. Now when ordinary people use slang it is simply to just make themselves sound cool and to make themselves popular or are simply too lazy to use the proper English term.

I agree with Isabelle Kerr’s statement that slang words and other non-traditional uses of vocabulary have become too much of a trend and that it is effecting the current and possibly future generation, the education system and has become somewhat of a plague in the English language. There is no actual useful benefit from using slang terms the way they are used now. To the current young generation the traditional English language might as well be a foreign language.

The world has evolved over the times, we now live in the world where we rely on technology and power. Society has grown to have many different people in it; rich, poor, powerful, weak, educated the list goes on and on. What if I told you that in fact that in the end there are only two types of people in this world. Money and technology are tools for people to use to survive in the world, some people get it after they work long hours for it I mean once upon a time children work their fingers to the bone twenty-four hours a day for only two cents. As for some other people, they might as well get it served on a silver platter. We rely so much on these essentials that they have become masks, masks that covers everyone in the world that form one mask altogether and this mask can be entitled as one thing, when you have money or technology or both you have power. The world is filled with people who build up their lives so they can get more power and the amount of power each person has is what separates the society.

What I want to ask you is that if our lives rely on power what happens when we all lose that power at once? I am talking about the failure of energy from power plants, banks running dry, no more money comes in from businesses and everything will fall. It would take a couple of days for people to take notice that their power is diminishing and when they do riots will spread with people demanding answers for what is happening. Incidents will rise resulting in casualties and hospitals being overrun by people seeking or even stealing medical essentials. Money wouldn’t mean a thing any more as people will begin scavenging for what they can find, no traffic goes in or out on roads sea or sky as this world’s ‘peacekeepers’ will try to contain the situation. As they block off people from the rest of the world, each part of the world descends into chaos and people will be left to fend for themselves with what they have and what they can find. After more days of containment people will start to lose hope and in the end they will as they will realise that no one on the outside will come and help and they probably can’t even if they tried. Governments won’t be able to help, the people with the most power sit there and do nothing but parade it, they will say that they will restore order but they still don’t do anything. Whether they like it or not they are a part of the society and if everyone lost their power eventually so will they, soon, they too will be consumed by the chaos and become in the same lifeboat as everyone else. Lifeboat rules where everyone makes decisions that allow them to live the longest, good luck politicians.

This is more or less how I see how society will collapse. I mentioned that the world is covered by a mask, remove that mask and I see a world with people who become who they really are, what humans are really are, this leads to they world really being separated in two different categories. Their will be people in the fallen society that will rise above others, these people will not become Noah and guide people out of the storm two by two instead these people will try to rebuild society and motivate people. This does not seem bad as a person steps up to take control, in reality, these people will take too much control. They will be the ones that will establish ‘new laws’ and when they realise that their society is getting crowded they will begin to find ways to establish crowd control, from exile to extreme cases of killing. These leaders will see people outside of their society as threats such as believing they are stealing their supplies. Do you think that people won’t be like this and I’m just getting this from movies and video games and that good people will become leaders, keep telling yourself that.

Let me tell how the mind works, the mind needs something to guide it otherwise it is just trying to figure what to do next and not coming to a conclusion. When that one person stands and calls himself leader the mind will begin to follow that person, it will know what to do as you will see that person as a sign of hope. Forget about your conscience and morals as that all goes out the window when the world goes to hell and you lose hope in the first place and it will take a while for it to come back,in some cases it might not come back, how long depends on how long you are willing to blindly follow this one person. This person would make the world seem like it’s getting better but behind close doors who knows how many strings they are pulling. Hope is a powerful thing for a person and for all that hope to fall onto one person, that person will have the power to manipulate together a society he can control. If the mind believes it is the only thing that has the power and people will follow the person, that person will shape things to the way he believe is right as every person believes they are right until they are proven wrong.

That is one type of person out of the two. Another type of person is part of a group the see the reality of the world and instead of turning it into their own fantasy they resort to what the human and all organisms have always done since the first sprout of life, survival. The human physiology adapts to the environment such as cold or heat, the mind also adapts even in a world that descended into chaos. People will focus on their own reality and realize that the world relied too much on its essentials and now they must walk through the burning streets of hell. Using their skills of survival they will adapt to the conditions and learn to survive the hell hole they are in, they can find others like them to stand a better chance at survival or they can help others who couldn’t find their hope and show them how they can survive the ravaged world. Some people might go at it alone but then the world will become even more dangerous and with no one to rely on, no one to help you pull you back to reality, the world will swallow you whole and drive you insane. People like this, the people who live reality will cross paths with the people who create a fantasy, the biggest battle of what is the right belief the world should follow will be carried out on the plains of hell, blood will be shed and ideals expressed or broken, realist vs. visionary.

Each person will try to convince the other is wrong and that the world should have someone to hold order people should not run around doing as they please in the name of survival or that the people should open their eyes to the true reality around them and not cling on to false hope as they would doom themselves to another hell controlled by another devil, a true clash of ideals. Removing the world’s masks and the world and its people will become who they truly are, people will follow their beliefs each believing they are doing the right thing that they are the good guy. However, in a world like this, is their really a good guy or a bad guy or is it just people doing what they think is right, that’s up to what you believe.

Apparently, how the world works is that a group of people in each country come together and brainstorm ideas on how to make their country a better place for its citizens, what a whole load of rubbish. These people sit on their thrones and have their entire kingdom wrapped around its little finger. This is a world where power means everything, the more power you have, the higher in status you are and the more people who follow you.

It would be a bit of a stretch to say that Governments are like tyrants as they don’t have people slaving away at their feet. Government cover themselves in a shroud of righteousness saying that every decision made is for the good of the people and will ensure a better future. Imagine if that future involved society plunging into chaos, no real action from the Government will actually be taken just meaningless statements and empty promises. They say they make society better, apparently this involves extra funding towards armed forces to continue a war instead of the extra funding going towards actually helping people through medical care, education or even helping people through charities.

If they want to support armed forces they should simply send supplies to keep them going and focus on bringing them home and being more defensive, not sending more people and weapons giving enemies more reasons to fight back. Where does the money even come from, it comes from the people, they suck dry the very people they ensured they would aid. We pay for all essentials, medical, education, food, our homes and even our cars and all that money goes straight into their back pockets.

The way they see it is that they ensure order and if we want to carry on with our lives in their society then we must make a ‘small donation’. What kind of order do they even set up. Let me tell you what they did, they wrote down the law, all the rules for their society and that was that, no changes what so ever. They issue law enforcement to uphold these laws but that doesn’t stop the criminal network. They do not go in-depth with investigations which result in the crime system working underground, crime is everywhere and what do they do as a response add more laws that make no difference except annoy the public and detain and release caught criminals.

Justice is never delivered. These big wigs use their provided power to cut themselves out of the reality and do what they believe is right to shape it even though there is never any change, all that power and they do nothing with it. This is how the world is run but the world can do so much better with the right guidance.

I wake to the rays of warmth cracking through the open shutters illuminating my face. I explored the emptiness of my home as everyone else went to enjoy the serenity that the island offers. During the day I take a stroll down a silent path surrounded by endless woodland, through the trees the scent of fresh buttery goodness seeps through attracting people to buy the freshly made bread. I continue along the path with my mind entirely focused on the cast plain of aquatic tranquility the rest of my family make our way as soon as they’re ready hoping to get a good spot where we could get colored underneath the light of the world. It’s always a hustle and bustle as the entire coastline, even on the other side of the island gets filled with people very quickly. My uncle and I would take the boat and make out way across the sea to another nearby island, the beauty of the day , is that the sun is glistens off the water and giving everyone a perfect view of the aqua colored seafloor. I immerse myself in magical atmosphere and lose myself. Laughter scatters indicating everyone having fun, throwing balls around and jumping in the water.  A prolonged sigh of sensation is produced as the water refreshes me due to it being a perfect temperature. This place is a realm of tranquility where all stress and depression is relieved and you just let yourself go. All of these people are immersed in their own things, not interacting with other groups or families. That is one of this place’s cultures; a perfect environment to relax and forget any problems. When lunchtime comes I am always excited. Everyone does sort of the same thing which is throwing a family barbecue. the fresh scent of homemade barbecue contaminates the air of the town attracting all to a feast of the ages.  The fresh caught fish are cooked to a point when you can smell the nicely done crisp layer down to the soft meat center. The fire burning bullied my face with the heat and I heard the crackling of the wood and paper. We would then sit around the table and start picking out the fish we wanted to eat, passed around any extras and then dug in. Never did I eat a meal when the food is so freshly cooked and tastes perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. The meal had been devoured and sat around having enjoyed dining like gods. Most people just stay at home and some people would go back down to the beach, although, the sun would not be as scorching as it was in the middle of the day. A day like this is rewarded with a time to sit and meditate on my thoughts as I rested on a rock on beach and witness the sky burn a fiery orange as the sun fades over the aquatic horizon also having leaving a trailed reflection on the water’s face. A true sight to behold.

The sky transforms as the fiery orange fades to a deep blue to match the sea. Lights burn in the sky clearly visible and illuminates the night sky. My family and I would head down into town and before we even get to the end of the street we would hear music, laughter and a lot of fun coming from the marina. Crowds gather along the water’s edge to enjoy the endless festivities every night, comrades reunite and new ones are formed as they rejoice over freshly caught and cooked sea food and beers. We go further into town where we would go to our favorite local restaurant. We always order either fried calamari with chips or the four cheese pizza which are both incredible. The smell and taste of the food is always fresh and never leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Music fill the streets only to be drowned out by the laughter and sing alongs to local bands or karaoke. As you sit there you notice everything around you. Everyone is communicating with everyone, as for the younglings, we immerse ourselves in the warm feeling of night swimming and show our enthusiasm in the form of competitiveness over a fair game of pool or street football. Sometimes the bar gets packed when there is a game on and they always tense. At this time there are parties all along the coast and if you are quiet you can hear the never-ending party going on the other side of the island. We bid farewell to the night by retreating to our home where we say goodnight to our neighbours and lay, sleep and wait for the next day as we get to enjoy it all over again. The point I am trying to make is that there is a second culture to the island, a culture that you have to experience yourself to understand the feeling. It is a time where I’d rather be nowhere else. Everyone is connected with a random person and has fun with each other. The night becomes a whole party that no one ever forgets and this is why the night is different from the day, it is because everyone comes together rather than just pass by each other without a second glance. It is places like this where my greatest memories are carved on my own road and I would stop to see them again any day.