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Can We Help?: Naming words: significant social effects

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Can We Help?: Naming words: significant social effects

SUBJECTS:  English

YEARS:  9–10


The names we give people and places hold great significance for us.

But have you ever thought about how this simple act can impact on others?

Naming is a powerful tool. Watch this clip as Professor Kate Burridge explains the ways that language can have significant social effects.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Why do we use passwords for our computers, bank accounts and mobile phones? What message does it send to others when we set passwords for such things? What do we mean by the term idiom?
  2. 2.Why did the spelling of 'Thames' change from its original Celtic form? How did this function as a 'social password'? How did the French language come to be associated with swearing? Why is this ironic? What does Kate mean when she says French is a 'deodorant language'? What literary device is this an example of?
  3. 3.What does the association of French with swearing suggest about English attitudes towards French people in the 1800s? How do idioms such as 'pardon my French' have an exclusive social effect? How would you react if the spelling of the place you live in was changed to include spelling conventions from other languages? Would you feel that this was a form of exclusion?
  4. 4.Some scholars believe 'Thames' derives from an ancient German word for river, instead of the Celtic word for 'dark water'. Research its etymology and decide which you think might be the correct derivation. Investigate the origins of where you live, finding out any original or alternative names for this place. What effects might the renaming have had on the original inhabitants?



Date of broadcast: 30 May 2008


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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