Linguistic Imperialism

Over the years education has advanced in various forms, linguistic imperialism within education has not only impacted individuals but communities aswell. In the past, linguistic imperialism has been aided by education in the situation where it has helped get the message of linguistic imperialism across. Linguistic imperialism “involves the transfer of a dominant language to other people” - Robert Phillipson. As education develops over the years, so does the linguistic imperialism, there are various forms of courses in which it's linguistic imperialism will advance and change as it is an organic format that needs to grow. Everyone these days no matter where they are on the globe receives the same level of education as anyone else. They take all the same courses, the only difference being that their linguistic imperialism would depend on their global location. For example : if there was a child being educated in France and a child being educated in England and they are both in the same year, they would be receiving the same information except they would be learning it in their mother tongue. Although the concept of linguistic imperialism is not advanced in third world countries as they are in first world countries, it is still acknowledged. In an anglophone world the dominant language of course would be English, this creates a restraint for education as it places numerous countries at a disadvantage. The disadvantage being that not every country is aware of the English language, yet alone able to speak it implying that their education rights are being ripped away from them. Depriving people from the opportunity to receive an education is a horrendous act. That opportunity will allow them to be successful in their older years leading to them receiving good jobs and allowing them to be able to provide for their families. In conclusion although to some individuals and communities an anglophone world is idealistic, it can be improved upon in away that works for everyone. If this idealism is carried out then the extinct of various languages will be closer than we all thought.

Food crisis in Sahel

Oxfam is an international organization, based in Oxford in the United Kingdom, they work with various international communities to find ways to eradicate poverty and free those enslaved by it by enabling them to exercise their basic human rights. In December 2011, a blogpost was posted on the Oxfam website which discussed the food crisis in Sahel.

The blogpost targeted the people living across west and central Africa, informing them that the possibility of a food crisis may strike them in 2012. The post warns the people that if no action is commenced in order to prevent this disaster from occurring then history will repeat itself, yes the repetition of the 2005,2008 and 2010 crisis's will happen again. However, the possibility of more than 10 million people will be affected. It is discussed further that there still may be salvation for west and central Africa, simply by educating others that the mistakes of the past can be avoided by preparing for external shocks.

In general, the key idea of the post is to inform not only the residents of west and central Africa but also the public that the situation must be dealt with, this is done through the use of and the plans that Oxfam plan's to see through. By branching out and reaching the general public they are persuading the public to help promote and support their organization, alongside getting them to donate and invest to their charity. Oxfam's humanitarian aid is clarified in the text along with the goals they hope to reach.

The post creates a very unifying ambience, it does this by referring to both Oxfam and the reader as a team, which breaks away from a business relationship and makes it more of a personal one. Overall the general goal is to inform people of an upcoming natural disaster that could affect the lives of numerous people. This is done through the use of various statistics to make the situation more realistic, an example of this would be “Recent reports said over 5.4 million people (35% of population) in Niger...” By providing such statistics it aids the enhancement of the depressing and saddening reality of our world.

Throughout the entire blogpost the use of ethos, pathos and logos are used to enhance the message of Oxfam's blogpost. Pathos is displayed in the blogpost as the basic description of the entire situation is emotionally effective, due to the general fact that as humans we generally feel empathy and sympathy in these situations. This is done through the use of the photograph placed in the blogpost, it shows an African person riding a donkey in a barren environment, this helps the audience depict the situation and helps draw more attention towards what the people are suffering from and going through. Logos is used statistically throughout the post hence allowing the realization of the serious damage that this food crisis may cause, as numerous statistics are used. Due to Oxfam's reputation, and what they stand for they are seen and respected very highly by everyone, causing the ethos affect to occur.

In conclusion, due to Oxfam being an international organization, who work with various international communities to find ways to cease poverty and free those enslaved by it, they have created a blogpost which would cause people to take action and help those in need simply by using ethos, pathos and logos along with involving their targeted audience. By doing so this will cause the targeted audience to feel like they can make a change in not only our societies but our world aswell, all by stating unification.  

Native advertising

Native advertising is primarily a form in which advertisements are presented, however, its done in a way that allows the add, not to pop out, its camouflaged into the website in keeping with the content, format and style placed on the website. An advantage with native advertising is that readers and viewers do not feel persuaded to view the content, they have the free will to view the advertisement based on whether its something it as either useful or interesting for them, personal choice.

A native advertisement example that I found on the website Buzzfeed was the article ' 10 Historical Girl Problems We’re Glad We Don’t Have To Deal With'. The article targets an audience of women of all ages, due to the fact that it revolves around the concept of 'girl problems' that we do not have to deal with anymore, thankfully the issues they refer to are long gone! In general, it just a humorous light hearted read. The content presented in the article is ten images that contain informative titles that are followed by images that date back to the Victorian years which hold humorous captions. The titles are then broken down into two or three sentences which give a brief explanation about the title . The overall theme of the entire article is a layed back informative humorous article. The tone of the captions are incredibly sarcastic contrasted against such serious old fashioned images creates a huge contrast resulting in hilarity. The article is well structured following an organized picture caption pattern. In conclusion , the Buzzfeed article match's up to being a form of native advertising as it is consistent with the definition.