Duck Dynasty

Hey Ya'll,

After having a couple class discussions about the reality show Duck Dynasty, I decided to write a post about it. Some of the people that I talked to seem to think that speaking ability is a reflection of a person's education level. This is not true as we see with the cast of Duck Dynasty. As you will see from this post some are educated but choose to speak the  way they choose.

http://www.duckcommander.com/

If anyone wants to watch this show, it comes on A&E on Wednesday nights but they have reruns on Friday and Saturday evenings, also. With the setting of the show being in West Monroe, Louisiana, this show is a good way to see how rich country people live in Louisiana. I know this sounds like an oxymoron but it's ture. The family has an authentic rags to riches story but they have managed to hold on to their redneck lifesyle from the rags days.  The cast of the show is the Robertson Family and friends. The Robertson's made their millions from manufacturing duck calls which are used for duck hunting. They have fun while making money. If you are ever in West Monroe and ride by a warehouse with the name Duck Commander on the side, that's where the excitement happens.


Happy, Happy, Happy!!! Favorite words of Phil Robertson 


The Commander-in-Chief and father, Phil, built the company after acquiring the nickname "Duck Commander". He is an avid hunter of anything that is not human but is known more for his hunting of ducks. He made a duck call for himself and eventually for others thus leading to the manufacturing business. If you listen to him speak, you would never guess tChat he went to college at Louisiana Tech University where he  was quarterback of the football team. He and wife Miss Kay have been married since they were teenagers and have four grown boys. They seem like a typical redneck family but they are not because they are rich.

The other characters are:
Miss Kay- Phil's wife
Willie - Phil's son and CEO of Duck Commander
Jase - Phil's other son
Jep - Phil's youngest son
Uncle Silas - Phil's brother
Mountain Man- AC man and friend
And many more


This family has passed their backwoods lifestyle down to their children and they are hoping that it rubs off on the grandchildren. Grandpa Phil and Miss Kay both work hard at trying to keep the family together and just like any other country family the patriarch and matriarch are in control. Unlike city slickers, as they call them, this is typical of good God-fearing, parent-fearing country folk. When they boys or the grandkids do something stupid, Phil and Kay, do not waste time in setting them straight. And as Jase Robertson said " You have no choice but to listen because most of the time you have done something wrong". The last thing you want is for word to get around in a small country town that you were disrepectful to your parents or grandparents. Even though Phil went to college, he believes the children need common sense as much or more than book sense. They "keep it real" in the country as Uncle Si Robertson once said.

These are some of the riches rednecks that I've ever seen. Some people think redneck is a degrading term but it's not for these people. It's just another way for them to express to other people who they are and what they enjoy. A common misconception is that country people are backwoods and less intelligent but the Robertson proved that they can be millionaires and country. This show reminds me of my hometown where everyone is so nice and down to earth.  I know people who act and speak just like these people.

The Secret River

I have been reading and analyzing The Secret River by Kate Grenville for another class. I chose this book because I had read it before and enjoyed it so much that I wanted to write about it. It's about English convicts who were shipped to Australia, in the 1800s, to serve their time. The trick was they could be executed in London for their crime or go to this foreign land of New South Wales (Sydney) and never return home again. I'm not sure what you would do but I would do as the characters in the book did...I would move. I guess you're dead to your family either way.

http://kategrenville.com/The_Secret_River

The first time I read it, a few years ago, I didn't see the gender inequality in it; however, it was clear as day when I read it the second time. A friend of mine said that I was just looking to make an argument like most women. I was so shocked because I thought he was on my side. Was I looking for feminism or was it there all along? It was there and I'll tell you how I know. 

William Thornhill, the father and convicted theft, is the prisoner but his wife, Sal, is the One who doesn't have freedom. She is stuck in this foreign land that she doesn't want to be in because her husband committed a crime that she has to do the time for along with him. He eventually forgets about his wife's needs. Instead of him being punished, he is able to become part of the elite land owners in New South Wales.  She spent years counting the days like prisoners who are locked up.

The next example is when Sal Is called a wh@&£ by a guy who didn't know her. This just shows how women have been disrespected for centuries. Of course she couldn't defend herself as a woman especially since she had her children with her. She took this abuse as she took the subtle mistreatment acts that she was subjected to for so long. 

One other example is when Sal is chosen as Will's master. Every prisoner had to have a master with them in New South Wales and Sal is Will's but only in name. She might have the title but he tells her what to do.

These are just a few of the examples but there are more. After you read the text, meet me back here for a discussion. Tell me if you see gender equality in the text or if it seems like women are not equal.

New experiences

I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I visited a mosque today for a theology class so that I can observe the way they worship. The service was for 50 minutes but I was there for almost 3 hours.
The message was about anger management but I learned so much more. I met another student but she was not American. She attends a college that I used to attend and so by talking about our experiences I learned that she was struggling with writing. This was perfect. I'm not the best at writing but I'm sure I can help her pass comp 1 & 2. After she told me her struggles, she gave me her phone number so that we can meet for tutoring. I told her about some grammar books that have helped me along the way. I love helping people who are not native English speakers (English as a second language) because they seem to appreciate learning English. I wish English speakers enjoyed learning English in the same way.
If ESL people can see the importance of English, why can't English speakers?

Articulation

When I started this blog, it was supposed to be about how awesome the English language is but I have since tweaked my focus to talk more about the problems associated with language. English can be communicated verbally using many dialects as I have already mentioned. Good verbal skills does not always translate into good or even passing written skills and vice versa. I sometimes struggle with verbal communication especially if I have to change my dialect between settings throughout the day. The change is evident hours later as I stumble over my words. I seem like a stuttering mess as I try to articulate my thoughts.
Should a person worry about using proper English ( if they don't) on a daily basis just to keep in practice or speak in a dialect that feels comfortable? Should we judge someone's intelligence based on how well they speak? Is it what we say or how we say it that's important? We've been told this all our lives but is it true?

"Slap ya Mama"

While shopping in Wal-mart, I noticed this bright yellow container. In big red letters, I saw the words "Slap ya Mama". I could not believer my eyes. I haven't heard that phrase in forever. For all of you who don't understand  slang, ebonics, or country english, this is a phrase used when a food taste so good that there are no other words to describe it. The food is said to be so good it will make you want to slap your mother. I never would have thought someone whould put that on a product to sell in a store. I'm not sure who purchases this cajun seasoning but there was only one container left on the shelf. The product inside is probably good but I questioned if I would buy based on the slang name. For the remainder of my time in Wal-mart, I thought about this. I still don't have an answer. Does a product have less of an appeal when the name is not Standard English? There could be a good product in the container or it could be as good as the name. Does the name make a different?

Thinking about this made me question how I judge things based on language. I never thought of myself as a person who purchased things based on name but I guess the name does factor into it. If I were shopping for cajun seasoning at the time, I would have probably looked over the "Slap ya Mama" brand and chose another more well known brand. With this thought in mind, I have now decided to try to look past the name of a product and look more into the quality. I'm sure the quality of this seasoning is good after all there was only one left on the shelf. There were other people who thought enough to buy this product. I asked a few people what they thought about the cajun seasoning name and found their responses interesting. Some people didn't know what the phrase meant and so I explained. The other people knew what the phrase meant and said that they would buy based on the name.

Country Mouse

It has been my experience thatintelligence is associated with how well one speaks English. I have spokenEnglish since forever or at least I thought until I moved to Florida. I wasquickly informed that I was not speaking English. City people can be so cruel.I was not thinking about my speaking ability because the only thing on my mindwas having fun. I moved from a small town in East Texas to the big city ofTampa, Florida. The population is about 50% white, 40% black, 6% Hispanic, and4% other in my hometown. It does not matter who they are, almost everyone in mysmall hometown speaks the same way. It was one of the happiest, one of the mostembarrassing, and one of the biggest learning experiences of my life.

            It wasn’t until a few months laterwhen I went job hunting that I realized that I was different than the peoplewho lived in Tampa. After answering the question “Where are you from” a milliontimes, I started to think that something was different. I tried to put it outof my mind, but I kept asking myself the same question “Why do they want toknow where I’m from”? I found a job and went in for training. The girl whotrained me, Nicole, kept asking “What did you say” and I kept repeating. Now Ihad questions “Is she deaf or just trying to be funny”? And then, it happened acouple weeks later. She said, “Girl, I’m going to teach you how to speakEnglish”. I’m not sure if it was possible before but, simultaneously, I feltembarrassment and happiness overcome me. Before my transformation, I heard all kindsof backwoods jokes and comments. Afterwards, I could go out with them inpublic. Yea!!! Yeah right. I felt more confused now than ever before. Why wasit so important for me to learn to speak the way that others spoke? It’s THEaccepted language in America.

She helped me for weeks and never teasedme about my dialect anymore. At first, it was like Ellie Mae Clampett hadstepped into the building, but then… I was one of them. To complicate matters,I started learning Spanish. Not only do I have an East Texas dialect and a StandardEnglish dialect but now I have Spanish. Yea! I decided to major in English and I want to learn as much as I possibly can learn about this wonderful language.

Now as an English major, I have bettercontrol over my different dialects and use them when appropriate. There aretimes when one of them may slip out at the wrong time, but I quickly recover. Iwanted to study English as a way to help with my “deficiency” and improve uponwhat I had learned.