January 1, 2009
Eh 200 Spring 2011 TTR: Week Seven Class One
Your homework for today was to read and annotate the first 20 pages of Stephen Crane’s “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.”
Pop Quiz:
1)Where does Maggie work?
2)Where does Jimmie work?
3)How many brothers does Maggie have?
4)Describe the interior of your local library.
Early Reaction to the story: (Suggested 5 Minutes)
Journal Work: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
What were the significant details you found that related to work and professionalism?
How do they help us understand the lives of the characters as they can be expressed in terms of income, class, play, and setting?
Cite specific examples, with page numbers!
Group Discussion: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
Share and compile findings into a presentation for the class.
Class Discussion: (Suggested : 5-7 Minutes)
Mini-Lecture: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
LANGUAGE
Question: Where does your language come from?
1) What’s your favorite word?
2) What’s your least favorite word?
3) What’s a phrase or term specific to the region you’re from?
Let’s consider some numbers:
80% ?
1,000,000 ?
3,000 ?
1,000 ?
Journal Entry: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
Using our course terms, I want you to tell me what your language says about you: how does it identify you in society?
New Concept:(Suggested: 5 Minutes)
Environmental Determinism
Homework;
Read and annotate the next 20 pages for work and income, and the first 20 pages for setting and cultural references.
Write a one-page blog post on the difference between your language and the language of one character in the reading. Cite good details!
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My language differs from the language of Maggie in a couple of different ways. First, the time period has a lot to do with it. Back then, people talked differently than we do now. Secondly, her culture is different than mine. Her background is Irish slang, whereas mine is English and I wouldn’t really consider it slang. Another reason why my language differs from Maggie’s language would be because of where we grew up. “Eventually they entered into a dark region where, from a careening building, a dozen gruesome doorways gave up loads of babies to the street and the gutter” (223). Maggie grew up in tenement housing, where its acceptable for kids to fight, and where mothers and fathers are alcoholics. Abuse and beatings are a cultural reference. Now a days, this would be considered low-income, low-class, ghetto type housing, where people wouldn’t care how they talked. You can also tell that Maggie isn’t necessarily educated. I have grown up in a nice community, where all of this isn’t acceptable. I’m an educated teenager. Of course I have “slang” words that I use around my friends and sometimes my family, however, there is a certain time for these slang words and I am expected to know what kind of people to use those words around. If I were to say these slang words around well-respected professionals, that would give me a bad reputation, and it would seem like I wasn’t educated.
They don’t seem to finish their words. It’s like they cut them off. “Youse allus fightin’ Jimmie, an’ yeh knows it puts mudder out when yehs come home half dead, an; it’s like we’ll all get a poundin’”(224). This is Maggie, talking to her brother and some of the words are shortened. I guess that sometimes happens in my language as well. We tend to shorten words or abbreviate them. For example, the word legitimately we shorten to legit. To someone who this language isn’t normal to, it might sound trashy or that we aren’t educated. It all depends on where you come from and how you were brought up. Your surroundings definitely have a lot to do with your language as well, if you are from a prestigious place then your vocabulary is probably much larger then someone who comes from tenement housing who isn’t educated!
Comment by Allison DeFilipp — March 2, 2011 @ 7:05 pm |
My language differs from Jimmie Johnson’s language because I grew up in the 1990s in America so I grew up around English and speaking English. Whereas Jimmie grew up in the late 1800s in Ireland, so he grew up learning Irish and speaking with Irish accents. I speak a lot differently then Jimmie did in this story because of what time period I live in and what time period he lived in. People from the past will always speak differently than people today. It also has to do with certain slangs. The why things are written in this story it looks like the characters are speaking in a lot of slangs but it’s really just how they talk with their Irish accents. The author writes, “’Come out, all of yehs, come out,’ his mother was howling. ‘Come ahn an’ I’ll stamp yer damn brains under me feet’”(249). This comes off to me as very confusing and hard to read. But after thinking about it and rereading it I see it as saying “Come out all of you and I will stomp on your brains”.
There is language that is repeated a lot in this story. For instance I’ve seen written “what the hell?” a lot. The author writes multiple times, “What’d hell?”(260). I’m not sure if that was said a lot in the 1800’s or why that is happening. It could also be the specific culture or society of that time. It might be a phrase that people just say a lot. Just like many phrases are said now a lot, such as “oh my god”. A few other phrases that are rather confusing or hard to understand that said in this story are “’We’ve had enough of dis. Sit down, an’ don’ make no trouble’”(250) and “’damn yer ol’ hide’”(250). Some words in here are readable and others just aren’t. It’s almost as if they are leaving out letters or mixing them around, but the reason why it’s so difficult is because it’s just a different way of speaking and a different language. I understand these quotes to mean “we’ve had enough of this. Sit down and don’t cause any trouble” and “damn you”. The speaking in this story is readable but difficult to understand for people of different languages, cultures, and time periods.
Comment by Alyssa Howell — March 3, 2011 @ 12:44 am |
Charlie Osborne
My language is seems to be common in the area I live in. When I speak I use a lot of well known terms that a lot of people would recognize. I grew up in Millinocket Maine and I have found that growing up there a lot of people talk the same. A number of people that have grown up there like my parents have developed what many people call a Mainer accent. It may sound a little weird to some people, but it doesn’t seem to confuse a person from out of state to hear a person from Maine talk. I think that you learn to talk the way you do by what you hear around you and the people you spend the most time with.
In this story I have found that my language seems to be a lot different then Jimmies. Jimmie says “ ‘ Naw,’” “ ‘Dease micks cant make me run.’” (220). Jimmie was not fully educated in school which would make him have a shortened vocabulary. His language seems to be a lot less educated then it should be. Jimmie grew up in a small neighborhood with other people that are not well schooled at all. Jimmie growing up in this environment would make it so that he would not get an extended vocabulary which would make his English language better developed. Jimmie shortens up words quite often in the story because he knows such little about the different ways you can go about speaking to another person.
Comment by Charlie Osborne — March 3, 2011 @ 1:53 am |
The language that I speak is that of the people around the area in which I live. I was born and raised in central Maine and speak the so called “Mainer” way. A way in which I do not know what sounds like, but to others it is very distinct. I know that I use some slang words to replace some words. The way that people talk around me has influenced the way that I talk and the language I use tremendously.
In the story I noticed many things that differ from the language that I use to the characters language. For example Jimmie has a very different language than I do. As he stated in the story, “Well, it was dis way, Pete, see! I was goin’t’ lick dat Riley kid and dey all pitched on me”(221). In the language that I use I do not combine or shorten words that are meant to mean something. It seems like Jimmie may have been undereducated therefore resulting in his lack of knowledge on pronouncing words. The language that they were raised using will be the language that they would use just the same as it was for me.
The time period that the story was written may have been a factor in the use of language also. Many stories read from that time period seem to use the same type of language throughout the story. The story was written over 100 years ago which would result in a major difference in language from their time and our time.
Also within the story the tone, which I feel is a major part in language and the way it is portrayed, is very down. It seemed like there were far more negative aspects to the story than there were positive. That would make a reader feel as if they were in an environment where they could not learn maybe or they did not want to learn.
Comment by Cody raven — March 3, 2011 @ 3:03 am |
Douglass Xavior Haley
Adam Crowley
Eh 200
Due; March 3, 2011
In the story you see that there is many different words that is not normally used in are modern day such as word that are common to Maine accent would be such things as bub, chief or the way that we talk is with a (Ah) sound where as most people say C-ar, we say C-ah. In the story Maggie a girl of the streets all the people talk in an Irish slang and a heavy way that they say surety things.
As you can see in this passage how the context is pronounced “ ‘ hi, ol’ lady, dat was a dandy’ ‘T’ree t’ one de red’ ‘ah, quit yer damn scrappin’” (250). Here there is bairly any words that are even close to being seen as English. In Ireland they speak English. With what Pete was trying to say was “hi old lady that was a dandy – as in good. Treat that one to the red; you’re quite the little scrapper in other words. They use many different words and spellings to vary ate English dialect.
How they spell an important world wide word can bee seen here they spell God , (Gawd) such as said here “oh gawd!” (253). A word as important and over all know by all should not be spelled like this. If you know it why don’t you just spell it this way? In the story all the spellings are being interpreted by how they speak and say the words. Just like as if we spelled things how we say them in Maine we would spell car, cahh.
Comment by Douglass Haley — March 3, 2011 @ 3:30 am |
Joshua Hartley
3/1/11
EH 200
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
The type of language spoken by the characters in “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” is a very broken English. The way the dialogue is written is in an Irish accent with a lot of apostrophes and abbreviations. If I were placed into the story I probably would not have been able to understand what they were saying, especially during all of the scraping and family fighting. An example of dialogue is when Jimmy yells, “Look at d’ dirt what ye done me… D’ ol’ woman ‘ill be raisin’ hell” (228). The author has written it choppy, but in a way where I can read it with an Irish accent in my head and it makes sense.
Being from all over New England I know that we have our own unique language that would also look choppy in dialogue. Through my frequent visits to San Diego I inevitably get looks at the grocery store or mall when I speak. I suppose I have an accent, I don’t hear it, but when put into a new environment people seem to know my geographical origins. In the story we would be able to detect an Irish accent with ease. I would say that our languages are very similar, but with different slang and accents.
Comment by Joshua Hartley — March 3, 2011 @ 5:36 am |
Katherine Morissette
In the story “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” written by Stephen Crane, the characters depicted are Irish. Their language reflects their heritage. The characters all speak with a heavy Irish accent that employs a heavy slang and dialect that can be hard to comprehend. My language, molded mostly by the way my family, friends, and members of my community speak, is much clearer. I may have an accent that relates to where I’m from but I do not speak in mostly slang terms.
The largest difference in language between myself and a character from this story would be between myself and Jimmie. When speaking to his sister Jimmie said, “’Shut up er I’ll smack yer mout’. See?”’ (224). Jimmie is telling his sister he wants her to be quiet or he will hit her. He also ends his sentence with “See” as a question. I do not end my statements with questions. The way that I would say this would be completely different. I do not shorten my words and I try to annunciate the letters of each word I speak. Jimmie’s language seems to be confusing, whereas I try to make my language comprehendible.
My language and Jimmie’s language also differs in the way we use it. I was taught that elders were to be respected and obeyed. Jimmie was taught to fend for himself and do whatever is necessary to be able to survive. When Jimmie was talking to a bartender he was described saying, “’Ah, come off! I got dis can fer dat ol’ woman an’ it ‘ud be dirt t’ swipe it’” (228). The bartender was trying to take the can from Jimmie to fill it but Jimmie thought that he was going to steal it. Jimmie basically told him to back off and that he was a low-life for trying to take his can. Jimmie’s statement was barely legible because of all of the abbreviations and slang terms he used. I personally would not speak to someone who is older to me that way, or use any of the improper English that Jimmie used.
Comment by kmorissette16 — March 3, 2011 @ 12:50 pm |
In the story “Maggie: Girl of the Streets” the first thing I noticed is the language that they spoke. This language differs greatly from mine. In the story they all spoke with an Irish dialect, so the words were a lot more choppy and was more slang language than mine Maine language. One character who’s language stood out to me was Pete. You could tell he had a very strong Irish accent. Our two languages differ greatly and if you were to put Pete and I into the same room, I bet we would hardly understand each other.
Our languages differ in so many ways and they are due to different factors. One way our language differs is the way we pronounce words. When reading the story, it was very hard to read the dialog between the characters, like between Pete and Jimmie. The author writes. “Mos’e’ry day some farmer comes in an’ tries t’ run d’ shop. See?” (236). Pete language is a lot more broken up and I would say more “slang” than my language is. Their language also uses different words than my language. An example of this would be when the author writes, “ ‘Dere was a mug come in d’ place d’ odder day wid an idear he wus goin’ t’ own d’ place!’” (236). The word “mug” is used. In my language you never hear here that. I also noticed that they shorten their words a lot. Even word that only have two letter they don’t pronounce. I noticed they don’t pronounce their “th” or “o” . With the Mainers language we love to pronounce our “a”. When we say car we pronounce the “a” like “ah” and really don’t pronounce the “r”. Also I noticed that Pete says “see” a lot when he is talking. The author writes, “… ‘I plunked dat blokie was outa sight. See? Dat’s right! In d’ jaw! See?’” (237). Pete seems to phrase it into a question. In my language I don’t phrase things into questions when I’m talking.
Comment by Briana Shields — March 3, 2011 @ 2:34 pm |
My language and the language coming from, “Maggie: A Girl from the Streets” is quite different and yet in some instances are very much the same. Of course, the only true similarity would be the use of slang. Throughout the book, we see that every character, especially the children, shorten their words and use slang instead of saying the actual word or phrase outright. I myself do the same thing from time to time. Slang also however refers to a jargon of a particular class or profession. We can see with the characters in this story, being of a particularly low class, with not much education, that they do not speak very articulately and with whole words. The character Pete, for example, says, “Say, I jes’ jumped d’ bar an’ d’ way I plunked dat blokie was outa sight” (236-237). Evidence of slang and very little education are seen here, yet also the time period plays a huge role in how he spoke. I speak much more articulately and have had the education and interactions I need to be able to speak so that people understand me correctly, even with the use of slang.
Of course other people in the world may think that my use of the English language is strange. Being from Maine, I pronounce things differently and use terms differently than others do. Mainers have a peculiar (and sometimes obnoxious) way of putting an “ah” on the end of everything that should end with an “r”. When I lived in California, this was incredibly strange to the people there. Yet, when I came home, the way I said things no longer made sense to the people here, for instance instead of saying “what’s up?” or “how are things?” I say, “what happened?”. So, just like the characters in “Maggie”, I have my own way of speaking, but I speak in a more articulate, easy to understand way.
Comment by Brooke Geel — March 3, 2011 @ 2:38 pm |
In “Maggie:A Girl of the Streets” the language is very different. Jimmy’s language is very different from the way that I speak. An example of this would be “‘Well, what if we does?’” (267). Grammar isn’t very important to Jimmy’s character and he often talks in very simple terms. Jimmy is portrayed as a troubled young man, that loves to cause trouble. This sentence shows that he has had little education and that it doesn’t matter what is said, just how it’s said. If I was to repeat this sentence then I would say ‘ Well, what if we do?’. This makes more sense to me because I’ve been taught the form and educate of sentence tenses. This shows that I am a more educated person that cares about how I present myself.
Another example of how different Jimmy’s language is different from mine is the way he talks. An example of this would be ‘“ Here, now,” said her son. “Take a drop on yerself, an’ quit dat”’(264). Jimmy has an accent through out the entire story. This accent could be due to his lack of education or the region where he lives. He often shortens his words like “an’” would normally be and. The accent also makes yourself sound like “yerself,” this could be referred to as a southern accent. This is very different from the way I talk. Where I am from coastal Maine, I do have a slight accent where I have a tendency to draw out my a’s or make the sound of in instead of ing. However, I try to do this as little as possible because I know it’s improper.
Some of Jimmy’s phrases are also very different from the way my language allows me to talk. An example of this would be “ ‘Damn yer ol‘ hide,’” (262). This was spoken to his mother in a moment of anger. In my language I wouldn’t say “yer ol‘ hide,” a phrase like this could be shortened to something sort and to the point like “Damn you.” The world “hide” is rarely ever used unless referring to animal skin. My language would also never have me saying “yer” or “ol”. My accent is not southern so my words are for the most part fully pronounced. “Yer” would be you and “ol” would be old.
Comment by Kristy Benner — March 3, 2011 @ 3:00 pm |
The language used in “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” is very different from the modern English language we are used to. Not only do the characters speak with heavy Irish accents, but they also use slang. This story was written in 1893, so the time period also lends phrases and words to the language that now seem archaic. The first dialogue we see in this story gives us an idea of how the spoken language will be. The author writes, “Run, Jimmie, run! Dey’ll git yehs!” (220). Jimmie replies with, “Naw, dese micks can’t make me run.” When introducing this scene, the author says that Jimmie “was throwing stones at howling urchins from Devil’s Row.” Urchins is used to refer to children, a term that is not used in my region today. The way the characters speak also make them seem low-class and uneducated because compared to today’s language that we are used to, they speak incompletely and with much more slang.
In the story, the male characters tend to say “unnerstan’?” and “see?” after most sentences when talking to someone, such as when Pete says to Jimmie, “Dat’s what I said! Unnerstan’?” or “Git outa here now, an’ don’ make no trouble. See? I know yehs! See? I kin lick better men dan yehs ever saw in yer lifes. Dat’s right! See?” (257). They seem to always want to make sure that the other person is listening to them and that they understand what is being said. The one-word questions after their sentences also emphasize what they are saying and make them sound important. This is different than how I talk because when I am talking to somebody, I assume they are paying attention and I don’t repeatedly use questions after my sentences to make sure they are listening. The combination of slang, the Irish accent, and the older terms can make parts of this story difficult to understand. Even within the United States, speech from different regions can seem foreign simply because of accents or different slang or phrases used. In another 100 years, the language that seems so modern and fluent to us will probably seem archaic and broken, just as the language from “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.”
Comment by Tyler Smith — March 3, 2011 @ 3:24 pm |
Rachel Taggart
The story, “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets”, written by Stephen Crane in the late 1800s, has a much different language than what is used today. First of all this story was based in a different time, with a different basis of people. The cultural reference here is Irish immigrants who lived in urban area. The language used in this story, is perceived to be very broken; improper. Education was not mandatory/necessary back then, whereas now it is law that children must be educated up to a certain age. This is properly shown within this story, because many of the conversations are hard to interpret, “Hully gee! Dey makes me tired’, he said. ‘Mos’ e’ry day some farmer comes in an’ tries t’run d’shop. See? But dey gits t’rowed right out! I jolt dem right out in’d street before dwy knows where dey is! See?”(236). Pete a character who is believed to be of a higher class, however, his speech is still hard to construe.
Characters in this story use slang within casual conversation, which is similar to our society, the difference is they use terms that now have a different meaning or are not used anymore, “Dat bloke was dandy”(237). Different terms had different expressions, additionally within this story we see words being compounded to make one term within a sentence. Overall, the language is simplified and made up by more slang. No complicated/educated words are used because the vocabulary of the characters within this story is so limited. I may not have an extensive vocabulary but I possess a larger internal dictionary due to my education, and culture. Even comparing my language to Pete’s, a more respectable character within the story, it is still evident that my language would be considered more appropriate due to structure/composer. Which I believe is due to the importance place on education within our society today.
Comment by rtaggart6 — March 3, 2011 @ 3:30 pm |
The difference in language between the language used in “Maggie: A girl of the streets” and the language I use every day. The language used in the story has a thick Irish accent to it. I have listened to Irish people speak before and it differs immensely compared to the English that I speak. The Irish accent can be found in the book where Jimmie says, “’D’ ol’ woman ‘ill be raisin’ hell’” (228). There are many words within Jimmie’s speech that are cut short and abbreviated. When reading the story I have to speak in an Irish accent to try and understand the way that the words are being said. As I am from England, I have heard Irish people speak before. It is a language of their own. It is difficult to try and understand what they are saying even in person. The amount of times I have asked them to repeat themselves as I have not understood them is incredible.
As I am in America, I can imagine it is even harder to understand the Irish way of speaking. Even when Jimmie says, “’Come ahn an’ I’ll stamp yer brains under me feet’” (249). This would be said in a different way if I or any other classmate would say it. There are constant abbreviations and slang words used in a way that in today’s language would not be said. If someone was angry with someone they would not say anything close to the quote above. The change in language is clear to see. Admittedly I do use slang in my speech, however it is not as frequent as it is used within the story. There is a time and place to use slang but it seems apparent that slang is used consistently throughout the story. There is no situation where they change their way of speaking. If I was going for a job interview I would limit the amount of slang that I would use. But if I was speaking to my friends I would use a bit more slang as that is a common way to speak to people I know. They would look at myself weird if I spoke as if I was in an interview. It is the situation that you find yourself in that you use the language appropriate for that situation.
Comment by James Crockford — March 3, 2011 @ 3:33 pm |
Kylene Johnson
EH 200
Blog Week 7 Day 1
In the story, “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets”, there are many differences between my language and the language used in the book by Maggie, Jimmie, and other characters. The biggest cause of this difference is the setting and time period in which we grew up. For me, growing up mostly on a small central coast island in Maine, I have many slang words incorporated into my vocabulary as do the other characters in the story. These words range from difference in pronunciation to nicknames for certain things. For example there are many slang names used to identify Sea Gulls in my home town of Vinalhaven. In this story, the slang used is mostly from Irish background. These terms also use different pronunciation, but in different ways. The author writes, “Dat Johnson goil is a puty god looker.” (235). In this example, it is easy to understand what the character is saying even though it has strong accented words. The words “goil” and “puty” are slightly hard to understand at first but when read with the correct accent, they translate more clearly to “girl” and “pretty”.
Another difference between the language in the story and the more general English language I am used to speaking is repetition. The author writes, “Git d’ hell outa here an’ don’ make no trouble, I says like dat! See? Git’ d’ hell outa here an’ don’ make no trouble; like dat. Git’ d’ hell outa here, I says. See?” (236). This use of repetition also reflects the class of these characters. Their small vocabulary shows that they are uneducated and their extremely informal address toward other people mirrors their unprofessionalism. In my use of language, repetition like this is something rarely heard unless maybe listening to a parent tell a familiar rant.
Comment by Kylene Johnson — March 3, 2011 @ 4:26 pm |
My language differs for the langauge of the mudder in several different ways. One way is she speakes in an Irish accent and I speak English so it’s harder for people to understand what the mudder is saying. Where for my language it’s easier to understand because we speak your words out where the Irish slang they don’t always say the full word.We see this when the aouther writes “ah, where d’ hell was yehs when I was doin all d’ fightin’?” (222). Where in the English language we would say where were you will I was doing all the fighting. This show the different in the cultural differences their are and how the setting back in the 1800′s are different then now. It also shows that kids didn’t get much of an education in the 1800′s like they do now.
Another way my language is different we are tought to help your kids when their in trouble not run them down. Like Jimmies father does when he see him fighting on the street. When the other writes “his parent kicked him, come home, now,” he cried, “an’ stop yer jawin’, er I’ll lam everlasting head off yehs” (223). Where if we did something like this it would be looked has abuse and we would be concidered low class. I was tought to talk with my kids and try to understand why they were fighting and see what we can to stop the fighting. Were in this setting it seen as a normal part of life to see who’s the stronger. For if your the strongest then you class is higher then the person your fighting.Another way is when Maggie comes back to the house for help and her mudder makes fun of her and belittles her. “She stoodshivering beneath the torent of her mothers wrath” (271). This is something I would never do to one of my kids. They needed some one to talk to and help them understand what they did wrong. Then a helping hand to get through what ever problem their having in stead of their mudder laughing at her.
My language also differs in that I’m not an alcholic like the mudder in this story. Being a drinker the alchol can affect the why you act and what you say. This could be some of he reason the mudder act the way she does, a long withthe low income they have and the envirerment that they live in. Although I grow up in a low income enviroment where their were drinking but we wasn’t treated the way Maggie and Jimmie was. My mother punched us in the way that we understood what we did wrong and why it was wrong to do. By doing this it made a better person and we learned how to respect other.
Comment by Heidi Grant — March 3, 2011 @ 4:40 pm |
My language is very different than that of Maggie’s in “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets”. Maggie is Irish, and the story is set sometime around 1893, so she speaks with a lot of old Irish slang. Although she is still speaking English throughout the story, it is hard for me to understand because a lot of the word she uses are broken up or not complete. I think the author did this to make sure the audience could imagine how thick Maggie’s accent is, for the most part. I grew up in Maine, so I sometimes have an accent, too, but no where near as thick as Maggie’s, and it’s not always present when I speak. I think Maggie’s accent is so thick because of where she grew up, and the people around her certainly influenced the way she talks. Maggie lives in an old tenement building, which is basically a ghetto, so her speech reflects the setting in which she was raised. I was raised in an apartment, but it things like fighting, which happens a lot in this story, isn’t something that is acceptable where I’m from. I suppose where I live hasn’t made as much of an impact on my speech as maybe the way that members of my family talk.
Maggie doesn’t speak much in the story, so it’s hard to find an example of the way she talks. At the beginning of the story, as a girl, she says, “Ah Tommie, come ahn. Dere’s Jimmie and fader. Don’t be a-pullin’ me back” (223). I understand that she’s saying that her brother should stop slowing her down because their father and brother are coming; this shows how different Maggie’s speech is, compared to mine, because I would have said, “Tommie, come on! There’s Jimmie and Dad, let’s go.” The language of the story does a good job reflecting the time period, it’s just hard to always understand what the characters are saying, because of the difference in my language, compared to theirs.
Comment by Cayley Light — March 3, 2011 @ 5:00 pm |
Robyn Gray
Approaches to Literature
March 3, 2011
Language Differences
The characters in “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” written by Stephen Crane speak a very different version of the English language than I speak. I think that the characters in this story are from Ireland and they speak a broken slang version of English. Jimmie started to say his ‘the’s as ‘t’s and ‘d’s at an early age (228). However this pattern of talking was done throughout his while neighborhood, and was never corrected. Although I do not talk like this, there are similarities between the way Jimmie talks and the way the people where I am from talk.
The only reason I think I do not talk like Jimmie is because I was brought up not only in a different area but with a different dialect. It also seems that there was not much for visitors from other areas as Pete is confused and makes fun of a man he bumped into who used words such as “insolent ruffian” (238). Because of this lack of communication with people who speak differently Jimmie never really had a fair chance to learn English well.
There are some similarities between the language used by the characters in this story and the language I am familiar with at home. I am from a small fishing town down east, a lot of people there also have thick accents and speak a broken slang version of English. I noticed the similarity when Pete was out with Maggie and ordered “two beehs” (241). This is exactly how you would hear someone order beers in my town frequently.
Comment by Robyn Gray — March 3, 2011 @ 6:11 pm |
The short story Maggie: A Girl of The Street, talks about a time where education among children. The higher income citizens or class that cared more for their humanity, social position, and mannerisms would also converse to each other in such a manner. As for Jimmie, who was brought in the poor streets of a thriving city, was raised with violence, drinking, and shady courting among men and women. His language skills were that of a child, slurring words, pronouncing even simple two/three letter words as one letter ‘D’ for “the” or ‘dat’ for the word ‘that.’ In chapter five of the story, Jimmie speaks to his about getting a job before the ultimate job of prostitution becomes her fate, stating “Mag I ye dis! See? Yeh’ve edder got t’ go t’ hell er go t’ work!” (235). This simply statement can be understood after making out what each word is which Jimmie simply state that his sitter must get a job or she will walk the streets.
Comparing Jimmies language to my own language skills, there is noticeable differences by far. I have the ability to state full words even at the smallest detail, but there are similarities as well. Depending on who I converse with I am also guilty of combining words, or using slangs that are common amongst same cultural friendships. Phrases such as “what are you doing?” can be phrase as ‘whatchya doin’?.’ Jimmie has little practice with any other cultural language that can help pronounce better or extend his vocabulary. His extent of conversation has commonly been with those intoxicated and slurring words to speak their point. Jimmie is not capable of conversing in full sentences and would be quick to judge those who can ‘Above all things he despised obvious Christians and cipher…He consider himself above both of these…’ (232). Jimmie will not show interest in learning how to communicate with a class high then his because of his own judgment and animosity toward them.
Comment by Katherine Stewart — March 3, 2011 @ 6:53 pm |
Keyleigh Bennett
Adam Crowley
EH 200
March 3, 2011
Language is very important in our society. Language is one way that we communicate. Most cultures have their own form of communication or language. In this story “Maggie: A girl of the streets,” he characters in the story speak a different type of English. You could call the language; broken English. It is very difficult to understand outside of the culture, however, they can understand themselves perfectly. Jimmie had a very interesting way of speaking. He grew up during the 1800s so that affected the way he spoke. Jimmie was also from Ireland so that could affect the way he spoke too, due to an accent. “Run, Jimmie, run! Dey’ll git yehs!” (220). By reading this phrase you can tell that they had an irish accent.
I was born in South Carolina, so the way I spoke in South Carolina was very much different than the way I speak in Maine. Accents also affect language as well. I used to have a southern accent from South Carolina; however, it faded with time when I moved to Northern Maine. Each region has their own slang or language. I feel that my language was greatly influenced by the way my Dad spoke to me when I was younger. I find that I speak similar to how my Dad and family speak because that’s when I grew up with and learned.
Comment by Keyleigh Bennett — March 3, 2011 @ 7:33 pm |
In the story Maggie: A girl of the streets, the language used is English however the accent and the use of words are much different from the English language that we speak today. The use of slang is pertinent in the speech of all of the characters. The slang is mostly just the abbreviation of words and the different context which words are used. Their language seems to be universal and a derivative from the culture which they were brought up in, as all language is.
The language used by the character Pete seeks verification at the end of phrases by using the term, “see” at the end of a statement. This was used when Pete was talking to Jimmy and stated, “I t’rows yehs bote inteh d’ street. See” (257)? He uses this ending to make sure that Jimmy heard clearly what he was saying and understands the meaning behind his words. This is used by many characters in the story and seems to be a trend of the culture. The quote above also shows the use of abbreviations and combined words in the language; “inteh d’ street” is used instead of into the street which we would see in our current language.
The use of language and grammar in this story is common among their culture, yet is difficult to understand by us as readers today. I believe that the lack of education of the time contributes to the lack of knowledge and use of grammar in their language. However, the culture and upbringing plays a major role in the way that language is used. Even thought the same language is being used the cultural twist on the language is unfamiliar to the English speaking people of today.
Comment by Kailtyn-Jade Dingley — March 3, 2011 @ 7:34 pm |
In “Maggie: Girl of the streets” written by Stephen Crane, the language that is used is extremely distinctive in comparison to the way in which I speak. The character Jimmie, speaks in old Irish slang with an Irish accent, his English is very broken. Where as I speak with a Maine accent and my dialect isn’t as choppy. This is due to the time and location of both myself and Jimmie. Jimmie grew up being undereducated and living within a slummy neighborhood in Ireland. There were certain abbreviations and apostrophes, this was to emphasize their Irish accents. The author writes “ “Ah, come off! I got dis can fer dat ol’ woman an’ it ‘ud be dirt teh swipe it. See?” This displays the cultural twist, which clearly plays a role within language.
I grew in up in Maine and there are certain things that we as a state pronunciate differently , as well as having different phrases etc. Such as drawing for a’s and overdoing n’s. I am also more educated and like to extend my vocabulary, which is displayed when you converse. I wouldn’t want to speak like Jimmie in my era because it would be hard to find a job and converse etc.
Surroundings and setting play a large role in language and how one speak. When in a negative setting your more apt to speak abrasively, such as Jimmie. I was brought up in a setting that was laidback so I speak with humility. One who is educated is more apt to speak intelligently and live within a decent community.
Comment by bliss — March 22, 2011 @ 3:28 am |