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Lobbying Post #4 - Curfews/Flashmobs

Posted by Shelby Harcher in American Government - Laufenberg on
​As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, Philadelphia has had a problem with flashmobs and the solution the city has come up with is setting a curfew for those under the age of 18. City council has recently come up with a new curfew law for the city which fines those who don't obey. I've had many thoughts and feelings about this law because it effects me directly because I am a minor. I don't agree with the law that has been made. The law not only effects the teens who don't listen to the curfew but always the parents of those minors. 

Curtis Jones Jr., is my representative for my district. He voted upon the new curfew law for the city. Because we have two different opinions on what needs to be done, I thought it would be a good idea to contact him and let him know how I feel. Writing a letter seemed to be the easiest way to contact my representative, so I did just that. In my letter, I talked about how millions of dollars are going to be spent for more policemen to be on duty to enforce the new law. I also questioned whether or not they believe this law will be enforced properly and if not, what do they plan on doing? I expressed how punishing parents isn't fair nor is it the best thing to do and not every minor who is out during the those restricted hours are out to start trouble. 

I believe that contacting your representative when you don't agree with something that's going on in the city is the best way to handle the situation. Your representative is there to represent you, so you are entitled to give them our opinion. 

Jermel Langley Language Autobiography / response video

Posted by Jermel Langley in English 2 - Block on
​l. My Language autobiography is showing how Code switching is a major part of my life. Word are the real power people have you just have to know how to use them. I just wanted to show everyone who reads my paper how my use of code switching can help out. Everyone code switches because it's like a instincts you have when you know how to talk. 

ll. 

Code Switching In Language

This was one of my regular Friday’s when I was suppose to get my cut. I walking to my room and my cousins comes over my house. So my mom calls me down stair to get my hair done. I walk to the kitchen and wait i know you may think hold up I’m getting my hair cut in the kitchen but we have been doing this for the pass 3 years so it’s cool and they make me clean it after anyways. So back to the story. My cousin Boo was staying in the kitchen, he has a full Beard, my skin completion, and very husky.

“Wassup! cousin boo ” He turn around and give me a hand shake. When he give me hand Shakes it feel like he trying to break my hand.
“Wassup kid, i see you getting a lil husky over there but you see i been in the gym 2” As he said this he flexed his muscles. like if I like seeing them or something. really I don’t be caring but I don’t say anything. so he could feel better about his self.
“Yeah im not even husky tho haha” I know i’m husky he don’t have to tell me.
“yeah ard, but you ready to be pretty for the city?”
“ Swag you already know, ima sit down”
“ all right then, you about to pull all the bittes.”
“ Yeah you already know cousin boo you know”
“ It’s in our blood Mel G’s”
“ Mel G’s “
Boo: “ these ladies don't know they talking to Mel G over here”
This is a conversation that me and my cousin have all the time, but this is a conversation that only be and my cousin can have. I use slang for the fun in the way I talk. I feel as tho it gives me freedom. But at the same time I can code switch very well and if you don’t know what code switching mean it when you change the way you speak to present your self a certain way to certain people. Like if you curse and talk with slang around your friends and never even think about talking that way around your parents. Plus if you did you know your parent will be like I’m not your friend, so talk to me the right way. I do this all the time.
Late August, We were having a Award Ceremony for my Advance Engineering Design program. As soon as we walked in Naval Commanders came to me and my group and began talking to us. I was nervous but I just started talking very proper.

“Goodmorning, what’s your name” This man was a tall and white with a naval suit on and a white hat. “My name is jermel sir and how is your morning going?”  

Right here is where you can see i code switched for one respect and two it’s in my personally. Code switching is a major part of language because you need to know how to approach certain people in certain ways. if you don't know how you can get laughed at and never get token seriously, you can never get a job, or you won’t fit in where ever you go.

With both events, I showed you that happened in my life and overall conflicts wit language. With these 2 events I summed up Code switching in language. Slang is a friendly way of talking to people your around everyday, which is a shortcut for the way anyone talk. And talking proper is just a professional way to speak to someone. With Code switching you will learn that you will always do this wit everyone you talk to in your life. Everyone have a different way you talk to them. Code switching is just a name of how you live your everyday life...

April Woodburn, Language Autobiography and response/video

Posted by Anonymous in English 2 - Block on
​I. Response

My language autobiography mainly uses my history as a person to show how my speech has changed over the years. I never realized how much impacted the way people spoke until i had to write this paper. Throughout my life, my speech was changing from the voice of a sheltered, one accent white girl to slowly becoming an open, adaptable, cultured voice that could speak to people with ease in many cases. 

II. Language Autobiography

    Before a little while ago I never really felt like an autobiography was needed for the way I spoke. I never really thought the way my speech was unique or different than anyone else. I always knew that other people spoke different than me, but I always spoke like my family, and I hadn't thought about the way others spoke unless it was being made fun of. I guess the best way to describe the way I speak is to show a bit of my history from start to now.
        I was born into an Irish family that just lived the standard “white-person” life. We just lived a way that was considered “normal” to most white people in a black neigborhood. We didn’t go to church, we didn’t usually go and spend money doing fun things, and, as the youngest child, I never went out because I wasn’t allowed to. The kids in the neighborhood moved in and out before I could get to know them because they were in section 8 housing. They all spoke different then me, saying phrases that changed pretty much every year, from “decent” to “drawlin’” to “triflin’.” I could never keep up, especially when I was never able to hang out with these people. I was that white girl they saw in school who got the good grades. With this kind of Isolation, I was subject to my parents’ Olde Philadelphia accents which had had also grown on my siblings, such as saying “wooder” instead of water.

This was my only linguistic influence until probably sixth or seventh grade, when heard mostly from not my parents but the people at my middle school, who were predominantly black. My seventh grade English teacher, a black woman named Mrs. Clarke, especially influenced me. She was the first black teacher I had ever had, and she was a very powerful speaker. She was the one who started to teach me how to speak to a crowd, so I began to have traces of her accent within mine. She also had a slight olde Philadelphia accent, being an older woman, but she had a classic turn of phrase that you would expect from most black women, not pronouncing her “er’s” and saying phrases like “Tore up from the Floor up”. By that time, I had been into anime and Japanese culture as well. I was very slowly learning Japanese, and used my new skills whenever I spoke for short periods of time.

By high school, I had learned more Japanese and was also learning Spanish. It quickly became a trend to use Spanish words when my classmates spoke to each other. I still often do that, usually to my Spanish 2 classmates. Plus, in the high school that I attend, I am far from being the only one interested in Japanese language, anime and culture. Some of my newer experiences have been the most influential to me. The more comfortable I get speaking around a person, the more I tend to match their speech patterns. So, I guess I don’t really have one language Identity, but many. I am an olde Philadelphian with new turn of phrase and Spanganese words sprinkled in.


III. Video