Home - Language and Literature - Language in Cultural Context - AIS-R LibGuides at Regional Association of Independent International Schools

Introduction

Why can't a heroine just be a hero?

Looking at Language and Context

Overarching Understanding Goals and Guiding Questions:

How does audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts?
How is language and meaning shaped by culture and context?
How can works of literature be interpreted by different audiences?
Who is affected by the impact of language changes?
How does the author use technique to drive meaning?
How can I effectively convey my conclusions?

Research Databases

Click for database USERNAMES and PASSWORDS
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Ebscohost Research Databases This link opens in a new window Ebscohost provides access to a variety of academic databases which each hold thousands of full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles. An excellent source of reliable information for student research projects.
Encyclopedia Britannica This link opens in a new window The joy of learning, at home or on the go. Whether you need homework help, background for a business proposal, or you simply want to learn, Britannica delivers trusted information wherever you want it, wherever you need it, in new and enjoyable ways.
Global Issues in Context This link opens in a new window Designed to support global awareness, Global Issues In Context ties together a wealth of authoritative content that empowers students to critically analyze and understand the most important issues of the modern world.
Literary Reference Center This link opens in a new window Combining information from major respected reference works, books, literary journals, and original content from EBSCO, Literary Reference Center features an expansive collection of author biographies, plot summaries and work overviews, full-text essays from leading publishers, literary reference books and monographs, cover-to-cover full text for literary magazines and journals, book reviews from the most prestigious publications, poems from hundreds of sources, short stories, classic texts, author interviews, and much more.
Student Resources in Context This link opens in a new window Student Resources In Context offers cross-curricular content aligned to national, state, and Common Core State Standards, and presents that material in the way most useful for students. This unique database provides stellar support for papers, projects, and presentations while reinforcing the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Language, a system of conventional spoken, manual, or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves. The functions of language include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative expression, and emotional release.

Read more about Language and Culture HERE

Source: "Language." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 May. 2017. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/language/108460#27179.toc. Accessed 6 Sep. 2018.

Videos

In the Library

In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent
Call Number: 499 OKR
ISBN: 9780812980899
Publication Date: 2010-05-11
Chronicles various efforts to create new languages, discussing their intended purposes, creators, and varying degrees of success.
Language Matters by Donna Jo Napoli; Vera Lee-Schoenfeld
Call Number: 400 NAP
ISBN: 9780199735716
Publication Date: 2010-07-08
Examines controversial questions about language as a human ability and as part of society, such as whether Ebonics is a dialect, whether computers will truly learn human language, and whether offensive language harms children.
The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
Call Number: 420 BRY
ISBN: 9780380715435
Publication Date: 2001-10-23
Covers the history of language from its beginnings to the explosion of English as a global language in the twentieth century.
Political Correctness by William Hughes; Geoffrey Hughes
ISBN: 9781405152792
Publication Date: 2009-11-16
Traces the history of political correctness, discussing its origins, progress, content, and style, and considers whether political correctness has succeeded in eliminating prejudice or has placed limitations on public debate.
Rhetoric: a Very Short Introduction by Richard Toye
ISBN: 9780199651368
Publication Date: 2013-05-08
Provides an introduction to English language rhetoric.
Socialization by Elizabeth Grauerholz; Elizabeth A. Swart
Call Number: 303.3 GRA
ISBN: 9780816083190
Publication Date: 2012-03-01
Discusses how personal identity is shaped by culture, focusing on gender, race, social class, and adult socialization processes and outcomes.
Sold on Language by Julie Sedivy; Greg Carlson
ISBN: 9780470978153
Publication Date: 2010-12-01
Explores how competition in a capitalist, free-market society influences the ways in which commercial and political advertisers speak to individuals.
Through the Language Glass by Guy Deutscher
Call Number: 410 DEU
ISBN: 9780312610494
Publication Date: 2011-08-30
Examines the symbiotic relationship between culture and language, discussing how each impacts the other, whether different languages can lead a speaker to have different thoughts, and related topics.
Whistling Vivaldi by Claude M. Steele
Call Number: 303.3 STE
ISBN: 9780393339727
Publication Date: 2011-04-04
Examines the role of what the author calls identity contingencies in the lives of individuals and in society as a whole, focusing on stereotype threat, arguing that people who believe they may be judged based on a bad stereotype do not perform as well, and showing how to overcome the problem.

Language and Literature - Language in Cultural Context: Home

Introduction

Research Databases

Encyclopedia Britannica

Videos

In the Library