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Antonio College English Department | O/L
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Language
Oral
In an oral culture, the language of compositions consists
of standardized formulas stitched together from the cultural phrase book
in a storyteller's head: clichés.
- Set phrase
- Formula
- Expected qualifier (Ong 21-23)
Examples
There for you
Move on with your life
Delicate eye area
Drink the Kool-Aid
[Being on] the same page
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See the list of modern cliches here. Resist the urge to get funny with them, John.
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Jordan Stein's 2003 article, "What's Up with Lame Catchphrases," online here, skewers these modern examples of language furniture. See more information below.
Maximus: Lean and hungry. ...
What we do in life echoes in eternity.
-- Gladiator
Engl2373
Albert Mohler: ... in evangelicalism today, "glory" is a part of the vocabulary, but in its undefined, immature apprehension, it becomes nothing more than a piece of vocabulary furniture in the house of evangelicalism. Singing groups call themselves, "The Glory Boys." People say, "I wanna see the glory," and if they see the glory, it will not be what they expect. -- see context and source below.
Literate
The language is varied and is expected to be original.
The ideas also include analytic thought.
Examples
• Jordan Stein's 2003 article, "What's Up with Lame Catchphrases," online here, skewers the modern examples of language furniture listed above. He uses original phrasing, not cliches, to make argue for original phrasing.
- He tells his reader, "If at all possible, rebel. Assert your individuality by speaking your mind, not your memory."
- He criticizes "expressions that too often rest on the tips of people's tongues and expose the harsh reality of a nation that's forgetting how to speak."
- He declares that people who talk in overused phrases "end up sounding like third-rate comedians at a loss for material."
- He concludes with a lament and a recommendation:
We seem to be living through a period where the spoken word is being rationed as if an impending war threatened to stamp out what's left of the dialect. When people finally do open their mouths and let it rip, they end up defaulting to a lame catchphrase that may have very well had a place in the lexicon of the early '90s, but has since been exhausted by MTV VJs.
This sorry state of affairs requires a revolt against lame expressions and other assorted enemies of the English language. Start speaking your mind instead of your memory.
To read the whole essay, click on "Skip to Askmen.com - Catchphrases" in the top right corner of the page.
• On the The Daily Show's February 3, 2009, broadcast on Comedy Central, Jon Stewart satirizes the repeated references to the new president's political honeymoon as a "meaningless analogy, which means you'll see a lot of it." The segment featuring several clips of media types parroting the phrase starts at about 3:10 into the clip and lasts 90 or so seconds.
Exception: Strong emotions trigger a default back
to the oral mode.
• Engl2373 - from an online recording
In a recording of a conference workshop, seminary president Albert Mohler contrasts the respect and dignity God claims for Himself with its unthinking use as a formula:
[In Isaiah chapter 48:11,] The Lord speaks through His prophet Isaiah these words: [NASB] "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another." That's quite a statement. The Lord here speaks of His own acting; He speaks of own purpose, His own determination, His own will.
And He makes it very clear, as Isaiah speaks to the nation of Israel that God will act not for the sake of the name of Israel, but for His own name's sake. And He will not allow His name to be profaned; He will not allow His promises to be nullified; He will not allow His reputation to be sullied. "And My glory I will not give to another," says the Lord.
Now when we talk about the glory of God, we need to begin a conference like this by acknowledging that there is some awkwardness in using this phrase. And the awkwardness comes from its overuse, the trite way it is repeated. Why in evangelicalism today, "glory" is a part of the vocabulary, but in its undefined, immature apprehension, it becomes nothing more than a piece of vocabulary furniture in the house of evangelicalism. Singing groups call themselves, "The Glory Boys." People say, "I wanna see the glory," and if they see the glory, it will not be what they expect.
Works Cited
Mohler, Albert, Jr. "In the Beginning: The Glory of God from Eternity." Orlando
Conference - Power and Glory. Ligonier Ministries, 2003. Web.
12 March 2009.
English
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