Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.03.2007, Blaðsíða 7

1_RVK_GV_03_007_OPINION
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The first time I heard it used by a
child I was quite shocked and a bit
disturbed. Did that third grader
just yell the f-word? After the ini-
tial shock was over, I then began to
analyse the way he said the word.
There was not the occasional fol-
low-up of “oops, sorry.” He said
it like a grown man witnessing his
favourite sports team losing the
championship in the final four sec-
onds of the game. It possessed a
level of maturity that you could only
get from watching another person
do it: that is, a professional.
It’s unusual and frankly a little
scary to find a country where so
many of its citizens pick up their
colloquial English skills solely from
watching American-made films
and television programmes. The
media’s influence on the English
language in Iceland penetrates
quite deeply into the voices of the
younger generation. In my opin-
ion it stands as the most dominant
English instructor in the country
and has given many Icelanders an
advantage over many other coun-
tries that struggle with appropriat-
ing second languages. However, as
convenient and accessible as this
language teacher may be, there are
a few side effects that need to be
addressed.
First and foremost, when an
actor or actress says something
offensive on a television show or
movie, the screen does not flash a
warning sign that reads, “Not suit-
able for everyday conversation.”
An obvious backlash from allow-
ing the media to be your English
teacher is that it makes inappropri-
ate words seem fitting for casual
conversation. Since television and
film have neglected their standards
in censoring expletives altogether,
many Icelanders do not understand
the correct etiquette when utilis-
ing some of their English-speaking
skills. Most native English speak-
ers would find it quite offensive
to openly curse in the course of a
chat. It sends a message that you
do not respect the other person
and their comfort level with swear-
ing. Openly cursing also reveals a
lack of sophistication on the part of
the speaker and gives the impres-
sion that curse words are a mask
for an inadequate vocabulary and
therefore are being used to con-
vey a variety of unknown words or
phrases.
In addition, the American en-
tertainment industry also gives
culturally offensive words a path-
way into the vocabulary of a non-
English speaker without any rhyme
or reason. Last month one of my
students used the word “nigger”
out loud in a way that showed an
eerie level of comfort in its delivery.
Through this incident I saw an op-
portunity to speak with well over
one hundred students about the
history and sheer abhorrence of us-
ing the “n-word” in any way, shape
or form. “Nigger” is a derogatory
racial slur used mostly for insulting
people of colour. Many students
stood clueless about the long
historical past this one word con-
tained. It is regarded as one of the
most offensive words in the English
language and is currently a hot top-
ic on many U.S. political agendas in
this time just after Black History
Month. Political figures such as Jes-
se Jackson are fighting for it to be
taken out of the entertainment in-
dustry all together, while New York
City has recently passed a symbolic
law on banning the word from its
usage in films, music and everyday
conversation. As one of few Afri-
can-Americans living and teaching
in Iceland, I am blessed to be in a
position that enables me to edu-
cate as many people as I can about
the weight and cultural license of
verbalising certain words of power.
As there are two sides to every
coin, there are of course positives
in utilising television shows and
films as teaching tools for English.
The benefits of acquiring English
skills through entertainment are
two-fold. One, individuals develop
a firm grasp of how to communi-
cate with confidence and at a suf-
ficient level. In my English classes it
is crystal clear which students have
spent a large amount of time in
front of the television versus those
who have not. Although express-
ing oneself thoroughly cannot be
attained, students who have been
exposed to this visual and audio
component of learning over an im-
mense amount of time tend to be
the most proficient out of everyone
in the group. Another benefit that
television offers is that it provides
an adequate comprehension level
of popular culture and cultural
norms that also flow into under-
standing the language. Based on
the fact that a language is not just
words, but facial expressions, body
language, humour, sarcasm and
the like, many of these idiosyncra-
sies are critical when communicat-
ing in any circumstance.
So, did I write this piece to en-
courage more TV time or discour-
age it? The answer is neither. The
purpose is to inform those using
the media as a teaching tool to also
be cautious as to what they are not
learning. At the end of the day we
must remember that the mission
of the big screen is not to educate,
but to simply entertain.
Nothing but the Word
By Gabriele R. Gudbjartsson
We deliver it clean.
Have a dirty time!
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