The language of feminism, womanism, and hip-hop in Beyoncé’s “***Flawless”

An analysis of the language used in Beyoncé's song "***Flawless" and its thematics, including feminism, womanism, and the world of hip-hop.

The power of language and the language of power in M. T. Anderson’s Feed and Gary Stheyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story. A comparative analysis

The aim of my dissertation is to analyze how selected elements of language are addressed in two contemporary dystopias, Feed by M. T. Anderson (2002) and Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart (2010). I chose these two novels because language plays a key role in both of them: both are primarily focused on the pervasiveness of technology, and on how the use/abuse of technology affects language in all its forms. In particular, I examine four key aspects of language: books, literacy, diary writing, as well as oral language. In order to analyze how the aforementioned elements of language are dealt with in Feed and Super Sad True Love Story, I consider how the same aspects of language are presented in a sample of classical dystopias selected as benchmarks: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1921), Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932), Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1952), and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1986). In this way, I look at how language, books, literacy, and diaries are dealt with in Anderson’s Feed and in Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story, both in comparison with the classical dystopias as well as with one another. This allows for an analysis of the similarities, as well as the differences, between the two novels. The comparative analysis carried out also takes into account the fact that the two contemporary dystopias have different target audiences: one is for young adults (Feed), whereas the other is for adults (Super Sad True Love Story). Consequently, I also consider whether further differences related to target readers affect differences in how language is dealt with. Preliminary findings indicate that, despite their different target audiences, the linguistic elements considered are addressed in the two novels in similar ways.

Aviation English: Structure and Importance of an International Airborne Language

In today’s globalized world, air travel is one of the fastest growing markets. Millions of aircrafts take off and then touch down all around the world each day. This well-synchronized symphony, however, is much more complex than it seems, and communication – language - plays a crucial role during a plane’s journey. Misunderstandings and miscommunications can have disastrous effects, so the adoption of a standard phraseology to be used during flight is a means to overcome language barriers, avoid ambiguous expressions and guarantee a safe and effective operation of an aircraft. Little is known about the interaction that goes on between pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCOs), and even though the language of aviation is English, cockpit communication can be hard to understand for people who are not familiar with this specific language. The scope of this thesis is to examine the origins of this uncommon language, the characteristics and peculiarities of air communication and to shed a little light on this mystery called Aviation English.