that their mother is cooking noodles which is easy to prepare and good to eat. If we analyse the text of this ad, it can be concluded that women in our society are for the most part depicted as home-makers, cooks and their role is mainly confined within the household such as preparing food for their children and taking care of the family. If the media texts of advertisements of our country are studied in this regard, the language used in context will present a particular recurring pattern as distinct as fingerprints. That is, women are portrayed as the weaker sex, and they are concerned about their complexion, hair and are mainly important for their role as home-makers. A gender hierarchy can be observed as men are mostly shown as the breadwinner in successful positions and the language of the advertisement and all the texts present within indicates towards this phenomenon.Intertextual language in media
Language is
not static but ever-changing and always evolving to meet the need of our society
Limana Solaiman Mridha
We study media discourse in order to understand the meaning of media texts that includes not only written text but all media content. It enables us to identify with and analyse the shared meanings that are predominant in a culture; through discourse it is easier to understand how the media present meanings differently through use of language. For example in a certain noodle advertisement called Cocola Noodles, the kids in the commercial sings that their mother is cooking noodles which is easy to prepare and good to eat. If we analyse the text of this ad, it can be concluded that women in our society are for the most part depicted as home-makers, cooks and their role is mainly confined within the household such as preparing food for their children and taking care of the family. If the media texts of advertisements of our country are studied in this regard, the language used in context will present a particular recurring pattern as distinct as fingerprints. That is, women are portrayed as the weaker sex, and they are concerned about their complexion, hair and are mainly important for their role as home-makers. A gender hierarchy can be observed as men are mostly shown as the breadwinner in successful positions and the language of the advertisement and all the texts present within indicates towards this phenomenon.
Language plays a central role in media discourse analysis. It is a powerful human trait that can bring together and divide large groups of people. Human language is not just a simple form of communication but far more than that. Animals use signals as communication for exchanging information about food and predators whereas language allows people to express emotions, share stories, explain theories and exchange ideas. Human language is a form of communication so complex that no other form of animal communication comes close to it.
Being a fundamental part of the social structure, human language evolved slowly over time, which is to say as structures of society became more complex, the expressions and language usages became more elaborate. Skills such as this allowed humans to create even more complex societies through which modern language evolved.
Language is not static but ever-changing and always evolving to meet the need of our society. The meaning of words changes over time as new technologies are introduced every day, slangs such as dog are used as compliments among todays youth, it is not the word that holds the real meaning but the context it is used in. Another popular word that has found its way into almost all the language of the world is internet, the word dashboard once use to mean the board on a sleigh that protected the occupants from the snow that was kicked up by dashing horses. One will be astonished to know that the words such as brave, nice, awful, artificial use to have completely different meanings than that of today, brave was used to signify cowardice; nice came from the Latin not to know. Originally a nice person was someone who was ignorant or unaware.
A unique and separate cultural identity can be created with the use of language, it can influence and shape the way a society interacts with the world. Culture can be influenced by language in a variety of ways. The way a community perceives the world can be influenced by language, it can also create community through its varying dialects in different areas.
Bangladesh is a beaming example of how an entire nation can be formed on the basis of language and how it speaks us. Our entire culture and societal structure is centred on language. The way we dress, interact, behave and try to present ourselves as Bengalis is a direct representation of how language is interconnected with thought and action. Take the Shahbag protest for example; it was launched demanding death penalty of individuals convicted of crimes against humanity during the 1971 Bangladeshi Liberation War. Through the action of the protesters, the slogans that are chanted again and again, we are trying to represent our belief system through actions and language that speaks us.
In our fast paced life today, our mornings usually start by receiving news from all over the world in fine printed words delivered right to our footsteps, from then on our entire day is dominated by the use and influence of all types of media. Be it a health care professional to a regular housewife to a school boy/girl, we use the media at hand enthusiastically for our work and entertainment both. For example, the typical thing to do when we wake up in the morning is to check our cell phone for text messages or emails. This is followed by usually reading newspaper during breakfast, making phone calls and checking social networks.
It is almost impossible to imagine a workplace without computer and internet. The interactive media such as twitter and blogs have made it possible to share news within seconds of any occurrence. Almost all the major newspapers have an electronic version which is available to everyone for free via internet, so even before we get the next days paper, we are up to date via these sites about mishaps such as the BDR incident. Another example is the 9/11 attack, live TV broadcast has made it possible for viewers to see the second plane crash into the building and later the collapse of the famous Twin Towers of New Work.
Media plays a crucial role in shaping our opinion about events all around the world. If we take into account the 9/11 attack, it was the media that conveyed the news about the group called Al Qaeda and its involvement of the attack on United States, its continuous bombardment of facts related to the attack prompted people to support the war against terrorism.
Media plays an authoritative role in society; the authority comes from the power they have in deciding what is important and what information they should share with general people. The power of the media also rest on the fact that they are able to translate specialist text into common knowledge, thus making it possible for general public to relate. The mass media make it their responsibility to educate the people of their rights, religious, moral and social obligations. People make it a habit of deciding what is important through the information they gather via many modes of the media.
Entertainment is another foothold that the media has on society. Through movies, drama serial, reality shows etc; people are transported into this different realm, we relate to characters and the story and sometimes feel what the TV characters are feeling, thus the crying when one watches a sad ending in a movie. This is a form of escape from the hard realities people face every day, but the effect of media does not end as the show or movie comes to an end, it is this lingering notion that shapes peoples opinion and prompts them to behave in a certain way they have seen on TV.
This copying act of the media is a more common phenomenon among children, teenagers and young adults as they are most pliable. The thin body images projected by the media have had an immense negative effect among young girls all over the world. As a result eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are most common among young teens leading to severe conditions and in many instances even death.
Another unavoidable influence of media on society and culture are advertisements. We see thousands of ads in TV everyday that informs us about products and services available. The language of every ad is designed in a way that influences us to buy that particular product. Sometimes two products are compared such as laundry detergent surf excel, showing us why we should choose it over other laundry detergents available in market. The goal of most advertisers is to make people feel that they are making an informed choice or they are cool and trendy because they use a particular product.
Due to the advancement in technology goods are produced in much larger scale then before and also numerous brands of the same product is available, therefore creating a need for advertisers to make space or create market for their products. Because of the availability of so many similar products and competition, advertisers cannot rely to sell their goods in ample quantity based on rational arguments only. It has become a trend in advertising to use intertextual language rather than direct approach to make their product more lucrative and their ads more complex and sophisticated.
By looking at the picture above, it is hard to make sense of the Absolut Vodka advertisement until you know what to look for. It is easier to make out the shape of the bottle once it is clear that we are looking for it. Intertextuality is used in this way by modern visual advertisements. There is no direct mention of the product at all. When an individual instantly make the appropriate interpretation, he/she is identified as a member of an exclusive club and with each act of understanding serves to renew ones membership.
Our identity, society and culture are shaped by language; it is not possible to separate ourselves from the centrality of language from our life. Language enables us to identify with our culture and societal norms. Power institution such as the mass media uses language as its tool for shaping peoples opinion, prompting them to follow or criticize a certain cause by making the content and language of information/news according to their own liking.
At every turn of our life, we come across the mass medias influence on us, be it at school, workplace or a simple place for entertainment, therefore media discourse analysis is an effective way of analysing and understanding the role of media in our lives.
The writer is a journalist
