Hannah Sullivan

English 121

Mrs. Litle

March 17, 2017

The Power of Language

In the article Speech Acts, Genres, and Activity Systems: How Texts Organize Activity

and People by Charles Bazerrman, it discusses the importance of text in our world. Text is the

constant tool that allows us to shape the world we live in. According to Bazerrman text evokes

worlds of meaning by representing content and using the resources of language, including

relations with other texts, and other media (366). The influence of text is limitless and is used

in different levels in society. Language and text is a part of genres which are then part of genre

systems which is then apart of human interaction. Language shapes our growth, expectations,

realities, hopes, dreams, opportunities, facts, and consequences.

Text is interconnected to text after text after text and the pattern continues. For example, I

want to start a softball team but first I have to figure out the rules and regulations. These rules

and regulations were previously written by a group of people who communicated with each other

to figure out what should be in the packet. Emails, phone calls, and text messages are sent

amongst each other. Once they get a final product they send it to a board of approvals that

eliminate or add different things. Making a text as we see fit to our worldly standards is a long

process and cant be done on a whim.

 Language and text can always be changed and faltered with. Through writing we create

our social facts and understandings of the world. This is how we learn our consequences and our

possible progressions. Language is a formulation of words to tie in old statements to make new

ones; each word is placed strategically to create a social standard. Words can also be used in

speech.

According to philosopher John Austins book How to Do Things with Words, words not

only mean things, they do things(370). Speech acts are words said by the right person at the

right time in the right circumstance that can influence someone to take action upon them. A

personal example is when I promised my mom I would finish with a 3.0 in high school. This

promise and these words held so much weight that it forced me to make sure I took the proper

action to insure that they remained a true statement. In addition to the speech act, there is the

locutionary and propositional act. This is the likewise to speaking out loud to full fill out the

action. Bozemans example is when we say that it is chilly outside we are really implying the

action of turning up the thermostat and making it hot.

Our outlet of communication comes in different forms of genres. These are what we

write, what we attend to accomplish with our communication, how people will understand us,

and how and why we are communicating these things. Communications is all about the

presentation.

I agree that communication is the universal key to make the rules of our society.