Language and Culture

Key Concepts.
To discuss audience and purpose
1. CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
McDonalds Ads. To generate a discussion on our own cultural bias
and create awareness for how cultural values shape our
interpretation of texts.
Instructions:

AD

You are going to view several McDonalds ads from around the
world.
Guess the country from which each ad comes.
Do not be afraid to discuss cultural stereotypes and
prejudices.
These ads may amuse you or disgust you.
Make an inventory of your initial responses to the ads in the
table below
Explain why these ads work in some cultures but not in others.

WHERE DO YOU
THINK EACH AD
COMES FROM?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
SEE POWERPOINT EMAIL.

WHAT IS YOUR
INITIAL
RESPONSE TO
THE TEXT?

WHY MIGHT
THESE ADS
WORK IN
SOME
CULTURES
AND NOT IN
OTHERS?

Assessment
Further oral activity - This lesson could be given as a
presentation, in which classmates guess the origin of the ads
(different ads) and a discussion ensues on cultural sensitivity. This
same principle could also be applied to other multinational
corporations, such as Ikea or Toyota.
Written task 2 Refer to several of the prescribed questions. This
question may be explored in relation to several ads from various
cultures. Be sure, however, to focus on Anglophone cultures.

"How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two

different readers?"

2. DECONTEXTUALIZATION

What do we know about the context in which a particular text

was written?
Often times we look for contextual clues, such as the title of a
work, the name of its author and the year of publication.
These bits of information carry a lot of meaning and help us
interpret texts.
WE come to understand their importance, as you look at a text
out of context and make educated guesses about the context.
You will come to realize that we often project our
understanding of the world onto texts in order to make them
meaningful.

Decontextualized text
Hereisanexampleofadecontextualizedtext,i.e.atextthathasbeenstrippedofall
itscontextualclues.Afterreadingthistext,writea300400wordresponseinwhich
youcommentonthefollowing.Giveevidencefromthetexttosupportyourclaims.

Whenwasthistextwritten?

Whowroteit?

Whowastheirtargetaudience?

Whatkindofeffectdidthistexthaveonitstargetaudience?

In view of the difficulties that will have to be faced when catering in

war-time it is more than ever essential to bear in mind the
importance of well-balanced meals.
Good feeding means the provision of essential materials in the right
proportion. The diet must supply;- 1. Protective material for the
maintenance of health. 2. Building material for growth and repair of

the body. 3. Fuel material to provide the energy required for

muscular work, and for the production of heat.
Foods are made up of one or more of the following;- proteins, fat,
carbohydrate, mineral matter, vitamins, roughage and water.
These constituents may be grouped according to their function as
follows;- Protective material- vitamins, mineral matter, roughage,
water. Building materials - protein, mineral matter. Fuel material fat, carbohydrates (starches and sugars).
Vitamins. The most important of these from the point of view of diet
planning are A.D.B1. B2. and C.
Mineral matter. The most important of the forms of mineral matter,
from the point of view of diet planning are calcium, phosphorus, iron
and iodine.
Roughage. Roughage is the name given to the indigestible matter in
foods of vegetable origin which is excreted unchanged. Roughage
plays a useful part in stimulating the movement of the large
intestine.
Protein. Protein can be obtained from both animal and vegetable
sources. That from animal sources is called first-class protein, that
from vegetable sources second class protein. First class protein is of
better quality. In "hard-times" it may be necessary to increase the
quantity of vegetable protein in the diet and to reduce the quantity
of animal protein. In the case of children, however, who have not
only to repair worn-out tissue, but also to create new tissue, ie to
grow, every effort must be made to maintain the necessary supply
of animal protein. The following table shows the richest sources of
the more important constituents of the diet.
PROTECTIVE CONSTITUENTS
VITAMINS
Vitamin A. Animal fats (except lard), fish roe, Dark green vegetables,
e.g. Spinach, Dark cabbage leaves, Dark lettuce leaves, Dandelion
leaves, Nettle leaves, carrots, tomatoes, halibut liver oil, cod liver
oil.
Vitamin D. Animal fats (except lard), Halibut liver oil, cod liver oil.
Vitamin B1. Pulse vegetables, nuts, wholemeal flour, oatmeal, eggs,
liver, heart, kidney, yeast products e.g. marmite, bemax.

Vitamin B2. Foods of animal origin, whole meal flour, yeast products,
e.g. marmite, bemax.
Vitamin C. Raw liver, raw green vegetables, tomatoes, young raw
carrots, citrus fruits, e.g. oranges, lemons, grape fruit. Raspberries,
blackberries, and most other fruit to a lesser extent.

TARGET AUDIENCE

For whom is the text intended?'

Many Paper 1 samples include phrases such as, "Text 1 is a
poem, so it appeals to people who like poetry," or "Text 2 is
written for men, because it was written by a man."
How do we move away from such simplistic interpretations of
texts and shallow analyses of target audience?
Context is important:
There are three agents involved in any kind of communication,
the writer (context of composition), the reader (context of
interpretation) and the kind of person that the writer thinks
will read the text (target audience).
The following ad has broken records and won awards in the
advertising industry. For whom is this ad intended? How might
it appeal to its target audience?

SHOW OLD SPICE ADD - The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
QUESTIONS:
1. For whom is this ad intended?
2. How might it appeal to its target audience?

The following sets of ads promote the same product to two

different target audiences.
In each set (L'Oreal, Nivea, and Dove) Ad 1 targets men and
Ad 2 targets women.

QUESTIONS
1. As far as target audience is concerned, how would you
describe those interested in the first ads (Ad1s)?
2. How would you describe those interested in the second ads
(Ad 2s)? In other words what qualities describe them and how
can these be attributed to the language of the texts?
3. In the table below you see two sets of statements that
describe the men and women that the ads target.
4. Find evidence from the texts to support these claims.

First ads
These ads target men
who...

Evidence from the texts to support

these claims:

...want to appear tough

and strong.
...are technical.
... are competitive.
...(for you to fill in)

Second ads
These ads target women
who...

...want their husband to be

Evidence from the texts to

support these claims:

a caring father.
...want to care for their men.
...want their men to be like
TV stars.
...(for you to fill in)

FIRST ADS

LOreal

Copyreads:
"Arealmantakestimetodoublecheckhisreflectioninthemirror.Heseestruthintheaxiom:'You
nevergetasecondchancetomakeagoodfirstimpression.'Inanagewhereemailsandmonitorshave
replacedfacesandhandshakes,themanwhostepsouthisdoorinthemorninglookinfreshandclean
shavenistheonewhowillberemembered.Themanwhogivesadamnisthemanwhocomesouton
top.
Q10RevitalizaingdoubleactionshavegelandbalmfromNiveaforMensmoothsandenergizesyour
skin,helpingyoulookandfeelreadyforwhateverchallengescomeyourway.
NewNiveaforMenAgeDefyingMoisturizerwillhelpyoutomaintainayouthfulappearance.Itnot
onlyworkstopreventsignsofaging,butalsosignificantlyreducestheappearanceofwrinklesandfine
lines."
Ad2

Dove
Ad1

Nivea

Copy reads:
"A real man takes time to double-check his reflection in the mirror.
He sees truth in the axiom: 'You never get a second chance to make
a good first impression.' In an age where emails and monitors have

replaced faces and handshakes, the man who steps out his door in
the morning lookin fresh and clean-shaven is the one who will be
remembered. The man who gives a damn is the man who comes out
on top.
Q10 Revitalizaing double action shave gel and balm from Nivea for
Men smooths and energizes your skin, helping you look and feel
ready for whatever challenges come your way.
New Nivea for Men Age Defying Moisturizer will help you to maintain
a youthful appearance. It not only works to prevent signs of aging,
but also significantly reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine
lines."
AD 2

Ad2

FURTHER ORAL ACTIVITY

1. What other industries target the same product to men or women
differently?
2. How about car advertisements? Despite suggestions that car ads
appeal to macho men, you would be surprised how feminine
they can be.
3. This is because women are almost always involved in the
decision of purchasing a new car.
4. In a presentation of several ads, show how gender
stereotypes are reinforced by advertising agencies.
Paper 1
1. How will you comment on the different target audiences of the
unseen texts that you receive on you Paper 1 exam?
2. Notice that the strategy in this activity is to focus heavily on
the text. If there is a lot of technical language such as
'micromoisture', then you have an argument for concluding
that the target audience in technically inclined.

3. Notice the sentence structure here as well: "the ads target

men who are..." This relative clause comes in handy for
commenting on target audience. Compare one of the ads from
thee above to a text on this site.

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/style/boost-yourcomplexionThere will be a lot to comment on.