Mass Media Contributes to Vocabulary Building, Influences Language Use and Delivers Conventional Wisdom

Throughout the course of time, mass media has always been a powerful medium of changing lives. Its influence can be observed everywhere, even in oneself – one’s own personal preferences, the way one perceives things, and even the way one talks have been most likely been influenced by mass media in one way or another. It is the how the mass media delivers their messages which help them make these dramatic effects in their audiences. Mass media contributes to vocabulary building, influences language use and delivers conventional wisdom. The history of mass media is a story of many other stories. Print, the very first form of mass media, started with the development of paper by the Chinese in the 16th Century. Then the Chinese also raised the printing presses where books were mass produced for public reading! Eventually photography, motion pictures, and telecommunications were developed by the Americans. At present, one can now enjoy the luxuries of TV/Radio, digital media, mobile media and social media (Dominic, 2011)! One can now even access several forms of media with just a press of a button! Isn’t that fascinating? The role language is playing in media is quite big. If mass media is one big show, language is usually on the spotlight. In the communication process, in order to have understanding, a message encoded by a source must be successfully decoded by a receiver. The message is usually in the form of written or spoken language. Language, the system of spoken or written codes accepted by society, plays a key part in achieving understanding – without it, it would be almost impossible to encode and decode an idea or a thought which is meant to be sent and understood (Dominic, 2011). Since mass media is a tool for communication, this also makes it a tool for influencing its audiences. TV shows and magazines show the latest trends. Novels and horror movies can stir up one’s emotions – making one feel happy, sad, or even scared! Advertisers, with their

References: ABS-CBN Foundation. (n.d.). Our Educational Television (ETV) Shows. Retrieved Febuary 9, 2012, from E-media: http://www.abscbn-emedia.com/html/etv/etv.html Association, American Speeh-Language-Hearing Brinckman, J. (2008). Nike 's 'Just Do It ' slogan celebrates 20 years. Retrieved Febuary 8, 2012, from Oregon Live: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/07/nikes_just_do_it_slogan_celebr.html Classle Common Sense Media. (n.d.). Blue 's Clues (Nickelodeon). Retrieved Febuary 4, 2012, from Common Sense Media: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/blues-clues Common Sense Media Dominic, J. (2011). Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in Transition. New York: McGraw Hill. Fisch, S. M. (2005). Children’s learning from television. TelevIZIon(18), pp. 10-14. Google. (2011, November 30). Increasing transparency and choice with ads on search and Gmail. Retrieved Febuary 9, 2011, from Official Google Blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/increasing-transparency-and-choice-with.html Green Planet Films Jamieson, K., & Campbell, K. K. (1988). The Advertier 's Aims. In K. C. Kathleen Jamieson, The Interplay of Influence (pp. 170-171). California: Wadsworth Publishing. JumpStart. (2009). JumpStart For Children: Who We Are. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from JumpStart: http://www.jstart.org/site/PageServer?pagename=WhoWeAre_Home Meginnson, D Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). google. Retrieved January 19, 2012, from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/google Moore, B English Accent Training For Call Centers. (n.d.). Retrieved Febuary 2, 2012, from 88db: http://ph.88db.com/Education-and-Lessons/Language-Courses/ad-269928/ Nestlé Philippines, Inc Olanoff, D. (2011, November 1). Google launces "Why these ads". Retrieved Febuary 9, 2012, from The Next Web: http://tnw.co/uvcdmq PBS PYATT, E. J. (2008, April 9). How Bootylicious Got into the Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved Febuary 2, 2012, from A Linguist in the Wild: http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/blogs/thinking/2008/04/how-bootylicious-got-into-the.html Rice, M Rock, A. (n.d.). 14 Fun Facts About Dora the Explorer. Retrieved Febuary 6, 2012, from About.com Preschoolers: http://preschoolers.about.com/od/technologyentertainment/a/14-Fun-Facts-About-Dora-The-Explorer.htm Routledge Solon, M. (2008). Influence of Mass Media on the use of American Collogquialisms among Ateneo high-school students in their blogs. Ateneo de Davao University. Speekee. (2006). Speekee. Retrieved from Will Dora The Explorer teach my child Spanish?: http://www.speekee.co.uk/articles.php?p=6 Thierer, A Thrive. (2011, October 9). Collaborate With Classmates Using New Facebook Groups. Retrieved Febuary 9, 2012, from College Thrive: http://collegethrive.com/collaborate-with-classmates-using-new-facebook-groups Tomalin, B