Listening Opportunities

In this chapter we will be focusing on women’s and children’s issues that are addressed in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). See the MDGs in the Taking It Further Section of this chapter.

It should also be noted that the websites used as resources in this chapter have many audio, video and multimedia programs developed to inform and educate the global public on gender issues. In addition to students linking to these sites for gender issue information, this is a vast resource for listening to a great variety of English from around the world. It is a good resource for practicing listening skills in English and students are encouraged to visit these sites to listen to English spoken in natural ways.

The State of the World’s Children 2007 Quiz

http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/quiz/index.html

Column A

Column B

Cover this Column while taking the quiz.

1. What is the difference between gender and sex?

A. They are the same.

B. They are completely different.

C. They overlap

1. More information: Both refer to being male or female but are used differently. Sex refers to biological differences while gender refers to social or cultural ones. Gender equality would end discrimination against women and girls.

2. What does gender inequality affect the most?

A. Women in the poorest countries

B. Children

C. Women and girls

2. More information: It mostly affects women and girls but ultimately scars everyone. Failure to achieve gender equality and secure human rights for all has damaging consequences for the moral, legal and economic fabric of nations.

3. Is there a link between women’s decision-making at home and children’s nutritional status?

A. No

B. Yes

C. Sometimes

3. More information: Women who influence decisions at home prioritize nutrition. For example, if men and women had equal influence in decision-making, there would be 13.4 million fewer undernourished children under 3 in South Asia.

4. Does a mother’s lack of education affect her children’s educational prospects?

A. Yes

B. No

C. Just slightly

4. More information: Women who went to school encourage their children to do the same. Children with uneducated mothers are at least twice as likely to be out of primary school as children whose mothers attended primary school.

5. Why are girls more likely than boys to miss out on secondary education the developing world?

A. Because of high school fees, only boys go to school

B. Many adolescent girls are expected to help out at home

C. Child marriage restricts girls’ mobility and freedom

D. All of the above

5. More information: Some cultural beliefs and practices, like preferring boys over girls and child marriage, deprive girls from going to secondary school.

6. What is the proportion of girls in the developing world who get married before they are 18?

A. 10%

B. 25%

C. About one third

6. More information: About one third of women were married before 18. Globally, 36% of women aged 20-24 were married or in union before they turned 18, most commonly in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

7. Who is at greatest risk of contracting HIV/AIDS?

A. Men

B. Women

C. Children

7. More information: Women face a greater risk for physiological and social reasons. Women are at least twice as likely as men to become infected during sex. Gender discrimination and lack of education increase their vulnerability.

8. Do men and women earn the same amount of money for equal work?

A. No, men earn more

B. No, women earn more

C. Yes, they earn equally

8. More information: Women work more but earn less than men. Although women in general work longer hours than men, their average nominal wages are roughly 20% lower.

9. Most of the time, when both men and women work,

A. they share the housework equally

B. women and girls do most of the housework

C. men do most of the housework

9. More information: In India, for example, women typically spend 35 hours a week on household tasks and caring for children, compared to 4 hours a week for men.

10. Which strategies have proved to help women become more socially and economically empowered?

A. Women working together to challenge gender discrimination

B. More income sources for women

C. Improved access to education

D. All of the above.

10. More information: Education, asset and property ownership and income sources empower women. Ensuring that women have opportunities to earn income, own property and assets and get an education can help to strengthen their influence in household decisions.

11. Which African country elected its first woman president in 2005?

A. Namibia

B. Liberia

C. Nigeria

11. More information: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia in 2005. Her election marked an important moment in the history of women’s political leadership in sub-Saharan Africa.

12. During a war, who is at greatest risk of being killed?

A. Soldiers

B. Civilian men

C. Civilian women and children

12. More information: Civilian women and children are the main casualties of war. It is estimated that 90% of the casualties of armed conflict are civilians, and that 80% of these are women and children.

13. How often are women present in international peace negotiations?

A. Very often

B. Sometimes

C. Practically never

13. More information: Women’s role in peace processes remains, at best, informal. Although governments seem to encourage engagement with women’s groups, women rarely make it to the peace table.

Answer Key: 1—C: They overlap 2—C: Women and girls; 3—B: Yes; 4—A: Yes;

5—D: All of the Above; 6—C: About one third; 7—B: Women; 8—A: No, men earn more;

9—B: women and girls do most of the housework; 10—D: All of the above; 11—B: Liberia;

12—C: Civilian women and children; 13—C: Practically never

NOAM CHOMSKY
1928-Current  

“Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation"

Noam Chomsky (nOm chom´skE), was an educator and linguist born in Philadelphia. Chomsky has taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1955 and has developed a theory of transformational (sometimes called generative) grammar that has revolutionized the scientific study of language. He first set out his abstract analysis of language in his doctoral dissertation (1955) and Syntactic Structures (1957). Instead of starting with minimal sounds, as the structural linguists had done, Chomsky began with the rudimentary or primitive sentence; from this base he developed his argument that innumerable syntactic combinations can be generated by means of a complex series of rules.

According to transformational grammar, every intelligible sentence conforms not only to grammatical rules peculiar to the particular language in which it is uttered but also to “deep structures,” a universal grammar underlying all languages and corresponding to an innate capacity of the human brain. Chomsky and other linguists who have built on his work have formulated transformational rules, rules for transforming a sentence with a given grammatical structure (e.g., “John saw Mary”) into a sentence with a different grammatical structure but the same essential meaning (“Mary was seen by John”).

Transformational linguistics has been influential in psycholinguistics, particularly in the study of language acquisition by children. A prolific author, Chomsky was an early and outspoken critic of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and has written extensively on a wide variety of political issues. His principal linguistic works after Syntactic Structures include Current Issues in Linguistic Theory (1964), The Sound Pattern of English (with Morris Halle, 1968), Language and Mind (1972), Studies on Semantics in Generative Grammar (1972), Knowledge of Language (1986), and Barriers (1986). Among his political writings are American Power and the New Mandarins (1969), At War with Asia (1970), Peace in the Middle East? (1974), and Some Concepts and Consequences of the Theory of Government and Binding (1982).

http://www.psy.pdx.edu/PsiCafe/KeyTheorists/Chomsky.htm

Characteristics of the Grammar of Conversation:

1. Conversation takes place in a shared context.

• This changes personal pronouns and some nouns. “One,” for example, is substituted for a pronoun or “do it/do that” as a pro-verb phrase.
• Ellipsis: In a shared context, too, the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood is acceptable. In written grammar, however, it could not be omitted but must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete.

  Example:

  A: ... there's this effort to, to ban Tarzan from the school somewhere.
  B: Why?
  A: Because he and Jane aren't married.

• In conversation, we insert words (grammatical isolates). Words such as “Yes,” “okay,” “sorry,” “alright,” “umm,” “huh,” “you know,” and “I think” are slipped into conversation.
• Non-clausal material

  Example:

  A: Oh just as easy to um
  B: What go by car?
  A: Go by car.
  B: Oh
  A: It takes about... well
  B: About two ticks, ya. Alright.

2. Conversation avoids elaboration or specification of meaning

• In interactive conversation, fewer words are needed to explain meaning. Typically phrase length in spoken English is one third of that of academic writing, especially for noun phrases.
• Independent (elliptical) genitive-- expressing a relationship that in some inflected languages is often marked by a genitive case —used especially of English prepositional phrases introduced by “of” (genitive noun) is left out.
• General adverbials are used, e.g. “kind of,” “sort of,” “like,” etc.

  Example:

  That was sort of a special deal
  Kind of a touchy subject

3. Conversation is interactive

• First and second person pronouns are frequently used.
• Adverbials used for discourse are frequently used: “I guess” and “anyway” for example.
• The vocative case is used: A vocative expression is an expression of direct address, wherein the identity of the party being spoken to is set forth expressly within a sentence. For example, in the sentence, "I don't know, John," John is a vocative expression indicating the party who is being addressed.
• Questions and imperatives are used frequently—especially tag questions, non-clausal questions. For example: “Really?” “What for?” “Not your thing?”
• Attention signals, response forms, greetings, backchannels, response elicitors, discourse markers are used: “hey,” “yeah,” “hi,” “bye,” “uh huh,” “huh?” “well,” “I mean,” etc.
• Negation, or adversative insert: “but . . .”

4. Conversation is expressive of personal politeness, emotion and attitude

• Polite expressions and indirect requests are inserted into conversation: “ Thank you,” “sorry,” “please,” “would you...,” “could you...,” “can I...,” “let's...” and so on.
• Use of familiar vocatives such as “honey,” “mom,” “guys,” “dude,” “mate,” “Rosy” rather than “Rose,” “you all,” etc.
• Interjections: “oh,” “ah,” “ooh,” “(wh)oops,” “wow,” “ha,” “yippee,” “a-ha!” “you know,” etc.
• Expletives: “God,” “Jesus Christ,” “my gosh,” “bloody hell,” “geez”
• Other exclamations: “what a rip-off!” “idiot!” “old bitty!”

5. Conversation takes place in real time

• Normal dis-fluency (hesitation pauses, hesitation fillers, repeats, retrace-and-repair sequences, incompletion, anacoluthon). For example: “I had gone to the store . . . yesterday—I had gone to the store to get a . . . uh, you know, one of those new kinds of cell phones . . .”
• Frequent use of morphological reductions like contractions: “don’t,” “she’s,” “’cuz” (“’cause” or “because”), “gonna” (“going to”), etc.
• Frequent use of syntactic reductions (omission of auxiliary): “ you better...,” “what you doing” “we gonna...”
• Full noun phrases are especially infrequent in the beginning and middle positions of the clause.
• Frequent use of prefaces (including ‘front dislocation’)

  Example: “Oh Nathanin the bathroom, is that where he is?”

•   Frequent use of phrasal and clausal tags (including ‘end dislocation’)

  Examples:

  Cuz they get money off the government don't they, farmers?
  I just give it all away didn’t I Rudy my knitting?

6. Conversation has a restricted and repetitive repertoire

• Conversation has more prefabricated locutions or 'lexical bundles' than academic writing

  Examples: “ Can I have a...,” “Do you know what....”

These tend to be clause-initial, whereas in academic writing they tend to be built around noun phrases and prepositional phrases.

• Conversation tends to utilize a few 'favorite' items, rather than a wide range:

  Examples:

  Subordinators: “if,” “because/cuz,” “when”

  Modal auxiliaries: “can,” “will,” “would,” “could”

  Adverbs: “there,” “just,” “so,” “then,” “anyway,” “though,” “now”

7. Conversation employs a vernacular range of expression

• Morphological: “throwed,” “ain’t,” “innit?” “yous,” “y’all”
• Morphosyntactic:

  Examples:

  My legs was hurting.

  Well, she don’t know much about him, do she? I bet they’re wearing them boots.

• Syntactic:

  Examples:

  She ai n’t never given me no problems.

  It’s harder than what you think it is.

Seven Conditions Operating in Conversation

Source for examples, diagrams and Geoffrey Leech’s explanations: http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/chairs/linguist/real/independent/llc/Conference1998/Papers/Leech/Leech.htm

Geoffrey Leech
Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language
Lancaster University , UK

it

(1) In Uganda, it is definitely women’s presence in parliament that has lead to the introduction and passing of really important bills on protecting young women and men from sexualpredation.

(2) It’s absolutely true that men would roll their eyes, sigh, and open their newspapers.

(3) It’s now becoming a really important matter.

they

(4) They’ll tell you it’s 8!

(5) They’ll say, “well, we’ve already promised her in marriage, why bother?”

there

(6)Because there are so many women there who really find this behavior offensive and they speak out about it.

(7) There is no silver bullet to this problem.

(8)What you find is when you do involve men and boys in these issues there can be radical changes.

(9) There’s a double dividend: if you fulfill the rights of women, you’re also going to fulfill the rights of children.

when

(10) When women are empowered economically, they are going to have the income to be able to support their children.

(11)It coincides, unfortunately in many countries, with when you switch from primary school to secondary school.

what

(12) What emerged from this year’s State of the World’s Children Report is that one of the key constraints for relieving child poverty.

(13) What you find is when you do involve men and boys in these issues there can be radical changes.

you

(14)Where you do have more than 30 percent women in public office in places like Rwanda, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, we are starting to see radical changes in health policy.

(15)If you start educating girls, um, as they grow into adolescents . . . and they’re going to be much more empowered and much more able to fulfill their rights and the rights of children.

(16)There’s a double dividend: if you fulfill the rights of women, you’re also going to fulfill the rights of children.

Anne Marie Goetz, Chief Advisor on Governance, Peace and Security at UNIFEM, highlights the impact that women’s participation in politics has on children.

To play this clip, you must use RealPlayer:

http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=goetz&link= http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unicef.org%2Fsowc07%2Faudio%2Fgoetz.ram

also you can go to http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/press/audio.php and click on Anne Marie Goetz’s picture.

Transcript:

It’s an empiricallyverified fact that women’s status and women’s well-being is tied to the well-being of children. And there are obvious reasons for this: women are directly in chargeof children’s well-being in many cultures. There are so few nations in the world where there are enough women in politics to make this kind of difference. And women have been in politics in sufficient numbers so recently. In the last decade women’s participation in politics has doubled from 8 percent to around 16 percent—now that’s the global average. When you think about it, that’s pathetically low. Where you do have more than 30 percent women in public office in places like Rwanda, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, we are starting to see radical changes in health policy, for example, that benefit women and benefit children. In Uganda, it is definitely women’s presence in parliament that has lead to the introduction and passing of really important bills on protecting young women and men from sexual predation. So, for example, the “Sexual Offenses Act” raised the age of consent so as to protect young girls and boys from early marriage. And this was really an initiative that came from women. More women in politics does make a difference to the way other politicians react to women’s issues. Because it’s absolutely true that in a lot of cases that I’ve observed, like for example, Ugandan Parliament—at first when women brought up concerns about sexual offenses, um, it’s absolutely true that men would roll their eyes, sigh, and open their newspapers. That is just not the case anymore. Because there are so many women there who really find this behavior offensive and they speak out about it. Um, and also because women are gradually getting these pieces of legislation passed. And so the political discourse is changing. It’s now becoming a really important matter. So the more women you have in public office, the less acceptable it is to reject, out of hand, the concerns that they raise even though those have not been seen as politics before.

(End of Transcript)

Notes  

empirically =observed, from experience

verified =confirmed, accurate, true

well-being =the state of being happy, healthy and prosperous

in charge of =responsible for

doubled = 2x more

around =approximately

pathetically =pitifully, absurdly

radical =extreme

definitely =certainly

really important =very important

absolutely true = un-deniably true; completely true

brought up =introduced; suggested; raised

um =an interjection often used in conversation when speaker is thinking or gathering thoughts or trying to find the right words.

roll their eyes, sigh and open newspapers =this is said to show how the men found these concerns unimportant. It is a visual detail that shows boredom.

pieces of legislation passed =laws passed

discourse =discussions, dialogues

out of hand =beyond control  

David Stewart, from UNICEF’s Division of Policy and Planning, talks about the findings of this year’s State of the World’s Children.

To play this clip, you must use RealPlayer:

http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=stewart&link=

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.unicef.org%2Fsowc07%2Faudio%2Fstewart.ram

also you can go to http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/press/audio.php and click on David Stewart’s picture.

Transcript:

What emerged from this year’s State of the World’s Children Report is that one of the key constraints for relieving child poverty and achieving the MDGs is the discrimination that’s experienced by women. So, sort of in essence , when you discriminate against women you’re also discriminating against children. And what was sort of shocking in the report you won’t find a society or community which doesn’t venerate the child. But these same communities and countries are just discriminating against women and this is really a … a contradiction and that’s what the report shows. The first chapter really focuses on the question of why is UNICEF, which is really a children’s organization, looking at these issues. And, of course, first and foremost, women’s rights are human rights. But what also emerges is that women’s rights are incredibly important for children in various different aspects—where women are healthier, where women are educated, their children are going to be healthier, their children are going to be educated. Where women are empowered in decision-making, they are going to make decisions that are beneficial to children. When women are empowered economically, they are going to have the income to be able to support their children. But it’s not only about women supporting their own children, it’s also their involvement in society. And I think the focus we have on women’s political participation shows that women often do support children’s issues in general. And so including their participation in the political level is also absolutely vital. So what can be done about this situation? Really, it is not about radical new ideas, but inspiring political commitments to making sure there’s change. And a few of the areaswe focus on are: one of them is education—which is absolutely vital—there is no silver bullet to this problem—but this is as close as it’s going to come. If you start educating girls, um, as they grow into adolescents . . . and they’re going to be much more empowered and much more able to fulfill their rights and the rights of children. Another interesting thing that emerged is how important involvement of men and boys is. Too often they’re locked out. What you find is when you do involve men and boys, in . . in these issues and in discussing these issues there can be radical changes in attitudes which produce real and lasting change. There’s been a study done in Brazil where there’s been sort of workshops—advocacy workshops—which have shown that when discussing issues of domestic violence, for example, with men, rates of domestic violence drop radically. There’s a double dividend: if you fulfill the rights of women, you’re also going to fulfill the rights of children. And the report looks at very different aspects of women’s empowerment and how that affects children.

(End of transcript)

Notes

emerged =been revealed

MDGs =The United Nations Millennium Development Goals

sort of =general adverbial, but for many it is an unconscious habit to interject in conversation

in essence =basically

shocking =surprising; a great surprise

venerate =highly honor or regard

just =merely; but also a verbal interjection that is a habit and unconscious in conversation.

first and foremost =above all else

incredibly =very

their, they =refer to the women in the sentence.

empowered economically

= able to earn a good wage

But it’s not only about women . . . society = can be rephrased to mean that empowered women not only benefit children, they benefit society as whole.

I think =another unconscious interjection.

often do = the “do” is inserted here for emphasis

vital =necessary

a few of the areas we focus on are = this sounds as if he is going to make a list, but he doesn’t. We may presume that the “list” includes education and including men and boys, but it is not clear.

no silver bullet = an idiom that means no simple remedy or solution to a difficult problem.

this is as close to it as it’s going to come = this is the nearest that we’ll come to a solution

locked out =not included

advocacy workshops = clarified repetition

Judith Bruce, Programme Director for Gender, Family and Development at the Population Council, talks about what it means to be an adolescent girl in some parts of the world

To play this clip, you must use RealPlayer:

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also you can go to http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/press/audio.php and click on Judith Bruce’s picture.

Transcript:

The word, “adolescent,” doesn’t help us as much as it should ‘cause it means for most people, 10 to 19. And it means a defined stage of life which, in many parts of the world, many girls just don’t have. They go from a somewhat difficult childhood into extraordinary and punishing demands of adulthood. So, the sort of 10 to 14 window—around the time when puberty is completed for girls—is an absolutelykey moment for her to have social support, access to schooling, um, a positive sense of herself, and to make sure the world doesn’t shut down for her the way it often does when a girl starts being treated as a so-called woman. It coincides, unfortunately in many countries, with when you switch from primary school to secondary school. So there is a rationale for, “well, she’s a woman now”: she doesn’t need anymore school. Um, and in many parts of the world, very notably sub-Saharan Africa in the urban areas, you’ll find it not uncommon for a third of the girls or more—10 to 14 (these are babies)—living apart from parents of which, typically, about a third at least are also not going to school. It’ll vary by individual in some communities when we talk about, you know, when’s the last moment you could really act to make a difference. They’ll tell you it’s 8! Communities where there’s high levels of child marriage at very young ages—we’re working at Amharra, Ethiopia (among other places)—um, half the girls are married by 15 and many were promised much earlier ages, and many were not put in schools at all—the rationale being: “well, we’ve already promised her in marriage, why bother?” Uh, but the question I’d ask in each setting is: you know, in which moment do you suddenly see a great deal of school-leaving—either the entry of the girl, apparently, voluntarily into liaisons or her being forced into child marriage. Because we’re acting far too late! So my over-archingrecommendation—and apart from, you know, making sure our schools are safe—is to make sure that girls (especially in the 10 to 14 transition) have a safe and supportive space where they can meet peers, find mentors, build their skills, and reallynegotiatethesubstantial pressurestheyare under.

(End of transcript)

Notes

‘cause = a reduced form of “because” –sometimes spelled ‘cuz or ‘cos.

10 to 19 = the range of age for adolescence.

stage of life = age of life, specifically here, adolescence. Other stages could be “middle age,” “infancy,” “old age,” etc.

many girls just don’t have =in other words, many girls do not experience adolescence because they go from childhood to womanhood.

absolutely key moment =a very important time.

um, uh = unconscious habits in conversation often when someone is trying to gather their thoughts or find the right word.

world doesn’t shut down = in other words, life becomes meaningless.

these are babies = the girls that are 10-14 years of age are still very young.

you know = unconscious interjection.

when’s = a reduction meaning “when it is”

why bother? = why make the effort?

school-leaving = leaving school

liaisons = having sexual encounters

over-arching recom-mendation = the recommendation for everything.

apart from = besides; with the exception

10-14 transition = the age when life changes

really = often a habitual interjection. Here it modifies “negotiate” which means to give serious effort to negotiating.

negotiate the substantial pressures they are under = to rephrase: to come to terms or find one’s way in a very difficult stage of life (adolescence).

Statement A

Gender equality is not only morally right, it is pivotal to human progress and sustainable development. Achieving Millennium Development Goal Number 3 – promoting gender equality and empowering women – will also contribute to achieving all the other goals, from reducing poverty and hunger to saving children’s lives, improving maternal health, ensuring universal education, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

• What does this mean?
• Do you agree or disagree that gender equality and empowering women will reduce poverty and hunger, improve health for all, ensure that more will be educated, and ensure environmental sustainability?

Statement B

Gender equality and the well-being of children go hand in hand. Gender equality produces a double dividend: It benefits both women and children. Gender equality furthers the cause of child survival and development. Healthy, educated and empowered women have healthy, educated and confident daughters and sons. Gender equality will not only empower women to overcome poverty and live full and productive lives, but will better the lives of children, families and countries as well.

• What does this mean?
• Do you agree or disagree that healthy, educated and empowered women will have healthy, educated and confident daughters and sons?
• To what extent is this happening in your country/region? Are women empowered? Is it necessary to empower women?

Statement C

Women’s equal rights and influence in the key decisions that shape their lives and those of children must be enhanced in three distinct arenas: the household, the workplace and the political sphere. A change for the better in any one of these realms influences women’s equality in the others, and has a profound and positive impact on child’s well-being and development.

• What does this mean?
• Do you agree or disagree that women should be empowered to influence and make decisions in the home? in the workplace? in government?
• To what extent is this happening in your country/region?
• Do women make decisions in the household? Do they do more than upkeep of the house and care of the children?
• Are women treated equal in the workplace? Equal pay? Equal chances for promotion? Equal treatment?
• Are women serving in government?

Dự án -

Project

Sáng kiến -

Initiatives

Tổ chức-

Institution

Có kết quả-

Productive

Sự viện trợ -

Aid

Lĩnh vực-

Sector

Quốc gia kém phát triển-

Underdeveloped country

Tăng cường-

To promote

Phụ thuộc -

To depend on/upon

Chương trình-

Program

Nhà hoạch định chính sách-

Policy-maker

Nâng cao-

To improve

Không để ý đến-

To overlook

Chính sách-

Policy

Đào tạo ngắn hạn-

Short-term training

Ưu tiên -

Priority

Examples:

Tại sao anh không đi gặp cô ấy?

Why didn’t you come to see her?

Bây giờ tôi hiểu tại sao các tổ chức phát triển quốc tế mở rộng qui mô hoạt động của họ ở các quốc gia nghèo.

Now I come to understand why the international development organizations have expanded their operating network in poor countries.