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English Language Essay

Children acquire the unique human trait of acquiring a language since birth. Through their development,
they are able to absorb information through a variety of sources from children's books to the complexity
of a conversation. As the lexis of an individuals broadens through development, the usage of language
creates a wide range of functions from commands to expressing intuitive views and opinions. By the way
language is used, it can reflect and shape attitudes through register, expressive functions of language
and the standard of an individuals lexis.

Music is a platform for creativity and expression and when language is entwined with music, it can alter
the views of a wide spread audience. The expressive function of rap, a genre of music, has been able to
shape attitudes of millions of fans worldwide through intricately crafted lyrics formed on the basis of
their use of language. An example of a rapper who changes attitudes on a large scale is Compton rapper
Kendrick Lamar.

The rapper has changed the beliefs of many African Americans and other ethnicities. His world
renowned album To Pimp a Butterfly has a package of topic discussion ranging from racism to police
brutality. Through songs like the Blacker the Berry, Kendrick uses the blunt end of lexemes to deliver an
emotional connection with the listener that alters their own perceptions. A snippet from his song the
Blacker the Berry states that: "Institutionalized manipulation and lies, reciprocation of freedom only live
in your eyes. You hate me don't you?".

The lexemes such as "institutionalized" "manipulation and lies" invoke his African American listeners
about the history of manipulation African Americans have faced (and continue to face) through intricate
rhyme patterns and also opens up interpretation of Kendrick portraying himself as an African American
undergoing hardship and trauma. Kendrick has been praised as "one of the best lyricists this generation"
through his lexeme choices that invoke emotion through his lexemes semantic meaning, which has
impacted the lives of millions world wide.

Register is key to language usage and through out generations, the use of informal language is
increasing rapidly. However, despite informal language been frowned upon, it is mainly used to alter
and also reflect our attitudes. Slang and taboo language have been used frequently by communicators
to express opinions that formal language cannot express. For example, the semantic meaning of the
lexeme lit has evolved.

Its denotative meaning is the past tense for the action of lighting a particular object, but over time
through cultural advances, it's connotative meaning has become to be one of two meanings: to be
heavily intoxicated or to express amazement. "Lit" has been used to reflect attitudes of joy towards a
particular event, typically in a party scenario. For instance, when a person has posted pictures of a party
online to social media, a typical response from a teenager who attended the party would post "Last
nights party was lit". Lit in this context highlights the joy and overall positive experience the attendee
enjoyed from the party.

The use of informal language is often discouraged in writing however, informal language can be used to
express attitudes by means that the formal language conventions cannot portray.

Lexemes have been the foundation to a thriving lexis and that the more lexemes discovered and agreed
upon, one's vocabulary will alter and change attitudes through the usage of sophisticated lexemes. For
example, the lexeme "lexeme" is merely a sophisticated term for word. Although it may seem
unnecessary and unheard of in spoken discourse, it is an abstract and technical term used for a word
which is also used by linguists use words with more sophistication. However, there are better lexemes in
the lexicon that can describe more than others. Especially the lexeme better used in the previous
sentence. Better can be described as a poor lexeme in discourse. There are other lexemes such as
superior which is a much more intensively descriptive lexeme than better.

The usage of superior lexemes has been used in a variety of situations such as speeches and
presentations, to gain attention from the viewer and intrigue the viewer. However, superior lexemes
should be used in specific contexts. For example, the lexeme strong can be used to describe the intense
force a person displays whereas, in other contexts, it can mean to withstand a large amount of force.
The phrases "I am strong" and "The network is strong" have different semantic meanings in respect to
the lexeme strong. Strong in the phrase "I am strong" reflects an individual to have strong (usually
muscular or mental) characteristics where as the phrase "The network is strong" reflects the network to
withstand a large amount of force. Because a network cannot display human qualities of strength, it
cannot be strong in the sense of muscular strength or mental strength as a network does not have
muscles or a human-like brain.

Sophisticated lexemes play a large role in the vocabulary of an individual as it can show a more coherent
semantic meaning than others as descriptive lexemes have a more seamless meaning opposed to a
bland lexeme. With the use of these sophisticated lexemes, expression is much more vivid and reflection
of attitudes is intelligible on the contrary.

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