Cross Cultural Understanding about Family Values

Family Values

Child Rising

Acculturation, which begins at birth, is the process of teaching new generation of children the customs and values of the parents’ culture how people treat newborns, for example can be indicative of cultural values. In the United States it is not uncommon for parents to put newborn in a separate room that belongs only to the child. This helps to preserve parents’ privacy and allows the child to get used to having his on her own room, which is seen as a first step toward personal independence. Americans traditionally have held independence and a closely related value, individualism, in high esteem. Parents try to instill these prevailing values in their children. American English expresses these values value preferences: children should “cut the (umbilical) cord” and an encouraged not to be “tied to their mothers’ apron strings.” In the process of their socialization children learn to “look out for number one and “stand on their own feet.”

Many children are taught at very early age to make decisions and be responsible for their actions. Often children work for money outside the home as a first step to establishing autonomy. Nine or ten year old children may deliver newspapers in their neighborhood and save or spend their earnings. Teenagers (13 to 18 years) may babysit at neighbor homes in order to earn a few dollars a week. Receiving a weekly allowance at an early age teaches children to budget their money, preparing them for future financial independence. Many parents believe that managing money helps children learn responsibility as well as appreciate the value of money.

Young Adulthood

            Upon reaching an appropriate age (usually between 18 and 21 years) children are encouraged, but not forced, to “leave the nest” and begin an independent life. After children leave home they often find social relationships and financial support outside the family. Parents do not arrange marriages for their children, nor do children usually as permission on their parents to get married. Romantic love is most often the basis for marriage in the United States; young adults meet their future spouses trough other friend, at school, at jobs, and in organizations and religious institutions. Although children choose their own spouses, they still hope their parents will approve of their choices.

            In many families, parents feel that children should make major life decisions by themselves. A parent may try to influence a child to follow a particular profession but the child is free to choose another career. Sometimes children do precisely the opposite of what their parents wish in order to assert their independence. A son may deliberately decide not to go into his father’s business because of a fear that he will lose his autonomy in his father’s workplace. This independence from parents is not an indication that parents and children do not love each other. Strong love between and children is universal and this is no exception in the American family. Coexisting with such love in the American family are cultural values of self-reliance and independence.

The Elderly

            Societal and familial treatment of the elderly also reflects this independence and individualism. Their financial support is often provided by social security or welfare systems with decrease dependence on their family Additionally, older people may seek their own friends rather than become too emotionally dependent on their children. Senior citizens centers provide a means for peer-group association within one’s own age group. There are problems, however, with growing old in the United States. Glorification of youth and indifference to the age have left many older people alienated and alone.

            Some families send their older relatives to nursing homes rather than integrate them into the homes of the children or grandchildren. This separation of the elderly from the young has contributed to the isolation of an increasingly large segment of society. On the other hand, there are many older people who choose to live in retirement communities where they have the companionship of other older people and the convenience of many recreational and social activities close to home.

The Nuclear and the Extended Family

            The treatment of the elderly can be further understood by distinguishing between nuclear and extended family structures. In the United states the nuclear family, which consists the father, the mother, and the children, is considered “the family”. The extended family, common in other cultures, includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, and in-laws. The distinction between the nuclear and extended family is important because it suggests the extent of family ties and obligations. In extended families the children and parents have strong ties and obligations to relatives. It is common in these families to support older family members, to have intensive contact with relatives, and to establish communal housing.

            The American nuclear family usually has its own separate residence and is economically independent of other family members. Relatives are still considered “family” but are often outside the basic obligations that people have to their immediate families. When couple marry, they are expected to live independently of their parents and become “heads of households” when they have children. It is not unusual in times of financial need for nuclear family members to borrow money from a bank rather than from relatives. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, then, are not directly involved in the same way as they would be in an extended family structure.

Familiar Roles

            In both nuclear and extended families, the culture imposes roles upon parents. Traditionally the male has been responsible for financial support of the home and family members. The female has often been responsible for emotional support, child raising, and housekeeping. However, among some people in parts of The United States, this parental function are no longer fixed. The prescribed role of man as “bread winner” and the woman as housewife is changing. These changes include working mothers, “ househusband,”  and an increasing number of day care centers of children. Yet, traditional roles maybe preserved  even in households where the wife is working.

            Some mothers work because of a financial need and hot because of a desire to change their role from housewife to breadwinner. Others choose to work because they feel that financial support of the family should be shared by the husband and the wife. Still other are motivated to work because of professional interests and a desire to contribute to society. More than 50 percent of American woman are part of the labor force.

Stability and Change in the Family

            It is almost impossible to describe a “typical American family” because the United States is such a heterogeneous country. Although member of ethnic, racial, or economic groups may assimilate into the educational and employment system of the establishment, they often maintain their cultural heritage within the home. Many families have strong religious which continue to contribute to the preservation of the close-knit extended family. At one time, traditional roles and religion had a much stronger influence on the nuclear family. Now economic conditions, societal attitudes, and job mobility in the United States compete with traditional influences.

            Changes in American family structure are evidenced by increased rates of separation and divorce. In certain areas of the country these trends have resulted in a growing number of “single parent” families re-married parents, communal lifestyles. This doesn’t indicate however, that the institution of marriage is crumbling. It is estimated that four of five divorced couples eventually remarry other people. These shifts in family relationships may be interpreted as a breakdown or alternatively, as an adoption of the America family to changing roles, attitudes and value. The changes, according to the more traditional view point, represent a breakdown in the family structure, a disintegration of values and a decline of morality. Others, who believe it is necessary to adapt to a rapidly changing society, believe these shifts in family structure are inevitable and positive.    

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Kanye West batal konser dan dirawat di rumah sakit di Los Angeles

Rapper Kondang Kanye West pada senin, 21 November 2016 harus dilarikan ke rumah sakit di Los Angeles dikarenakan kelelahan menjalani tour yang padat. Tournya yang berjudul Saint Pablo harus dibatalkan karena pria 39 tahun tersebut sedang depresi. tersebar gossip bahwa Kanye depresi karena Istrinya Kim Kardashian yang yang sangat over Protective terhadap dirinya.  Ia juga dikabarkan mengalami krisis spiritual “ Dia merasa batinnya sedang diserang dan ini telah berlangsung lama “ kata sumber dari PEOPLE.

Belum ada kepastian sampai kapan “ye” sapaan untuk Kanye West akan berada di rumah sakit, begitu pula ditambahkan oleh mertuanya Kris Jenner bahwa kanya terlalu lelah oleh semua kesibukan tournya dan dia hanya perlu istirahat saja, tutur Kris Jenner yang dimuat dalam Majalah EXTRA.
Dan tidak sedikit pula para selebriti yang mendoakan kesembukan Kanye dengan berkicau di sosial media Twitter,

Seperti artis Janelle Moane yang berkicau "semoga dia dapat energi yang tepat dari sekelilingnya kali ini, saya kirimkan damai dan cinta."

Dan aktor Marlon Wayans yang berkicau juga di Twitter "dan saya harap kalian semua berdoa untuk @kanyewest juga. dia bukan hanya seniman, tetapi juga seorang Suami, anak, ayah dan manusia cepat sembuh."

      kanye West yang sedang melaksanakan tournya dan sekaligus mempromosikan album terbarunya yang berjudul "The Life of Pablo" sempat membuat para fansya terkaget karena dukungannya terhadap presiden Amerika yang terpilih yaitu Donal Trump dan menyinggung pasangan penyanyi Jay-Z dan Beyonce.

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Makalah Morphology tentang Word, Sentences and Dictionaries

WORD, SENTENCES AND DICTIONARIES

Word is a single unit of language that can be written and spoken and also has a meaning.

Sentence is a group of words or set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate.

Dictionary is a book that lists the words of a language in alphabetical order and gives their meaning, or that gives the equivalent words in different language.

Words as Meaningful Building-Blocks of Language

We think of words as the basic units of language. When a baby begins to speak, the way the excited mother reports what has happened is: ‘Sally (or Tommy) has said her (or his) first word!’ We would be surprised at a mother who described little Tommy’s or Sally’s first utterance as a sentence. Sentences come later, we are inclined to feel, when words are strung together meaningfully. That is not to say that a sentence must always consist of more than one word. One-word commands such as ‘Go!’ or ‘Sit!’, although they crop up relatively seldom in everyday conversation or reading, are not in any way odd or un-English. Nevertheless, learning to talk in early childhood seems to be a matter of putting words together, not of taking sentences apart.

Words as meaningful building-blocks of language means that a word can be describe a sentence that has varieties meaning. We can say only one word but the meaning of that word can describe a sentence. We often think that a sentence must always consist of more than word. We think of words as the basic units of language, but in fact that is not to say that a sentence must always consist of more than one word. There is a clear sense, then, in which words seem to be the building blocks of language. Even as adults, there are quite a few circumstances in which we use single words outside the context of any actual or reconstruct able sentence. One word commands such as “Go”, or  “sit”, although they crop relatively seldom in everyday conversation However, it is the fact that we sometime use a word to express warning shout, conversational commands item on shopping list. 

Example

·         warning shouts, such as ‘Fire!’

·         conventional commands, such as ‘Lights!’, Camera!’, ‘Action!’

·         items on shopping lists, such as ‘carrots’, ‘cheese’, ‘eggs’.

It is clear also that words on their own, outside sentences, can be sorted and classified in various ways. But the kind of conventional classification that we are likely to refer to most often is a dictionary, in which words are listed according to their spelling in alphabetical order. Given that English spelling is so erratic, a common reason for looking up a word in an English dictionary is to check how to spell it. But another very common reason is to check what it means. Here, for example, is a specimen dictionary entry for the word month, based on the entry given in the

Concise Oxford Dictionary (6th edition): month noun. Any of twelve portions into which the year is divided. It seems, then, that a word is not just a building-block of sentences: it is a building-block with a meaning that is unpredictable, or at least sufficiently unpredictable that learners of English, and even sometimes native speakers, may need to consult a dictionary in order to discover it.We may be tempted to think that this constitutes everything that needs to be said about words: they are units of language which are basic in two senses, both

1. in that they have meanings that are unpredictable and so must be listed in dictionaries and

2. in that they are the building-blocks out of which phrases and sentences are formed.

Word are known as the basic units of meaningful building blocks of language, possessing to 2 characteristics :

1.      Unpredictable meaning : in that they have meanings that are unpredictable and so must be listed in dictionaries.

2.      Building block (in phrases/sentences ) : in that they are the building blocks out of which phrases and sentences are formed. 

Words as types and word as tokens

Token having a reference of individual occurrence of type of the words. Token is a number of word or single type, if you want to know how many token in one sentence, you must count all word although there are the same word in one sentence. For example “I love you more than I love him” in here there are 8 words so the tokens are 8. 

Type is a number of word also but not all word is a type, when there are more than one the same word we only count one. For example “I love you more than I love him”, in this sentences there are 2 “I”, we only count it one, well in this sentence there are 7 type.

The other example: Space time space time time time

The question may be asked, how many words are in that line? The answer will either be six, if one is referring to individual words, or tokens, or two if one is referring to types of word. Specifically, there are two types of word in that sentence “Space”, “Time”, there are two tokens of the types “space” and four tokens of the types “time”.   

Word with predictable meanings

Sometimes, word has meaning that is predictable. That is meanings that can be worked out on the basic of the sound and make them up. It is true there are some words whose sound seem to reflect their meaning fairly directly. These include so-called onomatopoeic words, Onomatopoeic word are some word whose sound  seems to reflect their meaning fairly directly, Onomatopoeic words are not the same in all languages; for example, a cock-crow in German is such as words for animals cries bow-bow, kikeriki, and a dog’s bark in French is ouah ouah (pronounced roughly ‘wah wah’). miaow,cheep, the ticking of clock, in English “tick tock”.

There are also sets of words in which some similarity in sound o reflect a similarity in meaning. Sound symbolism is the idea that vocal sound or phonemes carry meaning in and of themselves. Example Gl-words: glow, gleam, glory, glitter, glance and glimpse, all that word has same first two letter make them has the same meaning. The other example is smoothness or wetness or both, in the set of words slip, slop, slurp, slide, slither, sleek, slick, slaver, slug. A technical term for this situation is sound symbolism. But in sound symbolism, quite apart from the role of convention, the sound–meaning relationship is even less direct than in onomatopoeia. The fact that a word begins with sl- does not guarantee that it has anything to do with smoothness or wetness (consider slave, slit, slow), and conversely there are many words that relate to smoothness and wetness but do not begin with sl-.

 What kinds of word do have predictable meanings, then? The answer is: any words that are composed of independently identifiable parts, where the meaning of the parts is sufficient to determine the meaning of the whole word. Here is an example. Most readers of this book have probably never encountered the word dioecious (also spelled diecious), a botanical term meaning ‘having male and female flowers on separate plants’. (It contrasts with monoecious, meaning ‘having male and female flowers, or unisexual flowers, on the same plant’.) If you had been asked the meaning of the word dioecious before today, you would probably have had to look it up in the dictionary.

Non-words with unpredictable meaning

Non – word with unpredictable meaning is that is, something that is clearly larger than a word (being composed of two or more words) may nevertheless have a meaning that is not entirely predictable from the meanings of the words that compose it. It is possible for a linguistic item to be a basic building block of syntax. The item is clearly not itself a sentence or phrase and yet to have a meaning that is predictable. (syntax  is the study of the description of the classes of word)

Example :

1.      People who do not finish a job really make me angry.

2.      People who do not finish the job really make me see red.

So, although “see red” consists of two words, it functions as a single unit semantically and its meaning is not predictable from that of these two words individually. In technical terms, “see red” is a idiom. Even though it is not a word, it will appear in any dictionary that take seriously the task listing semantic idiosyncrasies, probably under the headword “red”.

Idioms are enormously various in length, structure and function. “See red” behaves rather like an adjective. Many idioms behave more like nouns. For example:

(3) Vaccinations are an unavoidable matter if you want to travel.

(4) Vaccinations are a necessary evil if you want to travel.

“necessary evil” in sentence (4) means something you do not like but which you accept. Therefore, (3) and (4) are the same.

In most of the idioms that we have looked at so far, all the individual words (red, necessary, evil) have a literal or non-idiomatic meaning in other contexts. However, there are also words that never occur except in an idiomatic context.

For example :

-          I like everything about summer – the light, the warmth, the clothes-the whole caboodle.

The word “caboodle” (everything) and it is the whole phrase which deserves to be lexically listed, as an idioms.

Akin to idioms, but distinguishable from them , are phrase in which individual words have collocationally restricted meanings. For example:

-          Blue baby : a baby born with slightly blue skin, usually because it has something wrong with its heart.

-          Blue – blooded : describes someone who has been born into a family which belongs to the highest social class.

-          Blue – collar : describes people who do work needing strength or physical skill rather than office work.

= These phrase may count as idiomatic because the meaning that “blue” has in them not its usual meaning.

If a typical idiom is a phrase, than a word with a collocationally restricted meaning is smaller than a typical idiom. That provokes the question whether there are linguistic items with unpredictable meanings that are larger than phrase – specifically, that constitute whole sentences. The answer is yes : many proverbs fall into this category. A proverb is a traditional saying, syntactically a sentence, whose conventional interpretation differs from what is suggested by the literal meaning of the words it contains.

Example :

-          “Two wrongs don’t make a right” : When someone has done something bad to you, trying to get revenge will only make things worse.

-          The pen is mightier than the sword : Trying to convince people with ideas and words is more effective than trying to force people to do what you want.

-          “No man is an island” : You can’t live completely independently. Everyone needs help from other people.

Conclusion : Words versus lexical items

A lexical item (or lexical unit/ LU, lexical entry) is a single word, a part of a word, or a chain of words (= catena) that forms the basic elements of a language's lexicon (≈ vocabulary). Examples are cat, traffic light, take care of, by the way, and it's raining cats and dogs. Lexical items can be generally understood to convey a single meaning, much as a lexeme, but are not limited to single words. Lexical items are like semes in that they are "natural units" translating between languages, or in learning a new language. In this last sense, it is sometimes said that language consists of grammaticalized lexis, and not lexicalized grammar

Word have 2 characteristics :

1.      They have meaning that are unpredictable and so must be listed in dictionaries (lexical item)

2.      They are building-blocks for and word phrases.

Although this may be broadly true, the two characteristic do not always go together. Many words have meanings that are predictable, there is nevertheless a tendency for these meaning to lose motivation overtime. Many of the lexical items that are phrases or sentences have meanings which can be seen as metaphorical extensions of literal meaning, so do that extant interpretation remains motivated. But the two characteristics do not always go together. It will be helpful to have district terms for items with each of the two characteristic.

1.      Lexical item for items with characteristic1.

-          Words have unpredictable meaning

2.      Word for items with characteristic 2.

-          They are the building-blocks for words and phrases.

QUESTIONS

1.      What is word as meaningful building-block of language?

2.      Give an example word as meaningful building-block and explain it!

3.      What is word as a token?

4.      What is word as a type ?

5.      How many token and type in this sentence “I go to school when my father go to my sister’s school”?

6.      What is word as predictable meaning? Please explain!

7.      What is onomatopoeic words?

8.      Gives example of onomatopoeic words!

9.      What is non-word as unpredictable meaning?

10.  What the meaning of lexical item?

  

ANSWERS

1.      Words as meaningful building-blocks of language means that a word can be describe a sentence that has varieties meaning. We can say only one word but the meaning of that word can describe a sentence. We often think that a sentence must always consist of more than word. We think of words as the basic units of language, but in fact that is not to say that a sentence must always consist of more than one word. There is a clear sense, then, in which words seem to be the building blocks of language.

2.      for example “action” in the term of making movie it must be the actor and actress can start their acting activities or next scene.

3.      Token is a number of word or single type, if you want to know how many token in one sentence, you must count all word although there are the same word in one sentence. For example “I love you more than I love him” in here there are 8 words so the tokens are 8.

4.      Type is a number of word also but not all word is a type, when there are more than one the same word we only count one. For example “I love you more than I love him”, in this sentences there are 2 “I”, we only count it one, well in this sentence there are 7 type.

5.      The tokens are 12, and the type are 9.

6.      Sometimes, word has meaning that is predictable. That is meanings that can be worked out on the basic of the sound and make them up, that we usually call it onomatopoeic word.

7.      Onomatopoeic word are some word whose sound  seems to reflect their meaning fairly directly.

8.      For example : words for animal cries; “miaow”, cheep, or the ticking of clock ; “tick tock“

9.      something that is clearly larger than a word (being composed of two or more words) may nevertheless have a meaning that is not entirely predictable from the meanings of the words that compose it.

10.   A lexical item (or lexical unit/ LU, lexical entry) is a single word, a part of a word, or a chain of words (= catena) that forms the basic elements of a language's lexicon (≈ vocabulary). Examples are cat, traffic light, take care of, by the way, and it's raining cats and dogs. Lexical items can be generally understood to convey a single meaning, much as a lexeme, but are not limited to single words

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