Assignment (Negative Meanings of the Word “Old”) This simple assignment serves f

Assignment (Negative Meanings of the Word “Old”)
This simple assignment serves four primary purposes:
It’s a writing warm-up to help you find your academic voice again after a break from coursework.
It assesses your ability to read and follow instructions.
It confirms that you know how to:
Format a paragraph (indent first sentence, double space, use 12 point font).
Submit a document (Word or Google doc ONLY).
DO NOTs for this assignment:
Do not write about the use of the word “old” as it relates to people.
Do not get philosophical and try to make a case for “old” being a positive word.
Do not do research into the meaning of the word “old.”
Do not copy a definition off the internet because there will be a plagiarism check on the document.
Do not write more than one page double spaced.
Do not give the paragraph a title and do not put your name, date, or anything else above the paragraph.
What to Write About
Write a paragraph about the everyday negative meanings and uses of the word “old” as it relates to things or time, for example, the “old” way. “Old” can be used as an adjective before a noun or as a noun to describe a state of being. It is used to describe and label things and creatures, including people but don’t write about that. If you cannot come up with some negative uses off the top of your head, ask friends or family members for ideas about how they use the word “old” negatively in their daily lives, again not about people. I make this simple assignment because it is critical for you to realize how negative the word “old” can be.
People interpret words based on the meanings and feelings in their own personal mental dictionary, NOT based on the way the speaker defines and feels about a word. People who have had repeated negative experiences around the use of a word, for example, people who have been told repeatedly that they are old, have been stigmatized by the word and hearing it can evoke an inward or outward reaction. Even just trying to explain why the word “old” is not negative to an older person can cause aging stigma.
In the course Ageism First Aid (an optional task in this course) and later in one of the Canvas modules you will learn that the easiest way to avoid stigmatizing someone is to add “er” to “old” and use “older” because it does not evoke an aging stereotype and stigmatize older people. Read these paragraphs about lexicons to learn about how we store word meanings and feelings about words in our minds.
Lexicons
The meanings, uses, and your feelings about a word are stored in your personal mental dictionary, which is called a lexicon. We build a separate lexicon for every language we learn and gain fluency in. Consciously switching from one language lexicon to another is called code switching. Once we are fluent, we “think” in the language and do not have to code switch as often.
Personal Lexicons
The meanings of words are learned mostly through the context of their use begin in early childhood. Your feelings about a word are developed over a lifetime in familial, social, cultural, religious, cohort (age-based group) settings and throughout our lives we change the way we talk to different audiences for example, we may use slang with our friends but not use it at the dinner table. This is another form of code-switching and we are able to do this because our minds are able to store multiple uses, meanings, and feelings about words.
Socially Shared Lexicon
A language is a set symbols made with sounds, gestures, expressions, or symbols that is shared by a society. In school as children we are taught vocabulary words to learn their spelling, clarify their meaning, and expand our vocabulary. In high school and higher education, we continue to learn additional words and meanings for words we know. This structured and explicit (conscious) learning process helps ensure that people speaking the same language i.e., standard English, can understand each other.
Professional Lexicon
In higher education and places where we work, some everyday words have special meanings and are referred to as terms. We continue to learn terms, acronyms, and jargon in settings where we work. As you take this and other courses you will be building your professional lexicon. In this process, some of your positive or negative feelings about words may change. You may be desensitized to the negativity of some words and more sensitive to the negativity of other words.
Value Imposition & Word-Value Imposition
In the health and helping professions, the imposition of your personal values on any client or patient is considered unethical. The imposition of your professional lexicon on other people can confuse or even stigmatize people you are supposed to be helping. It is critical for you to code-switch back to your personal lexicon when you are not speaking to people who share your professional lexicon, and if you must use an acronym or term a person might not understand, clearly define it. This practice will help you avoid unintentionally confusing, offending, or in the case of the word “old,” stigmatizing friends, family members, and clients/patients.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Create a Word or Google doc named “The Negative Meanings of the Word Old.”
Write a complete paragraph of five to seven (5-7) sentences.
This is not a creative writing exercise so just state things in a realistic way. No exaggeration please.
Start with an assertive topic sentence that will give readers an idea of what the paragraph will be about and gain their interest but not be overly complex or long.
In the next three to five (3-5) content sentences share some negative examples of how “old” is used negatively.
Close the paragraph with a sentence that makes a connection between the content sentences and the topic sentence.
Proof & Submit Your Paragraph
Read the last sentence of the paragraph aloud to see if it makes sense as a stand-alone sentence.
Read the second to the last sentence aloud to make sure it can stand-alone.
Repeat that process until you get to the first sentence of the paragraph.
After you make all your corrections:
Read the paragraph aloud from beginning to end.
Go to the next page and upload your document.
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