Taboos are among the most powerful forces shaping human behaviour, yet they often operate silently, woven into the fabric of culture. The word itself comes from the Polynesian term tapu, meaning ‘sacred’ or ‘forbidden,’ reflecting its early roots in spirituality. From these beginnings, taboos spread across societies as mechanisms to protect what was considered holy, pure, or essential for survival…
Language plays a fascinating role in negotiating taboo. Throughout history, certain words have carried immense power, capable of shocking, offending, or even endangering the speaker. Yet taboos are not fixed; they shift as societies evolve. Words once considered scandalous, like zounds or bloody, now sound quaint, while new linguistic flashpoints emerge around politics, identity, and morality. In this section, we’ll explore historical swear words, modern euphemisms, and campaigns that challenge comfort zones – all the while asking if language is supposed to protect us or reveal the truth?
Explore the topic of migration through the lens of language, the words and images people use to frame the migration debate in ways that further certain ideological positions. Encounter language that dehumanises and objectifies, language that categorises, assumes, derides, divides, and villainises – and also language that rehumanises, cutting through the media noise to tell stories of living people with hopes, dreams and dignity.
Despite what people say, advertisers know that language and images work at both the conscious and the unconscious level, and a person unaware of advertising’s claim on him or her is the person least well equipped to resist its insidious attack, no matter how forthright they may sound. An essential underpinning to the language and literature course is the aim for you to become media-literate and an important purpose of a classroom study of advertising is to raise the level of awareness about the persuasive techniques used in ads. Ads can be studied to detect ‘hooks,’ they can be used to gauge values of consumers, and they can be analysed for symbols, colour, and imagery. And don’t neglect the simplest and most direct way of studying ads – the words themselves.
As a subcategory of advertising, charity appeals employ a similar range of methods to persuade the reader to donate money or time to a worthwhile cause. Unlike an ad for a product, a charity appeal isn’t trying to sell you something in return. Rather, they need to create the feeling that your donation is worthwhile in intangible ways – the feeling of helping someone, donating to a good cause, or joining a popular movement are all powerful motivators. The response below was written by Abby Ives from New Zealand as she prepares for her upcoming Paper 1 exam. Through careful reading and creative analysis, she’s clearly analysed how this appeal gets readers onside through creating a sense of connection with and belonging to a good cause.
Play It As It Lays is Joan Didion’s second novel and one of her most famous. Named in TIME’s 100 Best Books (1923 – 2005) it was adapted into a film by Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne. The book itself is brisk, 200 pages long but divided into 80 short chapters, some of which are only a few sentences each. Her energetic style, and focus on using dialogue to tell the story, creates an episodic, fast-paced narrative that is the perfect framing for the quintessential Hollywood novel.
The title of this passage, Prospero’s Cell by Lawrence Durrell, alludes to the antagonist of Shakespeare’s The Tempest: Prospero, a sorcerer whose pursuit of knowledge traps him on an exotic island. Similarly, Lawrence Durrell writes his diary as he arrives on the island of Corfu, with the intention of using this place to stimulate his imagination. Like the Romantic poets who found inspiration in nature, Durrell intends to immerse himself in the natural landscape and connect with classical antiquity, hoping for inspiration to write a book. Even without knowing this allusion, careful reading should reveal a sense of ‘something’ hidden beneath the island’s cold and inhospitable exterior. While Durrell’s diary evokes the loneliness and seclusion of physical austerity, at the same time, the island feels rich and fecund, abundant in movement, colour, and life. A good answer is likely to wrestle with this challenge, such as the sample you’ll read below which was written in collaboration with Isabella Wang of UWCCSC as a way of practising for her upcoming Paper 1. Her response captures the dual-essence of the island’s atmosphere beautifully and her answer is filled with insightful analysis of descriptive writing methods such as imagery, personification, and descriptions of setting.
Infographics are an oft-encountered text type in Paper 1. They tend to produce a ‘love-hate’ response with my students. Some like the simple features and predictability of this text type; others find it hard to ‘get under the surface’ beyond attention-grabbing features, which produce simple analysis. The text below is an example of an infographic that’s a bit more than meets the eye. While giving simple information on the definition and causes of thunderstorms, the text also gives repeated warnings about the need to be prepared for any storm, which can suddenly escalate and put people in danger. sample answer, written in collaboration with Katelyn Tan from UWC Changshu as a practice for her upcoming mock, neatly unpicks the way different textual features convey dual purposes: to inform and to warn.
Blogs are a really great text type to practice with. Written by different people for a variety of individual purposes, each blog has its own distinct flavour, original uses of language, interesting hooks, and stylistic features for you to consider. The sample you’ll read below was written by Mahir Isic, a Bosnian student preparing for his upcoming Paper 1 exam. I hope you’ll agree he’s done a great job picking out a suitable range of ‘authorial choices’ – some visual, some linguistic – as required by the guiding question. How would you have answered this question?
Kayo Chingonyi’s first published poetry collection is called Kumukanda, a word from Luvale, his father’s first language from the country of Zambia where Kayo was born. Meaning ‘initiation’, it’s the name given to the rituals that mark the passage into adulthood of Luvale, Chokwe, Luchazi and Mbunda boys, from Zambia. As part of these rites, the boys live away from their homes in the bush, where they are taught traditional skills, learn the history of their tribes, and receive wisdom that takes them into manhood. A special day, makishi, marks the return of the initiated as men, and a celebratory festival is held. In an author’s note, the writer explains that this poetry collection “approximates such rites of passage in the absence of my original culture.”
IB Language and Literature 3.0 