Language Games

Which words are dominant? Which are subordinate? What cultural and conceptual expectations does this visualization of King’s speech raise?

In Dr. King’s speech, the dominant terms I found are “freedom”, “dream”, and “justice”. “motels”, “symphony”, “hamlet”, and “seared” are subordinate terms. Social justice was not achieved during that background time of King’s speech. It appealed that there were many people who were eager for their freedom.

Look at the time periods underneath and click on the peak periods. What are the source texts?

The graph tells me that freedom has always been a frequently used word from 1800 to present. The period when “freedom” is most frequently used is during the 20th century. The source texts are Freedom and Community, Freedom and Nature: The Voluntary and the Involuntary, etc.

Now, enter other dominant terms. What does the graph show you? Can you think of some explanations for this change?

The graph shows me “dream” has always been used more and more often in people’s articles. I think with the development of technology, the quality of people’s lives has been dramatically improved. People now have the ability to achieve their dreams. Also, everyone is able to have a dream now.

The first two paragraphs of The Declaration of Independence:

What terms are dominant?

“Government” and “powers” are dominant terms.

Now create an Ngram with those two terms.  What does the graph show you? Can you think of some explanations for this change?

The graph show me that “government” has always been used very frequently for decades. The reason behind I think is because government is such an important element in people’s life. At the same time, the head of the governments are always rotating. The policies are always changing. Thus government is always a big topic.

In the 19th century, “powers” was a dominant term because it was not a peaceful era. Many countries were under wars. In order to survive, countries must have enough power.

What prosodic elements does the author of this site identify?  In what way does this add to the power of King’s speech?

David Repetitions. It makes King’s speech sound like a flow of stream (i.e. easy to cause sympathy).