Transcript Document

Russian Secondary School
of the Russian Embassy in Laos
Influence of words on human beings
Project work made by the pupils of the 10th form
Teacher:
Kabanova E.V.
2014
Contents
Introduction
How our brain works
Literature
Diplomacy
Religion
Advertising
Conclusion
«By words the mind is winged».
Aristophanes
Words truly do have power. They enrich us or they can cut us to the bone as if we were cut with a
knife.
Our words are just one way of how we communicate with others. When we speak we want others
to listen. What we say is important to how the message is received. Just as with the presentation
the words are vital to the message.
Even though we communicate in many different ways, through a look or a touch, a smile, or even
the way we stand, our words are even more important. They not only express our views on the
subject we’re presenting they also represent who we are as an individual.
If we’re angry our words can be forceful, rude, demeaning and hurtful. If we are happy our words
can be joyful, happy, loving, and peaceful.
When we speak we use words to describe things, our mind creates the picture. When we hear
the words of a song we do the same thing. Those words can either build us up or tear us down.
They help create positive self esteem or break down our self esteem. Words encourage us to be
our best or they rip away our self worth and trust in our abilities to reach goals and life’s
ambitions.
Words either give us hope or they bring despair. They are key to how we learn. From birth we are
taught to communicate not only through touch, sight, and sound but through words.
The very words we utter every day create the world we live in. They have the power to crush
countries and the power to build nations anew.
Just for one day think about the words you use, think about the affect they have on you and the
people around you. Use positive words instead of negative and see if the results you receive are
different.
What's actually going on in the brain when it processes
language?.
Recently, a lot of the long standing paradigms in how
our brain processes language were overthrown. The one
study which is the most interesting is UCL's findings on
how we can separate words from intonation. Whenever
we listen to words, this is what happens: "Words are
then shunted over to the left temporal lobe [of our
brain] for processing, while the melody is channelled to
the right side of the brain, a region more stimulated by
music."
So our brain uses two different areas to identify the
mood and then the actual meaning of the words. On
second thought, what still doesn't quite make sense is
why we can even distinguish "language" so distinctly
from any other sounds.
The UCL team tried to find out about exactly this. They
played speech sounds and then non-speech sounds,
that still sounded similar to speech to people. Whilst
measuring their brain activity, they found something
fascinating: "Speech was singled out for special
treatment near the primary auditory cortex." In short,
our brains can magically single out language from any
other sounds and port it to the right "department" in our
brain to give it meaning.
This graphic also gives a great overview about how our
brain process language:
«Words are all we have».
Samuel Beckett
«Every word was once a poem».
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Literature is said to be a reflection of society at various points in time. It is the study of human
nature. Human nature is seen through tragedy and romance, joy and sorrow, in epiphanies and
denial, in movements of heroism, and in movements of cowardice. Literature teaches us to analyze a
character, and allows us to reach inside one’s mind to see what drives a character, what shapes
their beliefs, and how one relates to others. Literature can help us examine the past and predict the
future by analyzing characters and evaluating their action. It is the finest expression of contemporary
feelings. Those who understand literature can learn from it. Literature is thought provoking, it allows
us to raise questions and give us a deeper understanding of issues and situations. It allows its
readers to grasp the meaning of human conflict. Literature confirms the real complexity of human
experience.
Creative literature is storytelling, first and foremost. The earliest oral histories of a people,
stories that we now generally classify as mythological and religious texts, are literature.
The storytelling elements of creative literature are still very much with us today. Print sources
are slowly and steadily losing ground to electronic sources of course, but the principles of
storytelling don't seem to be changing all that much. If we back up (historically speaking) and
think of literature not just as printed works that most of us consume for entertainment in our
spare time, we may perhaps better see literature's enormous importance to humanity.
A person pours his feelings and thoughts into language that, written as words, becomes
literature..
Literature educates people , instilling good
manners , good taste . This is a great way to
personal growth, especially if we talk about
classical literature. Unfortunately, the current
generation of people has gone from reading
books and that ‘s a pity, because reading
does not only broaden the mind, but also
shapes and forms our own views , thinking,
and more.
Alexander Pushkin
"Pushkin is our everything,"
goes the ever quotable
formulation by a 19thcentury Russian critic. In
Russian culture, Pushkin is
all-important, omnipresent,
taken for granted--and often
barely noticeable, like the air
we breathe. Pushkin wrote in
every genre and style, was
Russia's paramount poet,
publisher, rebel, pragmatist,
lover, duelist, jokester, victim.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie
Wills Wilde was an Irish
playwright, poet and author
of numerous short stories
and one novel. Known for
his biting wit, and a
plentitude of aphorisms, he
became one of the most
successful playwrights of
the late Victorian era in
London, and one of the
greatest celebrities of his
day. Several of his plays
continue to be widely
performed, especially The
Importance of Being
Earnest.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
He was a Russian novelist, short
story writer, essayist and philosopher.
Dostoyevsky's literary works explore
human psychology in the context of
the troubled political, social, and
spiritual atmosphere of 19th-century
Russia. He began writing in his 20s,
and his first novel, Poor Folk, was
published in 1846 when he was 25.
His major works include Crime and
Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869),
and The Brothers Karamazov(1880).
His output consists of eleven novels,
three novellas, seventeen short novels
and numerous other works. Many
literary critics rate him as one of the
greatest and most prominent
psychologists in world literature.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
has become an important
landmark in English
literature. He is a very
popular English poet and
playwright who created in
the times of Renaissance.
The contribution through
his works has been
tremendous. His works
have deeply influenced
the literary world for
several centuries.
To commemorate the 450th anniversary of the birthday of
Shakespeare the pupils of our school prepared the wonderful
performance, where they acted in Shakespeare’s tragedies and
comedies, such as “Romeo and Juliette”, “The Taming of the
Shrew”, they recited Shakespeare’s sonnets and went into
interesting details of his life and biography.
«Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind».
Rudyard Kipling
Diplomacy lies at the heart of international relations. It can be considered
the master-mechanism of international affairs, a system for managing
relations between states. The international society is bound together by
diplomacy that maintains order, prevents collisions, and permits the conduct
of business and affairs between states. What were and remain the tasks of
diplomacy?
The first task
has always been to negotiate agreements, originally those related to trade,
diplomacy, war and alliances. Nowadays, in an interdependent world, diplomacy’s tasks are
related to the whole spectrum of international relations, as there are many points of contact
among states such as tourism, trade, finance, treaties, telecommunications, etc.
The second important
role of diplomacy is that of communication. Diplomacy serves the transmission of positions,
views, opinions, and policies in an accurate and acceptable way. There exists an elaborate
system of communication through documents, papers, forms of speech, gestures, etc.
States communicate extensively to inform others, to coordinate their positions, to mobilize
support, and to justify or to disqualify other positions.
The third role of
diplomacy is the acquisition of information. Even
though today there are many sources of information,
the diplomat as a professional observer that has
access to authoritative
information is important.
The fourth role
is that of staking out legal positions. The diplomat is the lawyer for his state’s position
and makes legal claims on behalf of his country.
Vitaly Churkin
the Permanent Representative
(Ambassador) of the Russian
Federation to the United Nations.
United Nations General Assembly
The fifth role
is that of representing the sovereign. This is of special importance nowadays, in a time of
newly emerging states that seek international recognition. The diplomat as a symbol of his
national community is honored and given full recognition. Protocol is so important in
diplomatic relations; it ensures that business is conducted without unnecessary
arguments or difficulties.
President Putin accepts credentials
Russian diplomacy
Recently Russia has proved to have achieved a lot of
success in conducting its foreign policy in the world. The
remarkable examples of these achievements are the
agreement on Iran’s Nuclear Programme and the
settlement of the Syrian crisis.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Russian Federation
Sergey Lavrov,
Russian Foreign Minister
Iran’s Nuclear Programme
The negotiations on Iran’s Nuclear Programme allowed one of the major tasks in world policy to be
resolved. The intensive efforts of delegations from the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the
United States, France and Iran resulted in the development of a framework document.
This agreement is based on the concept formulated by the President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin. Its essence is the recognition of Iran’s unconditional right to develop its peaceful
nuclear programme, including the right to enrich uranium, if this programme is put under strict
international control, and the lifting of all the sanctions in force against the Islamic Republic of Iran,
including unilateral ones.
“Russia has always stood by the principle that the Iranian nuclear programme issue could be settled
only through negotiations and diplomatic means. It is important that the Geneva action plan is based
precisely on this idea and approach.
The outcome of the Geneva talks is a victory for all and shows once again that collective efforts in a
spirit of mutual respect can produce answers to today’s international challenges and threats.”
(Statement by Vladimir Putin following the conclusion of talks on the Iranian nuclear programme on
November 24, 2013).
The settlement of the Syrian crisis
On 25th November,2013 another round of consultations concerning
the issues related to the preparation for the international conference on
Syria was held in Geneva.The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
expressed his deep gratitude to Russia and the United States as the
countries which initiated Geneva-2 in May. The purpose of
comprehensive internal Syrian negotiations is to settle the crisis in Syria
in a political way while taking all the segments of the Syrian community
into consideration. The settlement of the bloody Syrian crisis, which has
lasted almost three years, is possible only through peaceful resolution of
all problems which the community has faced.
Montreux, Switzerland 22 January 2014 - Secretary-General's concluding remarks at the
High-Level Segment of the Geneva Conference on Syria
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank again the leadership and initiative of Secretary of
State John Kerry of the United States and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of the Russian
Federation and I count on their continuing engagement in this process.
I would especially like to thank our Joint Special Representative Brahimi for all his efforts and
dedication and I wish him and his Team much success in support of the intra-Syrian talks,
which begin from Friday, 24 January in Geneva.
And more importantly, I would like to again thank the participation of the two delegations of
Syria, Syrian Government and Syrian opposition. During the day our discussions have been
quite intense and productive and constructive. I appreciate your commitment for the peaceful
solution of this Syrian crisis”
“The wise weigh their words on a scale with gold”.
Bible
Religious practice promotes the
well-being of individuals,
families, and the community.
Regular attendance at religious
services is linked to healthy,
stable family life, strong
marriages, and well-behaved
children. The practice of Religion
also leads to a reduction in the
incidence of domestic abuse,
crime, substance abuse, and
addiction. In addition, religious
practice leads to an increase in
physical and mental health,
longevity, and education
attainment. Moreover, these
effects are intergenerational, as
grandparents and parents pass
on the benefits to the next
generations.
Types of religion
1. World religions (Christianity, Islam and Buddhism)
2. Indigenous religions
3. New religious movements
Christianity
Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus
of Nazareth (1st century) as presented in the New
Testament. The Christian faith is essentially faith in Jesus
as the Christ, the Son of God, and as Savior and Lord.
Almost all Christians believe in the Trinity, which teaches
the unity of Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit as
three persons in one Godhead.
The main divisions of Christianity are, according to the number of adherents:
Catholic Church, headed by the Pope in Rome, is a communion of
the Western church and 22 Eastern Catholic churches.
Protestantism, separated from the Catholic Church in the 16thcentury Reformation and split in many denominations.
Eastern Christianity, which include Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and
the Church of the East.
Catholic
church
Protestant
church
Orthodox church
Bible is a canonical collection of texts considered sacred in Christianity. The first part
of Christian Bibles is called the Old Testament, which contains, at minimum, the above
twenty-four books but divided into thirty-nine books and ordered differently.
Buddhism
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama in the 6th
century BC. Buddhists generally agree that Gautama aimed to
help sentient beings end their suffering by understanding
the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of
suffering and rebirth, that is, achieving Nirvana.
Religious books in Buddhism
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved
in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It was composed in North
India, and preserved orally until it was committed to writing during the Fourth Buddhist Council in Sri
Lanka in 29 BC, approximately four hundred and fifty four years after the death of Gautama Buddha.[
The Pāli Canon falls into three general categories, called pitaka (piṭaka-"basket“). Because of this, the
canon is traditionally known as the Tipiṭaka (Sanskrit: Tripiṭaka; "three baskets"). The three pitakas are
as follows:
•Vinaya Pitaka ("Discipline Basket"), dealing with rules for monks and nuns
•Sutta Pitaka (Sutra/Sayings Basket), discourses, mostly ascribed to the Buddha, but some to disciples
•Abhidhamma Pitaka, variously described as philosophy, psychology, metaphysics, etc.
Stupa at Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chaitya Griha, Indonesia
Wat Ho Phra Keo, Laos
Islam
Islam is based on the Quran, one of the holy books considered by Muslims to
be revealed by God, and on the teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a
major political and religious figure of the 7th century AD. Islam is the most widely
practiced religion of Southeast Asia, North Africa, Western Asia and Central Asia,
while Muslim-majority countries also exist in parts of South Asia, Sub-Saharan
Africa and Southeast Europe. There are also several Islamic republics,
including Iran, Pakistan, Mauritania and Afghanistan.
The Quran is the central religious text of Islam, Muslims believe to be a revelation from God It
is widely regarded as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language. Muslims consider the
Quran to be the only book that has been protected by God from distortion or
corruption. However, some significant textual variations (employing different wordings) and
deficiencies in the Arabic script mean the relationship between the text of today's Quran and
an original text is unclear. Quranic chapters are called suras and verses are called ayahs.
Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul
Friday Mosque (Jama Masjid) in New Delhi
Kul Sharif mosque in Kazan
“Words will not fail when the matter is well considered.”
Horace
An obvious reason for advertising is simply informing people of the existence of products they
might be interested in buying. No one will buy something that they don't know exists. When more
people know about a product, more of it will be sold. However, advertising is obviously not a source
of objective information. The bright side of a company's products is highlighted exclusively. No ad
will list both the pros and cons of a product. So, ads are not particularly trustworthy as information.
Judging by the extensive use of praise for products in ads, advertisers do expect that people will be
influenced by the positive valuation. So apparently a significant amount of people do believe the
praise is somehow real, even though it comes from a copy writer of an advertising agency, paid for
my the manufacturer of the product. It is not only specific products that advertisers want us to feel
as familiar. They particularly want to familiarize us with brands. This is why brand logos are
everywhere. Not only on the products themselves, but on trucks, pens, shirts, caps, and lots, lots of
ads. The influence is ubiquitous, but unobtrusive
Advertising has
changed a lot through
the decades, but
certain words are as
powerful today as they
were so many years
ago. In fact, the
psychology
department at Yale
University studied
many words in the
English language and
discovered the
following to be the
most powerful,
especially when trying
to sell or persuade.
Here are the 10
words you should
always find in most of
the advertisements.
YOU
Still number one after all
these years, and with good
reason, YOU is the most
powerful word in
advertising for a reason it's personal. You are
interesting, and you find
yourself interesting. Let's
be honest, when it comes
to you, you're all ears. If I
make a promise to make
people rich, you may be
interested. If I promise to
make YOU rich, that's a
different story.
RESULTS
Another word used in the headline of this piece, results is a word that
also means success. And this word is powerful because it's a promise
that helps you rationalize the purchase. "Oh, well if this gets results, it
must be worth it." If you "guarantee results" you've just upped the ante.
We all want results, whether it's from a household cleaner, our bank
manager or the President of the USA.
HEALTH
This is used a lot these
days, and not just when
talking about physical
health. Perhaps the most
commonly-used variation is
"improve your financial
health," and it works
because we all know what
good health is. If you can
make a promise of good
health, be it in a food,
service or something else,
you are doing well. KFC did
this when promising their
"healthy" Kitchen Fresh
Chicken.
DISCOVERY
Did you notice this one in the headline? But it's a prompt that advertisers use to say,
"you're going to get something out of this, it's worth your time to keep reading." Or
when it comes to product packaging, it's worth trying. Discover is a promise of
something more to come. Like unwrapping a gift on your birthday, discoveries always
bring a sense of excitement and adventure. And any time you evoke those fond
childhood feelings, you're on a winner.
LOVE
This one has multiple meanings. You
can be "in love" with something (like
new shoes) or you can "love" how well
something works or performs - "I love
how white it gets my whites." Either
way, love is a strong word. Of course,
you must be judicious in its use. It's
one thing to say "you're going to love
the way it smells" when talking about
a perfume. It's quite another to say
"you will instantly fall in love with our
toilet cleaner." Really? No one falls in
love with a toilet cleaner (unless, of
course, it's part of a very tongue-incheek campaign). Remember, love
may work well, but don't lay it on too
thick.
PROVEN
When you have a brand new product, not a new version of an
existing product, there's a hump that you need to get over. It's
basically "buyer beware," because the customer is dealing with an
unknown. They can wait to see what the reviews on the product or
service are, or they can ask friends and relatives. But one way to
get over this hump is to provide the proof yourself.
SAVE
Hands up if you don't want to save time or money. Saving money is something that
99% of us want to do. Even the richest of the rich want deals, they just get them on
more expensive purchases. If you can genuinely promise to save someone some
money you‘d be foolish not to point this out. Of course, HOW you talk about it is just
as important as what you're talking about. And as for saving time, well, time is
money, which brings us right back to something we all want to save.
NEW
We all want new, even if it's (not really all that new
in reality. We want the next new phone model. We
want new cars, new clothes, new shoes, new tastes,
new smells, and we're willing to pay for it. Personally, I
think NEW should be higher up on the list. It's a very
powerful word that you will see in advertisements and
promotions on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless”
Mother Theresa
We communicate mainly through word, and it does matter how we do it. Word is the
greatest power in the world. Therefore we need to use words with great care. It is so
important for our word to have an atmosphere of good. When communicating
through word, we seek well for ourselves; we want to have good in us. Words
originating from good make our life brighter. If good word was powerful in a
conversation, then we will long have a good feeling of something valuable and
common to us. Words should make us closer, unite us, but not corrupt and separate
us. Words that we hear have the greatest influence and an immense importance in
all of our lives.