The existence of mankind is essentially dependant on the written and spoken word.

Our ability to interact

and communicate with each other relies wholly on the powerful medium of language. It is a vital key for
the success of global commerce and economics, cultural and academic development, international trade
and relations, laws and legal interactions, human relationships and the overall quality of life. But the
power of language goes beyond spoken or written words. Unless we are able to really understand each
other and learn more about the world, which consists of literally thousands of different cultures, it will not
be possible to progress toward a life of contentment and peace.
Linguists and anthropologists will agree that the study of languages fosters an increased understanding of
tradition. Knowledge in turn will bring an appreciation of different cultures, deepen the perception of
cultural values, and strengthen communication. We can begin to understand the values of language
diversity through its impact on, and subsequent creation of culture.
First we must ask, what is language? Language is merely a

Binding Ties, Song of Self: The Purpose and Power of Language

If you are fluent in a language, you probably don't give much thought to your ability to interact with
others, to understand and be understood in your world. But what would happen if you lost your voice? Or
if suddenly the language skills you have, that is your ability to read, write, and speak, were no longer
sufficient to allow you to understand television and newspapers or to tell a waitress what you wanted to
eat or a doctor what was wrong with you? What if your language actually caused others to discriminate
against you? I suspect your perception of the importance of language would undergo a pronounced
change.
Recently, I had an experience with language deprivation when I had laryngitis. The three days I was
without my voice were frustrating, interminable, and evidence of the power and purpose of language.
Early in her essay, "Mother Tongue," Amy Tan discusses this power of language. She writes, "it can
evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth" (26). Though at times, I could
whisper, people had difficulty hearing and understanding me, and I couldn't write my thoughts down
quickly enough to meaningfully converse with others. In short, my lack of voice impaired my ability to
express myself and to communicate and indeed participate in my world. Moreover, language, the
combination of specific words in a particular order, not only empowers individuals to participate as
members of a designated community, it is also a fundamental key in enabling individuals to establish and
define the dimensions of their identity.
Language is the impetus that empowers individuals to forge ties that bind into a community, thus giving
them personal, social, or cultural identification. In his essay, "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell
Me What Is," James Baldwin defines language by pointing to its unparalleled power. He writes, "language
is also a political instrument, means and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identity"
(129). Baldwin points to the experience of the African slaves. Without a common language, they were
unable to communicate with one another, but they evolved a language, which they used to articulate their
common experience and form their own community. Indeed, the African Americans evolved a dialect of
English that enabled them to describe their reality and establish their own distinct cultural identity.
Not only can language articulate a simple truth, one's command of it demonstrates a simple truth:
without language, one is voiceless, with imperfect language, one is perceived as imperfect, and with
standard language, one is superior, at least from the perspective of those who possess standard
command of the language. Tan also examines this relationship of language to acceptance in a dominant
community in "Mother Tongue." She goes on to give countless examples of this truth in action when she
writes about how her mother was treated, "people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did
not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if
they did not hear her" (28). Why did they treat Mrs. Tan in such a disrespectful manner? For the sole

reason that she spoke a simple, non-native variation of English, derogatorily referred to as "broken" or
"fragmented" English. Indeed, this is the power of language: without standard language skills, one is
identified as an outsider, often inaccurately perceived and unfairly discriminated against.
Yet identification with and acceptance in a community is not the only result of language acquisition.
Baldwin and Tan both describe an unbreakable link between language and self-individuation. In other
words, your experience with language shapes your sense of self-identity. Tan writes of the different
Englishes she uses. Chiefly, she distinguishes between the simple form of English she speaks with her
family and more complex version of the language she uses in her professional life. Though there was a
time when Tan was embarrassed by her mother's English, she now sees things from a different
perspective. She writes, "my mother's English is perfectly clear . . . It's my mother tongue. Her language,
as I hear it is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the
way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world" (27). The language that she once
perceived as inferior, sub-standard, or broken, she now views as intimate, special, and representative of
her mother's beautiful and insightful expression of herself and view of the world, which Mrs. Tan, in turn,
taught her daughter. Her point is well taken.
Even if we are not multilingual, do we not all have a different mother tongue taught to us as children
which has unconsciously shaped the way we see ourselves and our world? And do we not all speak our
own different Englishes, calling upon them as the occasion and audience direct? Certainly, the language I
call upon in a meeting with the president of the university differs from the language that I use with my
colleagues, which is different from the language I speak with my friends or family, which differs from the
language I use with my godchildren. It may be a matter of word choice or intonation or slang or content or
purpose, but each is a different part of myself and my world.
Language is many things: the arrangement of words in a particular order, uttered in a certain way,
denoting certain meaning, a political instrument which evokes images and emotion. Certainly, all of this is
a description of the purpose and function of language. But at its most fundamental, language is quite
simply the expression of self and the ability to share that expression with others. Baldwin and Tan both
highlight the importance of language: to be without language is to be voiceless, and to be voiceless is to
silence the song of the self.

Howlanguageisveryimportant,centraleven,towhoweareasindividuals.
b. Howlanguageisntveryimportanttowhoapersonis
c. Howknowingalanguageislikeknowingaculture
d. Hownotknowingalanguagekeepspeoplefromknowingaculture
e. Whathappenstofamilieswhentheydonotsharethesamelanguage
f. Therelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture
g. ThesocialpressuretolearnEnglish
h. TheconnectionbetweenlearningEnglishandassimilatingintoAmericanculture
i. ThevalueofresistingAmericancultureandtotalassimilation
j. ThepossibilitiesoflivingintwoworldsthedominantAmerican/English/middleclassworldanda
home

worldwhichmaybeverydifferent.
k. Yourownideas

To me, as well as many others, language is more than just words and proper punctuation. It is all
that and the ability to communicate. It allows people to accurately express their thoughts, feelings,
and ideas. Language is also used to relay to society, as well as individuals, information about facts
and events. Language is used everyday. It is used when people talk to friends or family, listen to the
radio, watch television, read the paper or use the telephone. Events of the past, present and future
are learned of through language. Tragedies are reported (and sometimes prevented) through
communication. Language helps to shape society as a whole and the individuals in it. Language
gives society and the individuals that make it up the power to grow, change, and overcome.
Some of the effects language has o society are profound. Most of this occurs through the
communication of present and futur

Plug a pendrive into a public computer and you will be pesked by the continuously replicating New Folder.exe virus
or the regsvr.exe virus. Hear my story, while I transferred my notes last night (around 600
folders) and I was surprised to see that around 450 MB of space was eaten by these self
replicating space eaters ! I was running Linux so these were not a concern for me, but when I
plugged my pendrive into my virtual machine (windows xp sp3), it caused multiple problems
of explorer corruption and disabling registry tools.
Time for some virus busting I guess..here is how you can remove regsvr.exe and new
folder.exe from your computer.
Step 1 - Some Startup Repairs
First of all, boot into safe mode.After you get to your desktop,press F3 or Ctrl + F and search for autorun.inf file in
your computer and delete all the subsequent files. I case you are no able to delete them, select all the files and
uncheck theRead Only option. If you are still not able to delete them , you might want to try out Unlocker tool to
delete the files.
Now go to
start > run > type msconfig
and press enter
Go to startup tab and uncheck regsvr, click ok and then click on Exit without restart.
Now go to
control panel > scheduled tasks and delete At1 task listed there.
Once done, close all windows.
Step 2 - Changing Configurations
Your registry might be disabled,and you need to activate it back to undo all the malicious changes done by worm.In
order to do that, you need to go to
start > run > type gpedit.msc
and press enter
then navigate to
users configuration > Administrative templates > systems
Find prevent access to registry editing tools , double click it and change the option to disable.

Once done, your Regedit will be enabled. In case your task manager is disabled, you need to enable it.
Step 3 - Registry Edits
Now we have to perform some registry edits to enable our explorer and to remove all instances of worm from the
registry. Go to
start > run > type regedit
and press enter
Click on Edit > Find and search for regsvr.exe . Find and delete all the occurrences of regsvr.exe virus (don't
delete regsvr32.exe as its not a virus).
then navigate to entry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
and modify the entry
Shell = Explorer.exe regsvr.exe

to delete the regsvr.exe from it,so that it becomes

Shell = Explorer.exe
Once done, close all windows and get ready to delete all virus files.
Step 4 - Deleting Virus Files
The final step is to delete all the virus files in your computer. To do this, Press F3 or Ctrl + F and search for
regsvr.exe (make sure to search in hidden folders ) and delete all regsvr.exe svchost .exe files (notice the gap
between svchost and .exe, keep in mind you don't delete the legitimate file.).
Clean your recycle bin and restart your PC (perform a cold boot).
Volia..you have cleaned your computer from regsvr..just make sure to scan your pendrive the next time you plug in :)