Russian Secondary School of the Russian Embassy in Laos

Project work made by the pupils of the 10th form

Teacher:

Kabanova E.V.

Influence of words on human beings

2014

Introduction

How our brain works

Literature

Diplomacy

Religion

Advertising

Conclusion

Contents

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.

«By words the mind is winged».Aristophanes

Introduction

«Words are all we have».

Samuel Beckett

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:

How our brain works

«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.

The impact of words in literature

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.

"Pushkin is our everything," goes the ever quotable formulation by a 19th-century 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.

Alexander Pushkin

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.

Oscar Wilde

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.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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.

William Shakespeare

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.

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?

«Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind».

Rudyard Kipling

Diplomacy

The first taskhas always been to negotiate agreements, originally those related to trade, diplomacy, war and alliances. Nowadays, in an interdependent world, diplomacy’s tasks arerelated 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 importantrole 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 roleis 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.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

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).

Iran’s Nuclear Programme

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.

The settlement of the Syrian crisis

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”

ReligionReligious 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.

“The wise weigh their words on a scale with gold”. Bible

Types of religion1. World religions (Christianity, Islam and Buddhism)2. Indigenous religions3. 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 16th-century Reformation and split in many denominations.Eastern Christianity, which include Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Church of the East.

Orthodox church

Catholic

church

Protestant 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.

BuddhismBuddhism 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.

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.

Religious books in Buddhism

Stupa at Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chaitya Griha, Indonesia

Wat Ho Phra Keo, Laos

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.

Islam

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

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

“Words will not fail when the matter is well considered.” Horace

Advertising

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.

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.

HEALTH

DISCOVERYDid 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.

LOVEThis 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-in-cheek 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.

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.

Conclusion“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless” Mother Theresa