The Marketing Role in a CSR Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Marketing Role in a CSR Company - Essay Example The marketing angles are also in line with what the different publics require from the aegis of Shell and how Shell as a global company has brought about these deliverables in a quantifiable capacity. Â  Shell has concerned itself with health, safety, and other significant issues on a worldwide basis. This has meant that quite a heavy spending has been focused towards the CSR ranks, which indeed is a very positive aspect that is brought forward by the top management at Shell. Shell believes in empowering small and medium business entrepreneurs through its different programs (Ralston 2002). It has also endeavored to provide the poor and needy the much-needed food and shelter through a series of programs, all of which are geared to uplift the image of Shell in the long run. What is more understandable is the fact that Shell has been able to give in its best for quite a while now and the same will continue to be the case in the times to come, since its measures and initiatives are very coherent and strong. Â  The role of marketing within the CSR domains is also very important for Shell since the global player within the oil company understands that if it does not involve its own self in a very reasonable way within the minds and hearts of the customers, then it would be very difficult for it to claim its place within the relevant industrial settings as well (Sims 2003). Hence Shell’s role is to come out as an honest player which it is trying its best to project in different walks of life (Bennett 2002). However, there are times when controversies do arise and more so within the aegis of whistleblowing patterns making the rounds of the top organizations in the present times. Shell’s responsibility does not end here at all. It has to keep moving forward and satisfy its publics in such a way that they feel privileged and has a very positive view of the oil company that has changed the CSR definition. Â  

History of Japanese Literature golden age Essay

History of Japanese Literature golden age - Essay Example Though there has been a great influence of China on the Japanese literature in the very beginning, that made use of Chinese words in it. The Heian period lasted from the 8th to the 12th century in Japan. This period, that ran over the span of 794 – 1185, is termed as the Golden age for the literature and arts in Japan. â€Å"The Heian period is considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art and especially in poetry and literature.† (www.jref.com, 2010). Also, the meaning of the word â€Å"Heian† is â€Å"peace†, that should mean that the Golden age in the literature of Japan is considered as a period of peace. The Japanese imperial court also enjoyed its height in the same reign. Since its end, no other period has been appreciated more by the Japanese nation than the famous Heian period. In the same period, the Samurai class surfaced that later gained rule and helped the commencement of the feudal system in Japan. Since the Heian period was preceded by a strong influence of the Chinese and Korean languages on the Japanese literature and writings, the official lang uage of the official documents and the imperial court continued to remain Chinese in the start of the Heian period, but this was not all. Besides the Chinese language, another language â€Å"Kana† surfaced and started to rule the Japanese literature and all forms of written texts. Besides, another system of writing referred to as Hiragana was identified in the Heian period that was phonetic in nature. The special feature of Hiragana was that it did not need an understanding of the characters of the Chinese language, and was also considered much simple and quick for writing. One of the biggest achievements of the Heian period is that Japanese literature was relieved of the rule of Chinese language. Instead, the major use of Kana in the Japanese literature projected an innovative approach and

Financial analysis of Sainsbury plc and Tesco Plc Essay

Financial analysis of Sainsbury plc and Tesco Plc - Essay Example The paper will highlight the Key features and the current strategies directed by the companies followed by the Calculation of financial ratios for each company, and Compare with earlier years, that allow to judge the financial performance and position for the company, and to interpret if the company's assessment of its own performance as shown in the Financial Highlights and Chairman's Statement a good representation. Then comparison of the two companies together, followed by comparison with the industrial average. The basic structure of this research essay will be divided to five sections: Firstly: Brief definitions of the company’s activities and their major business, when they operate as well as the current strategies directed by the company and also why choose these two firms; Secondly: The calculation of the financial ratios; Thirdly: Financial Analysis; Fourthly: the limitations of ratios; Finally summary and conclusions. This research essay will also make a research int o thedifferent type of stock price prediction models and will select the time series model to predict the stock price for two years and then compare them with the actual stock price of the above companies and present the reasearch findings and will make a detailed analysis of the same.A intercompany analysis between Tesco and Sainsbury will be carried over and also a comparison with the industry’s average will also carried over to know how these companies are performing as compared to the industry’s average. 1. Short Narration of the Activities of the Companies Sainsbury Plc Sainsbury being a supermarket chain, J. Sainsbury Plc is a renowned retailer operating from London and also ventured into construction activities, real estate and owning a commercial bank in UK. Established in the year 1869, Sainsbury is having around 337 convenience stores and 557 Supermarkets, and Sainsbury owns a floor space ranging from 15,000 to in excess of 40,000 square feet and has supermar ket branches throughout the UK and in the UK and about forty percent of these products are own brands of Sainsbury. Salisbury is having more than 5000 own brands in health and food sector. Apart from the grocery and food products, the majority of the Sainsbury stores offers fish and meat counters, a delicatessen, bread baked on the premises of Sainsbury, coffee shops, pharmacies, gas stations and restaurants. By sales value, Salisbury is the largest UK retailer of Fairtrade products as it sourced ethically and responsibly around ?280 million in the year 2011 alone. Under the brand names of Jackson’s and Bells Stores, Sainsbury manages its convenience stores and also offers a variety of the local brand mainly through the Shell franchise. Sainsbury also markets its own brands along with specialty and ethnic food products like Indian, American, Asian, Italian, low-priced products and organic products. Sainsbury also added house wares and clothing to its retail list of products. Sainsbury also owns a bank in collaboration with the Bank of Scotland, which was the first-ever bank owned by a supermarket in the UK, and its clients numbers have surpassed more than two million numbers as of date. With regard to land associated with the Sainsbury Supermarkets, it is being managed by Sainsbury Property Company and JS Developments, a Sainsbury’s real estate development company. State the different sectors in which saninsbury deals, % revenue In 2006, Sainsbury acquired 4 stores from Somerfield. (Plunkett 2008). As of 2011, Sainsbury is having in a week around 21 million customer transactions and have a market share around 16% in the UK. Sainsbury is offering employment to more than 150,000 individuals. During the year 2011, Sainsbury opened extra 47 convinient stores, and it had

OPERATIONS AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

OPERATIONS AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT - Assignment Example The various elements of its (Tesco’s) corporate strategy, and their bearing on the numerous aspects of the organisation’s vast enterprise, will be analysed, with a view to determining the nature of the relationship. An attempt will also be made to identify/evaluate possible areas of improvement in the organisation’s operations management; in addition, the ways in which Tesco’s operations add value to the delivery of its products/services will be explained. Corporate Strategy is essentially the long-term direction of an organisation. As a global mogul in the retail business, Tesco has a long-term business strategy of: (a) succeeding as an international retailer, (b) being as strong in food as in no-food business, (c) development of its retail services, (d) growth of its core UK business, (e) putting the community at the heart of its activities. In line with its organisational strategy of success as an international retailer, Tesco has imbibed a Facilities culture that reflects this aspiration. Ideally, organisational business activities should integrate the needs of people (customers and staff), machinery and material to provide a smoothly-functioning system. Tesco’s introduction of Tesco Link, giving its suppliers access to in-store sales and stock availability data, exemplifies this concept (the logistical underpinnings of a smooth flow of materials/goods from the suppliers through Tesco to the consumers, are obvious). This is further enhanced by the Capacity management efforts of Tesco, whereby it utilises an online delivery system to replenish its stores thrice daily, to achieve (in addition to meeting customer needs and the activity-level needs of staff) shorter lead-time in the supply chain and lower inventories (Case Studies From Tesco HSC, 2010). This, the source further notes, has helped the organisation ac hieve improved product availability and a boost in its labour productivity. There is a connection in the context of obvious benefits to

Meeting stakeholder and quality needs Research Paper

Meeting stakeholder and quality needs - Research Paper Example All these people play different roles and have different expectations. The managers make decisions, plan, organise and control the operations of the organisation and are accountable to the shareholders or the owners. The employees or staffs such as the pharmacists offer their skilled services to the patients for a salary or an agreed wage. Such services improve quality care and enhance patient safety and as such serve as a touch point for healthcare information for the hospitals as well as the patients. The patients on the other hand are among the key stakeholders for hospitals as they seek medical services expecting quality and affordable treatment. If the hospitals fail to meet the expectations of the patients, they are bound to fail. Other stakeholders include the suppliers who deliver products to hospitals as well as the community members who make up the largest percentage of the patients as well as the government who effect policies, rules and legislations which protect all the stakeholders (Heidi et al 20). Communication is vital in keeping the stakeholders satisfied. Always engage with the stakeholders to understand their concerns and the best way to address them. Communication breakdown may cause frustration and as such the stakeholders may lose their confidence in the organisation. Proper communication ensures that the stakeholders feel valued and that their interests are being looked out for. The primary goal of successful communications approach is to manage and eliminate surprises. It is advisable to manage the information stakeholders get, as well as their perception and communicate the feedback expected to deliver in the organisation. As such, a communications planning matrix will take stakeholders analysis and identify each stakeholder’s roles, what needs to be communicated and the expected feedback (Heidi et al 29). Setting up regular meetings is of essence

World Religions Report Essay Example for Free

World Religions Report Essay In this paper I will be discussing what I learned about Christianity and Islamic faiths. How that even though these two religions have differences that they have core similarities and history that show that they have more in common than they do not have in common. I will discuss my interview at a Christian church and what I learned from it. Then I will discuss how much all the religions I have studied in this class have in common. Touching on their philosophies, beliefs, virtues and traditions and any areas that show areas they have in common. The Interview was held at The Rock Church in San Bernardino, California. Their church is huge more like a mini stadium in doors version. Clean well lit and very modern. They have a stage in the church where they hold their services. Where smoke and stage lights light up the stage area when music is performed with a live modern day Christian rock band. Everyone was very nice, energetic and positive. During my interview with Pastor Jim I learned that the basic beliefs are; belief in one God, the trinity which is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That Jesus Christ was born and suffered and died for our sins so we may enter into heaven. That the bible is the word of God that we are to love one another as we love God as we love ourselves, to care for one another as well. That people are born with sin so we need to be baptized to be washed of sin. That we all have a relationship with Christ every day is about honoring him. The rules are simply to obey the ten commandments, the word from the bible, to love one another, care for each other, That relationships with the same gender is a sin, You can only be married in a church once, couples to be married must be of the same faith and must take classes first, No praying to the saints, sins can be forgiven with repenting but no confessions to a human being. All sins can be forgiven except for mortal sins such as murder and not believing in the Holy Spirit. Mortal sins can be washed once you become saved or born again which means becoming a  Christian. The traditions of the Christi an faith are keeping the Holidays, doing ministries locally or elsewhere. The practices are to practice their beliefs and rules, to teach and spread the message of Jesus, attending services each Sunday, love others even the sinner. Baptisms are for children and adults but infants are dedicated to God and of course keeping all traditions. They have bible teachings for all age groups and even a college. They teach about the traditions, practices, rules, history, about missionary work. As far as the afterlife they believe that if you have repented your sins prior to death, led a good life, pure in heart that you will have eternal life in heaven with God. The history that is taught is from the bible both new and old testaments. The holidays they have are: Ash Wednesday the beginning of lent, Good Friday the day Jesus died, Easter Sunday the day Jesus was resurrected, Pentecost the day the Holy spirit came to the disciple after Jesus died, The Transfiguration and Assumption the day Mary mother of Jesus was taken into heaven, Christmas the day Jesus was born and Epiphany also known as Wise Man’s day the day the three wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. They have Pastors who give the services which can be either men or woman. When I asked what their main difference was with Catholics and Pastor Jim said the main difference is that Christians do not pray to the saints and have some different traditions such as baptism is done only when the person can consent otherwise they dedicate to God and they don’t do confessions to man. Confessions are done between the person and God through pray. Islam and Christianity from the start have many things in common even from the area of the world where they both originated from, Christianity Egypt (P. 285-287) and Islam Egypt, Arabia (P. 397) They both believe in the old testament (P.285 P 371) and the different historical figures such as Abraham and Moses. Both trace their ancestry to the patriarch Abraham and believe in Adam and eve. They both believe in Jesus however Christians believe Jesus is the son of God whereas Islam faith believes that Jesus was a very great prophet. (P373) Both r eligions believe there is only one God, who is the creator of everything. (P. 309 385) Both believe in an afterlife Islam calls paradise and Christians call Heaven. Islam believes that non-believers and evil-doers ultimately experience great misfortune in this life or the afterlife. (P. 376) Christians believe that through repenting and baptism there is an afterlife  in heaven with God. (P. 321) Both believe in the message of Jesus being correct and good. (P.285 373) The Islam philosophy or ethics are that God should be remembered and brought into every aspect of daily life, injunctions against drinking intoxicating beverages, eating certain meats including pork, rodents, predatory animals, certain birds, and improperly slaughtered animals, gambling and vain sports, sexual relations outside of marriage, and sexually provocative dress, talk, or actions. Positive things such as commanding justice, kindness, and charity. They are to exercise justice and honesty in their relationships and business interactions, to manage their wealth carefully, and to avoid arrogance. (P.380) Whereas Christians believe similar things such as kindness, and charity and honesty. (P. 350) To treat others as Jesus would model oneself after Jesus. (P. 334) Islam also believes in kindness as their prophet Muhammad showed kindness and compassion to others. Islam has the five pillars which are Belief and witness which is the belief of one God and the telling others of him and his message, Daily prayers where they pray five times a day, Zakat where they give a percent of their earnings away to less fortunate people, Fasting during Ramadan, and Hajj where they make a pilgrimage to Mecca the holy land. (p. 370-382) Christians Have lent which is their season where they give up something and on Fridays they don’t eat meat except fish which is similar to the Islam fasting during Ramadan, Christians also believe in one God and the telling or spreading of the word as they call it which is the message of Christ, contemplation and prayer, giving up the pleasures of the material world for the sake of loving and serving God, and belief in Missionaries of Charity. (P. 306, 326 336) It would seem that their basic messages of love kindness are t he same. Islam believe and follow the word from their text known as the Qur’an, the believe that the Shari’ah is the sacred law of Islam. (P.371 380) whereas the Christians text is the Bible (P.285) Both of which have are written based off the important historically figures of their faiths. Muhammad’s life story is important to Muslims, for his character is considered a model of the teachings in the Qur’an and because his words are the words of God. Muhammad is the founder of Islam. (P. 366 393) Jesus was equally as important to Christians because he taught them how to treat each other as Muhammad did and also was a role model for what he preached plus Jesus is believed to have been God  present in a human life, walking among them. Jesus’s words are also believed to be the word of God. He is also considered the founder of Christianity. (P. 286 303) We have discussed the five pillars of Islam which are also the practices of Islam faith. (p.382) With Christians the rituals and practices are: baptism for forgiveness of sins, worship on Sabbath in churches, the holidays which are lent, good Friday, Easter Sunday, Pentecost, the Transfiguration and Assumption, devotion to Mary and the saints, and Christmas. (P309, 335-342) other rituals are prayer, celebrations of the liturgical year, Holy Communion or Holy Eucharist, Confirmation ceremony. (P. 335-339) One of the biggest events of the Christian faith is the life and death of Jesus which was what help strengthen the Christian faith, other events are c.50–60 St. Paul organizes early Christians, 1095–1300 The Crusades, 1054 Split between Western and Eastern Orthodox Church. (P. 298-312) For Islam a big event was the life and death of Muhammad, The Ka’bah built by Abraham, Muhammad Ishmael, The first three caliphs, Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, election of Abu Bakr as first caliph. (P.370) The following are; ethics, philosophies, practices, traditions or virtues from each of the religions we have studied. You can see that they have many things in common. Judaism: Love your fellow as yourself and ethical guidelines such as the Ten Commandments, laws concerning all aspects of life, such as land ownership, civil and criminal procedure, family law, sacred observances, diet, and ritual slaughter. Idolatry the worshipping of many gods or images of God, blasphemy against God, murder, theft, sexual behaviors outside of marriage, and cruelty to animals are all prohibited (P. 264) Hinduism: As we love God, God loves us. (P. 82) love and devotion, Dharma, often translated as religion, encompasses duty, natural law, social, ethics, health, and transcendental realization. Dharma is a holistic approach to social coherence and the good of all, corresponding to order in the cosmos. (P. 69) ethical principles are non-violence, not to steal, continence, and non-covetousness, plus cleanliness, contentment, self-study, and devotion to God. (P. 78) primary ethic: that the happiness of others is essential to one’s own happiness. This consideration of others before oneself is a central dharmic virtue. (P. 91) Buddhism: Logic, meditation, cosmology, psychology, and monastic life. (P.168) The use of prayer and fasting. (P. 154) The reason that desire leads  us to suffering, so one should relinquish thoughts of fame or fortune, let go of vanity. (P. 135) One lives happily and fully in the present moment, free from self-centeredness and full of compassion for others. One can serve them purely, for in this state there is no thought of oneself. Not to talk in a way that shows you are vain, divisive speech, or use harsh words. Avoid destroying life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, gossiping, and intoxicants. Beyond these, we are to base our actions on clear understanding. (P.137) Confucianism: Honor and respect one’s parents (P. 196) ethics such as humanity, trustworthiness, sincerity, and altruism. (P.202) encourages becoming a responsible member of one’s family and of the community and having a sense of voluntary service to the community. (P.204) innate goodness, love, benevolence, perfect virtue, humaneness, and human-heartedness, unselfish public service, human kindness. (P.195) Daoism: Simple life in harmony with nature having great mental and physical discipline (P. 180- 181) the dead is paid proper respect so that ancestors will help their descendants (P. 177) respectful ceremonies for the highest heavenly beings are done. (P. 179) practical concern with improving harmony in life. (P.181) Both Daoism and Buddhism emphasize the ever-changing nature of things in the cosmos. (P. 193) Meditation is at the base of the Daoism. (P.181) Islam have injunctions against drinking intoxicating beverages, eating certain meats (including pork, rodents, predatory animals, certain birds, and improperly slaughtered animals), gambling and vain sports, sexual relations outside of marriage, and sexually provocative dress, talk, or actions. God should be remembered and brought into every aspect of daily life. Positive things such as commanding justice, kindness, and charity. They are to exercise justice and honesty in their relationships and business interactions, to manage their wealth carefully, and to avoid arrogance. (P.380) Christians believe in missionary work, treated others as they want to be treated, one God, the ten commandments which basically say not to do many of the same things the other religions are against as well such as not to lie, steal, kill, vanity, to honor your parents, (P.294) To pay more attention to the life of the spirit than to physical comfort and wealth (P. 291) each religion has ethical and moral beliefs to keep their society morally correct and on the right path. All believe in a form of prayer or meditation, basic golden rules or ten  commandments or Li or however each religion likes to call them but at the core they are the same. Not hurt others, pure body, minds, and souls. Teachings of being responsible, doing public services, missionary work, and to be humble not prideful, to have compassion and humility, to not concern oneself with earthly possessions or fame to concentrate on the spiritual life. Modesty rules or beliefs they all seem to have that in common as well along with not being cruel to animals, or put toxins in the body. I have learned many things about all the different world religions and even though they may differ on whether Jesus was the son of God, or what holidays to celebrate, details about how, when or where to worship, the core of each is to try to become a better person whether that means finding enlightenment, becoming a better Christian, following the Qur’an or whatever words to describe it are used the basic message of treating others as you would yourself, being honesty, trustworthy, kind, compassionate, loving, humble, charitable, and remember what is truly important the spiritual life not possessions or anything that feeds the ego. Those are the same in any religion or faith. I have come to realize that Islam and Christians are very much alike it seems that where the split began is on whether or not Jesus is the son of God because both see him as delivering the word of God and both agree with the message he gave. Respect the differences and recognize how many similarities there are. The interview showed a very positive modern high energy side to Christianity that I did not know of before. They are very modern with their missions to help get the word out and even have live services on the web. They offer so many different kinds of missionary services and do these missionaries all over the world as well as locally. References: Fisher, M.P. (2005). Living Religions (6th Ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Lecture on Christianity; Laura Templeman Lecture on Islam; Laura Templeman Pastor Jim

Discrimination In The English Language

Discrimination In The English Language There exists national and racial discrimination in the English language. Such kind of discrimination can be reflected by words, expressions and also proverbs. This linguistic phenomenon has profound historical and cultural background, reflects national bias, conflicts and hatred, and thus provides us information about historical relationships among nations. This paper analyses causes and connotations of national and racial slurs, and shows the potential negative effects of the slurs on international contacts. It also deals with the current state of linguistic discrimination in modern society and the efforts people make to eliminate the phenomenon. Language primarily functions as the communication tool and information transmitter, and is closely linked to ethnic. Every ethnic group in this world has its own language which may be either slightly or totally different from other groups. Language is the carrier of ethnic history and social culture, and evolves together with the society where it is used. So to speak, the development of the ethnic is the fundamental cause and basic condition of the development of the language. Since language and ethnic are so profoundly interrelated, it is no wonder that language is influenced by ethnic feelings and the latter are fully embodied in the former. 1.2 National and racial discrimination in the English language As a common social phenomenon, national and racial discrimination against other ethnic groups would inevitably exert influence on languages. Thus, slurs come into being in almost every language in the world. Among these languages, English is a particularly striking example which contains many national and racial slurs. It is clearly seen that in the English language, part of its large vocabulary is concerned with nations and races. Unpleasantly, this part often carries a connotation of national and racial discrimination. We can readily find slurs with various forms such as vocabulary, phrase, address, proverb, etc. Take the Dutch idioms for example. If a person says to you, you do beat the Dutch (Liu, 2003:131), he intends to mean that you are excellent. When people use the Dutch idioms, they may wonder how those idioms originate. In fact, the slurs in the English language have profound historical background. Though causes of slurs are rather complicated ¼Ã…’yet we can still sort out them. Among these complex causes, ethnocentrism, wars and racial differences are the most important ones. 1.3 Objectives of the study The study focuses on the phenomenon of national and racial discrimination in the English language. We will look into the reason why the slurs come into being and the connotations that they carry. Once we get a better idea of their connotations, we can know whether it is proper to use them in public. Hence, we can try to avoid misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication and improve our competence. Since there are so many slurs in English, we have to be very careful about them. We may wonder about the following questions. What consequence would they cause when used improperly? Are they still used frequently in daily life? Or are they going to fade out from the English language? 2. Causes of national and racial slurs in the English language 2.1 Obsession of ethnocentrism in the United Kingdom and United States In Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary, ethnocentrism is based on the ideas and beliefs of one particular culture and using these to judge other cultures. (Hornby Wehmeier, 2004:580) Strong sense of national pride is one of the main causes of national discrimination. A nation with ethnocentrism believes in the superiority of its own culture including values, norms, languages, etc., and considers other nations as inferior to it. Since National feelings are closely interlinked with national language, national discrimination finds expression in the latter. The USA and the UK are considered to be very proud nations. We can tell ethnocentrism from the two countries names. (Jiao, 2009:57) The USA is short for the United States of America. Despite the fact that the word America stands for the whole continent including Canada and Mexico, the USA employs it as a component of its country name. When people say Americans today, they generally refer to the people of the USA and exclude Canadian and Mexican. The British is no less proud than the Americans. They used to claim their country to be the empire on which the sun never sets and the mistress of the seas (Mao, 2003:141) The full name of its nation is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The British prefer to call their country Great Britain. The UK is actually a small country but it is the only country around the world using great in its countrys name. Some proverbs in English are the authentic portrayal of the excessively proud mind of the British. For instance, the English are a nation of shop-keepers; all countries stand in need of Britain, and Britain of none; one Englishman can beat three Frenchmen. (Mao, 2003:143) From these proverbs, we can see this island country is completely indulged in self-admiration. It assumes that whatever in its country is good and useful while those in other countries are odd. More often than not, it despises other countries especially those once at war with it such as France and the Netherlands. Even two of the world major powers, Russia and the United States cannot escape the fate of being derided. As the proverb says, An American will go to hell for a bag of coffee. Scratch a Russian, and you will find a tarter. (Jiao, 2009:59) Ethnocentrism endows the English language with a predilection towards the UK and the USA, and a bias against other nations or races. An excess of national pride glorifies a country while shows contempt for the virtues of other countries. In reality, it is fair to say that any ethnic group in the world is likely to show undue pride of nationalism of various degrees, consciously or not. Nonetheless ¼Ã…’ethnocentrism negatively affects international relations and goes against peaceful coexistence. 2.2 National resentment caused by wars Historical events have undoubtedly made their contribution to the development of English lexicology. New expressions often emerge from times of war when national emotion is running high. In most cases, they continue to stay in the language in the process of social development even if hundreds of years have passed. The French and Dutch expressions and proverbs are the classic examples. From a geographical perspective, France faces the United Kingdom across the English Channel. From 1377 to 1453, France and England were engaged in wars over territory and economic benefit. (Dai, 2003) The hundred-year war ended in a victory for France. This certainly gave rise to resentment from Englishmen toward France. English people found expression for their hatred in the English vocabulary. They considered the word French as a derogatory one and created many terms containing the word. Even today, we can still see the French expressions usually used as pejorative in the English language. For instance, the proverb one Englishman can beat three Frenchmen means defeating enemy troops with a force inferior in number. Some French phrases are connected with sex and eroticism. A French postcard/novel (Hou, 2009:64) is a pornographic photo/book. French gout (Hou, 2009:64) is syphilis. Not only the term French but also Dutch fall into this category. Dated back to 16th century, England had been friendly with the Netherlands. It was not until the 17th century that the Netherlands became one of the largest colonial empires in the world and a strong competitor of England for maritime trade. (Dai, 2003) It was inevitable that growing commercial rivalry between England and the United Netherlands led to the outbreak of wars. There were three Anglo-Dutch Wars fought in the 17th century. After the wars, the United Kingdom of Great Britain achieved maritime supremacy. Due to the wars, hostility persisted for years between the two countries. Many Dutch expressions and proverbs represent English feelings toward the Dutch. For instance, Dutch comfort/consolation (Liu, 2003:131) means no comfort/consolation at all. If something is double Dutch (Liu, 2003:131) to a person, he can hardly understand it. 2.3 Racial differences The majority of Native English speakers are white people. White racists consider their ancestry is sacred and of higher quality than others. They believe that their race possesses absolute and remarkable superiority when compared to others. As a consequence, they disparage other races in the world. This kind of emotion can be called racial discrimination and is sufficiently reflected in the English language. People can name racial slurs, many of which are related with African Americans, Native Americans and Asians. Expressions and proverbs containing such words as Negro, nigger and Indian often carry a connotation of contempt. Particularly in the American English, we can recognize the serious racial discrimination phenomenon. The United States is described to be a big melting pot, into which immigrants from all around the world have come together and blended their cultures and traditions. People of different nationalities, races, colors and faiths inhabit in the same community, contacting, influencing and integrating mutually. Altogether, they create a dynamic, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural society, and make their specific contribution to the American history. Yet ¼Ã…’this predominantly white country has been faced with racial contradictions and conflicts throughout its history. Strong hostility and prejudice between different racial groups, mostly the white and the colored, has resulted in racism in the English language and led to a rapid increase of discriminatory vocabulary. 2.4 National traits From the micro point of view, it is a common practice among people to remark on others physiological features, and make fun of them about their looks, shapes, and dressing. In a broad perspective, one ethnic group may tease another about its distinctive physiological feature which appears to be strange. It is conceivable that national traits (physiological features and characters) can also be a source of slurs in the English language. It is not surprising that Japanese, smaller in stature than the westerner ¼Ã…’get the nickname little-yellow-man (Liu, 2003:129) from the Americans. The Russians are nicknamed polar bears (Liu, 2003:129) because on one side part of Russia is located in the cold Arctic Circle, where polar bears often haunt, and on the other the Russians had a reputation for being strong and aggressive. Although these make sense, making fun of others about their distinctive traits is improper ¼Ã…’inconsiderate and even cruel after all. From the perspective of nation, every ethnic group is unique in its traits due to the interactions of heredity, environment and other factors. A nation is inclined to discriminate others on condition that it assumes its traits are better than any other nations. It is unfair and wrong to measure other nations by the standard of ones own nation. 2.5 Spatiotemporal differences Owing to spatiotemporal differences, countries face different environments which affect their knowledge about others. Therefore, the lack of knowledge of other areas would give rise to wrong interpretations and misunderstandings of people in those areas. Sometimes a countrys geographical backgrounds can become a popular topic and laughingstock to other countries. We may have heard the saying, Finland is the devils country (Mao, 2003:143) and wondered about its origin. As is known, Finland is situated at high latitudes of northern hemisphere with cold climatic conditions. The special geographical location leaves an impression on the English-speaking people that Finland is uninhabitable and only devils dare live there. In the English language, Chinese puzzle (Mao, 2003:142) refers to a complicated thing or problem. The phrase stems from the history when America and China had little contact. The Americans felt confused about China and had a poor understanding of the country. Hence, it is imaginable that they attached a sense of complexity to the word Chinese. 3.Words ¼Ã…’expressions and proverbs mirroring ethical prejudice In what way can words, expressions and proverbs reflect national and racial discrimination? From the point of modern English lexicology, there are four common tendencies of semantic change in words: restriction of meaning (specialization), extension of meaning (generalization), degeneration of meaning (pejoration), and elevation of meaning (amelioration). (Zhang, 1987:269) Among these four, degeneration of meaning refers to the condition that words once respectable or neutral may shift to a less respectable or even derogatory meaning. (Zhang, 1987:277) This is the most common method used in linguistic discrimination. For instance, the Dutch idioms in Chapter 3.1.1 have derogatory meanings because the word Dutch is degraded into negative sense. In English, there are so many idioms concerned about ethical prejudice that it would be difficult to cover all of them. Let us have a look at some of them from two broad categories. 3.1 Reflection of national discrimination Before moving on, I would like to state that all the idioms in the following paragraphs come from On National Prejudice in Language by Liu Baojun except those with special interlinear notes. 3.1.1 The Dutch idioms There are many Dutch expressions in English. We probably have heard or said them in daily life. However, we may have little idea about when they were first used and how they came into being. Dutch is explained by the unpleasant associations of certain historical events, namely, the Anglo-Dutch wars and rivalry at sea in the seventeenth century. Many of the Dutch expressions were first used in England at that time, during fierce naval competition between England and the Netherlands. British people used Dutch to refer to something bad. Now, of course, the British and the Dutch have a friendly relation. But the word Dutch is still used in almost the same way as it once was long time ago. The Dutch idioms can be classified into several types. First of all, some of the Dutch expressions are related to wine because the Dutch were regarded as bibber. The phrase Dutch courage is a slang term for courage gained after drinking alcohol. It is synonymous with liquid courage. The term is purported to have its origin in the battles of the seas. (Liu, 2003:131) It is said that the Dutch navy feared all other navies especially the English navy. It was rationalized that they must have drunk alcohol before battle to relieve their fear. A Dutch bargain or Dutch agreement, which is made between men who have drunk too much alcohol, is an uneven, one-sided deal. When the host is the first to get drunk in the party, it can be called a Dutch feast. Second, the British used to consider the Dutch very stingy about money. The Dutch always split the bill when whey went out for dinner. Based on this conception, Dutch treat referred to a dinner at which the invited guests should pay for their own share of food and drinks. A Dutch party is a party to which each guest contributes some food and drink. Today, Dutch treat has a slightly different meaning from that. When friends go out to have fun, each person pays his own share if they agree to Dutch treat or go Dutch. Third, in the eyes of the British, the Dutch were rude, irritable and weird. To get ones Dutch up is to flare up. To do a Dutch act means to commit suicide. If a person talks to you in a very severe way, he is talking like a Dutch uncle. This phrase emerges for the reason that the Dutch had a reputation for raising their children in a firm way. (Li, 2009:52) Not only expressions but also proverbs can convey national slurs. The Dutch has taken Holland can be interpreted as follows: a man who has seen little regards many things as strange and comment excitedly on a commonplace thing out of inexperience. However, people using these expressions may not be well aware that they are hurting the Netherlands national pride. Almost all the Dutch phrases contain negative connotation. The situation makes the Netherlands feel uncomfortable and low national respect. Thus, in 1934, Netherlands government commanded that officials should avoid use the word Dutch. (Hou, 2009:65) In spite of the effort, today the derogatory sense of the word still exists and people continue using it to refer to something negative. 3.1.2 The French idioms In the modern history of the world, France and the Great Britain rival each other in political, economic, cultural and military competition. Many British idioms have recorded the countrys discord with the French. French leave is an abrupt and unannounced departure without saying farewell to the host. The phrase can be traced back to 18th century. (Wang, 1999:45) From the view of character, the French were amiable and easygoing by nature. It was their custom that guests invited to dinner would depart without giving thanks or saying farewell to their host. To the British, in particular the English, whose reputed quality is reserved, leaving without saying goodbye is ill-mannered, discourteous and shows no respect for others. There goes the proverb when the Ethiopian is white, the French will love the English. In reality, The Ethiopians are dark-skinned and it is impossible that their skin will turn white. By using this logic analysis, neither is it possible that the French will love the English. The proverb implies that the state of hostility between the two countries would not end. Another proverb goes, The Italians are wise before the deed, the Germans in the deed, the French after the deed. (Jiao, 2009:59) By comparing France with another two countries, the idiom carries a message that the French are wooden-headed and witless. Historically, it was suggested by the Americans that some of the French expressions should be changed. Yet ¼Ã…’it was too early to be cheerful for the French. Here goes the story. In the first half of the year 2003, France opposed the plan shock and awe adopted by the American-led United Nations forces toward Iraq. This stirred up American disgust toward the French. A television host of FOX news, one of the American news media, called for a boycott of French goods. It was demanded that in the English language French toast and French fry should be changed into freedom toast and freedom fry while French leave should be reserved. (Du, 2005:23) Very interestingly, it seemed that the Americans wanted to keep the French expressions with derogatory sense and meanwhile discard others with neutral meaning. In such case, The French could do nothing but sulk. 3.1.3 The Chinaman/Chinese idioms In modern times, China cut off itself from the outside world. As a result of a seclusion policy in foreign relations, China lost an opportunity for development and fell behind. Thus, the western countries showed contempt to this poor and backward nation with weak comprehensive power. Chink and Chinaman have long been used as disparaging terms for the Chinese. Many figures of speech in the English reflected a history of Chinese being insulted. Chinamans chance essentially means an extremely slim chance or no chance at all for someone to accomplish his goal or successfully do an action. In 1978, American publisher Scribner published the novel Chinamans chance by Ross Thomas. Regardless of the content of the novel, people sought the origin of the title Chinamans chance. The historical context of the phrase dates from the goldrush days of California in the middle of the 19th century when many Chinese came here to work as laborers. (Jiao, 2009:58) Their job was demanding and very dangerous but lower-paying. The Chinese faced higher taxes, denial of citizenship and equal rights to white man. Chinamans chance truly depicts the hard life of Chinese in that city. Another expression occurred in the same period. To play someone for a Chinaman is to treat him as a fool. Many of the Chinese expressions heard in English are used as pejorative. A Chinese copy is an exact copy of an original. Chinese slavery means virtual slavery. Chinese compliment is used to describe a man who speaks one way and thinks another. Chinese fire drill refers to confusional and chaotic state, large but ineffective exercise, or the act of a group of individuals achieving nothing. If someone has Chinese restaurant syndrome (Wang, 1999:43), he may feel headache, vomiting, swirl or sweating caused by eating Chinese food that contains monosodium glutamate. Research suggests that there is no evidence of the so-called Chinese restaurant syndrome and it is nothing more than urban legend. 3.1.4 The Irishman and Irish idioms The United Kingdom is made up of four nations England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Of these four nations, the English people account for the majority of the population and feel most British. They have a strong sense of national pride and ridicule the rest of the kingdom. They would verbally attack Scotland, Wales, and in particular Ireland. We can take a look at some of the Irishman and Irish phrases. Irishmans dinner/feast actually means apastia. Irishmans promotion represents demotion. Irish diamond is not diamond at all. It is just crystal or stone. Irish evidence is seen as perjury. Irish compliment is backhanded compliment. If someone makes an Irish bull, he provides a paradoxical statement. To get ones Irish up (Hou,2009:64) means to lose ones temper. A similar expression is to get ones Dutch up. There are also Irish proverbs with offensive implications: Englands difficulty is Irelands opportunity; Put an Irishman on the spit, and you can always get another to baste him. (Mao, 2003:143) 3.1.5 The Welsh idioms The word Welsh shares the same fate of Irish. To Welsh is to repudiate a debt. According to English people, the phrase originates from 19th century when many Welsh people made a living by betting on horse racing. (Liu, 1999:79) They were said to have been extremely cunning because they always tried to get out of paying money when they lost the bet. Thus, in the eyes of English people, they became notorious for such a bad quality. Therefore, to Welsh on somebody is to go back on ones word. To Welsh on ones debt is to rat on ones debt As we know, England is a relatively rich nation when compared with Wales. Phrases like Welsh comb and Welsh carpet are used by the English people to mock at Welsh poverty. 3.1.6 The Greek idioms The word Greek is associated with trick, cattiness, and danger. Greek gift can not be interpreted literally. If a person receives a Greek gift, he should be cautious because the gift is given with the intention of tricking the recipient and causing harm to him. A proverb derives from this expression, I fear the Greeks, even when they come with the gifts. Greek trust indicates unreliability. When Greek meets Greek, and then comes the tug of war. It means that when enemies face each other, their eyes blaze with hate. Fires are rekindled between the two sides and old wounds opened up again. When people encounter something incomprehensible, they would say it is all Greek to me to show that they dont understand at all. 3.2 Reflection of racial discrimination 3.2.1 Discrimination against Native American Before starting this part, I want to make it clear that all the idioms below come from On English Language against Non-English Nationalities by Mao Fasheng except those with special notes. An Indian giver refers to a person who gives a gift but require something in return later. This expression originates from around 1765 and the American colonial days. (Li, 2009:57) To the early American Indians, gifts were simply form of trade goods. A person gave a gift in hope of something of equivalent in return. However, to the European settlers, such kind of custom appeared to be insulting. In their minds, gifts were freely given rather than for trade practices. The original meaning of the expression was only the expectation of a gift in return. By the late 1800s, its sense shifted to describe someone who demands return while giving. Indian giving is a similar terms used to satirize the giver. We should handle an Indian gift with caution as well as Greek gift. The present is given by someone with expectation of receiving another from us. An Indian sign is a magic spell cast on a person to control him or bring him bad luck. If a girl is able to put or have an Indian sign on a boy, then she fascinates him perhaps with her dazzling loveliness. Americans regarded the Indians as dumb, irritable and evil-minded. Terms like cigar-store Indian, dumb Indian, wooden Indian portray a negative image for the Indians as boring and foolish. To get ones Indian up is to get mad or be inflamed with rage. It shares the same meaning as two other figures of speech get ones Dutch up and get ones Irish up. The proverb The only good Indian is a dead Indian (Liu, 2003:131) characterizes the American relationship with Indians. 3.2.2 Discrimination against African-American In American history ¼Ã…’African-Americans were subject to discrimination and their life were sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation. They were faced with poor living conditions and harsh working environments. Being despised, hated, disgraced and oppressed by racists, they lived in misery and suffering. Even today, in the society of more advanced civilization, the phenomenon of racial discrimination still exists. Racism is still a sensitive and serious issue that the world seeks to solve. From the view of language, racial slurs are to be found everywhere. Nigger, niggra, niggruh and Negro (Jiao, 2009:57) are common slavery-imposed epithets with evident insult to the black. They remind people the bitter period of slavery when African-Americans struggled for freedom. To work like a negro/nigger refers to somebody who works or is forced to work very hard just like a slave. Even in literature, we can see racial slurs in world-famous works. For example, some African-Americans complained about the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. They claimed that the writer should not have used the word nigger in the book. The following dialogue, in particular, stirs up strong discontent amongst African-Americans. Good gracious. Anybody hurt? Nom killed a nigger. Well, its lucky because sometimes people do get hurt.  [1]   We should try not to get involved in the issue of racial discrimination; otherwise we may place ourselves in criticism and trouble. In 1999, David Howard, the aide of Washington, DC mayor Anthony Williams resigned after being accused of using a racial slur.  [2]  Mr. Howard, head of the Office of Public Advocate, used the word niggardly when delivering the budget report in one of the regular meetings by municipal government. As a matter of fact, niggardly is defined as stingy or ungenerous and does not have any racial connotations. Yet, staff members present which was made up of two blacks and another white were offended by the word. Soon after the meeting, the rumor began to spread that Howard had used the racial slur nigger. Howard said such rumor has severely compromised my effectiveness as the Districts Public Advocate and in the best interest of my office, I resigned.  [3]  Howard was innocent in this issue. The real problem is that niggardly has a similar pronunciation with nigger. An important lesson we can learn out of this is that people especially government officials should avoid using not only racial slurs but also words sounding similar to them. 4. Negative effects of linguistic discrimination 4.1 Verbal counterback in other languages against English slurs Linguistic discrimination in English would surely result in verbal attack from those countries that have been insulted by English-speaking countries. It is normal to find ethnic slurs in other languages than English. For instance, in the French language, les sombikes (Liu, 1999:81), which has the same meaning as son of a bitch in the English language, is used as a disparaging term for an American. The phrase dates from the First World War when American soldiers liked to shout the expletive son of a bitch. As a matter of fact, almost any language contains ethnic slurs. It may be just to say that any ethnic in the world is apt to glorify its own group and meanwhile look down upon others. This sense of national superiority, more or less, is reflected in the language. 4.2 Negative impact on international relations Based on numerous historical events, linguistic discrimination against other nations and races mirrors barriers, conflicts, and hatred between different ethnic groups. It is a social problem that cannot be neglected. The usage of slurs can be detrimental to international relations. It exerts negative impact on social equity, stability and harmony. History teaches us that it has clearly influenced national unity and integrity in such a country of great ethnic complexity as America. As long as inter-ethnic inequality and contractions exist in human society, they would find expression in the language. Conversely ¼Ã…’linguistic discrimination would trigger hostility and conflicts between ethnics. They together initiate a vicious cycle and people get trapped in it. 5. State of English linguistic discrimination in modern society 5.1 Common existence of English linguistic discrimination It is undeniable that the phenomenon of English linguistic discrimination is still very common in modern society. People use those idioms in daily life, consciously or not. They may say a slur without recognizing that it is offensive and may cause them trouble. Why are discriminatory language still used today even if hostilities ended hundreds of years ago? As is discussed in chapter 1.1, language develops and evolves with society. Once words are given derogatory meanings, it would be difficult to change or eliminate them. It often happens that language is more conservative than civilization, material as well as moral. Objects, institutions, ideas, scientific concepts change in the course of time; yet in many cases the name is retained and thus helps to ensure a sense of tradition and continuity. (Ullmann 1977:198) 5.2 Sign of improvements on the phenomenon Fortunately, we have seen evidence of improvements on the phenomenon of national and racial discrimination in the English language. For example, In the September of 2001, the mountain Chinks Peak in the Pocatello Range in Idaho State got its new official name Chinese Peak from the United States Board of Geographic Names. The original name Chinks Peak was deemed offensive and racist. Some people especially Chinese Americans strongly requested th