Introduction

Linguistics is the science that studies acquisition, development and evolution of human language. We, as translators, need to know language derivations in a personal, regional, national and international level to open our vision and have good management of this subject but most important is being aware about job’s challenges that we will be able to fix in future and we are going to develop the ability to offer to our customers a quality service.

In this project, we have done a diachronic research about one of the most relevant linguistics resource: pick-up lines; we studied their use and reaction in the receptor though years in men and women. Our main tool to get information was survey applied to people (between 15-35 and 55-85 years old) both genders. Besides that, we looked for books of important authors with valid arguments to support our hypothesis and give a logical explanation to our research.

The main purpose was discovering though a scientific process how language changes based on the time, culture, geographical space and socioeconomic factors; how emerges these linguistics phenomes that are against to all language norms in spite of society efforts to impose ‘the right’. There we expose our results and we hope readers enjoy and find this project useful.

1.    Language

Language is when we talk to different people and they have told us back, it no matters the time or the situation, we always use the language [...] this attribute, is what characterizes us as human beings and it also separates us from the definition of other animals, so to understand that which makes us human, we have to understand the nature of language. There are different types of myths that have existed since we met, these myths tell us about how language originates. In Africa you have that when a child is born it is a thing but when he knows the language he becomes a person. (Fromkin, Rodman y Hyams, 2003, p. 3)

So, when is the origin of language? There are so many theories about the origin of language, one of the many explanations is from Diamond and according to him “the language starts with rhythmic songs as called support or cooperation accompanied by respective gestures. On the other hand Jespersen says that the language starts with games, loud and some different emotional expression that theories are two of ten explanations that describe how the language starts, and how we stared to become humans.  “Besides that, language is also a system of symbols with a different level organizational, as is the phonetic, grammar, syntax and morphemes” (Das, p 56)

       1.1 Prescriptive and Descriptive

Grammar together with it is combinations and rules are what make our linguistic knowledge correctly used, if this (grammar) is understood, we can understand the language. This, having an extensive knowledge of grammar, it can be reflected in the language. This is the descriptive language, it does not tell you how to speak, it only tells you the correct way to use the different sounds, words of the language and make good use of linguistics. (Fromkin, Rodman y Hyams, 2003, p. 14). 

On the other hand, the prescriptive grammar tells us that it does not follow an order of grammar not to follow rules but to say what rules to follow, to put it another way, to use the more complex dialect for everyday use. This is because the grammar and the use that groups of society make can become very dominant in the use of language that is why they are less important to scientific groups or more prestigious, that just they have a ´correct use of language´ (Fromkin, Rodman y Hyams, 2003, p. 15-17).

1.2 Langue and parole

Langue and parole Langue represents the combination of all the system about language, like when the person combined images while he speaks that is represents langue, a collaborative work between all the aspects of language. On the other hand, parole, is the action of used langue through the speaking, in other words the parole is the enabler of langue (Phillips. p.1-3).

2. Language and society (Sociolinguistics) 

According to Hudson (1980, p.11) sociolinguistics is the study of the language based on its relation with the society, and it let us understand language and society nature. On the other hand, Spolsky (1998, p.14) establishes that sociolinguistics must go beyond language and focus on the social context where people use it.

2.1 Varieties (dialect)

Fishman (1972, p.21) considers that the term ‘variety’ in linguistics refers to a kind of language that depends on the geographical area and its function is according to the norms that the speech community stablishes. The clearest example is a dialect, that is similar to langue, but the main difference between these concepts is that langue is recognized by society as official language because its use is standard.

2.1.1 Speech Community

Spolsky (1998, p. 24-25) defines the concept ‘speech community’ as all the people who speak a single language and its relevance is that it works as a network of communication though they share knowledge. It functions according to the norms that the community establishes.

2.1.2 Style and Social Class

According to Spolsky (1998, p.31-37) the use of language depends on the situation people are. The more formal is it, the more attention we pay to our language because this is what we have learned in society. On the other hand, he says that we might consciously choose an informal style when speaking to strangers to seem friendly; we automatically adjust our speech to look like more our interlocutor. This explains why our accent changes after we have lived in a new place for a long time. Author highlights that language reflects, records and transmits social differences, and children soon learn the social stereotypes; how women’s talk should be (home) and how men’s talk is associated (work, outside).

2.1.3 Accommodation and audience design

Spolsky (1998, p.41) affirms that people tend to talk like people they talk to most of the time; unconsciously we imitate style, vocabulary and grammar to our closest people. Author also says that in an audience designed the speaker chooses a stylistic level appropriate for the audience he or she wishes to address. This process is called accommodation and it reflects individual’s demographic, geographic, sociological, educational and religious background that helps constitute identity.

2.2 Social Rules: The Appropriate

Fishman (1972, p. 47) indicates that there are norms to use language, beginning with the place, time and relation of how the language is going to be spoken. There are many types of scenery (school, work, street, home, shopping center) and different kind of roles like teacher-student, boss-employee, dad-son, and people have to act according to the society indicates. The author focuses on language usage norms that are likely to be most clearly and uniformly realized avowedly congruent situations.

2.2.1 Language norms: standard language

Hudson (1980, p.127) establishes that speaking ability depend on a variety of factors, especially the relevant norms that control the language usage. The author mentions a few norms like places where people have to speak just a little, or where people can speak at the same time than others, and there are other places where the main purpose of communication is not the style of speaking or amount of words but the content of message.

One clear example is what Hudson (1980 p. 47) states as standard language which is a group of norms accepted by the society of how language must be spoken and he describes the process of this agreement; first people select a dialect, then they created dictionaries and grammar books using this linguistic resource ,after that they apply this dialect in formal areas like politics, government and technicians words; finally the language is approved by the whole community and it becomes the national language. On the other hand, the author also mentions there is a disagreement of the standard language usage because some people do not agree with the requirements and they use language as they want. So, Hudson (1980 p. 47) concludes language can be manipulated by society in all time.

            2.3 Linguistics prejudices

Hudson (1980, p.207-213) says that people focus on speaking to evaluate the credibility of the person. He describes language as a channel to get social characteristics information and specify that is completely necessary for the interaction because it let people know better each other. The author asks why could be positive or negative the perception based on language and he concludes that people associate speaking with values ; if the person speak as society consider valorous he or she is going to be approved, otherwise the person is going to be refused, it has a direct relation with socioeconomic status. It is known as manifested prestige. Hudson also clarifies that language is so important for people because it is an identity symbol that indicates you are part of a group and depending on this factor is going to be your behavior.

3.   Definition of ‘pick-up lines’ 

A pick-up line is a phrase made, either by a man or a woman, to start out a conversation with the opposite gender that the person is attracted to (merriam-webster). Pick-up lines are, generally, a game of words. This game of words depends of the meaning of the word in the country you are at, It is something that you must  keep in mind, otherwise if you want to flatter some girl, or a guy, from another country, you can end up insulting him, or her, instead. (Ramírez, 2008, pág. 57)

3.1. The origin of the pick-up lines

Pick-up lines surge as a necessity for the members of the real court of Europe. The members of this court had to control their passion; because the passion was considered as something made, just for peasants, these by having the necessity of declare their love, they opted to ‘seduce with words’, using charming lines, making this the beginning of the pick-up lines(Ramírez, 2008, pág. 52). Nowadays pick-up lines became cheesier, with humor or even more vulgar.

Some examples of pick-up lines from nowadays are:

•    ‘If God made anything more beautiful than you, I’m sure he would keep it for himself.’

•    ‘Is your daddy a Baker? Because you have got some nice buns!’

•    ‘I do not have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?’

4.    Freedom Opinion

In Mexico, the right of the Freedom opinion is established on the Mexican Constitution. According to juridical Encyclopedia online, does not distinguish between men and women, and unlike freedom of expression, which is focused to the right of journalists, reporters, etc., the freedom opinion is characterized by express the ideas in typical conversation, conferences and speeches, even is artistic representations and manifestations. This is an individual right, that is delimited by the respect of rights from other ones, and no authority has the power to avoid exercising this right.

4.1 Freedom Opinion in 1950

As Cecila Mondragón (2013 p.193 - 195) explain in her work El avance de los derechos de las mujeres en México, this last century the equality was very different than nowadays; initially women were destined to stay home to care the children and to be in the shadow of a man; but it wasn’t until some historic process (like revolutions and independences) produced that some feminist groups begin to seek to be noticed. These were the bases for women's rights, including freedom of opinion, but many of stereotypes of the gender ideology still were there, making women think that they couldn’t express their own ideas.

4.2 Freedom opinion nowadays

Nowadays men and women are free to express their ideas equally, the constitution protects them, but the society is who decide how they are acted and their impact. The psychology is the best tool to explain this event; as in the book Fundamentos sociales Del comportamiento humano explain, we are a community and our interaction represent the emergence of social conflicts. Then, the act of express opinions is delimitated by the society and nowadays can see many social groups manifestoing and other groups that are disagreed whit each other.

Even nowadays exists many families who think as families from 50’s, Manuel Perez Rúa carry out a study which shows the way to think of the nowadays families and the result was: ´´42% said that they live in a family where only man work and women take on domestic work. This traditional family model of slow decay is the ideal of a third of men over 45´´ (Rúa, 2013, p. 236). Clearly the people who born in 1950 still act as they were raised, this is an example of ´the delimited´ mentioned before, and the way to act in a society is according to established by the community. Summarizing, at present the way of speaking is conditioned by the customs of each country, it could be liberal or conservative.

5.    The use of Pick-Up Lines. 

Even though the pick-up lines originally were used only by men, nowadays is usual to hear a woman using pick-up lines too, actually, you can found lots of pages in Google with pick-up lines for girls and other pages with pick-up lines for guys. People use the pick-up lines to flatter, with or without intentions of flirting, to start a conversation, or just to joke with friends, family and even with colleagues from work. Most of the pick-up lines nowadays are looking to be funny and cheesy, instead of vulgar, but sometimes it also depends of how the other person takes it.

6.    Conclusion

Summarizing, the investigation already mentioned gives us a clear definition of the language and the different factors that defined it like descriptive or prescriptive language (level of language, the correct employment of words, speech rules). As our work shows the different between the way to express from people of past decades and nowadays, the results of the surveys give us a review of the difference of language at 50's, and the influence of some factors like: gender ideology (that still at present) and beliefs. Thanks to surveys, we realized that just as sociolinguistics research explains, the employment of language defines the social position by someone, and the way that people see each other, since at least more than half of the women answered that it is not the same to receive a compliment from someone without studies to someone who does not, and almost all answered to feel more threatened by someone whose clothing is sloppy.

In the surveys of people over 50 years old, the results reaffirm our hypothesis about the flattering without offending regarding the purpose and level of language employment in the compliments. The women of this rank consider that when receiving the compliments, they were mostly flattered and agreed with the men at the language level; however, they employed it more to flatter their friends and relatives. On the other hand, in men´s surveys, is in balance considering that the language of the compliments is both vulgar and adequate, but with the purpose of flattering with: 32% or conquering with: 44% (the rest does not apply to this question)

Related with the employment of language and their impact, the surveys applied to the youths of 15 - 49 we find a slightly different with similar opinions, since the majorities were in a range of 18 - 20 years of age and mostly students and professionals. On this occasion, more than half of the young people of both genders consider the pick-up lines more as a joke among friends, agreeing that the predominant language is vulgar and young girls often feel harassed or disgusted when they receive a compliment.

Finally, people who lived in 1950 have a more conservative idea, with a different level of language, since most of the men who participated in the survey, 72% consider that it is wrong for a woman to say compliments but at the same time believe that in a man is fine (80%); while women do not consider the opinion of a gender is acceptable to say pick-up lines and other is not, and they believe that both men and women are not frowned upon by saying compliments.

Related with the approbation of genders the expression, in the case of young people, men show a position of gender equality in which both men and women can freely express themselves. Women, however, differ in the latter view: 68.2% believe that it is not immoral that woman say compliments, while 31.8% think so; in men this is divided into a 50 -50; but it should be mentioned that this distinction is due to the fact that women consider themselves harassed and embarrassed by this type of language. This distinction of times can be due to the fact that society has changed in aspects of access to education and the possibilities that the present proposes, in the 50's it was customary to leave the woman in charge of the house chores while now they become professionals.