http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2014/11/bilingual-brains-better-equipped-to-process-information.html
This is a good read for all of you aspiring or accomplished bilinguals. I'm sure you already know of the many benefits of knowing multiple languages, but I think this article breaks it down well. It talks about a study that was done on bilinguals and monolinguals, which tested their brains' filtering abilities and the bilinguals scored remarkably higher. It also described a study which found that bilingual children were much more capable of filtering out noise in the classroom and effectively retaining more information. I think these tests prove that bilingual people simply do not get distracted nearly as easy as monolinguals and I think that is a great quality to have. It has added even more motivation for me to learn my target languages.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Blog 8- German dialect in Texas
Monday, April 6, 2015
Blog 7- English in China
This video brings to light some of the failed attempts at translating English and putting it on some of the public signs in China. It shows exactly why you can't always use a direct translator because the literal translation can mean something very different in another language. I won't give any spoilers, but some of the mistakes are hilarious.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Blog 6- Why do we have silent letters in English?
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/why-do-we-have-silent-letters-in-the-english-language-9952944.html
This is an interesting article explaining a few of the reasons behind some of the silent letters in the English language. I'm sure most of us are aware of the grammatical function of the silent "e" at the end of words, but what about the "k" in knight or the "t" in tsunami? This article explains that those are examples of loan words that didn't fit into the phonological rules of English, so instead of removing the letter from the spelling of the word, we just pretend it's not there when we pronounce it. There are a couple other explanations that are worth noting, so check it out if you'd like.
This is an interesting article explaining a few of the reasons behind some of the silent letters in the English language. I'm sure most of us are aware of the grammatical function of the silent "e" at the end of words, but what about the "k" in knight or the "t" in tsunami? This article explains that those are examples of loan words that didn't fit into the phonological rules of English, so instead of removing the letter from the spelling of the word, we just pretend it's not there when we pronounce it. There are a couple other explanations that are worth noting, so check it out if you'd like.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Blog 5- Idiom Origins
We all frequently use or hear idioms nearly every day and for the most part can interpret their meanings with ease based on the context it is used in or simply because we have heard them used before, but where do they come from? Certain idioms seem to have questionable interpretations, but when you learn about their origins, they make much more sense.
Whether the origins of all the idioms stated in this video are exactly correct is debatable, the ideas are interesting, though. I was surprised to find that so many of the common idioms we use have been around for a very long time. Considering how often our language evolves, it's nice to see some of that history preserved.
I thought one of the more interesting idioms mentioned in the video was "to bite the bullet." He said that it was likely referencing the early 1800's when patients in surgery would literally bite a bullet to help them withstand the pain of surgery without anesthesia. Now it refers to doing anything that is unpleasant.
There's many more in the video that may surprise you, so check it out! I hope you enjoy it as I did.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Blog 4- Ways your language affects how you think
http://www.cracked.com/article_20744_5-surprising-ways-your-language-affects-how-you-think.html
This article talks about a question that we discussed in the first few weeks of class. Does the language you speak affect the way you think and perceive the world? According to this article, the answer is yes.
The first point it makes is interesting and one that I have never given much thought. It claims that societies who speak languages that are gendered(having masculine or feminine definite articles) tend to be a bit more sexist. Through a study, they found in countries with a gendered language, female participation in the work force drops by about 12 percent.
Another interesting point they make is that thinking in a foreign language actually aids you in making better decisions. The reason being that when you translate your thoughts into another language, you are forcing your brain to make strict analytical decisions rather than letting emotions take over.
It also states that your views change with the language you choose to voice them in. It says you are able to put yourself in someone else's cultural shoes just by speaking their language. Maybe some of you fluent bilingual speakers will have some input on this that would help me to better understand this idea because I feel the study results they stated in the article weren't very conclusive although I do find the hypothesis intriguing.
Anyway, I think the article was well-written and it brought up some thought-provoking ideas that I would like to look into further.
This article talks about a question that we discussed in the first few weeks of class. Does the language you speak affect the way you think and perceive the world? According to this article, the answer is yes.
The first point it makes is interesting and one that I have never given much thought. It claims that societies who speak languages that are gendered(having masculine or feminine definite articles) tend to be a bit more sexist. Through a study, they found in countries with a gendered language, female participation in the work force drops by about 12 percent.
Another interesting point they make is that thinking in a foreign language actually aids you in making better decisions. The reason being that when you translate your thoughts into another language, you are forcing your brain to make strict analytical decisions rather than letting emotions take over.
It also states that your views change with the language you choose to voice them in. It says you are able to put yourself in someone else's cultural shoes just by speaking their language. Maybe some of you fluent bilingual speakers will have some input on this that would help me to better understand this idea because I feel the study results they stated in the article weren't very conclusive although I do find the hypothesis intriguing.
Anyway, I think the article was well-written and it brought up some thought-provoking ideas that I would like to look into further.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Blog 3- Is Texting Killing the English Language?
http://ideas.time.com/2013/04/25/is-texting-killing-the-english-language/
When I first came across this article, I assumed it would take the popular stance on this topic, which is that texting is killing the English language. I was surprised to find that the author instead chose to side with texting.
The author, John McWhorter, justifies his reasoning by saying that texting shouldn't be considered written language. It should instead be considered "speaking with your thumbs" because there is a rapid exchange similar to speaking.
McWhorter goes on to say that not only is texting not killing language, but it is expanding it. He refers to an example of the usage of LOL, saying that it is no longer used literally(laugh out loud) and instead is a new type of grammar. LOL is now used to "signal basic empathy between texters, ease tension, and create a sense of equality."
I agree with bits and pieces of what the author is saying, but I mostly disagree. I think he is right about texting expanding our language, but I think the changes are mostly negative. If texting was only adding to our language, I think there would be nothing wrong with that, but it seems to be adding things as replacements to our fundamentals. For example, because of texting, the word "gonna", which is a replacement for "going to", is basically an accepted word in our language that doesn't really conform to our rules of grammar. English is already a very difficult language for foreigners to learn because there are so many contradictions, but I think this kind of stuff makes it even harder.
McWhorter also says that there is no evidence that texting has any effect on composition skills. I would like to know what study he got that information from because I have seen numerous texting addicts with horrendous fundamental writing skills. Now I know this isn't always the case, but it is enough to not be only coincidental.
When I first came across this article, I assumed it would take the popular stance on this topic, which is that texting is killing the English language. I was surprised to find that the author instead chose to side with texting.
The author, John McWhorter, justifies his reasoning by saying that texting shouldn't be considered written language. It should instead be considered "speaking with your thumbs" because there is a rapid exchange similar to speaking.
McWhorter goes on to say that not only is texting not killing language, but it is expanding it. He refers to an example of the usage of LOL, saying that it is no longer used literally(laugh out loud) and instead is a new type of grammar. LOL is now used to "signal basic empathy between texters, ease tension, and create a sense of equality."
I agree with bits and pieces of what the author is saying, but I mostly disagree. I think he is right about texting expanding our language, but I think the changes are mostly negative. If texting was only adding to our language, I think there would be nothing wrong with that, but it seems to be adding things as replacements to our fundamentals. For example, because of texting, the word "gonna", which is a replacement for "going to", is basically an accepted word in our language that doesn't really conform to our rules of grammar. English is already a very difficult language for foreigners to learn because there are so many contradictions, but I think this kind of stuff makes it even harder.
McWhorter also says that there is no evidence that texting has any effect on composition skills. I would like to know what study he got that information from because I have seen numerous texting addicts with horrendous fundamental writing skills. Now I know this isn't always the case, but it is enough to not be only coincidental.
Monday, February 9, 2015
The Last Speakers of Sylbo(Blog 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0CIRCjoICA
Occasionally, I'm sure many of us wonder what life was like without cell phones, or even home phones for that matter; before long distance communication was fast and simple. That is something that the speakers of Sylbo never had to worry about. Sylbo is a language that is thousands of years old and native to an island off of the West coast of Africa called La Gomera.
Surprisingly, all the language really is is sounds made by whistling that copy the phonetic sounds of Spanish. The cavernous topography of the island allows speakers to communicate up to 7 kilometers away from each other.
Due to the advance in communicative technology, the language is not nearly as common around the island any more. There are still people who use it because they refuse to pay for cell phones, like the guy at the end of the video.
This makes me wonder how many(if any at all) other languages have this and how common it is. I don't think I would be compelled to learn how to speak it, but I would be interested to learn more about it.
Occasionally, I'm sure many of us wonder what life was like without cell phones, or even home phones for that matter; before long distance communication was fast and simple. That is something that the speakers of Sylbo never had to worry about. Sylbo is a language that is thousands of years old and native to an island off of the West coast of Africa called La Gomera.
Surprisingly, all the language really is is sounds made by whistling that copy the phonetic sounds of Spanish. The cavernous topography of the island allows speakers to communicate up to 7 kilometers away from each other.
Due to the advance in communicative technology, the language is not nearly as common around the island any more. There are still people who use it because they refuse to pay for cell phones, like the guy at the end of the video.
This makes me wonder how many(if any at all) other languages have this and how common it is. I don't think I would be compelled to learn how to speak it, but I would be interested to learn more about it.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Reading Words As Patterns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNNULmgIUAs
This is an aspect of language that has always fascinated me. Many people think when we are reading written language, we are going through and specifically decoding each word, which is how I think we did it when we were first learning to read, but after gaining years of experience, our brains have created a shortcut that allows us to read much faster.
This video shows us that we are able to read and comprehend words, even when horribly misspelled, as long as the first and last letters are in the correct place and all other letters are somewhere in the middle(though I'm sure there are exceptions). This proves that our brains don't necessarily go through and piece together each letter in a word before understanding it. I think we would read much slower if that were the case. Instead, we store images of thousands of words in our brains and recognize them by their patterns.
This is an aspect of language that has always fascinated me. Many people think when we are reading written language, we are going through and specifically decoding each word, which is how I think we did it when we were first learning to read, but after gaining years of experience, our brains have created a shortcut that allows us to read much faster.
This video shows us that we are able to read and comprehend words, even when horribly misspelled, as long as the first and last letters are in the correct place and all other letters are somewhere in the middle(though I'm sure there are exceptions). This proves that our brains don't necessarily go through and piece together each letter in a word before understanding it. I think we would read much slower if that were the case. Instead, we store images of thousands of words in our brains and recognize them by their patterns.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
About Me
Hello Everyone,
My name is Scott Welker. I am 22 years old and I am in this class because I am fascinated with the English language as well as languages in general. I plan on majoring in English and I am nearly finished with my second year of college. Writing has always been my favorite activity in school so I always look forward to these courses. I also enjoy trying to learn other languages and I even spend some of my free time practicing German or Spanish. I am not fluent in either but it is one of my goals to become fluent in one or both. My other hobbies include music, bass guitar being my instrument of choice, and I enjoy playing basketball. I look forward to getting to know all of you and I hope it's a great semester!
My name is Scott Welker. I am 22 years old and I am in this class because I am fascinated with the English language as well as languages in general. I plan on majoring in English and I am nearly finished with my second year of college. Writing has always been my favorite activity in school so I always look forward to these courses. I also enjoy trying to learn other languages and I even spend some of my free time practicing German or Spanish. I am not fluent in either but it is one of my goals to become fluent in one or both. My other hobbies include music, bass guitar being my instrument of choice, and I enjoy playing basketball. I look forward to getting to know all of you and I hope it's a great semester!
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