1. The Three Components of Language
Rule-governed {grammar, vocabulary(both are arbitrary)}
Intended (All language is communication, but not all communication is language)
Creative and Open-ended (can be added to and changed) (words can be added; like Algebra [from Arabic] , quiz [made up by teacher] , kindergarten [from Germany] and obscene [from Shakespeare]
Theories of Meaning
2. Definition Theory
The broad understanding of a word (the word's definition from a dictionary)
3. Denotation Theory
What the word literally means (Germany- country in central Europe)
4. Image Theory
What comes to mind when you hear a word (France- Eiffel Tower)
Problems with Language
5. Vagueness
Word isn't specific (slow, fast, near)
6. Ambiguity
One word can have two or more meanings (fantastic, Hitler)
7. Secondary Meaning
Denotation-
Primacy (actual definition)
Connotation-
Web of associations that are triggered by word (what you think of)
Euphemisms-
Other words used to soften the blow (he lost his lunch)
8. Metaphor
A comparison that doesn't use like or as (his head's in the cloud's)
9. Irony (we call it sarcasm)
Saying one thing while meaning another (yeah, your really working hard)
Problems with Translation
10. Untranslatable Words
Some languages have words that have no equivalent in other languages (cool, awesome)
11. Idioms
All languages have sayings (don't beat around the bush; early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise) that cannot be translated literally into another language due to mistranslations and confusion because they won't mean the same thing in both languages.
12. Labels
Groups we place people in- where they "fit"
13. Stereotypes
Things that people say about groups- a certain group is seen as all being the same, a characteristic they all have.
14. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (have not covered)
Emotionally Laden Language
15. Emotive Meaning
words that have underlying meaning- has emotional meaning
16. Weasel Words
words that leave you room to "get out"; wiggle room; room to escape
17. Grammar
the rules that govern written language have no effect on spoken language
18. Revealing and Concealing
words that reveal something
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Language Notes
LANGUAGE
Components:
Rule governed:
Grammar: syntax, word order (English: Subject, Verb, Object)
Vocabulary: terms people use to convey meaning
words like quiz and other new words are just words that gain traction in society
Intended:
All language is communication but not all communication is language
unconscious movements can communicate things, and can't be qualified as language
Creative and Open-Ended:
Language is continually being updated and new words are being added continuously.
MEANING
Definition Theory:
-That the society speaking the language agrees on a said meaning of the word
-A defining label from the dictionary for the said word
Denotation Theory:
-Distinguish between meaningful words and non-meaningful words.
-Some words like Sophocles and Hitler gain additional meanings in addition to their original meaning.
Components:
Rule governed:
Grammar: syntax, word order (English: Subject, Verb, Object)
Vocabulary: terms people use to convey meaning
words like quiz and other new words are just words that gain traction in society
Intended:
All language is communication but not all communication is language
unconscious movements can communicate things, and can't be qualified as language
Creative and Open-Ended:
Language is continually being updated and new words are being added continuously.
MEANING
Definition Theory:
-That the society speaking the language agrees on a said meaning of the word
-A defining label from the dictionary for the said word
Denotation Theory:
-Distinguish between meaningful words and non-meaningful words.
-Some words like Sophocles and Hitler gain additional meanings in addition to their original meaning.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly the end
1. Read The Ladies of Hong Kong. Think of a place you know by smell. Can you adequately describe it? Which situation is more horrific? Bauby's or Jean-Paul K. Please explain your answer.
There is no way to adquately describe a place by its smell, because langauge is to restricting. I believe that Jean- Paul K.'s situation was more terrifying simply because of the fact that Bauby has people to turn to and to talk with- Jean- Paul was totally alone.
2. After reading Wax Museum, why do you think Bauby is "fond of all these torturers"?
Because they devote thier lives to caring for him and people like him.
3. Read The Mythmaker and explain why you think Bauby has admiration for Olivier. What is the connection between memory and emotion?
I think he admires him because he has been a life long friend and one of his best. Memory shapes the way we emotionally react to anything that happens to us during our lives.
4. Why do you think Bauby likes the song A Day in the Life? Why do humans always wait for life's crescendo? Why do you think he places this chapter towards the end of the book?
I think he likes the song A Day in The Life because it reflects what he himself thinks of life on a daily basis. Human's wait for lifes crescendo because that is the high point, the point where we reach our pinnacle and our limit. I think this chapter is toward the end because it was so hard to deal with. It was the day he lost everything.
5. Read Season of Renewal. Why is he savoring the last week of August? Is there something we can learn from him beause of his reaction to the end of vacation?
Because it is the last week where his kids can visit and the summer lingers in the air. We could all learn to be more positive from his attitude confronting the end.
There is no way to adquately describe a place by its smell, because langauge is to restricting. I believe that Jean- Paul K.'s situation was more terrifying simply because of the fact that Bauby has people to turn to and to talk with- Jean- Paul was totally alone.
2. After reading Wax Museum, why do you think Bauby is "fond of all these torturers"?
Because they devote thier lives to caring for him and people like him.
3. Read The Mythmaker and explain why you think Bauby has admiration for Olivier. What is the connection between memory and emotion?
I think he admires him because he has been a life long friend and one of his best. Memory shapes the way we emotionally react to anything that happens to us during our lives.
4. Why do you think Bauby likes the song A Day in the Life? Why do humans always wait for life's crescendo? Why do you think he places this chapter towards the end of the book?
I think he likes the song A Day in The Life because it reflects what he himself thinks of life on a daily basis. Human's wait for lifes crescendo because that is the high point, the point where we reach our pinnacle and our limit. I think this chapter is toward the end because it was so hard to deal with. It was the day he lost everything.
5. Read Season of Renewal. Why is he savoring the last week of August? Is there something we can learn from him beause of his reaction to the end of vacation?
Because it is the last week where his kids can visit and the summer lingers in the air. We could all learn to be more positive from his attitude confronting the end.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A Diving Bell 2 (3rd blog on DBAB)
1. After reading Vegetable, respond to Bauby's statement: "I belonged on a vegetable stall and not the human race." Why do you think it is necessary for humans to put people into categories? Is our language so limiting in describing the world that we need a way to organize our thoughts?
I think we need to organize ourselves in different groups to make ourselves feel a part of something larger than ourselves yet at the same time being apart from others. We want to be both part of a group and totally alone, so we divide ourselves into groups that are both unique and common. And I think that our language is limiting in the way we describe the world.
2. Bauby claims that, "Capturing the moment, these small slices of life...I hoard all these letters like treasure." What do you hoard and why?
We hoard because there are things that we deem valuable personally; therefore we keep it and restrict access to it.
3. Read Outing and respond to Bauby's statement: "I know who he is, but who is he really?" Is he getting any closer to understanding what makes people tick? Also, why will Bauby never tire of the smell of French Fries?
No, I don't think that you can ever truely understand what makes people tick, and he'll never tire of the smell of french fries because he can never eat them.
4. Read Twenty to One. Bauby claims that, "the memory of that event has only come back to me now, now doubly painful: regret for a vanished past and, above all, remorse for lost opportunities." Do you ever look back on something in your life as a "small near miss"? Is it ever beneficial to have regrets?
Not yet, but as we get older, there will always be times when we second guess our selves- it's only human nature. I don't think it's beneficial to have regrets, but everyone has them, even if they don't admitt it.
5. Read Duck Hunt and explain what Bauby means by the statement: "I must have butterfly hearing."
He can hear everything and it all seems positive- ie. his butterfly is what he hears and he is determined to be positive about it.
6. Read Sunday. Why do you think Bauby dreads this day?
Because he is completely alone and he has absolutely nothing to do except stare at the wall and think about things, which can become overly oppressive.
I think we need to organize ourselves in different groups to make ourselves feel a part of something larger than ourselves yet at the same time being apart from others. We want to be both part of a group and totally alone, so we divide ourselves into groups that are both unique and common. And I think that our language is limiting in the way we describe the world.
2. Bauby claims that, "Capturing the moment, these small slices of life...I hoard all these letters like treasure." What do you hoard and why?
We hoard because there are things that we deem valuable personally; therefore we keep it and restrict access to it.
3. Read Outing and respond to Bauby's statement: "I know who he is, but who is he really?" Is he getting any closer to understanding what makes people tick? Also, why will Bauby never tire of the smell of French Fries?
No, I don't think that you can ever truely understand what makes people tick, and he'll never tire of the smell of french fries because he can never eat them.
4. Read Twenty to One. Bauby claims that, "the memory of that event has only come back to me now, now doubly painful: regret for a vanished past and, above all, remorse for lost opportunities." Do you ever look back on something in your life as a "small near miss"? Is it ever beneficial to have regrets?
Not yet, but as we get older, there will always be times when we second guess our selves- it's only human nature. I don't think it's beneficial to have regrets, but everyone has them, even if they don't admitt it.
5. Read Duck Hunt and explain what Bauby means by the statement: "I must have butterfly hearing."
He can hear everything and it all seems positive- ie. his butterfly is what he hears and he is determined to be positive about it.
6. Read Sunday. Why do you think Bauby dreads this day?
Because he is completely alone and he has absolutely nothing to do except stare at the wall and think about things, which can become overly oppressive.
Monday, December 1, 2008
A Burden
I don't think any of it made me think twice, or else I wasn't aware of it, but the whole point of a movie is to depart from the norm, so when you watch any movie, there are always parts that should seem unrealistic. Movies are supposed to make you think, and this one is the same thing: to make you think, and think hard.
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