Spoonerisms occur when you switch the first letter of a word, with a first letter of another word in the same sentence, often making you feel pretty dumb. This happens to me most often when I am speaking rather quickly so all the words start to jumble together causing me to speak in spoonerisms. There are some people however, who intentionally speak in spoonerisms for comedic purposes. There is man that visits the Arizona Renaissance Festival every year, and his act is performing well known stories in spoonerisms. I have been listening to these stories since before I could understand what the heck this guy was saying because my parents think he is one of the funniest people ever. So without further ado, I present to you Zilch the Torysteller.
Little Red Riding Hood
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Blog 8 - Dying Languages
I actually found a website this week that is completely dedicated to the preservation of endangered languages. It is set up so that speakers of that language can post audio clips, videos or even documents written in that language. According to the site, many of these languages are still at risk of being lost by the turn of the century. It makes me sad to think that with all the resources we have in the world at this point in time, we are still unable to share enough of these endangered languages to keep them alive.
This is a Video of Woman Speaking Taa that I found on that website. There are many more videos from different languages.
http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/
This is a Video of Woman Speaking Taa that I found on that website. There are many more videos from different languages.
http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Blog 7- Slang
This week I found a video on slang. That thing that interests me about slang is how much a word or phrase can change over time to have a different meaning. Or how slang can change just by traveling to different parts of the country or world. This video is specifically about slang used for sex. I know there are TONS of euphemisms out there even now that don't really make any sense, but some of these phrases were so off the wall that I couldn't help but wonder how the heck someone came up with them. A few of my favorites are night psychic, play at rumpscuttle and clapperdepouch, and hootchie-pap.
Old Timey Phrases for Sex
Old Timey Phrases for Sex
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Blog 6- Sounds of Language
We spoke briefly in class about when one gets hurt in English, you exclaim "OWW!", but what do other people say in other languages?
This is a cute cartoon drawing of the different sounds people make in other languages from kissing, eating and drinking to the sounds dogs, cats or pigeons make.
I thought it was pretty interesting because I did know that some of those words would be different, but what surprised me was the animal sounds. When we make animal sounds, we imitate what that animal sounds like to us, so I thought it was interesting to see how different language interpret those same sounds into different words.
Sounds in other Languages
This is a cute cartoon drawing of the different sounds people make in other languages from kissing, eating and drinking to the sounds dogs, cats or pigeons make.
I thought it was pretty interesting because I did know that some of those words would be different, but what surprised me was the animal sounds. When we make animal sounds, we imitate what that animal sounds like to us, so I thought it was interesting to see how different language interpret those same sounds into different words.
Sounds in other Languages
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Blog 5- Ambiguity
Ambiguity Board Game
I found this board game called "Ambiguity". It is played with regular 6-sided dice that have different letters on the different sides. When the dice are rolled, you are supposed to look at the dice from many different angles to see which different letters you can see and make as many words as you can from those letters. The player with the most words created wins the game.
I like the idea of this game because we talked about the ambiguity of sentence structure, but never really talked about the ambiguity of the letters in the English language. When looked at from different angles, many of the letters could be perceived as other letters.
I like the idea of this game because we talked about the ambiguity of sentence structure, but never really talked about the ambiguity of the letters in the English language. When looked at from different angles, many of the letters could be perceived as other letters.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Blog 4- Texts and the English Language
Is Texting Killing the English Language?
I should preface this whole review by saying it appears that 2 other people posted about this article last week and I clearly didn't notice. Sorry for the repeat!
The article above is about how texting does (or does not) affect written language. In the article, the author talks about how texting is much more of a spoken language that happens to be written down as apposed to a written language itself.
I found that point quite interesting because I have always thought about texting as another form of written language, because it is quite literally, written down. The author goes on to explain that language has been spoken for upwards of 80,000 years, whereas written language only dates back 5,500 years. And the way we write is very different than the way we speak. Which I had never considered, but I do write in a more formal manner than I speak.
The author does say that he does not believe that texting is having a negative affect on young student's writing but I tend to disagree with that. I think that many people will see texting the same way I do, as a written language. And that will translate directly to their school work. Their writing will be more casual with the potential for more shorthand that is seen in texts and on the internet. I do not believe that all students will be affected by text shorthand, but some definitely will.
I would like to see more studies done on the subject. I don't know if it would even be possible, but I would like to see a formal study done on how the written language has changed and if there could be a possible link drawn between text shorthand and the written language we see now.
I should preface this whole review by saying it appears that 2 other people posted about this article last week and I clearly didn't notice. Sorry for the repeat!
The article above is about how texting does (or does not) affect written language. In the article, the author talks about how texting is much more of a spoken language that happens to be written down as apposed to a written language itself.
I found that point quite interesting because I have always thought about texting as another form of written language, because it is quite literally, written down. The author goes on to explain that language has been spoken for upwards of 80,000 years, whereas written language only dates back 5,500 years. And the way we write is very different than the way we speak. Which I had never considered, but I do write in a more formal manner than I speak.
The author does say that he does not believe that texting is having a negative affect on young student's writing but I tend to disagree with that. I think that many people will see texting the same way I do, as a written language. And that will translate directly to their school work. Their writing will be more casual with the potential for more shorthand that is seen in texts and on the internet. I do not believe that all students will be affected by text shorthand, but some definitely will.
I would like to see more studies done on the subject. I don't know if it would even be possible, but I would like to see a formal study done on how the written language has changed and if there could be a possible link drawn between text shorthand and the written language we see now.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Blog 3- Language Learning and Disabilities
http://www.ldonline.org/article/6366/
This article hypothesizes that there is a direct relationship between the learning of languages and learning disabilities. It explains that children who are considered "late talkers" may have other learning disabilities that contribute to the inability to communicate effectively at a young age.
Previous studies conducted on this theory, have only followed children to a certain age, in which the children have outgrown their communication delay. The study discussed in this article followed children starting at the age of 2, when they were labeled as "late talkers" all the way through the second grade. At first appearance, it followed the same lines as the previous study; the children were able to communicate effectively to their parents and teachers. However, the older the children became, the researchers began to notice a variety of things among the children from a lack of academic readiness to social skill deficits. And although, by the age of 5, the language disorder decreased, by 6-7, they began to notice reading disabilities.
It is not surprising that if we were to have a hard time learning to communicate in a language that we would naturally, also have a hard time reading and understanding that same language at some point in the future. But just because a child may have a learning delay early in life, does not guarantee they will have future problems. It simply provides the first clue that we may need to help our child more with difficulties they could face later in life.
This article hypothesizes that there is a direct relationship between the learning of languages and learning disabilities. It explains that children who are considered "late talkers" may have other learning disabilities that contribute to the inability to communicate effectively at a young age.
Previous studies conducted on this theory, have only followed children to a certain age, in which the children have outgrown their communication delay. The study discussed in this article followed children starting at the age of 2, when they were labeled as "late talkers" all the way through the second grade. At first appearance, it followed the same lines as the previous study; the children were able to communicate effectively to their parents and teachers. However, the older the children became, the researchers began to notice a variety of things among the children from a lack of academic readiness to social skill deficits. And although, by the age of 5, the language disorder decreased, by 6-7, they began to notice reading disabilities.
It is not surprising that if we were to have a hard time learning to communicate in a language that we would naturally, also have a hard time reading and understanding that same language at some point in the future. But just because a child may have a learning delay early in life, does not guarantee they will have future problems. It simply provides the first clue that we may need to help our child more with difficulties they could face later in life.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Blog 2- English Spelling
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/02/how-the-english-language-is-holding-kids-back/385291/
The article that I have picked for this week is an in-depth article about the way that English spellings affect students; specifically young students who are learning how to read and write the English language.
We all know that the English language as we know it is complicated. The morpheme rules that we follow are more like guidelines. There are so many words that do not fit into the typical guidelines of language and, as such, makes it a very difficult language to learn; especially when it comes to reading and writing the language. One of the things I found most interesting about this article is when the author talks about the English language, and how we cannot assume many word meanings or origins because there are too many unexpected sounds or things that appear to be prefixes, but actually aren't. What she specifically mentions is that because English is so memorization based, that we don't actually develop the cognitive ability to fully learn how to read or write the English language until the age of 8-10. Why is it then, that we put so much pressure on children as young as 4 to be able to read and understand what it is that they are reading?
Another interesting thing the author touched on was how long it takes to become a "fluent" reader and writer of English as opposed to many other languages. In Finland, it is not uncommon for a child to become a fluent reader in as short as 3 months! Most other European countries are right around a year or less. The United States, you ask? Three YEARS to master the written form of the language they have been speaking their whole lives.
And did you know that most of the "odd spellings" are not due to people trying new things, or wanting to be different. There are there because when the printing press was first invented used to print in English, it wasn't operated by English speakers, but rather by Belgians. Not only do they not know the language, so they won't correct mistakes, like bisy changed to busy, but they were also paid by the line, so they would throw in frivolous letters to "cushion the lines," changing frend to friend.
I absolutely agree with the article and the difficulties that come with learning English. I never personally remember struggling with reading comprehension, but I do remember when I was in first grade, and I was spending half the day in a Spanish classroom, I was asked to read things regularly, as with any classroom environment. I remember my teacher asking me to stay after class because she wanted me to read something to my other teacher in Spanish. It was about a paragraph long and I read it "perfectly," she told me. I had no idea what I was reading, but the fact is that I was able to read a paper in a language that I had only been familiar with for maybe 2 months. That would be impossible to do in English.
The article that I have picked for this week is an in-depth article about the way that English spellings affect students; specifically young students who are learning how to read and write the English language.
We all know that the English language as we know it is complicated. The morpheme rules that we follow are more like guidelines. There are so many words that do not fit into the typical guidelines of language and, as such, makes it a very difficult language to learn; especially when it comes to reading and writing the language. One of the things I found most interesting about this article is when the author talks about the English language, and how we cannot assume many word meanings or origins because there are too many unexpected sounds or things that appear to be prefixes, but actually aren't. What she specifically mentions is that because English is so memorization based, that we don't actually develop the cognitive ability to fully learn how to read or write the English language until the age of 8-10. Why is it then, that we put so much pressure on children as young as 4 to be able to read and understand what it is that they are reading?
Another interesting thing the author touched on was how long it takes to become a "fluent" reader and writer of English as opposed to many other languages. In Finland, it is not uncommon for a child to become a fluent reader in as short as 3 months! Most other European countries are right around a year or less. The United States, you ask? Three YEARS to master the written form of the language they have been speaking their whole lives.
And did you know that most of the "odd spellings" are not due to people trying new things, or wanting to be different. There are there because when the printing press was first invented used to print in English, it wasn't operated by English speakers, but rather by Belgians. Not only do they not know the language, so they won't correct mistakes, like bisy changed to busy, but they were also paid by the line, so they would throw in frivolous letters to "cushion the lines," changing frend to friend.
I absolutely agree with the article and the difficulties that come with learning English. I never personally remember struggling with reading comprehension, but I do remember when I was in first grade, and I was spending half the day in a Spanish classroom, I was asked to read things regularly, as with any classroom environment. I remember my teacher asking me to stay after class because she wanted me to read something to my other teacher in Spanish. It was about a paragraph long and I read it "perfectly," she told me. I had no idea what I was reading, but the fact is that I was able to read a paper in a language that I had only been familiar with for maybe 2 months. That would be impossible to do in English.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Blog 1- Baby Sign Language
http://www.babysignlanguage.com/basics/research/
The article I linked is about a small amount of research that has been done on the benefits of teaching a baby sign language.
When I had my first son, I had just finished taking SLG102 (the second semester of American Sign Language) at GCC. I had heard, very briefly, about the benefits of teaching a baby sign language, but at the same time, I had also heard that teaching a baby to sign could potentially delay speech. I went back and forth a lot about whether or not I should try to teach him any and eventually ended up teaching him a very limited vocabulary of simple words such as please, thank you, more, hungry, and thirsty. I figured that by only giving him a limited vocabulary, I would be able to communicate basic needs, while at the same time avoiding the potential of speech delay.
In the article, it talks about how even as the babies grew older and used less sign language in their lives, they were better able to communicate than those babies that were only given "verbal training". I found that interesting because of the articles I had read previously about the negatives of signing; while at the same time, not so surprising. Giving babies the ability to communicate effectively at such a young age is a great advantage. In the article it specifically mentions the reduced stress on both parent and child when you are able to understand just what is upsetting your child. I would like to see more research done on the topic, especially since it explicitly states that the study it tracked used a very small number of children.
Language is what rules the world, without language, we wouldn't be able to relay ideas or thoughts to other people. By teaching babies sign language, we are giving them the opportunity to understand and communicate at a much younger age than with just verbal communication. I am excited to see the potential that could come of more extensive research on the topic and the affect it could potentially have on our children.
In the article, it talks about how even as the babies grew older and used less sign language in their lives, they were better able to communicate than those babies that were only given "verbal training". I found that interesting because of the articles I had read previously about the negatives of signing; while at the same time, not so surprising. Giving babies the ability to communicate effectively at such a young age is a great advantage. In the article it specifically mentions the reduced stress on both parent and child when you are able to understand just what is upsetting your child. I would like to see more research done on the topic, especially since it explicitly states that the study it tracked used a very small number of children.
Language is what rules the world, without language, we wouldn't be able to relay ideas or thoughts to other people. By teaching babies sign language, we are giving them the opportunity to understand and communicate at a much younger age than with just verbal communication. I am excited to see the potential that could come of more extensive research on the topic and the affect it could potentially have on our children.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Introductory Blog
My name is Jennifer Sabori. I have been married for four years and have two handsome boys. I have been a full time stay at home mom for the past two years since my youngest son was born and finally decided that it is time for me to go back to school to finish my degree.
It wasn't always easy though, being a blonde haired, blue eyed, Caucasian in a school of Hispanics. I saw first hand the way language is used against people; sometimes as a defense, not knowing everyone around you, it is used as a way to isolate the group that you could most identify with, but sometimes language is used as a tool of deceit, to hide ones true intentions by speaking a different language than those around you. I believe that language is a huge barrier between people and cultures and my hope is that by expanding my own knowledge of foreign languages, that I could help lower some of those barriers in my own life.
I have chosen to take ENG 213 not only because the use of language is so fascinating to me, but also because I feel it will lend itself well to my continued education goal and potential career in interpreting.
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