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@palmerlanguage-blog
It’s true (first-hand experience) that once you encounter (generic) a language with evidentials or an inclusive/exclusive “we", you think (generic) that we (inclusive) should be using (irrealis) them all the time.
Another video by Tom Scott, who I’m (first-hand experience) newly a fan of. He also has (second-hand evidence) a degree in linguistics, which makes (hearsay) for a nice change from a lot of language-related media!
From a language / communication standpoint, is this really true? Or do we share some responsibility for how our words are interpreted?
#semantics #pragmatics #language
me writing essays
^accurate
Teaching Grice's Maxims, and this is a nice example of the Maxim of Manner being violated :)
Don’t fool yourself. English isn’t inherently superior, or easier to learn, or more sonically pleasing. Its international usage comes from forceful assimilation and legacy of colonialistic injection. It isn’t a deed that one should take pride in.
my uncle left this comment on his friend’s Facebook status, a white British man who was bragging about how easy it is to be a native English speaker when trekking to different nations. (via maarnayeri)
A humbling reminder. Students and teachers express that they envy my “power" in speaking English so that I can go anywhere and teach it as a job.
(via samesamssaem)
Have we gotten a tad too lax about swearing these days? Do we swear more than we should? Or, is there something else bigger going on? As John McWhorter sees things, our idea of profanity is changing, and believes that’s a good thing. McWhorter is a linguistics professor at Columbia University and author of “What Language Is.” He joins The Takeaway to discuss the evolution of swearing and it’s integration in present day.
This was a super neat little thing on The Takeaway this morning that I loved. I love swearing and I’ve always been interested in the linguistic side of swear words. If you like linguistics or just the word “fuck" then this is a fun way to spend 5 minutes.
Summary for people who aren’t keen on podcasts (although feel free to also listen to the whole thing, it’s very short and John McWhorter is great): “fuck", “hell" and so on aren’t really taboo words anymore, mostly a nod to tradition, while the new taboo words that we’re actually uncomfortable to hear in any context are slurs against various groups.
Excellent article about the cultural influence on language use. Just teaching grammar and vocabulary won't help students understand the pragmatic differences between the target language and their native language.
“If we understand these differences better, we can understand where other people are coming from, while also reflecting on what our own language says about us and how we relate to others.”
The caught-cot merger. I’m fully merged, are you?
A very good lecture to review and rethink our practice and also language itself.
Authentic audiences
When I was a student, I always valued schoolwork and projects that felt like they had some sort of “authentic audience.” Why was I writing a paper that only my teacher would read? I would consistently put more effort into assignments that would be peer reviewed and shared with the class, and even more into ones that I knew would be viewed by the larger community.
Now that I’m a teacher, I try to give my students as many opportunities as possible to feel like they are doing meaningful work, work with a purpose. Almost every extended project culminates in an elaborate “gallery walk” or “gala” or “exhibition,” where the students set up their work and then take a tour of everybody else’s, filling out feedback slips as they go (I also like giving them lots of opportunities for feedback and constructive criticism…which is usually good, except for the time that Kyle and Trevor gallivanted around the class with the aliases of “Pigster” and “Squag,” writing snarky, negative comments on everything. Luckily, I have uncanny handwriting analysis and I immediately knew it was them, confronted them, and had them rewrite constructive comments.)
I’m realizing the power of authentic audiences even more now, as I have my 6th graders work on wetland brochures. We went on a field trip to a local wetland last week, and we’ve been learning about plant/animal adaptations, as well as the important functions that the wetland ecosystem serves. Back in class, we began to brainstorm reasons why someone might create a brochure: to inform, to educate, to persuade, to raise awareness, etc. Then I mentioned that some of the high quality brochures would get to be linked onto the town’s wetland website, or hang in their downtown office where hundreds of people pass through each month. As soon as I said this, they all started producing really high quality work! There’s something about knowing there’s a purpose to what you’re doing, some greater reason to do it, that sparks people to stepping it up a notch.
Also, I was excited about showing them brochure templates on Microsoft Word so that they could experiment and produce some really cool, professional looking creations!
Great idea!
Great article. Not new, but new to me. One of the most interesting ideas (to me) was #3 - No Language Specific Classes. While I don't know if I agree that there should NEVER be language specific classes, I do think at the introductory level, students should be required to take linguistics courses before specific language study.
If you like the things posted here, you're welcome to check out our other blog, where we post original articles and blog posts about teaching, language, and occasionally, applied linguistics.
Using Semantic Mapping to Help With Learning Vocabulary!
From Palmer Language Blog:
This is a good strategy to use with visual learners, because it illustrates connections between ideas and words.
Phonemananagram!
For my pronunciation course we had to come up with a study game. I made Bananagram tiles with phonemes on them (six for each sound and a whole bunch of extra schwas) and had my classmates grab a few handfuls and try to make as many words as they could in five minutes. When my timer beeped, they had to read their words out loud. If any were wrong, a classmate could correct the word and steal it to count as one of their own words. It was really fun and my professor loved it! We tried playing it correctly with the Bananagram directions as well, which was fun but more nerve-wracking for some of the students. I wonder if I can convince my friends to play it with me again this weekend… I am terrible at pronunciation and IPA and I need the practice!
hahahahah bwahahah
Homework...WTF
Why don’t teachers understand that we don’t want homework??? Like do they not get that their not the only class we go to through out the day or that we have other things outside of school that we have to do and we might not have time!! Like the eight hours we spent at school Is not enough?? WTF I hate homework with a passion :(
Why don't students understand that there is no possible way that they are going to learn, practice, and produce even the key concepts of my subject, just sitting in my 45 minute class three to four times a week? Like do they not get that their educational future will most likely rest on their topical knowledge measured by a series of poorly interpreted tests designed to separate them from the other 99% of college-bound graduating students or that perhaps the assignments I give are purposefully created to reinforce the topics I taught today so that there is a higher chance they will remember them in 6 months??
Sorry, I can't help myself sometimes.
Those who were born completely deaf and only learned sign language will, not surprisingly, think in sign language. What is surprising is those who were born completely deaf but learn to speak through vocal training will occasionally think not only in the particular sign language that they know, but also will sometimes think in the vocal language they learned, with their brains coming up with how the vocal language sounds.
Today I Found Out...
From the Linguist List.
This article answers the following questions:
What is an accent?
Why do languages develop different accents?
Why are the accents a particular place like they are?
Is there a standard English accent?
Which English accent is closest to the spelling?
Can I change my accent?
Suggestions for further reading?
