Language Workshop (Part 1) - Tuesday 20th November
This workshop was all about teaching us how to create meaning. I enjoyed this workshop so much as it really opened my eyes to the simpilisty of what language actually is and how many words in the english language don’t exist yet. It was particularly interesting for me because I am welsh with arabic heritage and so I’ve always been around a combination of languages. When I was younger and with my cousin neither of us new the language we need to communicate with each other so we would make up combination languages between english and arabic to communicate. Some of the words we use are made up even then but we can still use them and understand them.
Task 1
We got seperated into groups and then got given a potato. Our first task was to decide what the potato was, ( if we were aliens and we had no idea what the potato was) and also what made up words we could use for the potato. We came up with a few different words but here are a few of our best examples:
Skwage
Scccrk
Squartern
Caunkus
Aloo
Task 2
The second task was my favourite. I found it really theraputic. This was a task where we all had to go off in our groups to find and listen to sounds whilst blindfolded (so we didnt know where the sound was coming from or what the sound is). We then had to make up words for the sounds we heard:
For Katie’s sound Esme crumpled some plastic - Shriick
For Ben’s sound Katie used the Honey Pot to create a popping - Swap ts ts ts
For Esme’s sound I used some sugar in a packet and was shaking it - Shuft
For my sound Ben used a pencil so brush down the side of a plastic cart - Knaroo.
Task 3
For task 3 we had to all find things that don’t exist in the english language and then name them. For example the space between the radiator and the wall or the feeling you get when the printer doesn’t work and you want to cry. This activity was very interesting because this is the task that made me realise how many words we don’t have in english. Some examples of the words made up:
Boopropriation - Appropriating imagery from Betty Boop
Fazast - The seconds of cold (the breeze) you get when the door opens
Flaurenicy - The feeling of jealousy when looking at plants and wanting them in your own home.