October, 2014
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TEAM WE DON’T KNOW Portfolio
Team We Don’t Know!
Our teammates all have unique strengths and powers. Even if we are different, we complete each other.
Another picture to show how united we are as a team. And how different our powers are.
We fight linguistic crime together!!!!!!
Our Teammates:
Paula
As a member of this group, my strength in linguistics is semantics. I have found the love for those tree diagrams. Also, I am a master in interpreting sentences and finding their ambiguities. I understand this subject much better than the other subjects. I spoke espanol first. So, as a child I had pronunciation problems and grammar problems and spelling problems. Now, I can distinguished the difference between both. I love languages and want to learn more.
Kaitlyn
As another member of this group, my main strength in linguistics is semantics. Along with semantics I have a strong grasp on morphology. Language has always been a large part of my life which is shown through my technical fluency in French.
Kimberly
As an additional member of this group, my strength in linguistics would have to be semantics as well. It does not come easy but it makes more sense to me then everything we have learned so far. I speak both spanish and english and learned a little bit of french in elementary school. I have always loved the idea of learning many different language in order to be able to communicate to a larger pool of people.
Laura
4/27/1996
Rancho Murieta, CA
In linguistic studies,my super strength is in semantics, as illustrated in my mad sentence tree diagramming skills. My middle names are Mental and Grammar. No floating adverb can get by me.
Linguistic Skillz
**Team New Money**
Julia McGonigal: Fascination in different language dialects and culture. Interest in understanding the aptitude for understanding different dialects, and the ability to speak more than one language.
Jacob: Fluent in English with a rudimentary grasp on Spanish. Interested in how language comes together, specifically word origins and how they can be broken apart to understand meaning. Recently discovered an interest in how language is expressed in the mind as well. Can kick pretty high.
Drew: Firm grasp of the English language, with proficiency in both Spanish and Italian. Actual passion for language learning as a whole. Interested in how languages are created and how they change with time.
Kiara: For the longest time I have been fascinated by language. Ever since a young age I have been exposed to different languages and culture through travel and growing in the diverse city of San Francisco. I’ve always loved listening to, observing and trying to learn new languages. I think that the most interesting part is when you hear two languages that come from similar roots and then you can compare how the sounds are similar and how there is variation even though they may still sound similar. The technicalities in every language varies. Two languages can be very different like Spanish and Tagalog, yet there are many shared words between the two. Same with English and Spanish. Then there are similar sounding languages like Spanish and Portugese, Spanish and French, etc.
The Linguistics Lineup
The 5 pupils ready to be filled with the tea of linguistics. Their mission will be a very daunting one. Alone, they can not accomplish much, but together their potential increases tenfold! This amazing team consists of:
Name: Meg Collier
D.O.B.: 4/14/1996
Country of Origin: San Diego, CA, USA
Languages: English, Korean (kinda), a TINY bit of Japanese
“I had to take linguistics because I live in the Language Village Learning Community in the dorms. Also I am interested in languages.”
Because she has travelled to Japan and became fascinated with the language and the culture, she and Watanabe have become close friends really quick. She and Bernardo are taking part in the Hallyu Movement and converse frequently about Korean pop music and dramas.
Name: Jonathan Moore
D.O.B.: 08/31/1988
Origin: San Diego, CA, USA
Languages: English, some Python
“I’m taking linguistics because the very act of communication in both written and verbal form fascinates me. I also feel that it is advantageous to my health; specifically my brain; in forming new synapses and cells through neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.”
Moore’s fascination with Asian cultures has drawn him to both Watanabe and Lab. His interest in Anime has led to a bond between Lab and Bernardo.
Name: Miki Watanabe
D.O.B.: 06/13/1994
Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Languages: Japanese, English and a little bit of Chinese
“I am taking Linguistics because I am in Communication major, and I like to study foreign languages.”
Although she has been to Texas, California is still something Watanabe has yet to explore. She has been to many hotspots and is continuing to adapt and enjoy her time here in America. She has become really close with Collier and popular among the rest of the group due to their interest in Japanese culture.
Name: Brian Lab
D.O.B.: 05/01/1995
Origin: Maryland, USA (from Hawaii)
Langauges: English, Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian Pigeon
“I am taking linguistics because I have always had a fascination with languages, after growing up in several places with language diversity. I took a linguistics course last year, and I enjoyed so much that I had to take another. Also, I am planning to Minor in Chinese, so linguistics should help. But, honestly, it’s more for my own personal interest.”
Due to a greater knowledge of Chinese he has become very popular among Moore and Bernardo who are learning Chinese.
Name: Bryant Bernardo
D.O.B.: 03/26/1996
Origin: San Diego, CA, USA
Languages: English, Tagalog, a tad of Spanish, Chinese (learning)
“I am taking linguistics because I too am very interested in learning languages, after having been to three countries and exposed to the different languages. I wish to teach English abroad; being able to use what I learn here in linguistics will definitely help me teach others English.”
Because Bernardo is learning Chinese he has turned to Lab for a lot of help. He also frequently converses with Lab and Moore regarding animes and with Collier on Korean dramas and pop music.
Our mission:
To retake The Tower of Babel
“What is your damage, Heather?”
The movie I’ve decided to watch with my friends was Heathers because we heard the movie was a 1980s version of Mean Girls. At the beginning of the movie I can see why some people say it’s an older version of Mean Girls because it’s about a regular high school girl who is invited by the most popular girls in school to join their clique. There were some elements that were similar to that in Mean Girls but as the movie went on, it got more confusing to me and believe me it’s nothing like Mean Girls. I actually had to watch the movie with subtitles on because I could hardly understand what the characters were saying. It’s true the film was in English but they used a lot of slang that we don’t hear a lot of in today’s world. Since the movie was made about 30 decades ago, the way teenagers spoke back then is way different from the way teenagers speak today. When we searched up the movie, we found out that it was suppose to be a comedy but we didn’t find it to be that funny maybe because we didn’t get any of the references made in the movie. Teens of the 80s probably enjoy that movie as teens of my generation enjoy Mean Girls because we actually understood the references made in the movies and found it funny. Throughout the movie, the characters swear at each other a lot but the way they phrase it sounded a bit weird to me. For example at the beginning, one of the Heathers say “Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw. Do I look like Mother Teresa?” I don’t think anyone would say that nowadays and I’ve actually never heard a person say this phrase before. I also found phrases like “What’s your damage, Heather?” “Why do you have to be such a mega-bitch?” and “Veronica, why are you pulling on my dick?” (said by a girl) to be a bit strange to me but I got the gist of what it’s suppose to mean though. While watching the movie, I noticed the main character used an infix in a word when she was speaking to a friend she said “U.S fucking A” which reminded of Alafuckingbama, something we talked about in Ling class. 
“Greetings and Salutations” – J.D
The movie that my friends and I watched was Heathers. It is considered a black comedy therefore, it contains foul language. I personally thought the movie was quite boring and even difficult to understand in certain scenes. This film was released in 1989 so the type of language that the characters used back then does not sound like things we would typically say nowadays. The slangs they used could easily relate to the ones teens use today. However, when the characters insult one another, they use weird sentences like “stop pulling on my dick” even though the person that said it was a girl. Personally, that was weird to me. As for my non-language village friend that also watched the film with me, he found the movie to be funny and confusing at the same time. I agree because the casual conversations between characters seem to be so complex and they use weird words. Instead of saying “what’s up” or “hey,” a character in the film says “greetings and salutations” which is very strange because it sounds very formal.
In the scene where one of the rich, popular girl named “Heather” dies, the killers plan to fake a suicidal note and one of them decides to use the word “myriad” in it. However, they realized that “Heather” would’ve never used that word, simply implying that she is stupid. In the next scene where the school board teachers discuss Heather’s apparent suicide, one of them said “I’m surprised she used the word myriad in her suicidal note.” From this, viewers can reach a conclusion that rich people are often dumb because they don’t feel the need to be educated if they have money and fame.
– Jia Wen Xu
Language Village
D5 Creation