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Blog 5: Masterpost McGonigal
A Field of Links- By Julia McGonigal
I’m planning on taking an ASL class while at SDSU. I would love to become fluent but it might be a bit hard if this is true
My parents have always pushed me to learn a language besides Spanish, and every time they do I like to pull out this bad boy !
I’ve always heard that once you speak one latin based language you can learn others easily.
Who know’s if that’s true though? It always seems that languages can be easily learned when you are a baby, not as a young adult
Another suggested language that was suggested for me to try and learn is computer programming language. It seems a bit challenging to me, but I think it could be really cool if I was learning stuff like this
I love that movie Avatar, and I’m totally going to geek out here but there’s tons of different ways to learn the language!
I’ve been trying to figure out if the language itself could be taught as an elective, I’m pretty sure some people have attempted it…
But I mean I know that the individuals who created the Na’vi language studied many different linguistic aspects
Some even go so far as to figure out the specific phonology of the language!
But enough about the already existing Na’vi language…I think it would be interesting to see what goes into developing your own language
It’s the strangest blog I’ve ever found…and yet it is extremely fascinating. I think if I were to create my own language it would just be a bit of confusion.
The best thing for me to do is to find a language that I find interesting, and follow a passion. In this case it’s definitely going to be the Na’vi language! And here’s how I’m going to learn it
Language on the internet bruh
I’ve noticed that the way people use language differently on the internet. Different sites have a different required mannerism. Linkedin is the most formal because of the prospect of a job. Facebook is more “family” like; formal but still room for humor. Twitter and Instagram are probably the most playful because of the constant need to post and appeal emotionally to others to get likes on posts.
My language is actually changing? (Extra Credit)
So I took the Harvard Dialect Survey without any expectations thinking that It wouldn’t be able to pinpoint my location (since I speak with a “Filipino accent”) but lo and behold, it was actually correct (well, mostly)
(I took the quiz twice, this was my second result. My first result said that my dialect is most similar to that of Los Angeles. I was actually really surprised that both results were consistent and accurate).
Speaking of my accent, I learned English in the Philippines from pre-school up to 4th grade (approximately 12 years) so when I moved to California I simply spoke the way English was taught to me. (example: I put a strong emphasis on the letter ‘v’ making it sound like a ‘b’. I used to say “I lab you” instead of “I love you”) Anyways, I took the survey with that mindset and chose words the way I would normally pronounce them. The survey results, however, was able to tell that I live somewhere near Southern California. It might be because I am just oblivious to how I am speaking but maybe my language is actually changing the longer I live in California.
Among everything else, what this survey told me is that region has a really large impact on how you speak a language!
Extra Credit Dialect Quiz
My results were spot on! The first location suggested was the city that I was born and raised in, San Jose, CA! I am not really surprised to be honest, but some of the questions in the quiz were dead gives a ways to places I am not from. I have never heard anyone in California call a soda “pop” except for when I lived with a guy from Mississippi. They other two cities mentioned were Fremont and Fresno. I can understand Fremont because I have family there and it seems fairly similar to San Jose. But Fresno kind of came out of no where. When I think of Fresno, I think of hot dead wastelands because Fresno blows chunks of lameness. It is like where they grow cows or something, totally lame. But overall, I am pleased with my results and incredibly surprised by how accurate they are. This was pretty cool.
#dialect #sanjose #california #baylingo #lignuistics #sj
Discussion 2: Language differences I have noticed…
What differences have you noticed in the ways people use language?
Think first about regional differences, then fill in the other major social categories: age, gender & sexuality, ethnicity & race, social class (working class, middle class, upper class).
Then think about broader “community” categories– categories like surfer, stoner, prep, jock, drama/theater kid, band geek, hipster, princess, dork/nerd/geek, meathead, etc.
Are there any groups that stick out in your mind as people who use language in a specific or unique way? What– exactly– are they doing with their language that seems different to you?
To get fullest possible credit, comment on the main post (this one) and at least two other classmates’ posts as well. Make sure to use tags in your responses along with any other media (images, maps, audio or video clips) that you think might help illustrate your point.
This will be available until Thursday morning. Go a-linguisting!
-doug
D5 Creation