Assignment 1
A different language is a different vision of life. ~Federico Fellini
There are many different languages in the world. Some of them are only used in countries where there are strong believes in certain religions. Like the Arabic language. Most people who speak Arabic are Muslims. Muslims do have a different vision on life than for example Americans. Of course there are Muslims in America who do speak English but if I hear the Arabic language I immediately thing of a different culture and a different vision of life.
Conversation is the slowest form of human communication. ~Author Unknown
I do believe in this quote. A conversation is a form of communication but you have many more forms of communication. For example face expressions. If you see a man crying you know immediately that he there is something on his mind in a negative way. You will notice that much faster than if he is telling you that he’s sad. So noticing expressions is much faster than a conversation
Assignment 2
I believe that people are able to learn a language. We can learn a language by studying it or by just hearing the language in real life, like in foreign countries. This means that there’s a cognitive process going on in the brain. The new information (language) is stored in the brain and you’ve learned a new language.
What would the difference between learning and acquiring a language be? If a human being grows up he/she automatically picks up the L1 language. That’s important for the development of the communication between other humans. The L2 is learned after you have learned L1. The L2 will always fall back to the L1. So the L2 won’t be learned just like the L1.
Assignment 3
I think that not everyone is creative enough to play with a language. Comedians, writers and poets do have more creativity than other people. Not everyone can become a famous writer or comedian because not everyone is good in making nice combination with a language. It’s possible that you make a mistake by using a word in a different context but that is more a mistake than a creative action.
Assignment 4
Language comes from communication. There’s always been the need to communication and this need is developed in a language. Instead of communicating with hands and feed it’s much easier to communicate by using your voice. Language is always developing. Some language disappear and new language will come. Now we life in a world using language which are combinations of previous languages.
Assignment 5
I think in my L1. Before I want to say something I first think in my L1. That is much easier and it happens automatically. But if you want to make the L2 your basic language it’s better to start thinking in L2. Thinking goes a lot quicker than speaking but that is not always the case. Some people say: First think before you say it!. If you said something you actually didn’t want to say, than apparently speaking was quicker than thinking.
Assignment 6
Sometimes I dream language. In my dreams I sometimes talk to people like if they are really there. I do this because I know how to speak a language. Deaf people can’t do this. They have never heard sounds before so they can’t know the way we sound like. I think deaf people dream in gestures.
Assignment 7
Dreaming allows extralinguistic thinking. That is thinking beyond the bounds of language. Would you call this form of thinking, super language? I think that there is a universal language in every human being which is always there. Maybe it’s not a language we know about and maybe it doesn’t look like language. Sometimes we think something but not in language. It’s just a thought and when you think about that thought you link it to language.
Assignment 8
Language awareness is really important for a teacher because in the nearby future you will have students who are not familiar with a certain language. If you are aware of a language you’re able to explain the language to him so that he can adopt the new information and will learn the language. So for a teacher it is very important to be aware of language because that’s you job. Without language awareness you will not be able to teach a language to a student properly.
Students need a teacher who is good in his own subject. English teachers have to be good in English and a math teacher in mathematics. Every teacher first has to explain how a language actually works and where it’s good for. If he understands that part, than you as a teacher know what the best way of teaching a language is.
For me is language awareness very important but sometimes we won’t see how important is actually is.
7/01/2010
2/02/2010
Presentation
Usually, people only talk about how a language is spoken. I, personally, barely heard someone talk about written language before. That is why I found it interesting to present the history of writing, during the language awareness classes.
Where ever you are you, you will see different fonts and different styles of alphabets. You will see them in commercials and other advertisements. Coca cola posters, communism posters, Latin, religious books, monuments/temples and even fashion are things where you can recognize many languages.
But as mentioned before, I am going to present the history of written language in short.
Ages ago, the basics of our script was created in Ancient Egypt. If you look closely on the included pictures in this post, you will see that the letter A was a cow in the ancient days. This was simplified over the ages and it all started with Phoenician and then Etruscan and at last Italic. The Hebrew script and Arabic also evolved from the Phoenician script.
Hieroglyphs were first used around 3200 B.C. and slowly the population on the east side of Egypt (Phoenicia, currently Israel, Lebanon and Palestine) adapted the language and made some changes to it. This happened around the year 1050 B.C. Slowly Greece adapted that as well and made it their own by making it Etruscan. Slowly it went into Italy and became as how we know our script right now. The written language of Slavic countries evolved around the year 900 and is called Cyrillic and is still being used.
Arabic also played a great role in our current society. The Arabic language was created around the year 400 A.D. Around that time, the Italic language had its own numbers. Slowly, Arabic introduced the Arabic numerals and were slowly adapted by the Italians. The Arabic numerals are more simplified and were then integrated into the Italic language.
Actually, if you watch closely, you will notice that not the basic grammar rules are similar, but also the script. Everything is related to each other and brings us more together than you know.
This presentation and project is made by Mohammed Sharkawi (S1028280) & Teije Smits (S1026761)
Bb-Assignment 12
P-assignment 12
The book that you purchased for this module, Language Myths, contains some remarkable examples of language awareness in practice. The first assignment for this chapter is a simple (but laborious) one: read the book, and choose and comment on 15 out of the 21 chapters. Create your own LA-reading journal. The number of words you use per chapter can vary from 20 to 200. Show us you read the chapters AND that you are capable of thinking critically. Feel free to (dis)agree, give your own examples or theories.
Myth 1:
I totally agree with this chapter, because it does proof that change is always occurring, even thought when “language purists” complain about it. Nowadays, there are too many people that complain about the change that is occurring at the very moment. The rapid use of English words in the Dutch vocabulary is being criticized by many people, whilst I see this as a natural process that has begun at the dawn of time. Some examples in the book are: All English speakers used to pronounce the K in Knee. People eventually accepted that change and got over it. More people need to do this in order to stop the headache of theirs and also their stress. “Language cannot be halted, nor should the worries feel obliged to try to halt it”
Myth 2: Some people believe that languages that do no fulfil a wide range of functions are in fact incapable of doing so. Some languages are not as good as others, that is what some people believe. An example, is that many people think that a language like Maori isn’t good because it borrows too many words from English, whilst English does the same. English has the biggest list of borrowed words. Inferior languages should be constructing new vocabulary in order to let its own people understand it in their own language and to make the language more competent.
It’s very common that a country has got more than one language. Most of the time there is a major and a minor language. When more and more people start speaking the major language, eventually the minor language will be forgotten and disappear. However, the myth says that some languages are just not good enough. But I think that’s not the reason why a languages disappear. It’s because people chose to use a certain language and they’ll pass it on to the next generation. The language which is not used enough will eventually disappear.
Myth 3: The media ruins everything… People must not be afraid of change and should not blame anything but themselves, because they are ignorant to adjust themselves.
Many people think that the media is using sloppy English on television and newspapers and many believe that this is ruining English. I don’t think that the media is trying to ruin English, but they are just using it to draw people’s attention. Sometimes new words will appear through the media, and old words disappear. The media is developing and so is the language.
Myth 4: French is a logical language. Some of us agree with this statement, and some of us disagree with this statement. Some people think that French is a logical language (For example, Rivarol's slogan: What is not clear is not French) and some will say that French is not logical at all. I think that every language has its own ups and downs and that every language has its own kind of logical way of using it.
People should stop making stereotypes about languages. People should not make these choices for others by saying this is pretty and that is not. Everybody got his own likes and dislikes.
What people also should do, is watch their own language instead of making fun of others. A good example out of the book is the following sentence by Raymond Barre: The first of fundamental values of our civilization is the correct usage of our language. People should pay more attention to that instead of mocking the other.
Myth 5: Not only speaking should be updated, but also the script. Because right now it is too Kattastroffik. What is wrong with “nee” instead or Knee? Words should be updated once the pronunciation changes over time. When the change is there after so many years, it has to be changed.
Of course there are some difficult words in the English language just like every other language. There are enough Dutch words which are very difficult as well but the only thing you have to do is learn the meaning of the word and how to spell the word. When you know both of them, it shouldn't be hard to spell it. Just try to memorize the word and you’ll see that you can spell it.
Myth 6: Woman are always the ones that speak too much. The reason why men talk more than women nowadays, is because the world is more feminine when compared to the past. ;D
We think that women talk too much. This is rather a cliché, because I think that we talk equally. It depends on the situation we are in. Men like to talk much about football amongst themselves, and women like to talk about other things. So It’s more a saying we came up with.
Myth 7: Some languages look the same and are easier to learn because of the similarities in the vocabulary. There is actually no language harder than the other. It depends on your attitude and previous knowledge. As mentioned on page 51 (The difficult thing about learning a language is vocabulary, whether learning one's native language or learning a foreign language.)Vocabulary is the toughest part to learn. Some languages got 100.000 words, these languages are German and English.
Myth 8: This is another case of people that demand too much. Illiteracy is when someone cannot read or write at all. Now they can and people still demand more. They assume that kids were better in the past, that is why you should never assume. Because you will make an Ass of you and me. In this case, they really make asses of themselves.
A language got two important elements, namely grammar and pronunciation. Especially with grammar. There are a lot of differences between different languages. For example, take a look to German. German has a very difficult grammar (der, die, das), if you compare this to English (the). For people who want to learn a new language the difficulty of learning depends on which country you are from. For Dutch people, learning German is easier than for English people. I do agree that some languages are more difficult. A good example out of the book is: Europeans have to spend a lot of time learning how to use the Arabic, Chinese or Japanese writings systems.
Myth 9: America is ruining the English language
I think that American English isn’t ruining British English. The only thing what is happening is that American words are being adopted more into the English language. That is because America and the American language is more in the spotlights than RP. For example on television (films and documentaries) and internet.
Myth 10: Having no grammar is having no mistakes. (If Spelitzian had no grammar, it would be impossible to make a mistake when speaking Spelitzian.) That means that there is no grammar and that there won't be any rules for the placement of words in sentences Grammar is more than just a few rules, common people always refer to that whilst linguistics always look at the whole. It is actually a nice contradiction that a language with no grammar exists. All languages have a similar grammatical device which in the end makes the same distinctions in sentences.
Myth 11: Another chapter that proofs that most people react before they think.They find other dialects to be negative, thus making the user of that dialect an idiot or better said, less intelligent. Whilst the other might do the same thing as well. Because of inequality, black culture is usually related to verbal deprivation. They don't receive any credit for the contribution they did and are still doing to the English language in America.
Myth 12: Unlike the figures of mathematics, words in language do have a meaning. An example: Computers react only negative or not negative data, that is because they cannot handle "complex" things. However, human being are not computers. They can make a distinction between what is meant and what is not.
Myth 13: The changes that occur in our speech is mainly because of the hype surrounding it. It starts at a specific place or person and is considered to be fun and many people use it and then that is the part where the media comes in. However, there are some influences from the media itself. For example, the annoying Dutch KPN commercial used many phrases which got poplar after its broadcast. For example, goeiemoggel. Media does have an influence, but not the main role of influences.
The book that you purchased for this module, Language Myths, contains some remarkable examples of language awareness in practice. The first assignment for this chapter is a simple (but laborious) one: read the book, and choose and comment on 15 out of the 21 chapters. Create your own LA-reading journal. The number of words you use per chapter can vary from 20 to 200. Show us you read the chapters AND that you are capable of thinking critically. Feel free to (dis)agree, give your own examples or theories.
Myth 1:
I totally agree with this chapter, because it does proof that change is always occurring, even thought when “language purists” complain about it. Nowadays, there are too many people that complain about the change that is occurring at the very moment. The rapid use of English words in the Dutch vocabulary is being criticized by many people, whilst I see this as a natural process that has begun at the dawn of time. Some examples in the book are: All English speakers used to pronounce the K in Knee. People eventually accepted that change and got over it. More people need to do this in order to stop the headache of theirs and also their stress. “Language cannot be halted, nor should the worries feel obliged to try to halt it”
Myth 2: Some people believe that languages that do no fulfil a wide range of functions are in fact incapable of doing so. Some languages are not as good as others, that is what some people believe. An example, is that many people think that a language like Maori isn’t good because it borrows too many words from English, whilst English does the same. English has the biggest list of borrowed words. Inferior languages should be constructing new vocabulary in order to let its own people understand it in their own language and to make the language more competent.
It’s very common that a country has got more than one language. Most of the time there is a major and a minor language. When more and more people start speaking the major language, eventually the minor language will be forgotten and disappear. However, the myth says that some languages are just not good enough. But I think that’s not the reason why a languages disappear. It’s because people chose to use a certain language and they’ll pass it on to the next generation. The language which is not used enough will eventually disappear.
Myth 3: The media ruins everything… People must not be afraid of change and should not blame anything but themselves, because they are ignorant to adjust themselves.
Many people think that the media is using sloppy English on television and newspapers and many believe that this is ruining English. I don’t think that the media is trying to ruin English, but they are just using it to draw people’s attention. Sometimes new words will appear through the media, and old words disappear. The media is developing and so is the language.
Myth 4: French is a logical language. Some of us agree with this statement, and some of us disagree with this statement. Some people think that French is a logical language (For example, Rivarol's slogan: What is not clear is not French) and some will say that French is not logical at all. I think that every language has its own ups and downs and that every language has its own kind of logical way of using it.
People should stop making stereotypes about languages. People should not make these choices for others by saying this is pretty and that is not. Everybody got his own likes and dislikes.
What people also should do, is watch their own language instead of making fun of others. A good example out of the book is the following sentence by Raymond Barre: The first of fundamental values of our civilization is the correct usage of our language. People should pay more attention to that instead of mocking the other.
Myth 5: Not only speaking should be updated, but also the script. Because right now it is too Kattastroffik. What is wrong with “nee” instead or Knee? Words should be updated once the pronunciation changes over time. When the change is there after so many years, it has to be changed.
Of course there are some difficult words in the English language just like every other language. There are enough Dutch words which are very difficult as well but the only thing you have to do is learn the meaning of the word and how to spell the word. When you know both of them, it shouldn't be hard to spell it. Just try to memorize the word and you’ll see that you can spell it.
Myth 6: Woman are always the ones that speak too much. The reason why men talk more than women nowadays, is because the world is more feminine when compared to the past. ;D
We think that women talk too much. This is rather a cliché, because I think that we talk equally. It depends on the situation we are in. Men like to talk much about football amongst themselves, and women like to talk about other things. So It’s more a saying we came up with.
Myth 7: Some languages look the same and are easier to learn because of the similarities in the vocabulary. There is actually no language harder than the other. It depends on your attitude and previous knowledge. As mentioned on page 51 (The difficult thing about learning a language is vocabulary, whether learning one's native language or learning a foreign language.)Vocabulary is the toughest part to learn. Some languages got 100.000 words, these languages are German and English.
Myth 8: This is another case of people that demand too much. Illiteracy is when someone cannot read or write at all. Now they can and people still demand more. They assume that kids were better in the past, that is why you should never assume. Because you will make an Ass of you and me. In this case, they really make asses of themselves.
A language got two important elements, namely grammar and pronunciation. Especially with grammar. There are a lot of differences between different languages. For example, take a look to German. German has a very difficult grammar (der, die, das), if you compare this to English (the). For people who want to learn a new language the difficulty of learning depends on which country you are from. For Dutch people, learning German is easier than for English people. I do agree that some languages are more difficult. A good example out of the book is: Europeans have to spend a lot of time learning how to use the Arabic, Chinese or Japanese writings systems.
Myth 9: America is ruining the English language
I think that American English isn’t ruining British English. The only thing what is happening is that American words are being adopted more into the English language. That is because America and the American language is more in the spotlights than RP. For example on television (films and documentaries) and internet.
Myth 10: Having no grammar is having no mistakes. (If Spelitzian had no grammar, it would be impossible to make a mistake when speaking Spelitzian.) That means that there is no grammar and that there won't be any rules for the placement of words in sentences Grammar is more than just a few rules, common people always refer to that whilst linguistics always look at the whole. It is actually a nice contradiction that a language with no grammar exists. All languages have a similar grammatical device which in the end makes the same distinctions in sentences.
Myth 11: Another chapter that proofs that most people react before they think.They find other dialects to be negative, thus making the user of that dialect an idiot or better said, less intelligent. Whilst the other might do the same thing as well. Because of inequality, black culture is usually related to verbal deprivation. They don't receive any credit for the contribution they did and are still doing to the English language in America.
Myth 12: Unlike the figures of mathematics, words in language do have a meaning. An example: Computers react only negative or not negative data, that is because they cannot handle "complex" things. However, human being are not computers. They can make a distinction between what is meant and what is not.
Myth 13: The changes that occur in our speech is mainly because of the hype surrounding it. It starts at a specific place or person and is considered to be fun and many people use it and then that is the part where the media comes in. However, there are some influences from the media itself. For example, the annoying Dutch KPN commercial used many phrases which got poplar after its broadcast. For example, goeiemoggel. Media does have an influence, but not the main role of influences.
Bb-Assignment 10
Think back of how YOU were taught your second (or third) language. Describe how it happened at the time, using the newly acquired terminology. Write a 300-500 word essay in which you reflect on your own language learning memories. Give examples of the kind of exercises and activities you were asked to carry out, indicating what views on language were behind it.
I grew up in a home where I constantly heard three different langauges. My father spoke Egyptian to me all the time. I also watched English and Dutch shows on the television. That is basically how I have learned the languages I am able to speak right now.
We only speak Egyptian at home. The reason we do this, is because my father is actually from Egypt and we are the only persons that know Egyptian over here. So we are only used to speak to each other in that langauge. Since I had no education at all the learn how to read and write, my father brought books with him from Egypt that used to be of my younger nephews. I had to write the alphabet and read the assignments and do them. So technically, I had private lessons by my father.
I only spoke Dutch, when I was outside my home. I spoke it at school, at the playground, everywhere. I basically learned it by watching Dutch shows on the television and at school. My mother is also Dutch, and whenever I went to her, I spoke, of course, Dutch to her.
The third language I have learned is English. I had learned this by watching English shows and by playing videogames. I did this so much, that I managed to learn this language without any basic education since I was doing this when I was at the age of four.
I grew up in a home where I constantly heard three different langauges. My father spoke Egyptian to me all the time. I also watched English and Dutch shows on the television. That is basically how I have learned the languages I am able to speak right now.
We only speak Egyptian at home. The reason we do this, is because my father is actually from Egypt and we are the only persons that know Egyptian over here. So we are only used to speak to each other in that langauge. Since I had no education at all the learn how to read and write, my father brought books with him from Egypt that used to be of my younger nephews. I had to write the alphabet and read the assignments and do them. So technically, I had private lessons by my father.
I only spoke Dutch, when I was outside my home. I spoke it at school, at the playground, everywhere. I basically learned it by watching Dutch shows on the television and at school. My mother is also Dutch, and whenever I went to her, I spoke, of course, Dutch to her.
The third language I have learned is English. I had learned this by watching English shows and by playing videogames. I did this so much, that I managed to learn this language without any basic education since I was doing this when I was at the age of four.
Bb-Assignment 9
In the first section you focused on language in general, and on your own ideas on what it is and how it works. For centuries linguists have asked themselves the same questions. In this chapter you will take a closer look at some of their ideas: ideas that helped shape the way (foreign) language education is organised today.
As an introduction, please watch and listen to German Coastguard, under Course Materials. (pronunciation matters!)
Now visit three (or more!) websites and study the history of language methodology. Whilst reading, do two things:
P-assignment 9
Make your own summary of at least 5 theories, using words that your (future) pupils would understand.
Behaviourism
Cognitivism
Social-Constructivism
Nativism
Intercationism
Behaviourism
Children imitate adults. Basically children take adults as an example of behaviour. Correct behaviour is rewarded whilst bad behaviour gets punished. For example, when you don’t learn for a test, you get a bad result. That’s the punishment for your for not learning. So the lesson is that you have to change the current behavior into a good learning behavior.
Cognitivism
Language is just one aspect of a child's overall intellectual development. Children have to face certain levels of intellectual development. When children learn to compare objects to size, they can learn the comparison (grammar): ‘big, bigger, biggest’.
Nativism
Everyone has got a sort of data base for languages which comes naturally at birth. It’s a universal grammar system. It’s called the Language Acquisition Device. Every language around the world starts with the same basic grammar. Like the subject. Another example the LAD contains the concept of verb tens. By listening to forms such as ‘worked’ and ‘played’, the child will have the idea that the past tense of verbs is formed by adding the sound /d/, /t/ or /id/ to the base form
Social constructivism
Depending on your environment you learn new skills. It has to do with language, action and personality. Because of social behavior, there will be situations where children gain new experiences that will teach them. For example, children are playing football, and they learn new tricks from each other. That’s how social constructivism is defined.
Interaction
This theory emphasises the interaction between children and their care-givers. Children learn to speak a certain language the way they hear it. Like accents in a language. When people grow up they adapt the language skills from their environment. When this person meets other persons outside his environment he/she will notice the differences in the language they learned.
As an introduction, please watch and listen to German Coastguard, under Course Materials. (pronunciation matters!)
Now visit three (or more!) websites and study the history of language methodology. Whilst reading, do two things:
P-assignment 9
Make your own summary of at least 5 theories, using words that your (future) pupils would understand.
Behaviourism
Cognitivism
Social-Constructivism
Nativism
Intercationism
Behaviourism
Children imitate adults. Basically children take adults as an example of behaviour. Correct behaviour is rewarded whilst bad behaviour gets punished. For example, when you don’t learn for a test, you get a bad result. That’s the punishment for your for not learning. So the lesson is that you have to change the current behavior into a good learning behavior.
Cognitivism
Language is just one aspect of a child's overall intellectual development. Children have to face certain levels of intellectual development. When children learn to compare objects to size, they can learn the comparison (grammar): ‘big, bigger, biggest’.
Nativism
Everyone has got a sort of data base for languages which comes naturally at birth. It’s a universal grammar system. It’s called the Language Acquisition Device. Every language around the world starts with the same basic grammar. Like the subject. Another example the LAD contains the concept of verb tens. By listening to forms such as ‘worked’ and ‘played’, the child will have the idea that the past tense of verbs is formed by adding the sound /d/, /t/ or /id/ to the base form
Social constructivism
Depending on your environment you learn new skills. It has to do with language, action and personality. Because of social behavior, there will be situations where children gain new experiences that will teach them. For example, children are playing football, and they learn new tricks from each other. That’s how social constructivism is defined.
Interaction
This theory emphasises the interaction between children and their care-givers. Children learn to speak a certain language the way they hear it. Like accents in a language. When people grow up they adapt the language skills from their environment. When this person meets other persons outside his environment he/she will notice the differences in the language they learned.
Bb-Assignment 8
Now read What is Language Awareness. To round off this chapter, describe the relevance of Language Awareness for you as a teacher. (200-300 words)
This is a very good question, and I think I just know how to answer it. As a teacher I will not just teach my pupils what the meaning of words are and how to write the sentences down… I will try and teach them more than that. My pupils have to be aware of the language itself. They have to control focal awareness. This is a very important matter since this is something that not so many people are aware of. What I do notice about other people, and of course, sometimes about myself, is that we translate words/sentences directly from L1 to L2. The reason why we should NOT do this is because people might understand us on a totally different way which may lead to conflicts or any other misunderstandings.
When I teach my pupils, I will concentrate on sentence construction and on the meanings of words. I will create assignments and let them all participate actively in order to improve their skills. Conversations and translation assignments should do the trick. By implenting the language by using it more often in class, the students will get used to it and will hopefully be more aware of it. They will need this skill in the future in order to get on with work, for example, as a marketing manager for a multinational company. This particular job needs an excellent control over a language in order to be understood correctly by anyone.
I hope I will manage to be able to teach that to my future pupils in order to let them avoid any problems in the future, since that is my job as a teacher.
This is a very good question, and I think I just know how to answer it. As a teacher I will not just teach my pupils what the meaning of words are and how to write the sentences down… I will try and teach them more than that. My pupils have to be aware of the language itself. They have to control focal awareness. This is a very important matter since this is something that not so many people are aware of. What I do notice about other people, and of course, sometimes about myself, is that we translate words/sentences directly from L1 to L2. The reason why we should NOT do this is because people might understand us on a totally different way which may lead to conflicts or any other misunderstandings.
When I teach my pupils, I will concentrate on sentence construction and on the meanings of words. I will create assignments and let them all participate actively in order to improve their skills. Conversations and translation assignments should do the trick. By implenting the language by using it more often in class, the students will get used to it and will hopefully be more aware of it. They will need this skill in the future in order to get on with work, for example, as a marketing manager for a multinational company. This particular job needs an excellent control over a language in order to be understood correctly by anyone.
I hope I will manage to be able to teach that to my future pupils in order to let them avoid any problems in the future, since that is my job as a teacher.
Bb-Assignment 7
Assignments 5 and 6 might have given you some difficulty answering. It is strange to find that it takes time to think about what language you think in, isn’t it? According to some scientists, a kind of super language exists, a language that is bigger than the language systems as they are taught in schools. Read Dream Language (find it under “Course Documents” and open it in a new window (use you right hand mouse click for this)). Compare the content with your answer to the previous question. What do you think?
This is actually funny, the article states almost everything I have told. In the article, this is mentioned: “Dreaming allows extralinguistic thinking, thinking that extends beyond the bounds of language, with fewer constraints than most waking thought. Dreams are extralinguistic in that they can create objects for which we have no name, and they can also create new metaphors or extend and combine familiar metaphors in new ways. For Blechner the essence of the dream is "meaning without communicability". Dreams "speak their own language, which is designed to be meaningful without necessarily being communicative."
That is exactly what I experience, I experience my own language in my dreams which is not describable on paper. Well, the only thing I can say about it is that I just recognize things by body langauge in my dreams.
This is actually funny, the article states almost everything I have told. In the article, this is mentioned: “Dreaming allows extralinguistic thinking, thinking that extends beyond the bounds of language, with fewer constraints than most waking thought. Dreams are extralinguistic in that they can create objects for which we have no name, and they can also create new metaphors or extend and combine familiar metaphors in new ways. For Blechner the essence of the dream is "meaning without communicability". Dreams "speak their own language, which is designed to be meaningful without necessarily being communicative."
That is exactly what I experience, I experience my own language in my dreams which is not describable on paper. Well, the only thing I can say about it is that I just recognize things by body langauge in my dreams.
Bb-Assignment 6
Do you dream language? What/ how do you dream? (How) Do blind/ deaf people dream?
This is a weird question. I did have this period where I have written down my dreams, but as far as I remember, I have never dreamed in a language. The way I communicate in my dreams is via body language.
This is a weird question. I did have this period where I have written down my dreams, but as far as I remember, I have never dreamed in a language. The way I communicate in my dreams is via body language.
Bb-Assignment 5
Do you think language? If so, what language? L1 (your mother tongue) or L2 (for instance English)? What goes faster: thinking or speaking?
I am a trilingual person, I speak Dutch, Egyptian and English. I use all of these languages constantly. It really depends on the situation or moment when I think in a specific language. When I speak to an English friend and afterwards have to do something, I think of that situation in English. The same goes for the two other languages. At home, when I talk to my dad I think in Egyptian and when I am outside with friends, I think in Dutch.
I do have to confess though, I do think faster than I speak. I also have no problems in pronouncing things within my head, but when I have to say it, I might have difficulties. For example, I do know how to pronounce Kilometer in English, but when I pronounce it, I encounter some difficulties.
I am a trilingual person, I speak Dutch, Egyptian and English. I use all of these languages constantly. It really depends on the situation or moment when I think in a specific language. When I speak to an English friend and afterwards have to do something, I think of that situation in English. The same goes for the two other languages. At home, when I talk to my dad I think in Egyptian and when I am outside with friends, I think in Dutch.
I do have to confess though, I do think faster than I speak. I also have no problems in pronouncing things within my head, but when I have to say it, I might have difficulties. For example, I do know how to pronounce Kilometer in English, but when I pronounce it, I encounter some difficulties.
Bb-Assignment 4
Where does language come from? Developmentally, dialogue comes before monologue, both for the human species, and for the human individual. Explain, including possible consequences for L2 teaching.
Language was created ages ago. There were several langauges amongst the multiple tribes that have existed during the acient times. Slowly, some language became instict, some new language were created and some were combined or were updated.
Currently, there are hundreds of languages all over the world. Many of them are related to each other and some not at all. French, Spanish and Italian are all descendants of Latin. Somehow, English is a part of it as well. There are also Germanic languages such as Dutch, German and Swedish.
When learning a L2 language, and it belongs to the same “root” of the mother tongue, it will become a lot easier to learn that language since the vocabulary is similar and also the rules. So, for a Dutch person it will be easy to learn the German language, and also the other way around. The same goes for an Italian person that wants to learn Spanish. He will find out that a lot of things are the same and will eventually learn the language easily.
Language was created ages ago. There were several langauges amongst the multiple tribes that have existed during the acient times. Slowly, some language became instict, some new language were created and some were combined or were updated.
Currently, there are hundreds of languages all over the world. Many of them are related to each other and some not at all. French, Spanish and Italian are all descendants of Latin. Somehow, English is a part of it as well. There are also Germanic languages such as Dutch, German and Swedish.
When learning a L2 language, and it belongs to the same “root” of the mother tongue, it will become a lot easier to learn that language since the vocabulary is similar and also the rules. So, for a Dutch person it will be easy to learn the German language, and also the other way around. The same goes for an Italian person that wants to learn Spanish. He will find out that a lot of things are the same and will eventually learn the language easily.
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