They are among Us!

So, since we are talking babies I decided to look up baby talk in other languages. I remember my mom doing Spanish baby talk when I was, obviously, a baby. And now I find myself repeating the same things to my nieces as they grow up. It isn't much, but they do remember and know these words, it also gives them some knowledge or reception of what we say in Spanish. Only one of my nieces can actually speak Spanish. Baby talk is a universal phenomenon!!

Here is a link to Spanish, Japanese and French baby talk.

http://www.circleofmoms.com/englishspanglishspanish-learning-babies/spanish-baby-talk-337536

http://french.about.com/library/vocab/bl-babytalk.htm

http://www.nippon.com/en/nipponblog/m00030/

"Philosophy of language"

So, I am actually really into philosophy and a heavy thinker. It is sort of a problem, which is why I am always listening to music. It helps to evoke imagination and thought for myself, while also having me face the sight of my reality while ignoring the sounds around me. It also makes killer tunes for situations that I encounter. I also learn to appreciate the sounds of nature and comings and goings of the world around me.

Any who, the philosophy of language really interested me. Linguistics also plays a pretty big role here and some of the chapters we've gone over are covered under this school of thought. Put simply, they are "interested in the origins of language, the nature of meaning, the usage and cognition of language, and the relationship between language and reality."

This article that I found gives a synopsis of almost each section. It is also shorter than other articles I found, while still getting the main point across. Well, if you're interested in the complexity of philosophy, then check this out. If not, you can just give it a quick read through, its fairly easy to understand.

http://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_philosophy_of_language.html

For my man, Matt! And everyone else....

This blog is targeted specifically towards Matt and anyone else interested in the Korean language. There is a lot of resources out there and I found some pretty good ones with the research that I had to do. So I thought I would share them here. I know this will benefit him for sure. Shout out to autopilot mode, for pulling me through life.

http://aboutworldlanguages.com/korean


http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/korean.htm

"Save a language, Save a culture"

This article was pretty touching. The efforts of a man to establish a writing system and school for the indigenous people of the Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. The article itself has links to other websites like Omniglot.com and such. The whole thing started with a man, a nonfiction writer, discovering the epidemic facing writing systems of dying languages. His journey led him to a man who, by chance, originates from the Hill Tracts and is desperately trying to establish a system to preserve the native languages that seem to be pushed back by the majority power in the country. It looks like a long read and it includes more details than I can give, but it is an easy read and does not take up too much time.



This is a carving of the N'Ko script, a writing system in West Africa.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130628-endangered-languages-scripts-bangladesh-indigenous-cultures-world/

Find yourself...here's a map.

This is sort of an extensive article, it is a lot longer than the normal ones I find. However, it goes into more detail about how language effects our thoughts. It also opens up with a false claim that was made during the 40's by a, Benjamin Lee Whorf, who pretty much destroyed any research into how language effects our perceptions of the world.

What was interesting about this article was how it went into the existence of gender system languages and how by giving gender to objects we have this disposition on how we see things. There is sort of an emotional provocation that occurs in these languages than in languages like English, filled with their "it's." What I found most interesting, though, was how they explained that language doesn't barricade us from understanding concepts. "Languages differ essentially in what they must convey and not in what they may convey." It's not what it prohibits us from thinking, but rather what it obligates us to think. 

Here's a link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I would probably recommend reading the parts that connected to bold lettering, to get the gist of the article. 

Human, aren't you?

This blog that I found is really cool. It talks about certain approaches to teaching language called Humanistic Approaches, " their method of concentration, touching on the innate ability and capacity that all learners are presumed to possess." It gives several ways to go about teaching a new language to a non-native speaker. I find it pretty interesting and says that some of these methods are still in use. I am too lazy to actually check if they are still in practice to this day, but I can understand their applications to learning and teaching. The article says that they are used to teach English, however, they can be used with pretty much any language. For those who will teach English as a second language either here or in another country, as I am, its an interesting find.

http://blog.tjtaylor.net/method-humanistic/

Thoughts..are you here nor there?

This article sort of emphasis' the idea of language constructing how a humans think. I found it really interesting. I'm not sure how to explain the article. But some of the points it makes is that language determines our sense of space, time and causality. Speaking a different language can directly affect just how we perceive the world. It gives some information on some recent research and studies that support this claim. I find it to have some degree of truth, as I speak both English and Spanish, the way I perceive things when switching languages does affect how I will speak and think about things. I also agree that it opens a person up to a more broader view of the world.

The link the article is below:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703467304575383131592767868