11/05/18 Reflecting on October

  October was a crazy month. I didn't have as much time to think about the world as I would have liked. Still though, I note a few areas where my global knowledge has grown. For an opinion article I wrote for the Paw Print, and then later for supplement for college, I touched the surface of "global language," exploring the different ways different languages aim to convey thought and emotion, and how successful they end up being.
     I was originally prompted to explore more about "global language" after seeing a book at Vroman's that covered the possibility of there existing some sort of universal human language. That got me thinking about the ways in which humans currently interact with each other, through language and not, which led me to explore a few languages in particular. For my Paw Print article, I looked into the Khoisan "clicking" language. In thinking about there being a common motive for the invention of language (to express x, y, or z to another person), it fascinated me how much variation exists within our world. Is there something being achieved by the Khoisan people that isn't being achieved by us? What defines "accurate communication" in this case? 
     In writing my college essays, I was presented with a supplemental essay prompt which allowed me to further explore the specificities behind what I had explored in doing research for the Paw Print. The prompt invited me to create my own word, comprised of parts of any language I chose. One of the words that I chose to include in my bigger word, which ended up being "hyggevemodalencora," was Danish, and was a word that I felt didn't have an English translation, allowed something to be communicated that couldn't be in our language. Writer Robert Shabin defines "Hygge" as: “The sidewalks are filled with smiling, hyggelige people, who keep lifting their hats to each other and who look at a stranger with an expression that indicates they wish they knew him well enough to lift their hats to him, too.”

Comments

  1. RcaragherDecember 2, 2018 at 7:13 PM

    Very interesting blog and what a fun essay prompt. I really like your question, 'With so many languages' "is there something being achieved by the Khoisan that isn't being achieved by us?"

    ReplyDelete

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