I just started reading this web comic and this one just kinda smacked me in the face when I read it. This is a very interesting way to think about the Evolution of language. Or the De-Evolution depending on your point of view. What is the purpose of adhering to specific rules for speaking if you actually understand what someone is saying regardless of their speech? If communication is fully possible in whatever way someone decides to speak, do we actually require proper grammar and sentence structures? I know that there are established “traditions” in speaking, but we also refer to languages as “archaic” and “old” when they get outdated. What's to say that our traditional language is not finally reaching that stage? Maybe language is finally evolving yet again. Guess there is only one way to find out....
~ Brent
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Language Mutiations.
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7 comments:
Well I'm here to tell you Brent that (I think you missed class, because I didnt see you today) you may have missed one of the latest, greatest, most outstanding performances of just what I think you are talking about in your post. Torbin, Travis, Alex,and Scott plumbed the depths of what it means to communicate with/in the multi-strata world we live in today of today. All they needed was a few screeching tires, some crazy taxi drivers screaming at one another, and maybe a big screen tv with bush-man addressing introducing a presidential debate while their "people" powdered the candidates noses and that cool motor scooter-dude from Alex's home state of Idaho reassuring everyone every thing is going to be A-OK.
It was Like one of those plate jugglers on the Ed Sullivan show, (eerrr oops,,well maybe... well what the hell, you guys will get it)you've seen those guys who get 4900 separate plates spinning with chop sticks between each one and the whole lot spinning simultaneously on the tip of a 25 foot long wobbly fiberglass fishing pole which is perched on the tip of one guys nose. Well thats the juggling act these four dudes pulled off today. They had four different languages spinning at the same time: Scott was speaking German, Alex was reading Zen poetry (in english), Torbin was doing his very cool rap thing (again with English overtones) and Travis was quoting some of the awesome comments that were made during the course of our class, throughout the semester. It was nothing short of genus. They really captured the spirit of "Danger...Language Xing"...we have been talking about all semester. KUDOS FRIENDS, BRAVO
Yea, I was there. Wouldn't have missed it for anything.
Michael, you're a sweetheart. It means a lot for you to write this. Thank you.
Scott
Wow. I'm glad that the performance came across so well. I felt that it was also powerful...but was in the midst of doing it, so I wasn't sure how it came out. Thanks...
Thank you for the compliments Michael. It means a lot coming from you. I was so disoriented during the whole performance :) I'll miss all you guys. Of course, we'll see eachother around ;)
I'm thinking about an element of language we didnt talk about in our class. (withdrawals???NOT!!)I find the person I project somehow different from the person I perceive myself to be. One extenuating factor is the place of conscious vs unconscious recognition of what is known. Then, on the other hand somehow the myriad perceptions (talk about schizoid, "roses are red, violets are blue, I'm schizophrenic and so am I...teehee that's me) come together with mood changes, astrology, pms, history, all that stuff in my DNA, man-o-manachevitz, no wonder...........damnittohell, I aint got no chance
oh yeh, I forgot to tie it into language, I think a big part of the personality equation is the dialogue ongoing, the internal conversation, which includes so many diverse factors. Yeh, this is probably a take that is not new. But ta, you know how it is.......
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