Language Changes in the Modern World

Buffy · 05-06-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishteacher73

One of the trickiest aspects of English is the volume of common idioms used.

No way. That's like, totally bogus. Pigs will fly before that's word up. Seen any pink elephants lately? That really bites the big one.

Stylin,
Buffy

tarak · 05-07-2005

I agree with you.Although subjective, there is always a kind of anxiety before you put your thought in words for people like us whose native (mother tongue)language is not english.The discipline of your expression always counts. A "I mean something you see it different" kind of predicament occurs often.

lindagarrette · 05-07-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishteacher73

One of the trickiest aspects of English is the volume of common idioms used. I really have not seen this amount of idioms in any other languages I have studied. For ESL students this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to becom proficient in English. There is a massive vocabulary and many terms have vastly different meanings depending on context, and on top of that the literal translation of phrases is often erroneus.

I had a semester long course in French "Slanguage." I speak Spanish fluently yet I find that so much idomatic differences exist between countries, it's possible to really goof up. All languages have a great many local or age-related variances on the base vocabulary. The trhickiest part of English is the mix of German and Latin based words.

gubba · 05-08-2005

G'day folks,

Do we really want to discuss our language usage etc. seriously? Linguistics is truely fascinating, but to get anywhere we really need some consensus over our terminology, a point that Tormod has tried to raise on more than one other thread I suspect. Awhile back I thought I might major in Linguistics, my imagination fired by the prospect of gaining greater insights into our central conscious mode of communications and fairly convinced by the linguists' credo that language was fundamentally speech and that it was through speech that the engine of language development occured. Unfortunately it was near the height of the Chomskian "Transformational Grammer" phenonomen downunder and the contradiction of being repeatedly asked to engage in pseudo-scientific, semi-mathematical, grammatical non-equations in Syntax, rather than attempting to grapple directly with our patterns of spoken words rapidly cooled my ardour.

Still, I stand by the 80'S linguistic tenet that literacy is but our conscious recording of language but not language itself. Recent advances in neuroscience with all their wonderful MRI'S of our brainwaves have served to further develop Chomsky's initial insight into the biological core of our language facility. Does anyone want to explore further down this path, or would we rather enjoy witty wordplay (and good heavens!! why the Hell not???) and amusing anecdotes etc? Still would someone like to clarify their ideas? cheers gub.

bumab · 05-09-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by gubba

Does anyone want to explore further down this path....

Sure! Start a thread along that path. Other interesting things to discuss would be the influence our language has on our thought patterns, not just the other way around.