Monday, 29 February 2016

Analysis of TED talks

https://www.ted.com/playlists/228/how_language_changes_over_time




John McWhorter: texting is killing language


  • ‘If humans existed for 24 hours, writing would come along at 11 hours’
  • Writing is a conscious effort
  • Casual speech- speak in word packets of 10 words, telegraphic, less reflective, different to writing
  • Talking like you write
  • Have to type as quickly as you can receive speech, you have to have someone who can read and understand
  • Why would you consider punctuation and capital letters when you text if you don’t consider it when you talk
  • You see lack of concerns with rules, you see a bagginess of the structure
  • New language and therefore new structure emerging
  • ‘lol’, laughing out loud, theoretically means that. If you text now, it doesn’t mean that now, not physically laughing anymore, marking of empathy, pragmatic particles
  • ‘slash’, changing topic, new information marking
  • Texting alongside normal writing skills – biadialetual
  • Expansion of their linguistic ability
  • Linguistic miracle


Erin McKean-


  • Go ahead make up new words
  • Every language is a group of people who agree to understand each other
  • Unconscious rules that you follow when you speak
  • Jean Berko-Gleason- Wug test, natural rules, rules of natural, don’t have to be reminded of these rules, some are about manners
  • Don’t be creative when it comes to words
  • 6 ways to make new words:
  • Steal them from other languages
  • Compounding, combining words together, forcefully
  • Blend words, brunch, motel
  • Change how they operate, friend made a verb
  • Backformation, shortening it
  • First letter of each word
     
    Mark Pagel, how language has transformed humanity
     
  • Nero-audio technology, re-wiring peoples mind
  • Alter the internal settings to suit your mood and interests
  • Genes talking
  • Why did it evolve only in our species?
  • Chimps lack social learning, they can’t improve on others ideas, benefits from others mistakes and use others wisdom
  • Copy and imitate what people can do
  • Social learning is visual theft
  • ‘small family groups’, so language is enclosed in small groups, fewer ideas and innovation
  • Language is a piece of social technology
  • Language evolved to solve the crisis of visual theft, coordinating activities
  • Take it for granted
  • Even small acts are utterly dependent on language
  • Island where you can encounter a new language ever mile
  • Natural tendency to be isolated
  • Translation costa, over 2 billion a year
  • March towards standardisation
  • Time is universal


 


Steven Pinker- language habits


  • By the time you finish a dictionary, it will be out of date
  • Language is a window to human nature
  • Which verbs go in which constructions?
  • Structure than we unconsciously use
  • Fixed set of concept, In all language
  • Indirect speech acts, why are polite requests? Underlying meanings
  • Mismatch, when one person understands a relationship as something and the other individual understands it as something else
  • Conditional requests soften the imperative. No relationship of dominance
  •  Language Is a collective human creation reflecting human nature


 


Suzzane Talhouk- don’t kill your language


  • Different meanings of words
  • Denied the right to speak language in her own country
  • Should you forget everything you know in language just to conform?
  • Creative expression for other languages
     
    Anne Curzan- what makes a word real?

  • Collection of new words- research
  • Human hands behind all dictionaries
  • Even critical people, don’t analyse dictionaries and don’t criticise them
  • Categories of words and they vote
  • Words are temporary and won’t stick
  • Banished words and words of the year, often a cross over because it is interesting and part of a living language. In addition to this, they are very creative
  • Concerns about words such as 'balcony'

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