"Dogs must stay on lead and are not allowed to foul the footway."
Ah, the nuances of language! Seeing this sign on my PATHway to my place reminded me of the exact reason why I chose to study English Language Arts. Us humans communicate uniquely all around the world using variations of accents, jargon, symbols, letters, painting, music, dance and more... yet, we communicate nonetheless... all the time! We cannot be 100% sure about history of course, but The Medical Hypotheses journal states the existence of communicative markings on cave walls 30,000 BCE, not even taking into account the development of verbal speech that probably came beforehand. Interestingly enough, being able to speak was one of the key breakthroughs of being considered human and not an animal. When we began to walk upright (bipedalism), our tongues evolved properly to make articulate sounds. Anyway, we're not here to read an essay by Kelly, but the point is: it would be hard to argue against the importance of studying language when it is has been threaded into our humanity since we were created. I'm not saying you disagreed with that fact, it was just a crucial reminder I needed to admit to myself in my journey as an English major. My mission here is to look closely into those differing nuances of language. I have been filled to the brim with literature and education classes the past two years, but I hadn't been given the opportunity to 'slow down' and absorb the words I was reading so fast. The words have been scrambled together by many different other languages, as you obviously know, but what is highly impressive and seemingly mundane most of the time is that the words always have meaning, even if they have changed numerous times. I find that fascinating! Just because we cannot read Middle English as well as Modern English does not discredit the authority of the language of that time. Just because we cannot understand another culture does not discredit the authority of that culture. And so on! Plus, language gives us the ability to create stories, share memories, express opinions, make change, show love, and the list goes on. Language, my friends, creates literature which then creates our culture. It was an a-ha moment I had with my Oxford professor. I'm excited because I keep having a-ha moments and there are probably many more to come in this lively college town. Cheers!
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Greetings!I'm Kelly! I like to find beauty in what might seem mundane to us over time and bring to life what we experience each day. Check out the About Me tab for an additional look at who I am. Archives
July 2019
Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is. |