Writing in Cyber Space

Has the act of writing influence language change?

The act of writing has changed language. Writing give people away to escape from social situations, in regards to the age of the internet. Like stated by Seth Lerer’s TED presentation, writing makes language more easily accessible. Language through writing offers a cloak to hide behind. Writing is much more easier than facing conflict head on , face to face. In modern day society, people hide behind their computers, they put on a fake image of themselves. They are able to be more confident in the world of writing. But this fake world that many create will be their own downfall. 

Online dating- Writing has changed language when it comes to online dating. A person can say how they truly feel without the harsh consequence of potential face to face, word exchange of rejections

Cyber Abuse- Many older parents from previous generations might think that bullying can only be on the playground or at school. They are wrong. Cyber Bullying happens everyday. The words that are exchanged are hurtful and scaring. These actions are hidden behind the act of writing. 

With His Words

Words can mean anything! Words are the reason that we can communicate and express ourselves. Many express themselves through poems or songs. Other people may not be as verbal but that does not mean that they do not have feelings. They just make words more powerful when they do express their feelings. An example that relates back to my life are the words that my boyfriend says. Meeting him you would never think he is a romantic. He is one of those guys who would rather go play Xbox then talk about feelings then communicate through words. He is not much of a talker, more of the shy quite guy. But this makes it all the more important to listen when he does have something to say. 

He makes a great impact with his words…

With his words ,he was able to give me true happiness and joy

With his words , he changed my perspective on life

With his words, he asked me to marry him.

With my words , I am proud to call him my Fiance

Nah Nah Love !

There are so many things that can be associated with love. As Nicole Lo. suggested Love can be interpreted in many different ways. The meaningfulness of the English language allows us to communicate and control the way we can show love. Love is all around the english language. Most words can directly link back to love.  

1) Bio- which means life

What is life without love. There will be no excitement in life without love. 

2) Cosm- which means universe 

The cosmos are the universe. The universe is the connection between life and the earth itself.

3)inter- which mean between

Inter can mean many things. It can be put into inter-racial, inter-marriage, inter-mix. Inter can be the love the is in between. 

4)bi- which means two

“It takes two to tango” . Bi is needed to have bicycle. A Tandem Bicycle is meant to ride two people

 

How we learn vocabulary ? and How children learn to mean?

When learning new words, Adults tend to associate those words with previous words they already know such as associating sponsorship with donation and grant but adults go further, they associate other characteristics with new words. An example would be cows: Cows go moo, give milk, live on a farm, are big. Expanding your vocabulary expands a persons’ precision  when describing a certain item or event. Dictionaries  are important in every adults life because they offer assistance in making decisions involving what words to use. Synonyms are very difficult to use because no two words have the exact same meaning thus it is important to choice a person’s words carefully. Antonyms also have many issues. Yes there are complete opposites such as being single v. being married, big and small, light and dark but most words do not have an antonyms such as Tuesday or furniture. 

Children learn from what is around them such as the people around them, food, toys, and body parts. Since children do not yet understand the complexity of words yet, they can use the words they know as guidelines. An example would be for a ball a child might call it a moon because of its round shape. Children will also not realize the difference between names and items. An example would be if a child did not know that their dogs name was not dog and other families had pets that were also called dogs. of course children are young and still developing so they will mix up words and sentence structures. When thinking about the formation of sentences and language is a whole , Language is very broad and complex.

How we analyse meaning?

Language is a network of systematic relationships between units of meaning. Many words can be composed of one unit of word for example walk, walking, and walked all have different meanings but all consist of the word WALK. The term word is useless for the study of idioms. For example the phrase KICKING THE BUCKET does not literally mean what society takes it to mean which is death. The base of the english language is on the concept of lexemes being organized into different fields. Vocabulary can be divided into six main areas.abstract relations, space, matter, intellect, volition and affection. Lexemes are a system that groups words that are in the same area of study unlike the dictionary which groups alphabetically, lexemes are more suitable in finding a word according to its context. Collocation is the act of using particular words together. This act directly correlates with the use of lexemes. Collocation differ from language to language. Each having different phrases for different things. Words also share relationships, an example would be a synonymy , which is the relationship between words that have meanings that are alike. Another relationship is a hyponymy, which is a grouping of related objects that equal the value of another object. For example a rose is a hyponym of a flower. Finally the last sense relationship is a antonymy, which is the opposite of a word. For example the antonym of nice is mean.

How we mean?

Language is used to convey meaning.  Although language can be used for deception. One would will have multiple meanings. Unlike many other languages  , English occasionally offers two or more meanings per a word. An example would be “mean”. First mean could be defined as to act as a symbol of. An example would be “In this article, the color red means anger”. Another definition of mean could be acting in a selfish way towards a person. An example would be “Shelly pushed Jane down the stairs. Why is Shelly acting so mean?”. The is also a very prevalent connection between words and sounds. Although not many words in English convey the sounds the action is making. Another way English is different from other languages is that english does not have words to describe carefully different relationships between family members. Other languages such as chinese and spanish have words for mother’s sister and father’s sister. Overall many english words do not correlate with other languages. Experiences also do not define words, however they are more productive than references. The best way to understand a word is to experience it and put the word into context.

Cutting it out

Many words in society today are just cut off. This might be because it rolls of the tongue easier or people are just getting lazier. A back formation is cutting out the suffix of a word for instance donates from donation. Is the word donation to formal? Is that why we cut the word to donate? Even in formal education, the word transcript is used instead of transcription. Both have the same meaning, which is a student’s academic record. Back formation is also very popular in pop culture. An example would be Mr. Self Destruct by Nine inch Nails. Instead of it being Mr. Self Destruction it is shortened, this may be because it is simpler to sing and it is easier to rhyme with. Aphaeresis is another type of word that has been cut. Aphaeresis is when a letter or syllable is removed from the front of the word. An example would be about and ’bout. A typical saying is “It’s ’bout time”. The shortening of the words can be because too much emotion can be used to say the word and it is quicker to say ‘bout then about. The final example of a word being cut off is a aphesis which is when an unaccented syllable is cut from the front of the word. An example would be esquire and squire. In the novel, Don Quixote called on his “squire” Sancho Panza, to aid him in his quest. The reason it may be cut shorter is because it is simpler to call a person a squire because the s-sound and the qu-sound roll off the tongue easier than the es-sound and qu- sound.

Meaningful Words

Words have a great impact on our lives. Words effect how we communicate to one another. Words are the bases of modern society. They affect every aspect of our lives. Words are there to label product so that we know that rat poison is not the same as jellybeans. Words help communicate between individuals in society. Words express feeling in conversations, poems, art, songs and much more. They offer a way to express our inner thoughts and for others to understand them. Words no matter the language they are spoken in offer a sense of culture. What may mean one thing in one culture could translate into another totally different definition. For example in English (bi) usually means two. It can be (bi)partisan, (bi)sexual, (bi)cyclist and many more but in Khmer bi means rice. Sounds are nothing unless meaning is given to them. Meaning give words a purpose. Every word in every language is beautiful. Each word offers meaning. Words affect the way we feel. The words ”No” and “Yes” are far apart, when it comes to meaning but they are close when it come to the weight that they carry. If a women or man is ever put in an uncomfortable situation the words yes and no are lifesaving. They also can carry emotional weight.  For example, when a man/women asks another man/women to marry them, the words yes and no have a big impact on the person emotional, physically and finically. In certain situations, words can make a bigger impact then some actions.

What is MAL-?

The base mal- is one that is very widely used. Mal- is defined as bad. It is an important part of society’s everyday life. Mal- is mostly used in the negative sense. It can be used in law in the context of (mal)practice suits. Malpractice would be defined as the improper treatment of a patient in a medical setting. Malpractice is a very important word for many people in the medical and law industry. Malpractice could mean that someone was wrongfully treated. This could lead to someone being physically impaired for the rest of his or her lives or even death. Another effect of malpractice is the lost of a hospital due to a malpractice suit. The lost of a hospital could lead to longer ER wait time and overcrowding. So the word Malpractice overall has a massive effect on the people it effects. The base Mal- holds so much strength in just three letters. mal- can turn a delightful situation into horror and pain. For example, a puppy can be treated with care and be well nourished but once mal- comes into the picture, nourished becomes malnourished. The addition of mal- become effective and destroys the once happy situation. Mal- can however be seen as humorous when thinking about the word male. Through the eyes of a women’s the word male and the meaning of the opposite sex is humorous because men are seen as “bad”. They are seen as the risk takers and the leaders of rebellion. Mal- is strong word because it has the ability to change words from being positive to negative.