Language is such a fascinating thing.

As is humankind’s determination to communicate, whatever the means.

Now that I have the time; am back involved in trying to teach language, as well as absorbing it myself; and now that depression no longer hinders my general abilities, I find myself longing for all my uni texts so that I could go over them at leisure and relearn all the linguistics that I :should: know.

Last year at the second hand book store in Kobe (yes, it was a memorable adventure) I picked up two of my prescribed texts for about five dollars. Last night for my night-time reading I suddenly felt the urge to read one of them. If I could contain all the knowledge I put in, I would call myself a total language geek. As it is, I’m a wannabe language geek 😉

I have been holding back from the expensive linguistic texts stocked in the new bookstore (which, for me, was the most exciting aspect of the bookstore). I think come September, I shall hold back no longer. I want to learn. I want to absorb and I want to remember.

Language fascinates me, particularly the acquisition aspects and the socio aspects.
Take the following for example:

“Deaf children often sign themselves to sleep just as hearing children talk themselves to sleep; deaf children report that they dream in sign language as French-speaking children dream in in French and Hopi children dream in Hopi. Deaf children sign to their dolls and stuffer animals; slips of the hand occur similar to slips of the tongue; finger fumblers amuse signers just as tongue twisters amuse speakers”
– An Introduction To Language, 1996, V. Fromkin, R. Rodman, P. collins and D. Blair

My mind marvels at how determined human nature is to communicate. This book cites studies where even deaf children born to hearing parents who don’t sign, will develop their own sign language to express themselves.

lokicarbisJuly 12, 2005 - 3:01 am

God, I wish I had the time to get into this… maybe next incarnation 🙂

derigueurJuly 12, 2005 - 3:02 am

I agree! One of my favourite reference books is “Writing Systems of the world” that discusses all the different little squiggles people have developed to transfer information. The best thing is looking at a page of complete nonsense and *knowing* that to a whole culture, it means something.

I always knew you were a cunning linguist 😛

gypsyamberJuly 12, 2005 - 3:08 am

0:-)

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