Week 4 Lab

For this topic, I chose one that stands out to me because it's something that has always been of interest to me. I chose "Teded Videos: Language".

How languages evolve:  I loved this. The history of languages have always intrigued me. It's cool how it travels and combines. Seeing the tree of languages (the families) was really interesting to see.  I would love to see more how they break down words to figure out families. 3000-8000 is a LOT of languages. I didn't realize it was that many.

How did English evolve: Hearty welcome = casual, fun, laid back. Cordial = more formal, uptight, reserved. I had learned some of this history before and it's always interested me. I'd love to take a full History of the English language class. I like the visual of the tree for English as well.

How many verb tenses are there: I liked the breakdown of aspects. It's crazy to see how that can be hard to understand, but at the same time it's not many compared to others (like French).

Are Evlish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na'vi Real Languages: I hadn't even heard of all of these, but it was interesting to learn. Mind blown. I never would've considered grammar meaning it's a real language. Same with evolving. I'm glad I don't have to speak klingon. That sounds terrible. I definitely don't know how to speak with the uvula.

Where Do New Words Come From: I didn't realize we were still pulling words from other languages. I liked the food examples, although it made me hungry. I like how they broke it down how they evolve, not just new words. I hadn't heard of the "Mistories of vernaculars". That could be fun to go back and check it all out.

How to Use a Semicolon:the video game sort of intro was fun. It can clarify a sentence, link independent clauses (that are related), or replace words like but in s sentence.

When to Use Aprostrophes: quotation mark chopped in half *insert cry laughing face". That was hilarious. I did know it was for possession or contraction, but have often seen it misused. It's versus Its was a good example.

Does Grammar Matter: I'm one of those people who correct others. I can't help it. It is interesting to hear the different orders with other languages. I suppose I tend to be a prescriptive person.  I definitely agree that speech and writing are different things though. You can't always set tone through writing.

(Image from Flickr)