Language Investigation 3

As a child, I've always loved English. In Elementary School, fifth grade in particular, I was placed in 6th grade spelling. My friends and I in this group were the "Bees," as in spelling bees. This catapulted me into loving the subject.

My high school years were the most influential. After my dad died, I wanted to write a book that adolescents dealing with loss didn't have. I started writing journals and experiences and things I thought would help grieving teens. Teachers in high school helped me tremendously and I built on my writing skills through their guidance.

Warm Up 2: Chapters 5 and 6 of Rose

1. What kinds of reading and writing did you see students doing in school? Why do you think Rose chose these assignments?

They were reading and writing things that sometimes were out of their comfort level as well as things that could help them relate to their pasts. Shakespeare, for instance, caused anxiety and angst as one student in particular couldn’t get a grasp on the language. When reading poems to the veterans, he seemed to choose things that would reflect on their own lives. One man on one of his phone conversations said the speaker of a certain poem seems like an old man that has led a good life. I think he chose these assignments to both challenge and build upon skills and knowledge while reinforcing works that could be relatable and more understandable. I think also that these assignments were in place to help build confidence. The young girl reading Shakespeare, after he practically dragged her through each scene, admitted that while she didn’t like the text, or didn’t know is she liked it or not, she did like knowing what it was about. Rose seems to be helping students build confidence in themselves and find ways to respect text even if they can’t understand them completely. The students were writing what they knew to begin with: who they are as people, what their hobbies are, what their families are like. From there, Rose encouraged them to branch off and discover new ways of writing and news things to write about.

Language Investigation 2

The vocabulary I use with my friends is mostly abbreviations and combinations of other words that save us from actually pronouncing them separately. At our apartment, if someone announces that they are taking a "b show," (pronounced shau) everyone knows they are referring to a body shower, one where you don't wash your hair, therefore making it much faster. After that, everyone may indulge in some fresh baked "cooks," or cookies.

We also have names for people that have come about by accident. My younger sister, Dani, is forever "Dank" to my roommates, as that is the first choice that comes up when you try to text her name. "Thermo" is is our friend Theron, another texting related creation.

My boyfriend and I are constantly stretching our English muscles with displays of language manipulations: combining phrases to make words only we will understand. When we first met, we discovered a shared concern for men who have large "man boobs," or "moobs." One might even call them "super man boobs." From this, we now refer to them as "moopers." When something is extra, ridiculously great, is "ribedonkulous." Its origin unknown, we think it may have ALSO been texting related.

With my family, we share a discourse based on shared memories and experiences. In a setting with friends, our discourse comes from our everyday life, the things we use, and possible immaturity that seeps through the brilliant, college exterior.

Response to Language Investigation One

I noticed a lot of the investigations talked about sarcasm and inside jokes arising out of misunderstandings. I also read a couple that described other languages that seep into their household conversation. Like my own family, I was happy to find out that some sang songs, usually horribly, for certain occasions...ours was going to bed.

I think these patterns reveal that family discourse materializes through shared memories and experiences and has a lot to do with heritage and culture.

I also haven't gotten Lives On the Boundary yet, but I'm guessing an "insider," in terms of language, means being familiar enough with a language and the setting it's used in to create a similar language within it. From the outside, this language probably makes no sense but from the inside, it holds new meanings and associations