George Athanasopoulos
5/13/20
Period 3
SOPHOMORES 2020
Aim: How does language construct and impact thought?
Do Now: CHALLENGE
In your Google Classroom, you should find the Shakespearean Insultsdocument. Work with your partner to complete “2.”
- How difficult was it to create the insult? Why/Why Not?
- How important is your understanding of the words, in
Shakespearean language to ensure your message is accurate?
- Is it fair to say, that due to your limited knowledge of language,
during Shakespeare’s times, you’re ability to get across what you
were truly trying to say may have been hindered?
- Did you find that to create the translation, you may have had to use more simple-language (basic words) for your translation?
So we had to make some insults and then we had a discussion on it and how we came up with them. We talked about how absurd a lot of them sounded since we didn’t know what they meant. We came to the conclusion that since a lot of times we had no idea what we were saying it didn’t really come across as an insult. Additionally, coming up with insults that made sense was hard since we are not that familiar with Shakespearean language and when translating them to modern english we realised that oftentimes they were complete nonsense. Overall, translating the insults was a bit harder because these words are more complex and carry more meaning and could be used in different ways. but without the person telling them understanding what they were saying and
After that we watched a TED talk on how language shapes the way we think by Lera Boroditsky. It was really interesting and very informative. Ms. Boroditsky explained her ideas in a way that made everyone want to learn more. I found the examples she gave really interesting and it made me realise how big of an affect the way we perceive things through language has on us. For example, an aboriginal community in Australia, Kuuk Thaayorre uses cardinal directions for everything and thus they are always oriented. They also organize time from east to west following the Sun. We however are taught to organize it from left to right just like the direction we write in. In hebrew and in Arabic where writing is done from right to left travel moves the same direction. So we have all associated the travel of time with different things. Numbers and colors are more big examples of things that are perceived differently in different languages.
After that we played Taboo, and we had to describe the word iPad without saying the words apple, device, electronic, tablet, and toy. The results were very interesting and it was fun to see others come up with different interpretations of what an iPad is in order to describe it. Then we played another version of Taboo where we were given 5 words. Belief, equality, freedom, integrity, and pride and we had to come up with 5 words to describe them which I liked but I prefered the first version more.
What is it like working from home?
Working from home is definitely a big change and it was weird at first. I didn’t like it and I didn’t feel as productive as before. It was hard to give myself a schedule to do everything on time but I got the hang of it. It’s still really easy to get distracted but I feel at this point it’s easier to control that. The lessons in every class have been a little chaotic as well but again over time they’ve gotten better and now everyone has fully adjusted. It’s just kind of crazy that this is the new norm but it’ll all blow over soon hopefully.
What are you learning about your world/community based on the reactions?
It’s interesting cause everyone has different opinions on what should happen. Should school open or not? Should travel be allowed or not? Should we social distance longer? And till when? They're all valid questions and there’s not always a right answer but throughout all of this it’s interesting to hear different opinions. I feel like overall obviously everyone is bored and tired of the quarantine but at the same time it’s bringing people together which is nice to see
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