As you view this lecture, identify at least 6 statements that strike you or you relate to at a personal level. Record the timestamps of such statements and respond to or comment on each statement in your webspace. 

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[10:25] There has been a lot of new empirical work actually trying to understand: do people who speak different languages think differently — other than having strong opinions one way or the other, can we put some scientific basis under these questions…

Although I have studied French, I am far from being fluent in French so I am actually monolingual. Yet from my discussions with friends and family members who speak more than one language, I have been able to surmise that being a polyglot extends their understanding and experience of the world around them because each language they know fluently carries cultural influences and even historical influences. For example, when I was in Brazil I learned about a unique word in European and Brazilian Portuguese—”saudade”, meaning to be longing for a person or even a place, a bittersweet feeling that is both sad and tender.

[18:25] When you teach people to talk a new way, you’re teaching them to think a new way as well…

I have been reading a book called The Power of Language: How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak and Live Transform Our Minds (Marian, 2023). Through her psycholinguistic research, the author has concluded that “at least some of the things that we perceive and remember differ depending on what labels we use. Learning another language makes it possible to process the environment around us without the constraints imposed by the limits of a single language (Marian, p.21-22).

[42.55] Can language really shape thinking?

I was intrigued when Boroditsky said that two of the ways language can be used to change our thinking is to “Train new ways of talking” and “To take language away.” From what I have seen, many new or repurposed words and phrases have been introduced in the English language through social, cultural and political movements. These new words or terms are loaded with meaning and bias so they are identified with a particular point of view or ideology. Often they reveal a bias, depending how they are used. For example, in the public discussions about abortion, the terms “pro life” are used in contrast with “pro choice.” “Pro life” suggests that those who oppose abortion rights value protecting the sanctity of human life while “pro choice” suggests that those who favour abortion rights value freedom of choice for human beings. The use of those terms, however, also has negative implications for those who do not align themselves with one of them: for example, if you are not “pro life”, that implies you do not value the sanctity of human life, and if you are not “pro choice”, that implies you must be opposed to freedom and human rights for our own bodies. Thus, the terms themselves are polarizing; there is no popular term for someone who may be in favor of abortion rights but also wants to protect the sanctity of life.  There are other more recent examples of terms like these, but it shows how language can used as a tool for social engineering, with possible negative or positive outcomes.

[50:37] It is impossible to achieve exact translation across any two languages.

I understand what Boroditsky is saying her, and I know this from discussions with my father (who was bilingual German-English) and various friends who are bilingual or multilingual. To me this is an important statement because it presents a challenge to human society in this century and beyond. There are so many shades and complexities in every word and every language that it may be humanly impossible for even skilled, multilingual translators to translate with great precision between languages. Generative artificial intelligence and quantum computing technology, however, may present an unprecedented opportunity for us to develop real-time translations between multiple languages that are as precise as possible, considering that culture, context and experience also present layers that obstruct the possibility of fully synonymous, equitable communication.

[54:31] People who have lived in multiple places around the world score better on tests of creativity.

This statement reminded me of how, as a native English speaker, I was always amazed that writers such Canadian Michael Ondaatje, whose first language was Tamil, and novelist Joseph Conrad, whose first language was Polish, could be such phenomenal English language authors, creative masters of the language. This makes me believe that globalism and multilingualism is so important for universal education practices, because there are opportunities for fostering greater creativity and insight. Educational foreign exchange programs may be especially influential for students to experience different languages and cultures.

[56:49] Do you think that the different ways people use the language now by texting is changing the way they think?

I reflected on Boroditsky’s response to this question, which was “Is there something systematically different about the way you use language and text as opposed to in spoken language, so is there some pattern that you would specifically predict, because if its just an abbreviated form of language, it may not lead to interesting differences….” In my experience, communication by text messaging was historically driven by low bandwidth connectivity and simplicity of user experience in the late 1990s/early 2000s; in other words, it was faster and easier to send short text messages on devices that had low bandwidth Internet connectivity or were on low bandwidth mobile networks. The preponderance of texting in the late 1990s and early 2000s led to several user innovations, such as acronyms for common phrases, emojis to convey emotional reactions and deconstructed grammar, such as no upper case letters, intentional misspellings to shorten common words and no periods at the end of sentences. While these may have seemed like language innovations and game changers, Boroditsky reminds us that such changes are natural to language evolution and not unique to early 21st century Internet communications. I would suggest that embedded text in images to create what  has become known as memes has has as much impact on our language as texting by SMS or texting within apps such as Messenger, Telegram and Whatsapp.

References

Marian, V. (2023). The Power of Language: How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak and Live Transform Our Minds (1st ed., p. 284). Dutton.

 

My Daily Needs

I’m a hybrid worker in government who works only 1-2 days per week in our office building. That means that when I commute to the office I have to carry most of my equipment and many of my personal supplies in my oversized bag—with the exception of my personal cellphone.

I do not have a permanent desk anymore since I began teleworking during and after the pandemic, nor do I have a locker anymore for my personal items and electronic devices.

The following is a numbered legend with details about the items in the above photo:

1. My wide computer bag with wheels and a telescoping handle. On the streets of Victoria I always look like a tourist when I am pulling this along the sidewalk.
2. My Lenovo notebook computer, provided by my employer before the pandemic.
3. Wireless keyboard. My own. My notebook’s keyboard is not an affordance for my large fingers.
4. Wireless mouse and mousepad (I am not a fan of the track pad).
5-8. USB port, power cord, headphones with mic and charging station. I often keep a cellphone charger in my bag, too.
9-10. A coiled notepad, sticky notes and pens. I still need to write in analog sometimes.
11. My access card and lanyard to wear around my neck. It always flaps around when I walk.
14-15. My reading glasses (3.00 magnification) and lens cleaner.
16. A mini-calculator. I don’t need it until I need it.
17. Wet Ones wipes, for cleaning stains on my shirt and just about everything else.
18. Small zipper pouch for pocket change and other forgotten artifacts.
19. A variety of condiments and utensils in a plastic bag to use at lunchtime.
20-25. Various personal comfort and hygiene items.
26. An umbrella for myself but, more importantly, to keep my equipment dry.
27. Chewing gum. why not?

My Items as Texts

How might these items be considered “texts” and what do they say about you, the places you inhabit, the cultures with which you engage, and/or the activities you take up?

One of the Oxford etymological definitions of the word text is from Latin textus, “that which is woven, web, texture” (OED Online, 2023).  The items 1-8, 11 and 16 in my bag are weaving a story about a digital worker in the 21st century who is fully mobile but still must travel to points of online connectivity and electrical power to be able to access networked technology, information and people. The analog writing tools 9-10 (the pens and paper products) reveal that there are still opportunities and needs for analog communication in certain contexts. The personal items show that I have human needs that are part of my digital working life. What is missing from the bag, perhaps, are items that represent my family (such as photos), mementos from my travels or certificates and diplomas about my accomplishments—these might be on the desk of a full-time office worker but there is no room for them in the spartan spaces of my bag.

(n.d.). Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved September 6, 2023, from https://www-oed-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/dictionary/text_n1?tab=etymology#18738443

Thinking about the title of the course, what are the “text technologies” in your bag, if any? What do these items say about how you engage with language and communication?

The predominant and most valuable item in my bag is my notebook computer, which enables me to read, write, speak, listen, watch, create, share and analyze through information technology and Internet connectivity. This powerful device is the most important communication tool in my work, even though there is a social element of online and face to face communication with my colleagues. I am interested in the etymological links between the words “text” and “technology” because technology is starting to provide communication tools that may eventually make written language (text) become an archaic and inefficient medium for communication and information sharing.

What do the items in your bag say about the literacies you have?

I think the items characterize me as a digitally literate professional with specific IT skills and competencies and they imply that I have a formal education and at least some advanced technical knowledge and training.

How does the narrative of the (private) contents of your bag compare with the narrative produced by the image you have of yourself or the image you outwardly project?

Every item in the bag is what I would consider my essential professional and personal needs for a day at work in a shared office environment, which suggests the image of a very focused and task-driven worker. However, the bag and the items within it carry almost no clues about my relationships at work, my relationships with my immediate family and friends, my cultural background or even my creative activities or my spiritual practices. It is basically a toolkit that says little about who I am (the person you see in the photo above), my history and my personal life apart from my daily work.

What would this same bag have looked like, say, 15 or 25 years ago?

If I were carrying a similar bag 25 years ago, I would have had similar equipment as I was using an IBM laptop with low bandwidth Internet connectivity at that time, but the laptop and the accessories or peripheral devices would not have been wireless, so although the outward appearance would have suggested a similar kind of mobile digital worker, there  would have been many more limitations and even hindrances to network connectivity that would have made me reliant on an telephone cord for dialup connectivity along with cable-tethered devices (such as a phone and a printer). also, I might have had some physical books or manuals as well in the bag.

How do you imagine an archeologist aiming to understand this temporal period might view the contents of your bag many years in the future?

If my bag and its contents were well preserved for 1 thousand years, for example, I suppose that they would understand the extent of our information technology in my era. They might conclude that my bag was the 21st century equivalent of other trades workers carrying their toolkit with them  but might wonder why there was a need for me to travel with these items in my bag since the computer was connected to a virtual private network. Perhaps they would conclude that there may have been social reasons for doing so, that people still wanted to gather face to face even thought they could meet online if they chose. Ironically, my most important electronic device than my Lenovo notebook computer would not even be in this bag as I always carry it on my person—my Google Pixel 7 smartphone.