I used www.speechtexter.com to convert my speech to text for the purpose of this assignment.

Okay. To make this super authentic I did not practice I just thought of a story that I thought would be really funny and they’re truly was only one that came to mind so that is the story that I’m going to tell. I went to the Amazon jungle in 2016 with my now husband. We traveled around South America for 6:00 or 7 weeks and went to a bunch of different countries and ended up visiting the Amazon when we were in Bolivia. We flew on the worst rated airline in the world Amazonia instead of taking the worst rated Road in the world because we thought it might be safer. Upon arriving to the Amazon we realized that the national park that we were going to was called madidi and that means ants, so you can imagine how thrilled I was. I picked a tour that ended up being pretty rustic because I didn’t want to be able to pet animals there were a bunch of Tours where you could pet animals and like interact with the wild animals and I’m not super into that I wanted to make sure that we were going on a trip that respected the space and respected the wildlife so after the research that I did this was the one that came out to be the least intrusive to the environment. So we get into the Amazon via boat it was about a 2-hour boat ride and we get to this place that we’re staying and we’re staying in Hots that are suspended off the ground and we have mosquito Nets to protect us at night. Unfortunately, our guide did not speak very much English. We knew this going into it we were being super adaptable and weren’t really worried about the language barrier and we honestly expected it most of the places that we went anyways we just tried our best to communicate and everyone was really good about it which helped a lot. Q some poor decision making. Our guide would usually point to things and tell us if they were poisonous or not and then tell us how many hours we’d be in pain for if it were to bite us. So he’d say don’t touch pain 5 hours. Apparently, there’s only one thing that can actually kill you in the Amazon and it’s a black and red striped snake which we fortunately never saw. Because I’m super smart, I ate a mushroom off of the ground that he told me was edible. I don’t know what I was thinking but you can imagine a few hours later as I’m running to the bathroom in the middle of the night with tarantulas coming out of the ground in Pitch Black I pooped my pants.  So not only did I poop my pants but I was also stuck in the middle of the Amazon jungle with nowhere to go. Moral of the story don’t eat random things on the ground even if someone tells you that they’re edible.

Analysis of speech to text

This text is much less formal than conventional written English. It is challenging for me to make verbal language formal as I often use sarcasm and levity in my daily communication – this obviously does not translate as well in written communication. It is also challenging when using voice to text because you have to verbalize punctuation. Not only does this feel unnatural, but it is hard to remember to do, particularly with commas. The frequency of run-on sentences makes this text feel more like a stream of consciousness (which it technically is) than something written for reading purposes.

The most common mistakes were grammatical. This is a user error (me), as I found it really challenging to verbalize my punctuation. The only reason I consider these mistakes is because you can visually see the lack of punctuation. In oral language, punctuation is replaced with pauses or breaths. Other than the punctuation I think the voice to text program that I used actually did a great job.

The text also feels blase. Not only is it missing descriptors I would use in place of hand gestures or facial expressions, but it lacks the grammatical soundness to make it cohesive and enjoyable to read. I am well aware that I use facial expression and hand gestures more than the average person, but this activity made me realize that the utilization of those things takes the place of language I would maybe use without them. My humour is generally dry and I rely on inflection more than verbal explanation. I appreciate this activity as I would never have thought of the difference between my verbal and written language, and this has made me appreciate how other people shift into these different streams of communication. 

I assumed 5 minutes would be a long time to tell a story, which is why I chose a memory with a bit of backstory. Queue me looking at my clock realizing 4 minutes had passed without me getting even close to the punch line of the story. I found this interesting because I completely underestimated how long it would take me to tell and ironic because I don’t like drawn out stories. I certainly would have cut out some of the background information that did not lend to the rising action of the story (how I chose the trip, how we got there, etc.) and gone into more detail regarding my run to the bathroom (it was truly terrifying and disappointing) as it was the climax and most ‘exciting’ part.

I personally think that oral storytelling is easier to connect with than written storytelling. Oral storytelling is a window into another person’s life and the base for cultural exchange. Oral storytelling allows for interaction and clarity to be made between entities whereas written storytelling is up for interpretation depending on the reader. 

Oral storytelling is an important component of Indigenous learning and knowledge sharing. This assignment opened my eyes to how vast the difference is between written and oral stories. I understand more deeply the importance of oral storytelling and how they offer a different type of learning. Oral storytelling connects people deeply and allows unique cultural exchange. Oral storytelling allows people to bring their own culture and experiences (depending on who is telling the story), which is something written storytelling does not have the affordance to do.

The following are quotes from Dr. Boroditsky’s presentation on language and thought and my own connections to these statements (2017).

21:00 – “So the question is, once you’ve learned a language like this with grammatical gender do you actually end up thinking of the sun and the moon as somehow more male like or more female like depending on what gender they are in your language.”

• In British Columbia we start learning French at a fairly young age (in Elementary School). I think the fact that I learned grammatical gender while learning French, impacts the way I view words in English. I do not speak French currently, but because I learned grammatical gender at an impressionable age it had a cross over effect into my general language development. This could explain why I always assume dogs and cats are male (or this could perhaps be due to growing up within a society where the patriarchy is deeply ingrained in culture). 

24:49 – “There’s some evidence suggesting that hurricanes that happen to get female names, these names of course are randomly assigned to hurricanes, are more deadly because people don’t evacuate when they’re told to because they underestimate the potential destruction of these hurricanes.”

• I have a gender neutral/unisex name, Jessie, and often find that people assume I am a man. When said people see that I am, in fact, a woman, they visibly react with confusion. The first day of my teaching practicum in 2014, I walked into the classroom and my practicum teacher said “Oh wow, I thought you were a man.” I could see the disappointment on his face and wondered if he would have accepted me as a student knowing that I am female. I knew from then, much like the hurricanes, that my ability would be underestimated. I think he ended up being pleasantly surprised by my level of competence, despite being a woman (this is meant to bring levity to this post and is meant in a purely sarcastic context). The biggest challenge for society moving forward is trying to undo the stereotypes that the patriarchy has instilled in social norms regarding gender.

28:35 – “This is a split second event (talking about someone being shot) but he makes it into four events right and he just happens to be on one end of that long chain but this is something language allows us to do. I can say we cured polio and that’s one verb for those very complicated protracted events or I can use four verbs to say I shot my friend in the face. In fact, whenever you are choosing a verb you’re taking a perspective on how much time you’re going to compact into an event.”

• Dr. Boroditsky suggests that the English language lacks the context of time when events are retold. I completely agree with this statement and find that it makes communication challenging when deciphering importance based on length. Generally, if something is important I prefer for it to be said explicitly and to the point. If a story is for entertainment or shock value I can understand why it may be drawn out or more details may be added. Because I prefer explicit communication, I struggle with people who tell drawn out stories. Unfortunately, my husband is one of these people. All jokes aside, I do find this type of communication really challenging because I find it very hard to pay attention (for this reason I also truly despise the explanation of board games). I understand that this challenge is something I must overcome as not all people are going to accommodate my impatience with drawn out language. I think I can even learn to appreciate this type of communication if I truly put my mind to it as we can learn from those who use language differently than ourselves.

41:20 – “There are lots of decisions that we make that may be less important but nonetheless still deal with this relationship between language and thought. For example, a few years ago the California prune board petitioned the FDA to allow them to change the name of their product from prunes to dried plums. This cost them millions of dollars to do. Why would they do such a thing? Well, the word prune lived in a bad linguistic neighborhood. Imagine what prunes are associated with, of course, old-age, constipation.” – She later states that changing the name made the product sell MUCH more but they had to have some that still said Prunes because old people didn’t want dried plums….

• I love this analogy because it is very reflective of how language changes and grows within contexts and time. The idea that words belong to linguistic neighborhoods is very similar to gendered nouns. So much of language is socially constructed within a culture and as that culture shifts demographically, so does the context of words. An example of this would be the use of the word ‘sick’ in the 90s. I grew up using this word to mean something that was really cool or awesome while my parents used it in the literal sense of not feeling well. Another word that was used in a different context in the 90s/early 2000s was the word dope. Dope also meant cool or awesome, but the first time my dad heard me say this he gave me a very interesting look and asked if I knew what it meant. He clearly had a different meaning of the word from the 70s, which was a slang term for marijuana. The connotation of words shifts with culture and we have to be able to adapt to the ever changing context of language. The prune company rebranded, spending millions, to change with the context of the language within their culture.

43:54 – “Our languages and cultures make us super smart, we inherit so much knowledge that has been built over thousands of generations of our predecessors.”

• The BC Curriculum identifies the importance of Indigenous perspective and knowledge in education. First Peoples Principles of Learning (First Nations Education Steering Committee, 2007). The Principles of Learning state the following that are related to what Dr. Boroditsky touches on above:
  • Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story
  • Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities
• These learning principles connect deeply with the statement made above by Dr. Boroditsky. We have so much to learn from the Indigenous Principles of Learning and the way Indigenous cultures pass on information and knowledge through storytelling.
• CLICK FOR FIRST PEOPLES LEARNING PRINCIPLES

51:15 – “Communication between any two people even who speak the same language still has a lot of problems. I don’t know if you’re married… but most married people have experienced this.”

• To be completely transparent, communication is one of the biggest challenges in most of my relationships. This does not simply mean that communication isn’t working or is broken, it just means that communication is the component in relationships that I constantly need to adjust and work on in order to foster understanding and empathy within my relationships. My husband and I started going to counseling together to work on our communication ‘tool kit’ after he was in a very bad car accident and suffered substantial brain trauma. I think the way we interpret language, how we learn language, and the communication we grow up with, heavily impacts the way we interact with others. I appreciated Dr. Boroditsky’s humor when discussing communication problems, because it adds some lightness to something that most humans (at least I think) struggle with at some point in their lives. It goes to show how complicated language can be and that language and communication are two very different entities. Language has structure and rules and can be taught using paper and pencil. In my experience, communication is a skill that needs to be learned in an ever changing culture.

57:00 – “People are always using language in new ways. Language has never been static, it’s a living thing and the one thing that has been common throughout history is that older people complain about how younger people are killing the language and soon there will be no more language left because of the kids these days.” – In response to a question about how texting is changing thought.

• I found this statement particularly interesting because I frequently catch myself in my own hypocrisy surrounding cell phones and texting. I thought it was important that Dr. Boroditsky mentioned that this is a chronic feeling among all generations – that the younger generation is doing something ‘bad’ to harm what they have created. I do not necessarily think there is a hierarchy of delivery methods when it comes to communication and instead the communication (content) itself should be the focus of analysis. I also think it is important to note that a lot of the communication related to my job is done through e-mail, which is simply a more formal way of texting. When I find myself being overcritical of teenagers communicating through their phones, I remind myself of this.

References

B.C. Curriculum. (2020, October 5). Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives in K-12 Curriculum. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/indigenous-education-resources/indigenous-knowledge-and-perspectives-k-12-curriculum

FNESC. (2007). First Peoples Principles of Learning. Retrieved January 17, 2023, from http://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/

SAR School for Advanced Research. (2017, June 7). Lera Boroditsky, how the languages we speak shape the way we think [Video]. YouTube.

What’s in my bag?

For the ‘what’s in your bag’ activity, I chose my work bag. I use this bag 5 days a week for work as a PE teacher/Athletic Director at a high school in the Okanagan. I have had this specific bag for 6 years and it serves me well.

Here are the insides of my bag:

• Work Keys x 2
• Wallet/cross body bag
  • Science centre pass
  • Driver’s license
  • Credit card
  • Cash
  • Coins (for parking, although I have the parking app)
• Car keys
• Blistex Lip Chap
• Tampons
• Hand sanitizer
• Mr. Noodles
• Cheese string (daily staple)
• Cellphone
• Flash drive
• A few forks
• A soother (not pictures as my toddler saw it and immediately stole)
• Chip clips

Even though I cart these items around everyday, I do not use each of them in my everyday life. The items I physically use daily include my work keys and cellphone. My work keys unlock the outside door of the school, the door to the gym, and the door to my office. I carry these around with me and then return them to my bag at the end of the day, to be used again the following morning. My phone remains in my office as I have an Apple Watch that notifies me if there are any pressing e-mails/texts that need immediate attention (this is one of the struggles with being an athletic director – people sometimes need responses sooner than later). I also use my phone to pay, so I do not physically use my wallet. I have started to notice a twinge of anxiety boiling up when a store does not take ApplePay because I use my credit card so infrequently I get nervous it won’t work. I very rarely, physically handle my car keys. While car keys are imperative for driving, they never leave my bag, therefore, I am not physically using them. The keys are a fob that unlock the door in proximity and start the engine in proximity, so they usually live at the bottom of the bag. This activity has shown me how strongly I rely on the technology in my bag working while passively interacting with it.

The other items in my bag are simply there ‘just in case’ – who  knows when you’re going to need a cup of noodles. I don’t carry a lot around with me since I have an office and use my personal computer at home. All of my marks, resources and scheduling happen digitally – hence the lack of an agenda and computer in my bag. While I’d say it represents me well, I’d say it’s a tad boring and that my work desk would probably be a better indication of my personality (RuPaul cup and all).

Text technologies

I rely heavily on text technologies throughout my day. My phone and Apple Watch are synced and keep me in the know throughout my day at work. I am mindful and take my watch off at home and tuck my phone away so that I can ‘unplug’ in some sense. My phone and watch allow me to reply to emails and text people in a timely manner for athletic related questions/issues. My watch also allows me to play music and keep time during PE classes without having to constantly go to my phone to stop time or change songs. The technology in my bag allows me to stay connected on the go. I think these text technologies show that I am connected to modern communication. While part of my communication happens in person, most of my connections are supported by technology  (e-mail, text, canvas, whatsapp, messenger, weebly athletics website, etc.). I suppose I never thought about how heavily my communication channels have shifted into a digital space.

The flash drive that I carry holds important documents in case I do not have data or wifi (for cloud connection). I have come to realize that my reliance on technology for my job and school is only as reliable as the accessibility I have. For example, if the wifi is down at work and I do not have access to my cloud, I have no way of printing documents from my computer unless I hotspot my phone. While this is a reality in some cases, in others it isn’t feasible (especially if I am near my data limit).  For this reason, the flash drive truly is for post-apocalyptic circumstances

I believe if my bag was analyzed 15 years ago it would look very similar, but may have a flip phone instead of an iPhone. This goes to show how items viewed in a superficial way may misrepresent the use (how I use my iPhone to connect to my watch and to pay for everything). In 25 years I hope this bag is empty and I am living my best retired life. I’m sure my phone, wallet, and keys will still be an integral part of my day to day life. This activity certainly made me question why I carry around the mundane chip clips or tampons (comfort?) and made me realize how heavily I truly rely on text technology throughout my waking hours.