Task 2 – Does Language Shape the Way We Think?

  1. [7:37] – Dr. Boroditsky mentions that although we may not mention all the specifics about a particular scenario in when describing it in language, there are encoded assumptions we make about what we are hearing. She uses the example of stating that it rained today; in the English language we would have the understanding that the speaker is referencing the outdoors, and likely wouldn’t think the speaker believed that it rained inside the lecture theatre. This reminds me of a video by Josh Darnit (2017) wherein he asks his children to write out directions on how to construct a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He follows the directions to a tee, and it’s revealed through the video that there are many implied assumptions we make when deciphering language (in this case, in written form). For instance, in one of the steps, he was instructed to wipe the peanut butter and jelly “all over” the slice of bread. Taking this information literally, he begins to spread the peanut butter and jelly on both faces of the bread as well as on the crust sides of the bread, while his child looks on with mixed feelings. This drives home the point that language and text is extremely nuanced, as well as how we interpret it. It’s key to consider our audience and the intention of the communication. In my work, I often need to write step-by-step guides for instructors and staff. I find that there’s a particular balance that I need to strike when breaking down the steps in language and reference images. I need to consider the needs of a range of user, running the gamut between absolute beginners and experienced technology innovators, visual learners and those that thrive following succinct text instructions. Tack onto this that some of the readers may not have English as their first language, and it becomes a task that has the potential to be downright confusing. Dr. Boroditsky highlights the need to consider our audience, and apply knowledge about multiliteracies in order to most effectively communicate our message. Feel free to check out Josh Darnit’s video below. It’s quite entertaining!
  2. [16:01] Dr. Boroditsky describes how, based on cultural understandings about time and space, people of different language and culture spatially lay out sequences by noting the way their body is positioned in relation to east and west. In languages that exist within a culture that rely more heavily on wayfinding and elements of nature, this makes perfect sense. In modern English-speaking culture, we seem to have far less need to orient ourselves to nature’s signposts. Dr. Boroditsky makes the point that those who orient time from left to right could be interpreted as making time chase them around! I thought this was clever, and interesting to consider why and how we spatially construct time the way we do.
  3. [19:16] Dr. Boroditsky explains how different cultures categorize colours, stating that in some languages there are specific words particular shades whereas in other languages those distinctions would be harder to communicate. I found this really interesting. I wonder if the way people communicate colour could be impacted by their experience in mixing colour, as in fine art. If you were to ask an experienced artist the combinations of paint they used to achieve a particular colour, they’d likely be able to recount the names of the hues they used, the ratio of each, and how much tint or shade they mixed in to achieve the effect. Because artists have experiential knowledge of mixing the hues, they have more capacity to describe it. To add another element to this, using colour to describe emotion could be different from person to person, across languages and culture. For a person in western culture, a particular hue of red could symbolize danger or anger, but for a person of Chinese descent, the same hue could symbolize luck and prosperity. This also made me think about hex codes in digital art and design, which could be considered a technologically universal language to refer to seemingly infinite hues of colour.
  4. [23:56] The commentary that Dr. Boroditsky makes about grammatically gender nouns impacting how people interpret objects, events, and art piqued my interest. As gender fluidity becomes more mainstream, will the impact of gendered language become less pronounced? If a language or culture adheres to strict rules about grammatical gender, does this impact how speakers of that language comprehend the concept of non-binary gender? In recent years, we’ve seen gender non-binary/fluid folks create pronouns to refer to themselves in English, such as ze/zir, xe/xem. In other languages such as Romanian, Polish, and Ukrainian, there already happen to be more than two grammatical genders. Perhaps we will see (or maybe we have already seen) more languages adopting additional pronouns into their language.
  5. [41:57] The marketing use of language and word choice to shape how we think about products is ubiquitous, and Dr. Boroditsky’s illustration about the interpretive contrast between prunes and dried plums is an excellent example. A tangential thought related to this is the commonly accepted practice of using of brand names to refer to products. Using the word Kleenex instead of tissues or the word Band-aid instead of adhesive bandage are generally understood, at least in English. I would imagine this phenomenon is also observed in other languages and cultures. As words and their associations evolve over time, so do our interpretations of what they mean in different contexts.
  6. [45:53] Dr. Boroditsky discusses America attempting to appoint “freedom” as a substitute for “French” in well-known terms such as French fries and French toast due to political motives. Another example of using language to politically impact how audiences interpret information is around discussions of global warming. Often politically left-leaning groups refer to the global warming as a climate crisis or climate emergency, which can inspire people to feel more urgency to take action. Politically right-leaning groups seem to use terms like climate change, which creates less of an impetus to act. Word choice in political agendas directly impact the divisiveness we feel as humans living in this world, making it challenging to find any kind of common truth that unites us.

References:
Darnit, J. (2017, April 20). Exact instructions challenge PB&J classroom friendly | josh darnit. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2RM-CHkuI

SAR School for Advanced Research. (2017, June 7). Lera Boroditsky, how the languages we speak shape the way we think [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGuuHwbuQOg

 

 

Task 1 – What’s in my bag?

Hi all,

My name is Lachelle (she/they), and this is my 8th MET course. I live, work, and play in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (also known as Edmonton). I’ve had to take a bit of a break from the program over the past couple of semesters, but I’m excited to get back in the saddle. Looking forward to going on this learning journey with you all!

For this task, I decided to add a few items into the photo that I typically wouldn’t carry around with me on a daily basis in order to share a bit more about myself. All of these items would make it into my bag for a particular purpose, but probably not at the same time.

  • Sketchbook/travel watercolour set: One of the items that often makes it into my bag is my sketchbook. I use it for doodling, recording thoughts, reflection, and lately I’ve been experimenting with water colour painting. I got this compact painting set as a gift, and I’ve enjoyed being able to take it with me on the go. Both of these items represent text and literacy. Putting thoughts into words and recording them on paper is a traditional form of ‘text’, and using colour to express concepts is a different form of literacy. This made me think of using mediums other than words to express concepts and ideas. Images, colours and the way art makes a viewer feel translates into thoughts or experiences in their mind. If we think of text as a mode of communication, I think visual art is included in that.
  • Packet of seeds: I received this small packet of wildflowers when attending a local NDP rally in my city. It has text printed on it, as well as a QR code that brings you to the platform of the candidate. QR codes are an example of where text and technologies intersect. One needs to use a smart phone camera to scan the QR code, which then directs the viewer to a text online. If one didn’t have access to a smart phone, or wasn’t familiar with what this printed design meant, they wouldn’t be able to access the information. However, for those who have access to technology and are familiar with QR codes, they act as a digital flag or a bookmark to enable the viewer to learn more about a particular topic. I also find it interesting to consider the connection between the NDP’s political leanings and the importance of taking care of our earth and the people and creatures on it. Planting seeds seems like an apt analogy here.
  • Assorted keys: Keys act as a physical entryway to a location, which can be considered a form of technology. I’ve included both my car keys and my work keys/access card. My work keys also include a USB drive that allows me to quickly access important documents in the event that accessing the cloud or the internet is not available. For the most part, this isn’t a problem, but I always have the documents I need on the USB drive as a backup just in case.
  • Volunteer badge: I volunteer for the Edmonton Folk Music Festival every summer. In order to access the grounds, verify which crew I’m on, and access the delicious volunteer meals, this badge is required. The colour of the image on the badge indicates which level crew access you have. Hole punches are used to indicate which meals you’ve had. Your name and crew is printed on the badge for others to read. I also have a pronouns pin on my badge to communicate which pronouns I use, and indicate to others that I am someone who respects personal pronouns. This is a direct correlation with the importance of language in communication.
  • Wallet full of receipts and cards: I’ve had this wallet for many years, and it contains probably too many receipts and cards. The cards themselves range from bank cards, reward cards, identification cards, or gift cards. All of them connect to digital databases that hold information about who I am, where I spend time/currency, and memberships to certain programs. A physical piece of plastic with text, numbers and a barcode connects to a digital record of transactions – another waypoint from the physical to technological.
  • A softball: My partner and I joined slow-pitch league with the Edmonton Sport and Social Club, which has been fun! I think of different types of literacy, physical literacy being one of them. Skills like how to throw a ball, hit a ball with a bat, and understand the rules of the game come through physical experience and practice. You can read all you want about proper technique, but by playing games and getting a physical feeling for the skills, you gain a literacy that goes beyond text/conceptual knowledge.
  • Nivea lip chap and Kind granola bar: Personal care items and snacks are often packaged with a brand name. The brands we choose to purchase and use are influenced by advertising, and packing can communicate different sentiments about a product. Nivea is often recognized by the deep blue hue and bold white sans serif text on their products. I wonder how their products would be understood if they changed their font to Comic Sans and changed their branding colour to butter yellow with white text, making the text practically illegible.
  • Water bottle with stickers/backpack buttons: In displaying stickers and buttons on personal items, we communicate the things we care about. On both my water bottle and backpack, I share that I enjoy listening to the local radio stations CJSR and CKUA. Both of these stations play eclectic music, have community radio shows that talk about local issues, and feel far more ‘grass roots’ than the larger stations. Radio is an auditory text, and an example of text, technology, and multiliteracies intersecting.
  • Laptop and smartphone: These technology devices allow me to do my work, read articles, communicate with friends and family, and access the world wide web. These are the most obvious forms of the intersection of text and technology that I’ve included. They afford multimodal interaction with apps, media, communication technologies, digital texts, and beyond. For this exercise, these are actually the least interesting items to reflect on for me for some reason!
  • Small note pad with sticky notes: This smaller note pad usually comes with me on a regular basis. It affords me an ability to jot down quick thoughts and reminders, include sticky notes (mainly grocery lists) written at different points of time that I can reposition or remove from the book. I know that there are technology tools on my phone like the reminders app or notes app, or even tools like Padlet or Trello that serve as a digital sticky note board, but I still have an inclination to physically writing these things down. Part of me likes the idea that these notes aren’t a part of any digital footprint, that they aren’t saved in the ether forever. They can’t be used to send me targeted ads or profile me as a particular type of consumer.

15 – 25 years ago, I was not carrying around a laptop (I only had a desktop), and my cell phone would have been a Nokia flip phone that was used mainly for phone calls, and the occasional T9 text. I’d definitely be carrying around my sketchbook/journal, as I’ve been doing this for many years. There would be more scribblers, printed coursepacks and textbooks for school, significantly increasing the weight of my backpack. In all reality, my wallet would likely look the same—I’m pretty sure it’s about 15 years old! There would be less keys and access cards, and no vehicle keys, as I relied on public transit at that time.

In the future, an archeologist might look at my bag and see a person who is still attuned with more manual/less technologically enabled forms of text and communication. Meanwhile, there are objects (like the laptop and cellphone) that can essentially collate most of the other items in a singular object. They might see people living in this temporal time as people who are straddling many spaces and worlds, and question why we had so many tangible things.

This was such an interesting assignment to do– thank you! I’m looking forward to learning more about the rest of you in this course!