Haley Harris's Posts (11)
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I liked the short part in the book where Crystal talked about the differences between a monologue and dialogue, mainly because I have my own movie review site. He talked about how many people who write blogs are evidently writing monologues but the act of putting it online shows that the writer is intending to make it public - and this results in an opportunity for someone to respond. So is my website a monologue? Or is is a dialogue because people can comment on my reviews? Crystal suggests that it is a "monologue masquerading as a dialogue." I know that by writing my reviews and I am expressing my thoughts to everyone else. I think that the overriding idea behind blogging is (a) anonymity, (b) the fear of speaking in public, and/or (c) spreading your ideas to a mass audience in a cost effective way.
Crystal states that when we are having a conversation with someone, we make eye contact about half of the time. Which makes sense, to me. I wonder if it is the same in Iran. Or it expected that when you are talking to someone that you always make eye contact. I guess that holds the same truth here in the U.S.; when I am talking to an elder, I generally tend to make more eye contact.
I thought it was somewhat interesting when Crystal talked about how babies learn conversation. It seems kind of common sense though. I can see how this could apply to someone who is just learning and language and has a person that they can talk with that speaks the target language....but what if someone was capable of having a conversation (they knew the grammar and vocabulary) but they had no idea how to actually converse. When to start talking, if it is ok to interrupt the person...yes in today's society the media provides an excellent source to learn these small details but aren't people highly likely to make fools of themselves. I don't know...I'm rambling at this point.
I thought the chapter "how we choose what to say" was the most interesting...not because I really learned anything but because it made me think. For the most part, I found myself asking what people in Iran do when Crystal stated something.
Cultural Shock Video
I really liked the video. Even though it could benefit from an update, I think that much of the content is still very relevant today. It takes a lot time for a society to change and I don't think that students' experiences are much different today. However, I think that the video could benefit from incorporating more students' perspectives, particularly of those students who are from the US. Even though they are unlikely to admit that, they, themselves, can be ignorant, it it highly possible to find students to interview that opened themselves up to meeting new people. An updated version can show, to an even greater extent, that everyone benefits from opening up and not closely yourself off.
I have worked with Geert Hofestede's cultural dimensions a lot in the business school. Last year in my International Accounting Issues class, I did my final project on Malaysia and how a company's financial statements are reflective of the country's cultural differences (it's not as boring as it sounds). From the diagram below, you can see that Iran has a higher power distance rating and uncertainty avoidance compared to the United States. With a higher uncertainty avoidance comes more laws and stricter rules. However, it is important to note that the survey was taken in 1972 and the shah was overthrown in 1979. The subsequent re-emergence into Islamic fundamentalism would probably bring the current levels of uncertainty avoidance and power distance higher than what is shown below.
When I was looking up Iranian culture I found this interesting list:
Iranian Business Etiquette (Do’s and Don’ts)
- DO try to get to know your Iranian business partner personally in your first
- meeting. Establishing trust and a good personal relationship is important in Iranian business culture.
- DO avoid topics of conversation like Iranian foreign policy and politics and also avoid criticising Islam as this can cause offense. Also avoid talking about the female relatives of your Iranian colleagues, and if they introduce the subject avoid asking too many personal questions.
- DO be aware that typical physical distance maintained when communicating in Iran is closer than in many western countries. Though you may not be comfortable with this close distance, it can be perceived as impolite if you back away.
- DO show respect towards your Iranian business associates by taking a sensitive approach to behaviour and cultural gestures. Avoid using the left hand when passing something, drinking alcohol or eating pork while in the presence of your Iranian colleagues.
- DON’T criticise your Iranian counterparts in front of other business colleagues, as this may cause a loss of face and harm their sense of honour.
- DON’T schedule business meetings during the holy month of Ramadan if at all possible as business activity tends to be reduced. Ramadan is a major Islamic tradition that includes fasting for an entire month. Although foreigners are not required to fast, it is considered impolite to eat or drink in front of others during this time.
- DON’T give the “thumbs up” sign while in Iran as this is considered to be an offensive gesture.
- DON’T display emotions or affectionate behavior to people of the opposite gender in public. This is very uncommon in Iran and can cause offense. In contrast people of the same gender often display affection in public and it is not rare to see two men holding hands
As far as the textbook readings go, I found it very interesting when Crystal was talking about a chain of dialects. It makes sense! But I have never thought about it. At one point in the chain, speakers of a dialect can understand the speakers of another dialect in areas close to them. However, as the people more farther apart in the chain, and eventually are at the two ends of the chain, they will not be able to understand each other. I don't know why I found this so fascinating! It made me think of the telephone game.
Farsi is the most widely spoken member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages. The development of the Farsi language can be divided into three periods: old, middle, and modern. Old Persian was written in cuneiform and had eight cases, each subjected to gender and number. Middle Persian had a much simpler grammar than Old Persian and it was usually written in an ambiguous script with multivalent letters, adopted from Aramaic. It did after the Arab conquest in the 7th century and most of the writings were lost during Islamic times even though much of the Middle Persian Literature was translated into Arabic. Modern Persian is even more simple than Middle Persian and it has absorbed a lot of Arabic vocabulary. Overall, it seems like once someone knows Farsi it would be easy to learn Arabic. There are four less letters in the Persian alphabet than the Arabic alphabet: gāf, že, če, and pe.
I found this really...umm...interesting video on the history of the Farsi language but it's not in English. However, the narrator's deep voice tells you that it is a very serious history. :) If anything, the video has interesting pictures and it is an extensive listening activity
It is astonishing that 96% of the world's languages are spoken by just 4% of the people. Eventually there is going to be no diversity in the world and, frankly, that will just be boring. I'm not saying that if everyone spoke a single language that we would all be the same but there would be a general trend towards assimilation.
But wait, there is hope..languages can be saved!!!...but it would be expensive- about $100,000 a year be language. And if you take all of the 3,000 languages, it would be $900 million. Yes, that's a LOT of money but Crystal raised the point that the money needed, $1 billion, is equivalent to only one day's OPEC oil reserves. But I highly doubt that there will be any great strides towards saving languages. Now I'm depressed again.
The text also talked about how languages began and how language changes. It seems like common sense that languages started as a result of the need for trading. I found it very interesting that poetry is used to figure out what old languages sounded like. Again, it makes sense.
I feel like my language learning took a fall break this week too :( I reviewed most of the vocabulary I have learned so far but I don't think I really learned anything new. This week I am really going to focus on being able to make sentences. I can't just go around shouting the vocabulary I know. Hey...maybe I can make my own pidgin language.
I found the chapter on "how we read" to be very disappointing. Even though Crystal explained the theories of whether we read by ear or read by eye, he did not go into the topic of the direction of reading. For instance, is it more natural to read from right to left or left to right? Or, is there a certain age where it become much more difficult to learn to read from the opposite direction? I guess this would be really hard to test. I do have to believe that it would have been easier to learn Farsi when I was younger.
I also didn't agree with everything in "how we write and spell." Crystal was explaining that writing is more difficult than reading because spellers have to reproduce all of the letters. This isn't the case in Farsi, where consonants are written but only sometimes "alef" ("a") is written. I did like the part where Crystal talks about how children need to learn that writing aids thinking in ways that speech cannot perform. He says that writing gives the person time to reflect, to re-think, and to use language as a way of shaping thought. Now I don't feel so bad that most of my learning has revolved around learning how to write.
On Tuesday, Wadia, my language partner, is going to give me a "test." It is going to consist of the alphabet, writing words she pronounces, family relationships, and colors. I'm excited to see how I do.
This week I am going to focus on making simple sentences. Last week I started to learn pronouns; now I just need to build my vocabulary and work on verbs.
David Crystal discussed how it is important to pay attention to the phonetic variations that can occur, to ensure that we make the right decisions about which sounds are phonemes and which are allophones. He also talked about how we focus on the way sounds combine in a language to produce typical sequences. When I was studying the pronunciation of Farsi, I was faced with brick wall, if you will. In most cases, vowels are not written. Instead the letter is pronounced with either an "ah," "eh," or "oh" sound. Wow! This is so different from English. My language partner was trying to teach me and she said that you practically have to guess. But wait, there is a right answer. So, is it really "guessing" and how do you know if you are right? There are indicators that CAN be placed either above or below the letter but they are never written. So again, how are you supposed to know you are right?
The text also discussed that sequences can be divided into rhythmical chunks. Crystal used the example of memorizing a string of number. This example didn't help me directly but it made me reflect back on learning the pronunciation. My language partner kept telling me to look at two letters, "n" and "r" for instance, and think of the most logical way to connect the letters. So, even though Crystal's discussion of prosody didn't directly relate to my language learning it did trigger a learning technique for pronunciation.
Thinking ahead, I want to set a realistic vocabulary goal for myself. Right now I am still focusing on pronouncing words so it is going to be harder to learn new words now compared to the end of the semester. This week I want to learn 15 new words with a focus on apparel and accessories. Hopefully, and more than likely, this number will increase each week.
As far as intensive listening activities, I watched a few youtube videos of people pronouncing basic greetings. The words were also shown on the screen, which helped me pronounce the phrases. Extensively, I watched some news reports on BBC in Farsi. I was lost for the most part, but I did get a better understanding of the inflection in the language. Even though I wasn't able to pick out any words I feel as though it was not a waste of time. If anything, it kept me motivated. One day I will understand what they are saying...for the most part...hopefully.
The Farsi phrase of the day is "to gelu dard dari" - my throat hurts....no really, my throat does hurt. :/
I imagine that my main resource will be the internet. The website "Livemocha" is supposed to be good. People describe it as Rosetta Stone for free. I already watch a lot of Persian movies but I plan on watching even more now.
My progress seems limited due to the fact that I'm still working on the alphabet but I feel as though I have made steps in the right direction.
I also liked how the article addresses issues such as attitude and motivation. The topics discussed in the article can apply to all aspects of one's life, not just autonomous learning. The success of any activity, not just language learning, is contingent on a person's motivation and sense of self- a desire to improve all aspects of the world around you. Yes, it seems a little far fetched, but I think a lot of people either lack motivation or their motivation is driven by monetary incentives.
I thought that the Crystal reading was interesting, apart from the chapter on how the brain handles language. It might just be because I am an accounting major, but all of the scientific terms gave me a slight headache. :) I did however, like how Crystal explained that slips of the tongue are not involuntary.
Reflecting on the reading as a whole, the structure of this class appears to foster an environment that is the most conducive to autonomous learning. Now I just have to remember to take the necessary risks.
The results of the Learning Styles Inventory test showed that I prefer to work alone and use self-study. Well, it’s a good thing I enrolled in this class then. The test also showed that I am visuallearning and prefer using pictures and spatial understanding. When I begin teaching myself Farsi I
will attempt to incorporate the visual style of learning.
The Multiple Intelligence Inventory confirmed that I am an intrapersonal learner and a visual learning. However, I think that main benefit from this test is that itshowed I was a logical learner; I learn best from categorizing and
classifying.
I feel as though these two tests have helped me begin my language journey on the right foot.The first step to learning anything is figuring out the best way to go
about it.
