Discussion 3 Spring 2026

Chinese primarily follows the same subject-verb-object structure as English, but I am still learning the different ways in which words can be arranged. For example, in some cases, I can signify having completed an action by adding the word “le” after the verb (and sometimes the rest of the sentence), but I don’t know if this applies to all cases of the past tense. One of the other concepts I am coming to understand is the way characters are combined to create new words with complex senses. The words for “stairs” come from the characters for “building” and “ladder”, and a part of the character for ladder means “wood”, as it was used in early building structures. Tracking ideas like this might relate broadly to the “language”, “anthropology”, and “sociology” areas of Aitchison’s linguistics. As a beginner, I will probably focus mostly on applied linguistics, but I am also interested in literature, philosophy, and psychology, so I hope to consider and learn more about how Mandarin has…

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Discussion #3 (Spring 2026)

Russian has several structures within the language including but not limited to phonetics, phonology, grammar, semantics, and physical forms. Currently, I am working on looking at Russian from several perspectives. While I most rely on the basics found within semantics, grammar, and the “medium of linguistic transition” which consists of phonology and phonetics (Crystal), I also look into how learning Russian affects my brain– psychological linguistics– and how Russian can be used in a broader setting– anthropological linguistics. These various perspectives allow me to explore my target language through multiple lenses and gain even more motivation and personal achievement from my studies. Since I am a beginner in the language, I naturally lean toward the most simple (to me) approaches. Mostly, I am studying vocabulary and syntax, which are levels of semantics and grammar respectively. Through the readings though, I am expanding my directory of how to approach language learning. I…

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Discussion Post #2

The main ideas behind the pieces that we read are that our languages differ in more ways than just our words. Yes, if we do not know someone’s language, it may be difficult to talk to them, but it is also difficult to fully communicate with someone when you do not understand the cultural norms. Figuring Foreigners Out was particularly interesting because it mentioned cultural tendencies that I have not necessarily thought of. The main points that the reading looked at were individualists vs. collectivists, non-verbal behaviors, monochronic vs. polychronic time, internal vs. external control, and indirect/high context vs. direct/low context. Regarding Hofstede Dimensions, it focused on individualism, power distance and hierarchies, masculinity, avoidance of uncertainty, flexibility with traditions, and indulgence vs. restraint. I really enjoyed learning about all of these and would love to return to reflect on them if I can go to Korea in the future.In regard to agreeing with these…

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Main ideas behind Figuring Foreigners Out Summary/Analysis

I predominantly agree with the assessments in Figuring Foreigners Out in terms of the points it makes around key cultural differences being rooted in individualistic vs collectivist values, differences in nonverbal communication norms and assignments of meanings, monochronic vs polychronic approaches to time, internal (more activist) vs. external (more fatalist) attitudes towards life, and indirect vs. direct communication norms. The one thing that struck me as odd in this reading was its categorization of different cultures as “high context” or “low context” as these terms seem to be conducive to creating a hierarchy of cultures which I never support, however, I am likely failing to properly understand the usage of this terminology. Most of the generalizations in this reading are acknowledged by saying that every culture is a combination of the poles it describes, despite typically leaning towards one or the other. The only statement in this reading that I question is how the…

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