Before reading Figuring Foreigners Out, I was never unable to pinpoint formal terminology when it comes to talking about the concept of time. I think that the monochronic concept of time is problematic, not because I disagree with it, but because as a capitalistic society we often fail to reflect on our everyday understanding of time. We do tend to treat time as a commodity that can be used or wasted. School is one of the first places that we are immersed in a place where time is taught as a commodity. "Use your time wisely" or "don't waste time" is something that we throw around in pretty much every environment. It would be interesting to spend a few weeks in a society or culture that has a polychronic perspective. I think that it would come off as leisurely and infinite. It constantly feels like the clock is ticking in a monochronic society, so it would interesting to learn if this pressure is removed in a polychronic society.
I think that language is inevitable as humans. I am not surprised that at one point in time our brains decided to process phones and put them together to form different modes of communication, both verbal and non-verbal. I think that language is an important aspect of understanding culture and how culture is formed. It is hard for me to make the argument that language is purely biological because that would mean that culture is purely biological. It is also important to understand the difference between natural and conventional. Originally, I interpreted language as a natural process that just happens. I think that in reality I have always interpreted language as conventional, I just use the word "natural" to explain what my viewpoint. There is an arbitrary relationship between words and things, not a natural relationship. If there was a natural relationship, this implies that there is an intrinsic relationship between word and thing, not an arbitrary one. This definitely challenges how I have spoken about language in the past and goes beyond the day-to-day conversation about language acquisition.
Before taking this course, I never gave semantics much thought, just because they are so complicated. These readings gave me a new perspective on semantics in the sense that they can help point us to how language was developed. Considering that French is my second language and Spanish is my third, my retention strategy is a little different between the two. For French, I was able to go from French to English, English to French. For Spanish, things get a little more complicated. I speak/read Spanish with a French accent, but will associate Spanish grammar with French grammar and vice versa. Retention is definitely different the third time around.
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