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"How we mean" and "How we analyze meaning" were interesting in the context of learning Hindi mostly because it shows that there are much fewer "words" we need to learn in order to be competent in a language. The chapter mentioned that Shakespeare uses over 30,000 words, but less than 20,000 lexemes. This makes learning a second language easier because, rather than needing 200 words to communicate, the learner may only need to know 100 lexemes, plus the general rules on how to transform these "root words" into other similar meanings. For instance, instead of needing to memorize walk, walking, walked, and walker in Hindi, I can just learn the root word walk and reference the grammatical rules I already know for changing sense of the word. This makes beginning a learning task seem much less daunting, but also emphasizes the importance of understanding grammar rules rather than just memorizing. In that way, a language learner can figure out how to say new phrases during on the fly rather than memorizing them beforehand.
"How the brain handles language" was also interesting for me because I am left-handed. I have always been told that this means the right side of my brain is more dominant, and therefore I'm more artistic and creative. This chapter proved that not to be the case. Rather, the chapter explains that each side of the brain is dominant at different times, depending on the task at hand. It is also interesting because it shows how fast our brains work to develop speech from the moment we think of something to the moment it comes out of our mouths. At this point, it is impossible for me to speak Hindi at that speed because I need to formulate sentences, then attempt to say them, which is more difficult than speaking English because it requires sounds that I am not used to making. I have spent numerous appointments with my peer tutor merely repeating one sound over and over again, then attempting to use that sound in just one word.
The most interesting part of the video was the diversity section, which proposed answers for the question, "Why do we need diversity?" One woman said that we need to create a curiosity about difference in everyone so that we can be more understanding about them. This question was raised many times during my program in Hyderabad. Why did we want to study abroad in India, or study abroad at all? What good would it do us as individuals, our community back home, and our Indian community? I was never quite sure what my answers were for these questions, but the Culture Shock video brought up some good points. It said that creating this diversity, both at our school in Hyderabad and when we return home, helps others realize that we are really not that different and begins a dialogue about other cultures that can resolve misunderstandings.
Another point that I identified with from the video was the advice that many students and faculty gave about joining clubs and getting involved on campus. This is something I wish I had done more of while I was in Hyderabad. I was lucky enough to have a host family and an apartment full of friendly neighbors to interact with and form genuine relationships with. However, I did not succeed in making those connections at school with many peers. I became friends with a few from class, but as the students in the video said, those were a bit superficial and were difficult to maintain once I returned home. I did form a great relationship with one professor, whom I am still in touch with, but if I had had the courage to join a club or group on campus, I could have had many more of these lasting relationships with peers. Our program directors told us about a former American student who was a great soccer player and used his skills to make friends all over campus. They said by the end of the semester, everyone on campus knew him as "the American soccer player." I wish I had used my talents or interests more to find Indian students I could relate to like he did!
The reading from the New York Times discussed evidence that points to how many unforeseen regions of the world had languages that derive from Indo-Europeon languages. Knowing how a language has evolved and the history around it, allows a person to understand how the language diffused, its prominence around certain regions, and why it changed. The thing that I believe may be most important is the way and reason why the language changed. From our class discussion, we learned that language changes because of several reasons including the reduction of word forms and the cultural environment in which it is being used or diffusing.
The reduction of word forms is in relation to making language more "efficient". There are many ways to say the same thing; however, in various poly-chronic cultures, speakers wish to make better use of their time by communicating with fewer words. I can definitely attest to this. I see this shift in efficiency happening especially through social media in mediums such as Twitter, IM, and texting. The cultural environment is also very important because there is no universal language. A native speaker of a language who talks to a non-native speaker will have a totally different experience in terms of comprehension and speaking due to the way the language was taught to them. Because of this, there of these reasons, there will always be evolution in language.
The above video was recorded when my language partner and I were making Korean foods together.
I learned the name of a lot of difference types of foods in Korean, including seaweed, rice, carrots, curry, etc.
The first artifact I did is the basic greeting in Korean. This recording includes vocabularies about:
1.Say Hi
2.Different countries( I am from China, and I am now in the USA)
3.Majors( Business and Mathematics)
4.Counting numbers( I am eighteen years old)
From the early centuries of the Common Era, Korean use Chinese script as their language. However, Sejong the Great believes that a country can’t survive for a long time without its own language. He proposed to create a new language for this country. In the 15th century, featural hangul script was introduced to the whole country in the middle Korean period. Some scholars believe that even though the written Korean is originated from China, the oral Korean belongs to the Altaic linguistic family. Actually, Korean and Chinese differ largely in terms of their grammar. For Chinese, people usually use subject+ verb + object while Korean use Subject + object+ verb. Chinese are analytic language. Words are independent from other words. If we change the sequence of different phrases, the whole sentence will make a different sense. However, for Korean, it’s totally different. We have to add some extra words, usually in the end of a sentence or at the beginning in order to make sense.
Hindi is one of the farthest east of the Indo-European languages and is in the Indo-Ayrian subset. This is interesting for learning about Hindi for the purposes of going to India because, although Hindi is the national language, it is not spoken locally in the majority of the country. Most North Indian languages - including Hindi - are Indo-European, so there are at least some familiar characteristics for an American learner. However, South Indian languages are in no way related to Hindi or any other Indo-European language, so their structures and vocabulary are entirely foreign to me. I think this is necessary to know as a Hindi student because it is important to understand that not all people in India speak Hindi, and although the regional languages may seem similar, they may not be related to Hindi at all.
In reading about Indo-European languages, I found that the sounds p and k in proto-Indo-European sometimes changed in Germanic languages (such as English) to f and h. So if a word has f or h sounds in English, these may translate to p and k sounds in Hindi, which retained more phonemes from Sanskrit and P.I.E. For example, "father" in Hindi is pita, and "foot" in Hindi is pair. This is a helpful way to remember some key words such as these. More generally, it is useful to know that Hindi and English stem from the same proto language because, in learning grammatical structure, similarities become more noticeable and easier to remember.
The content of this artifact is a government form that is completed in Bhasa Indonesia, contains instructions in Bhasa Indonesia and lacks any instructions in English. This task was chosen with the goal to develop formal interpretive reading skills. It is meant to achieve this goal by providing exposure to a formal vocabulary, emphasizing correct spelling and proper sentence formation. Wherever this task of interpretation proved more challenging than expected as a result of a lack of back and forth conversation, I achieved the goal of developing interpretive reading skills by being forced to pick up the skill of making an educated guess regarding the interpretation by finding the root of an unknown word, for example. Acquiring formal reading and writing skill is paramount if I want to delve deeper into my cultural interest in office and education culture in Indonesia.
I provide the form in completed forms in English and Bhasa Indonesia. Upon reading it, one learns that this form is the European Visa Application Form that was acquired from the Spanish Embassy's website. The form's tone and purpose is formal. I provide personal details and go on to provide details regarding my travel to Barcelona.
I evaluate this task to be very successful at accomplishing its objective in three different ways. Firstly, in the process of reading the form I have created a list of new formal words and phrases. I list some examples of words and phrases such as utama tujuan (primary purpose), izin (permit), resmi (official), alamat (address) and tanda tangan (signature). Now that I have memorized many of them, I can look at the list to sure up my command of formal vocabulary learnt from this task. I attach the list below. Second, I could explain or understand the meaning of many of these words in a survival situation by using other words. However, the fact that I lacked of back and forth conversation has forced me to learn the exact words. Thirdly, using examples from this list of words along with help from Arnanto I have been able to continue studying the proper use of prefixes such as per-, men- and di-. I am already noticing that this study along with looking at the base words to complex words is allowing me to correctly guess the meanings of certain words.
SchengenVisaForm_BhasaIndonesia_Completed.pdf
Following are some websites and links that I found interesting and useful for learning Korean:
http://ling.kgw.tu-berlin.de/Korean/Artikel01/Korean.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_language
http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/lessons/e_index.htm
http://www.langintro.com/kintro/
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Language/korean.cfm
http://www.declan-software.com/korean.htm
http://hangulforest.com/index_e.htm
http://learnkorean.elanguageschool.net
My experience in self-directed learning has been felt with mixed results. From speaking with my language partner and from the discussions in the 105 class, I now understand that there is a correlation between culture and language. One thing that is very important to keep in mind is that context and the various competencies associated with it. An example of this stems from Culture Shock. One student from the video misunderstood the phrase “that’s cool”. This phrase is very common in American culture, but the student took it literally because he lacked the knowledge of the culture and context of when such a phrase would be used. For me, I am fortunate enough to have a language partner that can tell me when certain phrases are appropriate to use and when others are not. Right now, my learning experience has been mostly hands-on. A lot of it’s through reinforcing not necessarily what I’ve already learned, but getting used to grammar and the way the language sounds. I am doing this by first meeting once a week with my language partner and then reinforcing it by watching some sort of Korean show or movie. I was skeptical of this method of learning at first, but I think it’s really working for me. Even though the people in the drama are speaking very quickly and with advanced vocabulary, I have noticed patterns in their speech and also can interpret some phrases. Phrases such as “oh my god”, “thank you”, and “sorry” are very common in dramas.
One thing I that I really want to focus on improving is my knowledge of discourse and conversation analysis. Discourse analysis basically looks at the relationship between forms and functions of language. Many everyday exchanges contain a single sentence and sometimes even only a few words. When I think of discourse, I think of “slang” or words and phrases that only natives would understand. Thus, by understanding the target culture and language, I would be able to improve my discourse analytical ability. I also want to improve my conversation analysis abilities because it would allow me to understand how to properly initiate, continue, and end a conversation with a native speaker in my target language. It would also allow me to understand which topics are normal to talk about in the culture.
Besides understanding these concepts, I will have to understand other things such as pragmatics and non-verbal communication. From my learning thus far, I have learned there are many different ways to answer one question. This has given me an idea of the pragmatics of Korean. Also, non-verbal communication is important because then you are able to understand tones, feelings, and how to respond to certain questions. Overall, understanding the target language’s culture is just as important as understand the target language.
SN: What is your major?
NN: My major is accounting.
SN: What do you do after graduation?
NN: I want to get married.
SN: What is your ideal type?
NN: My ideal type is family type, handsome and trustworthy.
For this culture presentation, I did some research on brushing teeth in Korean. I found it was really interesting that Korean people brush their teeth after every single meal. At school, it's common to see girls brushing their teeth in the toilets and no one will say anything at all. Girls would even ask friends to join and to brush teeth together. And then I linked this cultural phenomenon to the serious topic-plastic surgery in Korea.
A staggering one in five Korean women has had cosmetic work done. Plastic surgery is a normal thing in Korean. Many girls have had plastic surgery after graduating from high school as a parent's gift. The obsession with cosmetic surgery is really a problem in Korean.
Korean shopping presentation was fascinating. Seoul has plenty of shopping places but what surprises me most is that Korean stores all accept credit cards. In China, many small stores only accept cash and no discount if you pay in cash. However, Korean shopping center would give 5% to 10% discount if you pay by visa or mastercard.
Hangeul is the name of the Korean language. It was created by King Sejong, the 4th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty in the year 1441. Korean language consists ten vowels and fourteen consonants. A combination of vowels and consonants makes up a syllable, and it is written in the left to right.
From the reading, I learn that to understand a sentence, I have to determine which character is doing what. Hangeul has similar language structure as Chinese. So I want to learn Korean sentences by sentences. I want to translate each character to English and Chinese. So that I can tell which part of this sentence is doing what. For example, jungguk (China) aeso (in) watseoyo (came). (I’m from China)
I want to learn more about Korean grammar by using Mango and online KBS Korean courses. I think after this semester, I can more focus on Korean grammar learning. Reference grammar helps me to better understand the meaning of this sentence and its applications.
After reading the article Figuring Foreigners Out and doing some research, I believe Korean culture is more collectivist and polychronic driven. One’s identity is in large part a function of one’s membership and role in a group.
The reading defines collectivist as the survival and success of the group ensures the well-being of the individual, so that by considering the needs and feelings of others. Harmony and the interdependence of group members are stressed and valued. In Korean, people place family relationship as the top one important thing. In Korean drama, you can see a big family including grandparents will have family meal together. They have low emotional distance between family members. My friend told me that she had to call home every day. By doing this, the family members connect more and care more about others. Korean culture has a lot of non-verbal languages. For example, when you meet older and superior people, you have to bow to show your respect.
Asking for Help and Directions
I'm lost-Mai Kho Gya Hun میں کھوگیاہوں
Can I help you?Kya Main Aapki Madat Kar Sakta Hun? کیا میں آپکی مدد کر سکتاہوں؟
Can you help me?Kya Aap Meri Madat Kar Sakte Hain? کیا آپ میرئ مدد کر سَکتےہیں؟
Where is the (bathroom/ pharmacy)?Bathroom/Dawa Khana Khan Hai? باتھروم/داواخانہ کہاںہے؟
Go straight! then turn left/ right!Sidhe Jakar Dain/Bain Murh Jaiye !سیدھےجاکر داًہیں/باًہیں مڑجاًہےI
I'm looking for john.Main Jon Ko Dhuund Raha Hoon میں جَون کَو ڈھونڈرہاہوں
One moment please!Barae Meherbani Kuch Deyr Intizar Kijiye
!بَراًےمہربانی کچھدیر دیرانتظارکیجیًےHold on please! (phone)Barae Meherbani Hold Kijiye بَراًےمہربانی ہولڈ کیجیًے
How much is this?Yeh Kitne Ka Hai? یہ کِتنےکاہے؟
Excuse me ...! (to ask for something)Maazirat Chahta Hoon /Zara Sunye! معزرت چاہتا ہوں/ذراسنیًے
Excuse me! ( to pass by)Maaf Karna! معاف کرنا
Come with me!Mere Saath Aaiye !میرے سا تھہ آ ًیے
My language partner had me attempt to translate a synopsis from Urdu into English. This translation is not perfect, but I think I was able to touch upon the general them of what was being said - there were differently some areas and words in which I needed my language partner's help and got some help from my language partner.
کستان کی معیشت برائے نام جی ڈی پی کے لحاظ سے مساوی قوت (پی پی پی) کی خرسب سے بڑا میں دنیا می26th پر سب سے بڑا ہے. تاہم پاکستان ملین 186 سے زائد کی آبادی کے (دنیا کے 6th کے سب سے بڑا ہے) کے طور پر، اس طرح جی ڈی پی فی کس دنیا میں 140th کی درجہ بندی $ 3.149 ہے. پاکستان تیزی سے ترقی پذیر2 اور اگلا گیارہ میں سے ایک، برکس کے ساتھ ساتھ، 21st صدی میں دنیا کی سب سے بڑی معیشتوں بننے کے لئے ایک اعلی صلاحیت ہے، گیارہ ممالک ہے. [26 تاہم، 2013 کے طور پر جنگ اور سماجی عدم استحکام کی دہائیوں کے بعد، اس طرح ریلوے نقل و حمل اور بجلی کی پیداوار کے طور پر بنیادی خدمات میں سنگین کمی تیار کی تھی. معیشت نیم صنعتی، دریائے سندھ کے ساتھ ساتھ ترقی کے مراکز کے ساتھ ہے.0 پرائمری برآمد اشیاء ٹیکسٹائل، چمڑے کے سامان، کھیل کے سامان، کیمیکلز اور قالین اور آسنوں شامل ہیں. [31]
پاکستان کی معیشت کی ترقی کے کھمبے دریائے سندھ کے ساتھ ساتھ واقع ہیں.کراچی اور ملک کے دیگر حصوں میں کم ترقی یافتہ علاقوں کے ساتھ امن بقائے باہمی کے پنجاب میں بڑے شہری مراکز، کے متنوع معیشت سامنا کرنا پڑا ہے . اندرونی سیاسی تنازعات، ایک تیزی سے بڑھتی ہوئی آبادی، غیر ملکی سرمایہ کاری کی مخلوط سطح سے ماضی میں [27] زرمبادلہ کے ذخائر مستحکم کشوں کی ترسیلات زر کی طرف سے تقویت مل رہی ہے، لیکن ایک بڑھتی ہوئی حسابات کا خسارہ کر رہے ہیں - ایک وسیع تجارت کے فرق کے ذریعے کارفرما درآمد کی ترقی کے مقابلے میں برآمد توسیع - ذخائر نیچے اپنی طرف متوجہ اور درمیانی مدت میں جی ڈی پی نمو گیلا کر سکتے ہیں پاکستان فی الحال غیر ملکی سرمایہ کاری کو متوجہ کرنے اور بجٹ خسارے کو کم کرنے کے مقصد سے تمام سرکاری اداروں، کی نجکاری شامل ہیں کے ساتھ عمل اقتصادی اداریکرن سے گزر رہا ہے 2014 میں،.. غیر ملکی کرنسی کے ذخائر سٹینڈرڈ اینڈ غریب کی طرف سے طویل مدت کی درجہ بندی پر مستحکم آؤٹ لک کے لئے کی قیادت کی ہے جس میں 15 ارب ڈالر سے تجاوز کر دی.
The economy of Pakistan is one of largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity and in terms of nominal GDP. Pakistan is a rapidly developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, the eleven countries that have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.[ However, after decades of war and social instability, as of 2013, serious deficiencies in basic services such as railway transportation and electric power generation had developed.
the diversified economies of Karachi and major urban centers in the Punjab, coexisting with lesser developed areas in other parts of the country. The economy has suffered in the past from internal political disputes.Pakistan is currently undergoing process economic liberalization with includes privatization of all government corporations, aimed to attract foreign investment and decrease budget deficit.
During these last two weeks I had focused on trying to write and type a larger amount of text, as opposed to just medium length sentences. As mentioned in my previous bi-weekly reports, I wanted to be able to take my newly strengthened ability to write moderately long sentences and push myself towards writing short paragraphs. Much of my ability to do this was reliant upon me working with my language partner to get a better understanding of what to write about and also to have someone check my work.
Admittedly, while I felt comfortable writing long sentences, I was almost certain which was the right sentiment in hindsight - that I would make a few mistakes in writing paragraphs. The task I used to begin writing short paragraphs was based off of a reading assignment - language partner read the paragraphs to me, albeit in a slower than fluent tone as I did not know some of the words, and I wrote them down. The primary challenge in writing the short paragraphs was trying to determine how to spell the words I did not know and the tenses.
The content of this post is to summarize the results of the self evaluation in Bhasa Indonesia that was done using LiguaFolio Checklists and Levels of Competence document. In general, the self-evaluation placed my interpretive and interpersonal skills at a higher level that my presentational skills. I believe this uneven development in language skill to be a direct result of having learned Bhasa Indonesia as a “survival language”. That is to say that I spoke in Bhasa Indonesia only when speaking to somebody with whom I could only communicate with in Bhasa Indonesia. The content of these conversations was usually related to my immediate surrounding and needs. This includes conversations such as exchanging information about myself and asking for directions and prices. In order to correct this uneven development I put forth the following four points about my skill as an Intermediate level Indonesian speaker. As I summarize points about my starting position I will simultaneously list the learning goals and the 8 tasks that I will be doing this semester in order to accomplish the stated goals.
First, I observe that I picked up Bhasa Indonesia in an informal setting. This is apparent in the LinguaFolio Checklist. On the checklist I answered that I can express my agreement or disagreement with someone but cannot express neutrality. Similarly, I answered that I can introduce myself but cannot use an appropriate introduction to begin a presentation. Therefore, I decided that I would focus on conversational skills with a formal tone this semester. In order to accomplish this goal I have designed the task “Interpersonal Formal Communication” in which I respectfully decline a senior's offer.
Second, I notice that I am far more comfortable communicating in Bhasa Indonesia when there is a conversation. That is to say that I can understand more when I am given a chance to say, “Please speak slowly” or “Can you repeat that.” Thus, my second goal for this semester is a commitment to learning how to interpret Bhasa Indonesia outside of conversation. Given that on the cultural side I hope to focus on the sport of surfing, I decided that the two best tasks to learn interpretive skills outside of conversation were demonstrating that I can understand complex directions given to me in Bhasa Indonesia and translating a surf radio announcement into English.
Third, I realized that when it comes to presentational skills, I lack the basic ability to describe. On the checklist, I indicated that I cannot either describe the characteristics of my family members or talk about abstract ideas. My third goal this semester is to begin to describe objects, people and ideas. In order to do this, I will need to learn and demonstrate my learning of adjectives and adverbs. Given that on the cultural side my focus is surfing and education, I decided that the two best tasks to learn presentational speaking are describing a sea creature/my daily routine, and teaching a physics class by giving a mock presentation.
Lastly, I concede that my written skills are poor due to a lack of formal education. Therefore, in the last three tasks I will either be reading or writing in Bhasa Indonesia. These tasks are also designed with a focus on culture and the goals stated above. Firstly, I will learn to write formal e-mails and fill out formal forms in Bhasa Indonesia. This will obviously also help in achieving the goal of learning the language in a formal setting. Secondly, I will read and compare the tone of two newspaper articles. Thirdly, I will produce a written translation of a reading from my history class. These two last tasks will also help me with gaining a working knowledge about describing abstract ideas.
