For those who have made it until finals week:
If you want to improve your grade a little and can still use 10 points extra credit (only if you haven't reached your limit of 25 points per semester yet!), you're welcome to post a 500-700 words SUMMARY AND RESPONSE about the following article on "he/she" by Professor George Jochnowitz, who wrote our favorite article, "Everyone Likes Pizza, Doesn't He or She?"
Be very clear and concise in your summary; show that you have understood the article. Then, use critical thinking and write down your own thoughts about the topic!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Blog Post 28: American Indian Language and School Success
The reading summary is done by: John Seratt (ENGL300-1)
Due by class time on: Mon., April 4th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Wed., April 6th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
By: Lauren Foley
Due by class time on: Mon., April 4th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Wed., April 6th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
By: Lauren Foley
To begin, this article was titled “American Indian Language Policy and School Success” by Jon Reyhner. It started out discussing the “Native American Languages Act”, which stated the United States has a responsibility to act together with Native Americans to make sure the unique cultures and languages survive. The act also stated “the right of Native Americans to express themselves through the use of Native American languages shall not be restricted in any public proceeding, including publicly supported education programs.” (105). Reyhner goes on to explain that this act has three important implications: continuation of the policy of Indian self-determination that has been effect over the last twenty years, reversal of the historical policy of the United States Government to suppress Indian languages in Bureau of Indian Affairs and other schools, and reaction to the attempt to make English the official language of the United States. The article goes on to state the fact that American languages in Indian education have a long history in America. Missionaries were aware of the importance of using Indian languages in their educational work. Reyhner uses the example of a Northeast mission school and how they only used books written in the Chippewan languages, and when missionaries changed to teaching in English the quality of education declined. The article goes on to talk about the Government suppression of the Indian languages. Many examples of this are talked about, but to name a few, after the Civil War President Grant tried to bring an end to the Indian war. He said language differences led to misunderstandings. Another example is under the Secretary of the Interior Schurz, the Indian bureau issued regulations that all instruction had to be in English in both mission and government schools, and was threatened with funding. Reyhner also states another question came up with the anti-Catholicism and Indian education. Protestants who labeled both as un-American in contrast to the non-denominational public schools grouped catholic Indian schools with urban Catholic parochial schools. James M. King stated Roman Catholic teachings do not prepare the Indians for intelligent and loyal citizenship, and after that T. J. Morgan accused the Catholics of treason. The article then goes on to state the fact that there is a lack of teachers who are specialized and qualified to teach Indian students. Reyhner closes out the article with some criticisms of Indian education. It was reported 95% of Navajo children went home after their education instead of white communities, leaving themselves unable to take part in Navajo life because they didn’t know the customs of their own people. In 1923, John Collier stated, “the administration of Indian affairs is a national disgrace- a policy designed to rob Indians of their property, destroy their culture, and eventually exterminate them.” The final solution Congress came up with for Indian problems was to let Indians be free by terminating their reservations. Therefore, the federal trust status of the reservation would be ended and the tribe’s land and assets would be divided and distributed to tribe members.
Blog Post 27: The "Klingon Language"
The reading summary is done by: Kendra Romani (ENGL300-1) and Donetta Gates (ENGL300-2) Due by class time on: Fri., April 1st, 2011 The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Mon., April 4th, 2011 The text you need to read is here
By:Donetta Gates
In the article Klingon and Esperanto: The Odd Couple? by, Glen Proechel the made up language of Klingon is discussed. The Klingon language is a made-for- TV-and movies language that is spoken by the science- warrior race from the Klingon Empire of Star Trek fame. The language was introduced to people in 1984 on the television show Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. A dictionary called the Klingon Dictionary was written by Dr. Mark Okrand. In 1992 the Klingon Language Institute was formed and now have around 600 members worldwide. A fan club was also created called the Klingon Assault Group and it had 2500 members. One summer Proechel learned the language and decided to run a Klingon Language Camp in Red Lake Falls, MN for two weeks. From around the world journalists from TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines wanted the covering rights of his camp. The Interstellar Language School, Inc., decided to translate the bible into Klingon, organize Klingon courses throughout Minnesota, and conducts church services and weddings in Klingon. They hosted the Second Annual Klingon Language Camp in Red Lake Falls, MN.
By: Kendra Romani
The article “Klingon and Esperanto: The Odd Couple,” is by Glen Proechel and was published in 1994. Klingon is an artificial language created for the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, which debuted in 1984. Klingon was spoken by the science fiction warrior race from the Klingon Empire of the Star Trek fame. The Klingon language is so popular with diehard fans that there are Klingon Dictionaries, Institutes, and fan clubs. People all over the world are intrigued by the strange language and culture of the Klingon Empire, and a global following of fans and media admire this fictional, yet entertaining language. Proechel started studying the language and decided to start a Klingon Language Camp in Red Lake Falls, MN, it was an instant hit. Star Trek fans from all over the state came to the two week camp, and showed support for their love of Star Trek and the Klingon. Fans love it so much, that they are actually translating textbooks, the bible, giving church services and weddings in Klingon. Proechel couldn’t help but wonder if Paramount would’ve chosen Esperanto, a universal language, would it too be as overwhelmingly popular as Klingon. This brought up a good point; one could only assume that made-up languages would share some similarities, but how many?
Proechel says that Esperanto was created to facilitate communications by incorporating elements from most widely used languages, and combining them into a universal language. Esperanto was created to bridge the gap between cultures and communications. However, can one say the same for Klingon? Klingon was created to not facilitate communication, but to entertain. Dr. Okrand, the writer of the Klingon Dictionary, said that the premise of the Klingon language was to be of an alien race that was unlike any human spoken language. He purposely chose difficult and uncommon sounds, in attempt to stray away from commonly spoken languages. Klingon syntax is the exact opposite of English. An example, "Lieutenant Worf killed the Romulan with his phaser gun," in Klingon the word order would be phaser gun-his-using-while-Romulan-kill-Lieutenant Worf. Esperanto uses cognates and recognition, whereas Klingon uses very little cognates and can seem unrecognizable. The few words that are considered to be derived from terrestrial languages are “human and tera.” Tera is from the Latin terra, meaning “planet earth.” Klingon is filled with intentional humor, cheeky definitions, and the all too often pun. In Klingon the word for “beautiful” is ‘IH (pronounced like “ick”), “its heavy” is ‘UGH, and attached to the end of words is the suffix “ha,” as though one was making a joke. Esperanto uses vowel endings which clearly indicate the parts of speech and word order. However, Klingon uses none of this, only short one syllable words. There is a rule in the Klingon language that no word can begin with a vowel. Also, in Klingon many words start with a glottal stop, associated with an apostrophe for most words. Differently, then that of the Esperanto, Klingon utilizes a lot of homonym constructs. The word order for the Klingon is object-verb-subject.
Despite, their differences Klingon and Esperanto do share many things in common. Both languages have 2,000 plus words which can be expanded by the use of prefixes and suffixes. Although, there are fewer places to practice Klingon than Esperanto, both are very rare and uncommon. Most Klingonist have only one thing to say about Klingon… “it’s fun!”
By:Donetta Gates
In the article Klingon and Esperanto: The Odd Couple? by, Glen Proechel the made up language of Klingon is discussed. The Klingon language is a made-for- TV-and movies language that is spoken by the science- warrior race from the Klingon Empire of Star Trek fame. The language was introduced to people in 1984 on the television show Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. A dictionary called the Klingon Dictionary was written by Dr. Mark Okrand. In 1992 the Klingon Language Institute was formed and now have around 600 members worldwide. A fan club was also created called the Klingon Assault Group and it had 2500 members. One summer Proechel learned the language and decided to run a Klingon Language Camp in Red Lake Falls, MN for two weeks. From around the world journalists from TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines wanted the covering rights of his camp. The Interstellar Language School, Inc., decided to translate the bible into Klingon, organize Klingon courses throughout Minnesota, and conducts church services and weddings in Klingon. They hosted the Second Annual Klingon Language Camp in Red Lake Falls, MN.
Proechel raises the question that if the producers at Paramount studios have chosen to use Esperanto or even Volapuk instead of Klingon, would it have as much popularity or be dis-approved. It was never intended for competition to happen between the two languages, but it seemed to be appearing. Esperanto was created to facilitate human communication by discovering the most universal elements in the most widely spoken European languages and regularizing them into an easily acquired interlanguage. Klingon was instead created essentially for the exact opposite reason. It was not meant to facilitate communications, but to entertain.
Dr. Okrand base up the language for the alien race Klingons. To make sure that no English was included he deliberately selected difficult and abstruse sounds, not common ones. He created a grammar that resembles none of the commonly known international languages. An example of Klingon translated into English is "phaser gun-his-using-while-Romulan-kill-Lieutenant Worf. In English the sentence would be "Lieutenant Work killed the Romulan with his phaser gun.
The Esperanto language has a complex array of vowel endings which indicates the part of speech while Klingon has none. Most Klingon words are no-nonsense one syllable constructs. There is a rule in the Klingon language that no word can begin with a vowel. However, many words begin and end with something called a glottal stop-- that catch in the throat that Cockney speakers make instead of a "t" in words like "butter". Dr. Zamenhof who is the creator of Esperanto tried hard to avoid homonyms in his language but failed. Klingon on the other hand has none.
By: Kendra Romani
The article “Klingon and Esperanto: The Odd Couple,” is by Glen Proechel and was published in 1994. Klingon is an artificial language created for the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, which debuted in 1984. Klingon was spoken by the science fiction warrior race from the Klingon Empire of the Star Trek fame. The Klingon language is so popular with diehard fans that there are Klingon Dictionaries, Institutes, and fan clubs. People all over the world are intrigued by the strange language and culture of the Klingon Empire, and a global following of fans and media admire this fictional, yet entertaining language. Proechel started studying the language and decided to start a Klingon Language Camp in Red Lake Falls, MN, it was an instant hit. Star Trek fans from all over the state came to the two week camp, and showed support for their love of Star Trek and the Klingon. Fans love it so much, that they are actually translating textbooks, the bible, giving church services and weddings in Klingon. Proechel couldn’t help but wonder if Paramount would’ve chosen Esperanto, a universal language, would it too be as overwhelmingly popular as Klingon. This brought up a good point; one could only assume that made-up languages would share some similarities, but how many?
Proechel says that Esperanto was created to facilitate communications by incorporating elements from most widely used languages, and combining them into a universal language. Esperanto was created to bridge the gap between cultures and communications. However, can one say the same for Klingon? Klingon was created to not facilitate communication, but to entertain. Dr. Okrand, the writer of the Klingon Dictionary, said that the premise of the Klingon language was to be of an alien race that was unlike any human spoken language. He purposely chose difficult and uncommon sounds, in attempt to stray away from commonly spoken languages. Klingon syntax is the exact opposite of English. An example, "Lieutenant Worf killed the Romulan with his phaser gun," in Klingon the word order would be phaser gun-his-using-while-Romulan-kill-Lieutenant Worf. Esperanto uses cognates and recognition, whereas Klingon uses very little cognates and can seem unrecognizable. The few words that are considered to be derived from terrestrial languages are “human and tera.” Tera is from the Latin terra, meaning “planet earth.” Klingon is filled with intentional humor, cheeky definitions, and the all too often pun. In Klingon the word for “beautiful” is ‘IH (pronounced like “ick”), “its heavy” is ‘UGH, and attached to the end of words is the suffix “ha,” as though one was making a joke. Esperanto uses vowel endings which clearly indicate the parts of speech and word order. However, Klingon uses none of this, only short one syllable words. There is a rule in the Klingon language that no word can begin with a vowel. Also, in Klingon many words start with a glottal stop, associated with an apostrophe for most words. Differently, then that of the Esperanto, Klingon utilizes a lot of homonym constructs. The word order for the Klingon is object-verb-subject.
Despite, their differences Klingon and Esperanto do share many things in common. Both languages have 2,000 plus words which can be expanded by the use of prefixes and suffixes. Although, there are fewer places to practice Klingon than Esperanto, both are very rare and uncommon. Most Klingonist have only one thing to say about Klingon… “it’s fun!”
Blog Post 26: The Amish Language
The reading summary is done by: Lamonica Bettes (ENGL300-1) Due by class time on: Wed., March 30th, 2011 The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Fri., April 1st, 2011 The text you need to read is here. _____________________________________ By: Samantha Sturm
By: Lamonica Bettes Amish ‘Triple-Talk’ by J. William Frey discusses the three languages that Pennsylvania Dutch speaks. The dialects include Pennsylvania Dutch (German), which resembles Palatine German folk speech, High German (American High German), American English. Although these are the basic forms of the languages used by Amish speaking people, the dialects differ within certain Amish cultures in different states. The topic of ‘triple-talk’ comes into play when author Frey focuses on the dialect of the Old Older Amish of Lancaster County. The author says that the Amish people that speak the Old Older Amish are trilingual. Within this socio-religious and linguistic group the Amish speak an intermixed tongue that includes Amish Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish High German, and Pennsylvania Dutch English. Amish Pennsylvania Dutch is like the dialect spoken in other sections of eastern Pennsylvania by non-Amish groups, and is understood by anyone from those regions who converse with the local Amish people. Amish High German is used mainly for preaching, praying, and singing hymns. Then there’s Pennsylvania Dutch English, which is a form of English used only when speaking to non-amish people as in schools, towns, etc. Within each section of the article Frey shows the pronunciation of letters as well as words used within the ‘triple-talk’ dialect. Within each description of the three dialects the author shows how words are formed. The relation between English and Amish language was also shown by the fact that “loan words” are sometimes used in the Amish language. Loan words are words or letters from the English language. Then the author concludes the article by saying, “In conclusion we may say that the linguistic problems presented by the 'triple-talk' of the Old Order Amish are many. Each of the three tongues influences the other two to some degree.”
Aside from riding in horse driven carriages, the Amish culture is also widely known for their interesting dialect. In an article by J. William Frey, he goes into depth about the differences and uniqueness of the Amish language.
More prominently in Pennsylvania, the Amish people use at least three different languages in their day-today lives; American High German, Pennsylvanian Dutch and of course English. The Pennsylvanian Dutch more resembles Palatine German folk speech even though there have been several exterior influences that have come into contact with it since the year 1683. American High German has only been spoken by the Amish beginning in past century, and the only reason it has flourished there in Pennsylvania is because of the Lutheran and Reformed pulpits. Most outsiders to the Amish culture dismiss the use of the Pennsylvania Dutch they use and describe it more as, “garbled English in the mouths of ignorant farmers who speak with a heavy Dutch accent!” (Frey 85).
However as much as most people would consider them to be trilingual, technically the Amish culture can only be considered bilingual as the use of American High German is not frequently used by them. In this day and age, the Amish people can no longer converse in High German and instead only hear it when their parents read aloud from the German Bible, hymn and prayer books or scriptural passages. In contradiction to the information above the Frey explains that there is an exception to speaking three different languages in the Amish culture. The Old Order Amish of Lancaster County actually do speak three different languages and do so often.
Frey delves into the explanation that in Lancaster County, the Amish that preside there speak a mix of Amish High German and Pennsylvania Dutch English. A hangover from the German-preaching days, Amish High German has some peculiarities in pronunciation (typically Amish), that have been spoken in the last century. The Amish that live in Lancaster County also speak English; however, Frey surmises that it is one of the three languages that are “forced” among them. They only use it when speaking with non-Amish people in different towns or cities, or in public schools. Frey describes it as “American English built on a framework of Pennsylvania Dutch phonemic patterns and interjected continually with whole or part loan-translations from the dialect” (Frey 86). Frey then goes into depth explaining the phonetic rules and stipulations of the Amish language and gather that there are English loan-words used by the Amish.
Finally, Frey explains the schedule of events held at church in the Amish culture. He talks about the foods that are served before and after the service as well as where women and men sit, when they stand, when they kneel and the time capacity of one of these religious services. Frey concludes his article by saying that there is a lot more research that could be done to delve further into exploring the languages used by the Amish, and that not only would it take a lot of time but also a lot of effort on one’s part.
__________________________________________________________
By: Lamonica Bettes Amish ‘Triple-Talk’ by J. William Frey discusses the three languages that Pennsylvania Dutch speaks. The dialects include Pennsylvania Dutch (German), which resembles Palatine German folk speech, High German (American High German), American English. Although these are the basic forms of the languages used by Amish speaking people, the dialects differ within certain Amish cultures in different states. The topic of ‘triple-talk’ comes into play when author Frey focuses on the dialect of the Old Older Amish of Lancaster County. The author says that the Amish people that speak the Old Older Amish are trilingual. Within this socio-religious and linguistic group the Amish speak an intermixed tongue that includes Amish Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish High German, and Pennsylvania Dutch English. Amish Pennsylvania Dutch is like the dialect spoken in other sections of eastern Pennsylvania by non-Amish groups, and is understood by anyone from those regions who converse with the local Amish people. Amish High German is used mainly for preaching, praying, and singing hymns. Then there’s Pennsylvania Dutch English, which is a form of English used only when speaking to non-amish people as in schools, towns, etc. Within each section of the article Frey shows the pronunciation of letters as well as words used within the ‘triple-talk’ dialect. Within each description of the three dialects the author shows how words are formed. The relation between English and Amish language was also shown by the fact that “loan words” are sometimes used in the Amish language. Loan words are words or letters from the English language. Then the author concludes the article by saying, “In conclusion we may say that the linguistic problems presented by the 'triple-talk' of the Old Order Amish are many. Each of the three tongues influences the other two to some degree.”
Blog Post 25: The Language of the Piraha
The reading summary is done by: Andrew Wilson (ENGL300-1) and Kevin Talley (ENGL300-2)
Due by class time on: Mon., March 28th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Wed., March 30th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
By: Lauren Foley
Blog Post 25: The Language of the Piraha
Due by class time on: Mon., March 28th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Wed., March 30th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
By: Lauren Foley
The article “Brazil’s Piraha Tribe: Living Without Numbers or Time” was written by Rafaela von Bredow. The article is based on the Piraha, or Amazon people and their interesting language. These people have no history, descriptive words, or subordinate clauses. David Everett, a British ethnologist, has dedicated his whole career to studying this language. He lived with the Pirahas for seven years, but did not expose his information right away because he was not confident in it yet. The research that was uncovered created a huge debate between linguistics, anthropologists, and cognitive researchers. These people were concerned about the impact the ways the Pirahas communicated with one another on the study of human language. Bredow stated linguistic researchers mostly focus on the idioms across the world and which ones are common. What bothers them so much about the Piraha language is it goes against all essential features of all languages. The characteristics of the Piraha language are as follows: use only three pronouns, hardly use words associated with time, past tense verb conjunctions don’t exist, colors are not used to describe things, no real use for numbers, and no subordinate clauses. The last one is what really bothers researchers. Bredow uses the example of eating; we would say, “When I have finished eating, I would like to speak to you”, and Pirahas would say, “I finish eating, I speak with you.” Peter Gordon, a psycholinguist, studied the Pirahas mathematical abilities. Like I said before, they did not seem to use numbers much, and Gordon’s research showed Pirahas simply do not understand numbers. Everett could relate to this because during his seven years, he took eight months and tried to teach the Pirahas how to count. There was not one who could get to ten. One explanation of the Pirahas language is that it is created by the culture, and not doing certain things in their language is a result of culture. The goal is to try and show that the Pirahas actually can think in a recursive fashion.
Blog Post 25: The Language of the Piraha
By: Kevin Talley
"Brazil's Pirahã Tribe: Living without Numbers or Time", written by Rafaela von Bredow, is an article about 'forest dwellers' and the way in which they communicate with each other. The Pirahã Tribe speaks a language that numerous linguists look at as a language that does not fit into the accepted criteria of what a language should hold. The reasoning behind this claim being; there are only three pro-nouns present within their language, the Pirahã seem to rarely use word that have any association with time or numbers, within the language there are not past tense verb conjugations used, and there is also the fact that the Pirahã tribe does not have words for colors. Reading on further into the article, the reader will be able to see that; although all of these factors do play a significant role in why the Pirahã’s language does not function as any other. This is due to the fact that within the language there are no subordinate clauses. To better understand what this means, clauses are groups of words with a subject and a verb, while subordinate means that they cannot stand alone meaning that they are sentence fragments. This means that the Pirahã speak in a way that leaves a listener wanted to add more ‘substance’ to the sentence. An example of this being:
Normal Clause: "When I have finished eating, I would like to speak with you,"
Pirahãs : "I finish eating, I speak with you."
Blog Post 24: Humor in Grammar Teaching
The reading summary is done by: William Bateman (ENGL300-1) and Michon Lindstrom (ENGL300-2)
Due by class time on: Friday, March 25th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Monday, March 28th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
The article "The Straw Man Meets His Match: Six Arguments for Studying Humor in English Classes" by Alleen Pace Nilsen and Don L. F. Nilsen is an interesting article that talks about how classrooms should integrate humor into teaching English. The authors argue that because there is humor in everyday life, that it should be taught in classrooms as well. The authors try to argue that for students to fully understand some humor that is in everyday life they must be given the tools and taught in the classroom.
The next argument they often hear is But Teaching Humor Will Take
Away from the Time I Need to Teach Grammar, Composition, Literature, and
Public Speaking. To this they say they first got interested in this because they were trying to find a more interesting way to teach grammar. They debate that if off-beat or different sentences are used to display grammar mistakes because "students will have fun while, developing a sense of differences between formal, edited English, and the casual kinds of mistakes that all of us make."(pg.35) They go on next to list ten things that make up what people find funny: 1. Surprise or Shock. 2. Superiority 3. Hostility 4. A trick or a Twist 5. Incongruity and Irony 6. Sudden Insight 7. Exaggeration 8. Succinct Word Play 9. Ambiguity 10. Situation
Another critque on this was But I'm Supposed to Be Preparing Kids to Earn a Living. In response to this the authors noted that since 1994 the number on jobs in the comedy field has grown drastically. Although, the chance of becoming a professional is still about as likely as becoming a professional athlete. But like with athletes, the ability to use and understand humor in everyday life can be beneficial for a person. They also say that humor allows people to solve problems using a more creative approach, since the need for surprise must be used in comedy it forces people to think from a different or hidden angle.
Other critics believe If I Bring Humor into My Class,I'll Have Censorship Problems. To this the authors agree that there can be a problem with this but that it is important for students to learn the connection between censorship and humor. And they argue that humor is a good way to teach censorship, and they can use what goes on in news as a way to learn it.
The next argument people use is Humor Hurts people's feelings. While the authors agree that this is true, they also argue that it can also put people in a better mood. To have the smiles outweigh the frowns students must learn how to balance them. Many teachers are afraid that jokes told in class will offend minority students. The authors argue that humor is actually a great tool when talking about cultural differences because: "when people are smiling they are
more likely to be open to new ideas and to new ways of looking at problems."(pg.39)
Finally, the last argument that they touch is But I Can't Teach about Humor
When I Can't Even Tell a Joke or Write a Funny Letter Home. The authors say that this is not a problem, and to use these classroom activities to help teach students English while having fun: First, writing parodies and pattern jokes. Next, students can bring in news clippings, that are humorous. Another thing that teachers can do is bring in or have students bring in humorous icons. And finally, teachers can give research paper topics that incorporate humor such as topics on humor in politics or humor in the internet.
The authors conclude the article by saying that teachers should ease slowly into teaching humor studies in the classroom. And that if the students are happy the parents will be happy, and the criticisms of this type of teaching won't happen.
by:Michon Lindstrom
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In this article, A. Nilsen and D. Nilsen give their arguments against six "straw man" claims that are made against teaching humor (a straw man is loosely defined as an argument made against an exaggerated or falsified version of someone else's argument).
The first straw man argument is that students receive enough comedy outside the school. However, the authors assert that students need to be taught more refined versions of comedy than what they find on TV and that it is the job of teachers to help students develop better taste and appreciation for more subtle forms of comedy. They give the experience of Jacque Hughes, a professor at Central Oklahoma University, as an example. Hughes' students had trouble understanding the humor in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find until she was able to relate the book to the movie, "National Lampoon's Vacation." Most of the students had seen the movie and were able to find the similarities between it and the book. The authors claim that "it takes skill and practice, along with a broad, cultural background of knowledge, to understand a full range of humor." They say that without proper education, most students will never find more sophisticated humor.
The second straw man is the claim that teaching humor will take time away from more important lessons like composition, grammar, literature, and public speaking. The authors disagree. They feel that students are more likely to show interest in learning subjects if humor is incorporated into them. They give the example of using humorous sentences to teach dangling modifiers. They also feel that students who analyze humor will be more likely to move on to other forms of literary analysis. They list ten elements that often cause people to laugh: surprise or shock, superiority, hostility, a trick or twist, incongruity and irony, sudden insight, exaggeration, succinct word play, ambiguity, and situation.
The third straw man is the argument that school should be preparing students for their careers. The authors counter that humor is actually an important part of having a career for most people. For one, a small percentage of students may go on to be entertainers or comedy writers. Students who end up in high stress jobs will also find humor to be a necessary skill for cutting through their everyday stress. Even political figures need to have an aptitude for humor because it aids in effective communication. The authors also suggest that humor helps students develop creative problem solving skills because surprise is an important part of humor.
The fourth straw man argument claims that introducing humor will cause censorship problems. The authors agree that this is a possibility because a large part of humor is discussing controversial topics such as sex, religion, and ethnic differences. However, they argue that by bringing this into the classroom, teachers will be able to help students explore the relation of censorship to things like taste, appropriateness, tolerance, kindness, respect, sensitivity, and political correctness. It is also suggested that students are more willing to learn about censorship because it can easily be applied to elements of their popular culture, such as high school students who are suspended for wearing certain t-shirts.
Similarly, the fifth straw man argument is that humor could hurt people's feelings. The authors agree, but they make an analogy between humor and hammers. When used incorrectly, both have the ability to hurt. However, used properly, both can be used to build and create. While hammers build things such as houses, humor can build bridges between people with social differences. They argue that humor allows students with different backgrounds and lifestyles to cut through stereotypes and build better communication between each other. They give the example of a gay comedian who joked that homophobia is defined as "the irrational fear that someone is going to break into your house and redecorate it without your permission." The important thing is for teachers to help their students understand why it is considered okay for them to make jokes about their own cultural groups but not people from other groups.
The sixth and final straw man argument is simply the fear that many teachers don't understand humor well enough to teach it. The authors counter that humor is one subject where it's okay for students to be better than their teachers. Allowing students to bounce ideas off of each other and discuss amongst themselves can be an effective way to stimulate creativity.
The authors end by listing several activities that teachers can use for the purpose of teaching humor: writing parodies and pattern jokes, collecting humorous news clippings, collecting humor icons, and researching and writing about humor.
by: William Bateman
Due by class time on: Friday, March 25th, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Monday, March 28th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
The article "The Straw Man Meets His Match: Six Arguments for Studying Humor in English Classes" by Alleen Pace Nilsen and Don L. F. Nilsen is an interesting article that talks about how classrooms should integrate humor into teaching English. The authors argue that because there is humor in everyday life, that it should be taught in classrooms as well. The authors try to argue that for students to fully understand some humor that is in everyday life they must be given the tools and taught in the classroom.
The next argument they often hear is But Teaching Humor Will Take
Away from the Time I Need to Teach Grammar, Composition, Literature, and
Public Speaking. To this they say they first got interested in this because they were trying to find a more interesting way to teach grammar. They debate that if off-beat or different sentences are used to display grammar mistakes because "students will have fun while, developing a sense of differences between formal, edited English, and the casual kinds of mistakes that all of us make."(pg.35) They go on next to list ten things that make up what people find funny: 1. Surprise or Shock. 2. Superiority 3. Hostility 4. A trick or a Twist 5. Incongruity and Irony 6. Sudden Insight 7. Exaggeration 8. Succinct Word Play 9. Ambiguity 10. Situation
Another critque on this was But I'm Supposed to Be Preparing Kids to Earn a Living. In response to this the authors noted that since 1994 the number on jobs in the comedy field has grown drastically. Although, the chance of becoming a professional is still about as likely as becoming a professional athlete. But like with athletes, the ability to use and understand humor in everyday life can be beneficial for a person. They also say that humor allows people to solve problems using a more creative approach, since the need for surprise must be used in comedy it forces people to think from a different or hidden angle.
Other critics believe If I Bring Humor into My Class,I'll Have Censorship Problems. To this the authors agree that there can be a problem with this but that it is important for students to learn the connection between censorship and humor. And they argue that humor is a good way to teach censorship, and they can use what goes on in news as a way to learn it.
The next argument people use is Humor Hurts people's feelings. While the authors agree that this is true, they also argue that it can also put people in a better mood. To have the smiles outweigh the frowns students must learn how to balance them. Many teachers are afraid that jokes told in class will offend minority students. The authors argue that humor is actually a great tool when talking about cultural differences because: "when people are smiling they are
more likely to be open to new ideas and to new ways of looking at problems."(pg.39)
Finally, the last argument that they touch is But I Can't Teach about Humor
When I Can't Even Tell a Joke or Write a Funny Letter Home. The authors say that this is not a problem, and to use these classroom activities to help teach students English while having fun: First, writing parodies and pattern jokes. Next, students can bring in news clippings, that are humorous. Another thing that teachers can do is bring in or have students bring in humorous icons. And finally, teachers can give research paper topics that incorporate humor such as topics on humor in politics or humor in the internet.
The authors conclude the article by saying that teachers should ease slowly into teaching humor studies in the classroom. And that if the students are happy the parents will be happy, and the criticisms of this type of teaching won't happen.
by:Michon Lindstrom
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In this article, A. Nilsen and D. Nilsen give their arguments against six "straw man" claims that are made against teaching humor (a straw man is loosely defined as an argument made against an exaggerated or falsified version of someone else's argument).
The first straw man argument is that students receive enough comedy outside the school. However, the authors assert that students need to be taught more refined versions of comedy than what they find on TV and that it is the job of teachers to help students develop better taste and appreciation for more subtle forms of comedy. They give the experience of Jacque Hughes, a professor at Central Oklahoma University, as an example. Hughes' students had trouble understanding the humor in Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find until she was able to relate the book to the movie, "National Lampoon's Vacation." Most of the students had seen the movie and were able to find the similarities between it and the book. The authors claim that "it takes skill and practice, along with a broad, cultural background of knowledge, to understand a full range of humor." They say that without proper education, most students will never find more sophisticated humor.
The second straw man is the claim that teaching humor will take time away from more important lessons like composition, grammar, literature, and public speaking. The authors disagree. They feel that students are more likely to show interest in learning subjects if humor is incorporated into them. They give the example of using humorous sentences to teach dangling modifiers. They also feel that students who analyze humor will be more likely to move on to other forms of literary analysis. They list ten elements that often cause people to laugh: surprise or shock, superiority, hostility, a trick or twist, incongruity and irony, sudden insight, exaggeration, succinct word play, ambiguity, and situation.
The third straw man is the argument that school should be preparing students for their careers. The authors counter that humor is actually an important part of having a career for most people. For one, a small percentage of students may go on to be entertainers or comedy writers. Students who end up in high stress jobs will also find humor to be a necessary skill for cutting through their everyday stress. Even political figures need to have an aptitude for humor because it aids in effective communication. The authors also suggest that humor helps students develop creative problem solving skills because surprise is an important part of humor.
The fourth straw man argument claims that introducing humor will cause censorship problems. The authors agree that this is a possibility because a large part of humor is discussing controversial topics such as sex, religion, and ethnic differences. However, they argue that by bringing this into the classroom, teachers will be able to help students explore the relation of censorship to things like taste, appropriateness, tolerance, kindness, respect, sensitivity, and political correctness. It is also suggested that students are more willing to learn about censorship because it can easily be applied to elements of their popular culture, such as high school students who are suspended for wearing certain t-shirts.
Similarly, the fifth straw man argument is that humor could hurt people's feelings. The authors agree, but they make an analogy between humor and hammers. When used incorrectly, both have the ability to hurt. However, used properly, both can be used to build and create. While hammers build things such as houses, humor can build bridges between people with social differences. They argue that humor allows students with different backgrounds and lifestyles to cut through stereotypes and build better communication between each other. They give the example of a gay comedian who joked that homophobia is defined as "the irrational fear that someone is going to break into your house and redecorate it without your permission." The important thing is for teachers to help their students understand why it is considered okay for them to make jokes about their own cultural groups but not people from other groups.
The sixth and final straw man argument is simply the fear that many teachers don't understand humor well enough to teach it. The authors counter that humor is one subject where it's okay for students to be better than their teachers. Allowing students to bounce ideas off of each other and discuss amongst themselves can be an effective way to stimulate creativity.
The authors end by listing several activities that teachers can use for the purpose of teaching humor: writing parodies and pattern jokes, collecting humorous news clippings, collecting humor icons, and researching and writing about humor.
by: William Bateman
Blog Post 23: Esperanto
The reading summary is done by: Sonya Rodgers (ENGL300-1) and Amy Meier (ENGL300-2)
Due by class time on: Wed., March 23rd, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Fri., March 25th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
There needs to be a language that is understood universally. A physician in 19nth century Poland, Ludovic Zamenhoph invented "Esperanto."
"Esperanto" is supposed to be an easy-to-learn language that everyone could translate. Jamia says "Esperanto" is a Romantic language with syntax of slavic languages. It is supposed to have simple grammar, have no irregular verbs, as well as spelling that can be sounded out.
Zamenhoph's goal to erase communication barriers failed or did it? Where did Esperanto go? The Czar in 1895 banned "Esperanto." However that is when works such as the Old Testament, Shakespeare and Hamlet were translated into "Esperanto." Jamia tells that after World War 1 Hitler denounced "Esperanto" and outlawed all organizations that dealt with it.
Today however the computer is the largest known communication barrier breaker. " You can design all the standards you want but in the end you have to do it Microsoft's way (pg.466 "Esperanto," Jamia.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The article “The Decline and Fall of Esperanto: Lessons for Standards Committees,” by Robert Patterson, MD, MSC, Stanley M. Huff, MD explains a simple, easy to learn, planned language called Esperanto. Esperanto was introduced in 1887 by Ludovic Zamenhoff, a polish physician. His goal was to erase communication barriers between different ethnic groups by giving them a politically neutral, culturally free standard language.
Zamenhof grew up in 19th century Poland. Throughout his life he faced a number of different languages. His family spoke Polish and Yiddish, the official government spoke Russian, while his neighbors spoke Lithuanians and German. It is because of the numerous language conflicts that he encountered that led him to the conclusion that language diversity was the main cause of division in family. Dr. Zamenhof was trained in ophthalmology but he was interested in finding a way to unite the world through a common language. He quickly learned that Latin or classic Greek languages were too difficult so he developed Esperanto, which literally means “one who hopes.” This language was designed to be easy to learn and pronouns. The grammar within the language was simple, there is never irregular verbs, and the spelling is phonetic.
Esperanto was both praised and opposed. Toistoy loved the idea of a common language and even claimed to learn it within a few hours. On the other hand, Czar suspected the language was a seditionist plot so he banned it. Furthermore, Hitler denounced the language in Mein Kampf as a tool of Jewish world domination and outlawed all Esperanto organizations. After World War II, the languages’ popularity grew in China and Eastern Europe. Both governments saw a need for a common language. However, the language didn’t obtain much interest in the United States and the rest of Europe.
In recent years Esperanto has dwindled down but is still growing at an extremely slow rate. Currently English is the closest thing to an international language. Although many people had shown a lot of interest in Esperanto, it was not a practical language because it was no one’s mother language. While English on the other hand, is considered far more practical. It is agreed that for both human communication and for the sharing of medical information, there should be a common language. Today, standards committees have produced some successes in the medical field. These standards have already reduced time and cost that is needed to create interfaces between medical computer systems. Members of the HL7 organization made their best guesses about what would work without the benefit of a strong formal model and then they built interfaces based on a simple design.
In the end, no matter how logical and well intended a proposal standard is, it will not flourish if it overlooks the practical issues in “real life” systems. The author writes that the key for standards committees is to find the narrow line by developing and exploiting imperfect but functional strategies that build on existing systems.
by: Sonya R. Rodgers
Due by class time on: Wed., March 23rd, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Fri., March 25th, 2011
The text you need to read is here.
There needs to be a language that is understood universally. A physician in 19nth century Poland, Ludovic Zamenhoph invented "Esperanto."
"Esperanto" is supposed to be an easy-to-learn language that everyone could translate. Jamia says "Esperanto" is a Romantic language with syntax of slavic languages. It is supposed to have simple grammar, have no irregular verbs, as well as spelling that can be sounded out.
Zamenhoph's goal to erase communication barriers failed or did it? Where did Esperanto go? The Czar in 1895 banned "Esperanto." However that is when works such as the Old Testament, Shakespeare and Hamlet were translated into "Esperanto." Jamia tells that after World War 1 Hitler denounced "Esperanto" and outlawed all organizations that dealt with it.
Today however the computer is the largest known communication barrier breaker. " You can design all the standards you want but in the end you have to do it Microsoft's way (pg.466 "Esperanto," Jamia.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The article “The Decline and Fall of Esperanto: Lessons for Standards Committees,” by Robert Patterson, MD, MSC, Stanley M. Huff, MD explains a simple, easy to learn, planned language called Esperanto. Esperanto was introduced in 1887 by Ludovic Zamenhoff, a polish physician. His goal was to erase communication barriers between different ethnic groups by giving them a politically neutral, culturally free standard language.
Zamenhof grew up in 19th century Poland. Throughout his life he faced a number of different languages. His family spoke Polish and Yiddish, the official government spoke Russian, while his neighbors spoke Lithuanians and German. It is because of the numerous language conflicts that he encountered that led him to the conclusion that language diversity was the main cause of division in family. Dr. Zamenhof was trained in ophthalmology but he was interested in finding a way to unite the world through a common language. He quickly learned that Latin or classic Greek languages were too difficult so he developed Esperanto, which literally means “one who hopes.” This language was designed to be easy to learn and pronouns. The grammar within the language was simple, there is never irregular verbs, and the spelling is phonetic.
Esperanto was both praised and opposed. Toistoy loved the idea of a common language and even claimed to learn it within a few hours. On the other hand, Czar suspected the language was a seditionist plot so he banned it. Furthermore, Hitler denounced the language in Mein Kampf as a tool of Jewish world domination and outlawed all Esperanto organizations. After World War II, the languages’ popularity grew in China and Eastern Europe. Both governments saw a need for a common language. However, the language didn’t obtain much interest in the United States and the rest of Europe.
In recent years Esperanto has dwindled down but is still growing at an extremely slow rate. Currently English is the closest thing to an international language. Although many people had shown a lot of interest in Esperanto, it was not a practical language because it was no one’s mother language. While English on the other hand, is considered far more practical. It is agreed that for both human communication and for the sharing of medical information, there should be a common language. Today, standards committees have produced some successes in the medical field. These standards have already reduced time and cost that is needed to create interfaces between medical computer systems. Members of the HL7 organization made their best guesses about what would work without the benefit of a strong formal model and then they built interfaces based on a simple design.
In the end, no matter how logical and well intended a proposal standard is, it will not flourish if it overlooks the practical issues in “real life” systems. The author writes that the key for standards committees is to find the narrow line by developing and exploiting imperfect but functional strategies that build on existing systems.
by: Sonya R. Rodgers
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