"One such struggle is learning how to say something in English--the delivery", says Tara Elyssa.
Each English speaking person adds their own little twist to the language. Whether it is a northern accent, a southern twang, or just a habit picked up over the years, everyone slightly alters the language in their own way. The raising and lowering of one's voice when pronouncing a word can completely change the tone of what is being said. The phrase can become sarcastic when the purpose of the phrase was to be a question, or the phrase can turn from a question to a statement. However, as Elyssa states, the changing of pronunciation is completely lost on those who are not fully educated in the same language.
Something that correlates with the above paragraph would be English speakers creating words that stand for something else, like nicknames. Like we said in class, Eskimos have over fifty words for the word snow. In that same way, it seems English speakers create words or names for objects that we commonly refer to. For example, the word "food". English speakers probably have at least ten other words that associate with the word "food". (Not to mention what that says about our culture...) Grub, fuel, lunch, eatin', dinner, brunch, breakfast, etc... Native English speakers would most likely relate all those words to the idea of some type of food.
Not only do we create other words for commonly referred to objects, we create words to combine commonly used words. Words like "gonna" or "wanna". If you turn to G in the dictionary, no, "gonna" will not be listed. But ask any English speaker, and he or she will automatically know that "gonna" really means "going to". Soon, as we discussed during class time, words like "gonna", "wanna", or "shoulda" will actually become part of the English language.
Language is a beautiful thing, and without it, we would lack almost all of the communication we attain. However, it is changing everyday and it is imperative that we closely observe those changes and utilize them to adapt to our surroundings and communicate daily.
1 comment:
Good points. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that our words for food are not interchangeable. You can get some "grub" or you can have "supper" at 6:30pm, but you're not going to have "breakfast."
Also, I think it's interesting that a word like "gonna" isn't simply a contraction of "going to," but it's "going to" in a sense expressing future action. You wouldn't say, "I'm gonna the mountains this weekend."
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