The article, "Slash: Not Just a Punctuation Mark Anymore," by Anne Curzan is a very interesting article. This is the first time I've ever heard slash being used as a word itself and not a punctuation. None of my friends slash family use it as a word either. The original use of the punctuation slash is used to obtain to descriptions of one subject, "and/or." I do not like the use of slash as a word because to me I cant help but think of the definition; to cut (something) with a violent sweeping movement. This is why I will never use the word slash, except when in the context of the definition I mentioned before. Using slash as a word changes the way we think about how it affects the context of its use in a sentence. In general, language really does change the way we think about things.
One reason I believe that language changes the way we think is that people who speak more than one language think differently than a person who only speaks one. My grandfather's first language is Swedish, and his second language is English. I once asked him, "When someone asks you a question in English, do you think using Swedish or English?" He then replied saying he thinks using the Swedish language. After a bit of thinking about how this works I realized that, since not every word in the English language has a matching Swedish word, it is harder for him to grasp some ideas than it is for other ideas. More complex ideas presented in English are harder for him to grasp because the words used are not directly translated to Swedish.
Another reason I believe language changes the way we think is that the way we text each other changes our face to face communication. Texting is just words typed on a screen, most of the time abbreviated, and with the occasional emoji. I don't know if this is just me, but sometimes I cant tell the emotion of the person I'm texting just by reading their text. Sometimes I can is if they put an emoji in, but when they don't it's hard to tell. This changes face to face communication by misleading intentions. Sometimes we also interpret the texts with a different meaning than the sender intended. The language in which we text in changes the way we think about the meaning of the text.
I personally have never heard the word slash being used in the context mentioned in Curzans blog. Maybe it's just because I'm not that hip. #lame These alterations of language and punctuation add more opportunities for us to expand how we communicate. They also assist in redefining classic terms, that we've become accustomed to. This isn't always a bad thing; expanding the mind should never be. As a matter of fact one of my favorite expansions of language would have to be the pound sign, or as the youngin's would call it, the hashtag. I remember when I first saw someone using it on Facebook, and I thought 'how stupid, does that sound, (pound)#drinkingstarbucks'. Little did I know that once I understood the alteration of that one tiny symbol I would enjoy it so much. It connects my ideas and thoughts with people of similar interests and as a lover of people and unity, I'm appreciative of how it's meaning has evolved. In my opinion, THAT is a successful development of communication. It makes conversing slightly more relatable and connective. I'm all for the continuation of new language discoveries.
ReplyDeleteLanguage changes the way we think by broadening the horizon that we currently think on. For instance, I love how you mentioned your grandfather is Swedish, but can also speak English even though he thinks in Swedish. Personally, I've never considered that people who communicate in different tongues must also develop their thought in that same tongue. It seems like something that is obviously considered, but for me it wasn't that obvious. You mentioned that he sometimes had difficulty translating what was said in English to the default language in his mind. Even though someone might see this as a handicap, is it really? He's being forced to decipher the ideas presented to him in a different way, which if you think about it is only allowing him to learn more. I think that's awesome, despite it being a forceful way of earning knowledge. The possibilities of what you can learn from others is endless.
I've always thought of the word "slash" as in the content of "and" or "or" as well. I never really considered the word "slash" as being used in a violent way. I actually am just now rememberng that slash, can be used in that way. Such as slashing tires or "slashing," as in killing or stabbing someone. I think language changes the way we speak because when someone's says or text youy something, you don't always get what they mean right away. When you're talking to someone face to face, you can get a better understanding of what they're saying. You can so because they can sometimes have a tone in their voice but I do think it's harder through text messages. I say that because they can just send you their message and you have no idea what thype of feeling they meant by the message. Even though nowadays they do have emojis but you still sometimes cannot tell.
ReplyDeleteI have never personally seen slash being used in this context before, I've only ever seen it as the symbol. I don't agree with you when you say that when you see the word "slash" you think of the definition, i personally think of it as the symbol spelled out. But we all have our own way of perceiving words and we just did it differently on this word. Then i do agree with you when you go on to say that the way we see language in some text messages is perceived the wrong way. This happens to me all the time when I'm texting my friends. It helps when they add a emoji but i sometime still can't get where they are coming from. Also i agree with you on the different language concept. I have a friend that is hispanic and we say something in english they say it a different way in spanish but it still has the same meaning.
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