Marina Teixeira
12/4/2012 12:55:01 am
The article defends that although language dictates the way we live today, we can still change it. Using examples, the author is able to convince the reader that there are things in language that we can change. Considering that we have written language in present time it is much more easier to change language itself; however, it works both ways and it is also easier to change language negatively. After reading the article I was able to understand that, although we need language for everything, it is possible to modify it. The article also made me aware that language is being changed gradually everyday. An example is language in Brazil, where it is easy to find examples were language was changed. To start of about an year ago, the rules in written language were changed and the whole Brazilian community has to compromise to those changes. Another example in Brazilian culture is the word for you, which has changed over the years. The word that was officially used before was changed over the years when the influence of the slaves and other nations altered the way the people would say that word. Again, supporting what the article exposed, there are some words in Portuguese that have changed spelling and accent because of the way that most people have been using it. The internet is of great influence on language and how it is written and said. In the internet the rules for spelling of words often change and over time that could also come to affect the language as a whole.
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Pedro Paulo
12/9/2012 03:55:54 am
There was no link to the article in the TOK Assignment page, yet I would still like to talk about how is being bilingual. Being able to fluently speak two languages has also two standards. On one hand it is very useful for communication abroad, since speaking English, my second language, is common all around the world. Therefore, I can obtain jobs in several different countries along as creating an interaction between my job and people that look forward to understand or trade with it abroad. Moreover, I am able to read books both in Portuguese and in English which facilitates my capacities of obtaining knowledge since many people are slaves of their native languages. On the other hand, speaking two languages sometimes harms my speaking abilities on each of them. For example, sometimes I think in English when I am speaking Portuguese and vice versa therefore it takes a longer time to formulate a cohesive and well developed speech. Furthermore, sometimes we can mix words together creating alternative languages that include both aspects of the two languages spoken.
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Anna Pearson
12/17/2012 02:05:50 pm
I think knowing multiple languages is a huge benefit and I am not surprised that being multi-lingual decreases aging. With different languages people also learn about different cultures. Learning this much knowledge and gaining so much information helps the brain become sharper because it can process things in so many different ways. A single language is the way in which we communicate to a certain group of people, but to know a whole other language in addition to that not only broadens horizons but also allows the brain to communicate in a much broader sense. The abiltiy of the brain to gain a huge amount of knowledge such as a second language and constant use of two languages stimulates more brain function and should keep the brain healthy and active for longer. Researchers have stated that older people who actively use their brain for things like doing crosswords or other mind games are more likely to be healthier. Using two languages is probably one way to remain more healthy and aware of things the older you get.
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Thiago Gatto
2/19/2013 01:01:50 am
I strongly believe that being able to speak multiple languages has many more advantages to a person's life than simply the fact of her being able to communicate with people from another country. As explained in the article, speaking is one of the most difficult and complex things that our brains does, consequently, since our brain will be overwhelmed with the amount of information that is required of our brain to be able to speak laguages, our brain will evolve more and be much more efficient than someone who speaks only one language. Furthermore, different languages englobe a huge amount of information or things that are spoken that are exclusive to this language, so, the person who speaks more than one language will be able to perceive a greater amount of information and think in more ways than other people do. This way, speaking two langauges provide the person not only the ability to communicate with different cultures, but indirectly adds to the better functioning of the brain of the person as a whole.
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