Skip to main content

Home/ Words R Us/ Group items tagged Values

Rss Feed Group items tagged

shirleylin15

Catherine Jones on what language reveals about us | Life and style | The Observer - 1 views

  • people unconsciously shift their speech and voice style to more closely match those of people in powerful or authoritative positions
  • Similarly, people who are depressed, suicide-prone or experiencing a traumatic event tend to use "I" more
  • Our words express the metaphors which underpin our thinking, which in turn express who we are, our values and our life experience.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • reveal many of their values in the metaphors they use
  • senior management teams to describe what they're like when they're working at their best, they often use competitive, sporting metaphors - "we're like a gold medal-winning team" - because winning is important to them
  • teachers and the metaphors are startlingly different - "it's like tending a garden, or bringing up a family" - because nurturing is an important value for this group
  • tone of voice, the pauses in our speech, the role we take in conversations and our use of fillers - for example, "um" or "you know" - to reach many more conclusions
  • older people tend to refer to themselves less often, use more positive emotion words, more future tense verbs and fewer past tense verbs
  • status
  • fewer emotion words and first person singular pronouns we use, the higher our social class.
  • "Freudian slips"
  •  
    What our speech reveals about us
Ryan Catalani

Interview: Seven questions for K. David Harrison | The Economist - 0 views

  • A language hotspot is a contiguous region which has, first of all, a very high level of language diversity. Secondly, it has high levels of language endangerment. Thirdly, it has relatively low levels of scientific documentation (recordings, dictionaries, grammars, etc.). We've identified two dozen hotspots to date
  • The hotspots model allows us to visualise the complex global distribution of language diversity, to focus research on ares of greatest urgency, and also to predict where we might encounter languages not yet known to science.
  • The human knowledge base is eroding as we lose languages, exacerbated by the fact that most of them have never been written down or recorded
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • Each language is a unique expression of human creativity.
  • there are no exact matches for words or expressions across languages.
  • In Tuvan, in order to say "go" you must first know the direction of the current in the nearby river and your own trajectory relative to it. Tuvan "go" verbs therefore index the landscape in a way that cannot survive displacement or translation.
  • People of all ages, but especially children, can easily be bilingual. New research shows bilingualism strengthens the brain, by building up what psychologists call the cognitive reserve.
  • I and many fellow linguists would estimate that we only have a detailed scientific description of something like 10% to 15% of the world's languages, and for 85% we have no real documentation at all. Thus it seems premature to begin constructing grand theories of universal grammar. If we want to understand universals, we must first know the particulars.
  • Their knowledge of ice, their words for it, and the hunting skills and lifeways are all receding in tandem with the Yupik language itself.
  • If we can learn to value the intellectual diversity that is fostered by linguistic variety, we can all help to ensure its survival.
  • I'll close with the inspiring example of Matukar, a language spoken in a small village in Papua New Guinea. Down to about 600 speakers (out of a tribal group of 900+), Matukar is under immense pressure from the national language Tok Pisin and from English.
  • Working with me under the National Geographic Enduring Voices Project, he devised a written form for what had been until 2010 a purely oral language. Rudolf and his mother Kadagoi Raward patiently recorded thousands of words in their language.
  •  
    "The human knowledge base is eroding as we lose languages, exacerbated by the fact that most of them have never been written down or recorded... Each language is a unique expression of human creativity... it seems premature to begin constructing grand theories of universal grammar...If we can learn to value the intellectual diversity that is fostered by linguistic variety, we can all help to ensure its survival."
Lara Cowell

The Secret Social Media Lives of Teenagers - 0 views

  •  
    Developmentally, teens are at particular risk for reckless online behavior, including secrecy regarding social networking. Many people - adults and kids alike - view likes, loves, comments and followers as a barometer for popularity, even within a smaller, closed group. Teens can quickly get caught up in the feedback loop, posting and sharing images and videos that they believe will gain the largest reaction. Over time, teens' own values may become convoluted within an online world of instantaneous feedback, and their behavior online can become based on their "all about the likes" values rather than their real-life values. There is a very real biological basis for this behavior. The combination of social media pressure and an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain that helps us rationalize decisions, control impulsivity and make judgments, can contribute to offensive online posts. In a recent study, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the areas of teens' brains focused on reward processing and social cognition are similarly activated when they think about money and sex - and when they view a photo receiving lots of likes on social media. When teens viewed photos deemed risky, researchers found the brain regions focused on cognitive control were not activated as much, suggesting that it could be harder for them to make good decisions when viewing images or videos that are graphic in nature.
Lara Cowell

UH leads initiative to build state's multilingual workforce - 1 views

  •  
    The University of Hawaii plays a lead role in a major statewide initiative called the Hawaii Language Roadmap, which aims to create a robust, multilingual workforce in Hawaii. This video gives an overview of the project. On June 16, 2015, thanks to the efforts of several stakeholders, including the Hawaii Language Roadmap, Hawaii's Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a Seal of Biliteracy for Hawaii's public school students. The policy adopted by the BOE reads as follows: The Board of Education hereby establishes a Seal of Biliteracy to be awarded upon graduation to students who demonstrate high proficiency in either of the State's two official languages and at least one additional language, including American Sign Language; provided that a student who demonstrates a high proficiency in both of the State's two official languages shall be awarded a Seal of Biliteracy. The purposes of the Seal of Biliteracy are to recognize the importance of: (1) enabling students to be college, career, and community ready in today's global society; (2) establishing an educational culture that recognizes and values the wealth of linguistic and cultural diversity students bring to the classroom; (3) supporting opportunities for study of and increasing proficiency in 'Ōlelo Hawai'i, an official language of the State of Hawai'i; and (4) encouraging partnerships with institutions of higher education and community organizations to increase access to language instruction in a variety of languages. The Department of Education shall implement the Seal of Biliteracy, including developments of criteria that students must satisfy to receive the Seal. Rationale: The Board of Education recognizes that there is personal, cultural, social, academic, and vocational/occupational value in encouraging students to maintain, or develop, proficiency in more than one language.
Lara Cowell

How to Design Great Conversations (and Why Diverse Groups Make Better Decisions) - 1 views

  •  
    Author Daniel Stillman offers up excellent pointers to create more productive conversations, especially when conversing with folx who hold diverse and maybe conflicting perspectives. The whole article's worth mining for details, but here are the key takeaways: 3 Ways to Deepen Conversations How do we go deeper into understanding other people's perspectives? Use these three levels of goals to peel back the layers in the conversation and understand why people want what they want, and find agreements that work for everyone involved. LEVEL 1: INTERESTS: Why does someone want what they want? Try saying, "That sounds important to you. Can you tell me why?" LEVEL 2: OPTIONS: "Hard" negotiators demand what they want. Reply: "That thing you're asking for is one option. Are there any other options or alternatives you can think of? Can we generate any others together?" Finding all the levers of value on both sides can help open up opportunities to create shared value. LEVEL 3: LEGITIMACY: When someone throws out a number or any firm position, it often feels like we need to counter. Instead, ask: "Where did you get that number? What can we base a fair number on?" Probing for ways to judge an outcome as objectively legitimate can lower the stakes.
maddyhodge23

Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and re... - 1 views

  •  
    Abstract: Self-affirmation theory posits that people are motivated to maintain a positive self-view and that threats to perceived self-competence are met with resistance. When threatened, self-affirmations can restore self-competence by allowing individuals to reflect on sources of self-worth, such as core values. Many questions exist, however, about the underlying mechanisms associated with self-affirmation. We examined the neural mechanisms of self-affirmation with a task developed for use in a functional magnetic resonance imaging environment. Results of a region of interest analysis demonstrated that participants who were affirmed (compared with unaffirmed participants) showed increased activity in key regions of the brain's self-processing (medial prefrontal cortex + posterior cingulate cortex) and valuation (ventral striatum + ventral medial prefrontal cortex) systems when reflecting on future-oriented core values (compared with everyday activities). Furthermore, this neural activity went on to predict changes in sedentary behavior consistent with successful affirmation in response to a separate physical activity intervention. These results highlight neural processes associated with successful self-affirmation, and further suggest that key pathways may be amplified in conjunction with prospection.
kyratran24

The Subtlety of Sound: Accent as a Marker for Culture - 1 views

  •  
    By activating internalized values and norms, accents play a role in the formation and categorization of one's cultural identity, resulting in culturally specific patterned cognition. This article looks at the way accents give rise to cultural shifts in perspective and decision-making within bicultural individuals who have accented English, suggesting that bilinguals adopt cultural values and attitudes associated with their target language and demonstrating that accent alone can affect people's cognition. It highlights the idea of cultural frame-switching in which a person's interpretive frames shift because of the situational cues linked with their bicultural identity.
Lara Cowell

The Art of Condolence - 1 views

  •  
    Offering a written expression of condolence (from the Latin word condolere, to grieve or to suffer with someone) used to be a staple of polite society. "A letter of condolence may be abrupt, badly constructed, ungrammatical - never mind," advised the 1960 edition of Emily Post. "Grace of expression counts for nothing; sincerity alone is of value." But these days, as Facebooking, Snapchatting or simply ignoring friends has become fashionable, the rules of expressing sympathy have become muddied at best, and concealed in an onslaught of emoji at worst. Just over two and a half million Americans die every year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and we buy 90 million sympathy cards annually, a spokeswoman for Hallmark said. But 90 percent of those cards are bought by people over 40. Take-away tips from the article: 1. BEING TONGUE-TIED IS O.K. 2. SHARE A POSITIVE MEMORY 3. NO COMPARISONS 4. DON'T DODGE THE 'D' WORDS 5. GET REAL. 6. FACEBOOK IS NOT ENOUGH
Lisa Stewart

College essay samples written by teens - 13 views

  •  
    This is a great site for getting an idea of what colleges are looking for in an essay. My idea of a good college essay changed after reading the top voted college essay.
  • ...6 more comments...
  •  
    Reading the top voted college essay made me think that you do not have to use a story that is extremely special and/or unique. It could be a plain and general story, one that happens to most people, (story about stepping in "doggy poo") connected to something you value in life (connection of inevitability of making mistakes). The most discussed college essay reinforced the idea of humor to add a bit of your personality/voice your essay and keep the reader engaged. But, it also brought up the idea of finding a story that continues through most of your life, so you may add other important stories to add depth to the reader's knowledge of your extracurricular activities and passions.
  •  
    It was very interesting to read a few extremely well written essays. I can see why these essays were voted on as being very well written. It was interesting to see how these people weren't writing so much about an experience that they had in their lives, but more about how the experience made them gain a better understanding of the world.
  •  
    While I began reading the top voted college essay, I was really confused as to why this girl was describing a piece of candy in such great detail. However, she slowly created this metaphor and theme that she incorporated throughout her college essay. This technique she used was very successful, in making me want to read the entire thing and connect the dots back to her candy metaphor. Therefore, maybe it's the parts that was not written about the writer, herself, that really gave me, or the reader, a strong sense of who she is as a person.
  •  
    After reading a few essays from this site I got a pretty good idea on what a good essay sounds like. Before reading this I didn't really know how I wanted my essay to go, I'm still not too sure how I want to write it but now I have some inspiration to look toward when writing. I don't have a backstory like the girl who compared chocolate to her life but I think I could find something else interesting to write about.
  •  
    The top voted essays on this site are amazing. It's obvious why they are so highly ranked, they have well thought out structures, elaborate descriptions of everything, and such beautiful word choice. It's crazy because these people were writing about such simple things in their every day life but they made it interesting to read, they wrote it, probably, better than the actual experience was.
  •  
    I kind of had an idea what I was going to write about in my essay, but after reading this site I know how to write it and what a good essay sounds like and what it conveys in the words. It made me see that you don't need a super great topic in your essay, you just need to write it well.
  •  
    The top essay was a very descriptive piece. It sounded like a short story, and I didn't know you could write about those kind of topics on a college essay. This site really helps me get a better idea of what an essay should look like when the time comes to submit one.
  •  
    It really helps to be able to read examples of good college essays. It gives you an idea of not only what to write about but how to write it. I never would have guessed some of the top voted college essays would be written on such simple, everyday topics. I have a lot of work to do haha.
Lara Cowell

Polari, a vibrant language born out of prejudice - 0 views

  •  
    Polari (also spelt Palarie, Parlary, Palare and various other ways) is a language most commonly associated with gay men (and to a lesser extent lesbians), used in the first two-thirds of the 20th century in British cities that had large and mainly underground gay subcultures. Originally a secret language, passed down via word of mouth, it was a necessity in a world where homosexuality was stigmatized. According to author Paul Baker, "Polari could be seen as a form of anti-language, a term created by Michael Halliday in 1978 to describe how stigmatised subcultures develop languages that help them to reconstruct reality according to their own values."
Michaela Tsuha

Love Hurts - 0 views

  •  
    This commercial is promoting "Pepsi Max, with zero calories." It has the unstated premise that anything without calories must be good for you or that anything without calories is the healthy way to go. But the truth of the matter is that not everything without calories is "good." Diet sodas don't actually have any nutritional value and many contain a chemical in them called aspartame which proves to have some negative effects when not taken in moderation.
Brian Piper

Exercise - 0 views

  •  
    by Bruce Schoonmaker As we learn more about the value of physical fitness in quality of life, the question naturally arises, how does fitness affect singing? How important to singing is one's physical condition?
lucaberg16

Ñandutí Benefits of Early Learning Bilingualism - 1 views

shared by lucaberg16 on 24 Oct 14 - Cached
  •  
    Second Language Learning: Everyone Can Benefit Kathleen M. Marcos* The 1990s have been a decade of renewed interest in language learning. As always, political and economic concerns play a major role in the nation's perception of the value of learning a second language (Met and Galloway, 1992).
Quinn Kilrain

The Benefits of Face-to-Face Communication - 0 views

  •  
    Nothing can replace the value of face-to-face communication. In fact, it's said that over 90% of how we communicate is through nonverbal cues like gestures and facial expressions. With that said, one cannot underestimate the power of video conferencing to enable businesses to maximize the effectiveness of their communication.
jeremyliu

Linguistics researcher uses pop music to teach vocabulary - 0 views

  •  
    A language teacher began research on pop music and learning after seeing how her students had a remarkable aptitude to memorize song lyrics. The study investigates the mnemonic values of songs and learning.
Lara Cowell

How Fiction Becomes Fact on Social Media - The New York Times - 0 views

  •  
    Skepticism of online "news" serves as a decent filter much of the time, but our innate biases allow it to be bypassed, researchers have found - especially when presented with the right kind of algorithmically selected "meme." At a time when political misinformation is in ready supply, and in demand, "Facebook, Google, and Twitter function as a distribution mechanism, a platform for circulating false information and helping find receptive audiences," said Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth College (and occasional contributor to The Times's Upshot column). Why? Here are the key reasons: 1. Individual bias/first impressions: subtle individual biases are at least as important as rankings and choice when it comes to spreading bogus news or Russian hoaxes. Merely understanding what a news report or commentary is saying requires a temporary suspension of disbelief. Mentally, the reader must temporarily accept the stated "facts" as possibly true. A cognitive connection is made automatically: Clinton-sex offender, Trump-Nazi, Muslim men-welfare. And refuting those false claims requires a person to first mentally articulate them, reinforcing a subconscious connection that lingers far longer than people presume.Over time, for many people, it is that false initial connection that stays the strongest, not the retractions or corrections. 2. Repetition: Merely seeing a news headline multiple times in a news feed, even if the news is false, makes it seem more credible. 3. People tend to value the information and judgments offered by good friends over all other sources. It's a psychological tendency with significant consequences now that nearly two-thirds of Americans get at least some of their news from social media.
kyliematsumoto17

People's Accents Can Change Your Perception of What They Are Saying - 3 views

  •  
    It's well established that people express different aspects of their personalities when speaking different languages. Now, researchers are suggesting that a much subtler linguistic shift can have a meaningful impact on the way we interpret the world: Just listening to a voice with a foreign accent can prime people to see a situation according to the values of the foreign culture, if they have ties to it-or it can reinforce the standards of their own culture, if they're "monocultural."
Riley Adachi

Habla Español? Tim Kaine Is Latest Candidate to Use Spanish - 2 views

  •  
    Tim Kaine, Democratic VP nominee, uses Spanish during his speeches to appeal to Hispanic voters.
  •  
    This article is about how Hillary Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, uses his bilingualism to bring diversity to the Clinton campaign. It is believed that Hillary partly chose Kaine because of his Spanish speaking skills to connect with a different demographic, the Hispanics. During his convention speech Kaine wiped out his Spanish and inspired the listeners to roar into cheers. He spoke about the many Hispanic values such as family, hard work and faith lock in his audience.
Jessica Chang

Bilingualism Good for the Brain - 6 views

  •  
    Bilingual education is controversial in the world today but so is its value. While bilinguals with Alzheimer's retained brain function longer than monolinguals, the cost of bilingualism is having a smaller vocabulary in each language. The thing about the bilingual brain is that knowing more than one language and knowing when to use each rewires your brain completely, giving those people certain advantages and maybe some disadvantages.
1 - 20 of 31 Next ›
Showing 20 items per page