In his work called Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Wittgenstein ends his book with the stunning phrase: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent". Although this phrase of his has deeply affected me and my thinking, it is quite ironic that what I am doing right now contradicts with the literal meaning of the phrase, that... Continue Reading →
In the previous post of this series, we entered into the office and made a distinction between "peculiar" and "out of context" occupations. We defined "peculiar" jobs as those that are particularly useful to and designed for the site that it works for, such as a curator or an archivist. On the other hand, we... Continue Reading →
Previously in this series, we entered into one of the most common workplaces: the office. And in this post, I will touch on the purposelessness of many occupations that are bounded by this site. As I had mentioned before, my examples are derived from an office atmosphere that was observed during an internship in a... Continue Reading →
In the previous post of this series, as a product of an (internship) experience, I mentioned a couple of paradoxical aspects of history museums. Since most of the museum work takes place in the office, I would now like to make a shift towards this dubious site. To be more specific, I am interested in... Continue Reading →
A (history) museum is definitely an interesting place to examine. Putting it simply, every artifact and painting is neatly placed to form a narrative of a historical story. The lighting, the colors, the music, the labels, the orientation of showcases etc. are methodically organized to create an atmosphere in which the observer not only learns... Continue Reading →
Q) What are the two main theories of nationalism and language? Which of these theories can find inspirations from the idea of linguistic relativity? Eve Haque states that the two most recurrent schools of thought on nationalism in conventional scholarship is primordialism and modernism. While describing primordialism, she mentions how language is a central element around which the... Continue Reading →
Q) Does technology (the medium of interaction) affect communication? Describe debates on this issue. Give examples of how people creatively use and interpret messages from different media. In her article, Tracy LeBlanc-Wories describes presents debates on whether technology, the medium of interaction, affect communication (2015). She states that scholars before the 1990s mostly neglected the potential community aspects of the internet. In... Continue Reading →
Q) What is language socialization and how is it studied? Can the studies of color categorization be part of language socialization research? Why or why not? Amy L. Paugh states that language socialization research looks into how children and other novices are socialized via language, and how they socialize with others, as they learn to use languages through interactions with relatives... Continue Reading →
Q) What is language ideology and what are its main features? What kind of linguistic ideologies are at play in the debates about New Chinglish? Paul V. Kroskrity defines “language ideologies” as the “beliefs, feelings, and conceptions about language structure and use, which often index the political-economic interests of individual speakers, ethnic and other interest groups, and the nation-state." (2015,... Continue Reading →
Q) What is a community of practice? How can the framework of a community of practice be applied to the studies of gender and the studies of swearwords? The concept of ‘community of practice’ was first introduced to language and gender research by Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnel-Ginet (Pichler 2015, 196) who define it as “an aggregate... Continue Reading →
