In this article, a teacher describes his experience talking with a mother about her son's supposed "gang" life. The article is entitled "The limits of language" as it reveals how our language sometimes does not provide for more nuanced words that could adequately describe certain concepts. This comes about from his conversation when the mother describes to acknowledge that her son is in a gang. Regardless of whether he is in one or not, the mere label of someone being a gang member evokes certain emotions such as fear. In fact, the author mentions this and notices how white youth are usually referred to as "delinquents" whereas youth of color more often are labeled by their association with gangs.

The label as a gang brings problems because it does not take into account the culture of those that belong to them or the circumstances that brought them their. When people hear the word gang they are quick to disassociate themselves from those that are labeled so. The label stops those on the outside from looking into why people may be forced to join gangs. Furthermore, not all teen activity may be considered as ganglike although people may label it so. Thus, labels become dangerous because they do not properly convey a person's motivations or circumstances.

This article about the use of grammar brought up an interesting question about how we approach language both in daily and professional life. The article opens with the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog's 12-year old protagonist, Paloma, reacting to her teacher's musings about grammar. When posed with the question, "What is the point of grammar?" her teacher responds "to make us speak and write well." Paloma dissents from her answer, thinking instead that grammar serves as the "access to the structure and beauty of language."

This kind of discussion brings up the question of how we use language and whether we should always respect it in the sense that it is a way of conveying beauty. In that regard, language remains one of the most accessible mediums of expressing beauty--it does not require any materials or any formal training. It could be said that education is required to make full use of language, but I believe that it is not needed. However, is it needed to incorporate the beauty of language in everyday interactions such as email? Paloma "get[s] carried away just knowing that there are words of all different natures." Is this how everyone should consider language? Or the purpose of language more for pragmatism's sake than beauty's?

Reading the article "U.S. Students Hurting in Foreign Languages" made me realize how small of an emphasis United States schools collectively place on learning foreign languages. Because I had the privilege to attend schools with strong language programs I was not aware of the lack of attention that foreign languages had in the general sphere of United States schools. The article talks of how schools consider language programs a first resort when it comes to dealing with budget cuts. Because learning a foreign language is seen as optional, schools consider it of less importance or carrying less academic weight than other subjects. However, I believe that is not the case because as both the world and our own country are constantly affected by foreign languages. It is rapidly becoming necessary to learn another language in order to adequately communicate with people in both casual and work settings.

I liked how the article described many people's attitude towards learning foreign languages in the United States. It states that because we are isolated geographically we historically have not had to deal with other foreign languages unlike those living in Europe. However, due to constantly increasing globalization and immigration this notion is not quite so appropriate. We cannot simply say that we do not have to deal with other languages because it is also necessary to accommodate the needs of a world that does not solely speak English. It seems self-centered to think that the rest of the world must conform to speaking English and not make any effort to participate with others within their comfort zones.

Furthermore, it was interesting how the article described the U.S. attitude towards learning foreign languages as a "double-edged sword." There is a lot to lose if we choose to exclusively communicate in English. We lose access to valuable resources that would not otherwise be available to us if we did not speak other languages. Thus, the article successfully asserts that "language is a force, not a choice." And if this is true, it is imperative that schools reconsider the amount of importance they attribute to foreign languages.

The expression of pain and its difficulties were discussed in this article. The article described the personal account of David Biro who underwent a bone marrow transplantation and, after struggling to describe his experience, decided to write a book with the theme of articulating the feeling of pain. He mentions how pain is both "isolating" yet "all-encompassing" and attempts to explain why "pain is impossible to share." He settles on the use of metaphor to effectively convey the feeling of pain stating, "metaphor gives us words and objects where there were none." This quote opened up new questions for me beyond that of the topic of pain. For example, how was it first determined what word to ascribe to a sensation when such words were lacking?

It is strange to think about how words are originally assigned to objects or feelings. Especially in the case of things that are more abstract such as pain, how can people know that they are talking about the same thing? It seems that each interpretation of a word or a sensation truly comes down to the individual. Language, thus, is such an arbitrary experience because there is a time when one person can completely understand what another person is communicating. It seems that it depends largely on the experience which I suppose is the way that people were gradually able to decide on which words to assign to a sensation that cannot be physically shared.

The article also reminded me of my own experience in trying to describe pain. For example, we are often asked by doctors whether the pain we feel is throbbing, pounding, shooting, etc. However, it always seemed that pain could not necessarily be described in such manners. It was always hard for to discern which adjective to describe the pain I was feeling. This must have implications in the diagnosis of individual cases. Because each individual has his or her own idea about what a certain pain feels like, it is important not to solely rely on these adjectives when trying to ascertain what is wrong with a person. I never thought about how clear or explicit people must be when administering diagnoses until taking this class, but now I realize that it is e especially important to pay attention to how doctors and patients communicate with each other in order to determine what is best for them.

An aspect of language that I feel we have not discussed enough in class is its role in music. An article that I read that reminded me of this discussed the incorporation of Vietnamese, a tonal language, into a new opera production called Amelia. Because the opera includes a flashback scene in Vietnam, the composer wanted to respect the scene by having it authentically portrayed. It was interesting to read about how those involved with the opera dealt with this situation. At first, the composer felt limited because he could not use certain intervals for specific words, but as he grew more comfortable actually began to appreciate its musical merits as a tonal language. The most striking aspect of this opera was its fusion of Western music tradition with Eastern culture. I am curious to see how it is executed and whether the production can claim authenticity as both an opera and a showcase of the Vietnamese language.

Beyond this specific case lie other questions with regards to language's role in music. For example, can languages dictate the type of rhythms that are prevalent in a culture's music? Furthermore, how important is language in conveying the meaning of music? Music is not exclusively conveyed in a spoken manner, but does the use of language facilitate a person's access to the meaning of particular music? These are questions that I have because both music and language seem to form in response to certain needs of the people. For instance, it seems that spirituality and religion necessitated the creation of music and also the development of language. Thus, both music and language both seem to be pervasive elements of society so it would be interesting to observe how the two work together and form new notions that affect our lives.

The article "The language divide at the heart of a split that is tearing Belgium apart," as is implied by the title, discusses how language threatens to tear the nation of Belgium into two. It describes Belgium's situations as that of "linguistic apartheid," in which the Dutch-speaking Flemings from the North are contesting with the French-speaking Walloons from the South. It describes how Flemish separatism is becoming more prevalent in mainstream society and thus something that must be seriously considered by Belgium's citizens. In a science playground in a town 20 minutes north of Brussels, there is no mention of Belgium. The playground teaches children, "making education fun," but does so exclusively in Dutch. Moreover, it tells only of statistics of Flanders. This manifestation of Flemish separatism further demonstrates how it is ingraining itself into its citizens minds.

Language, through this article, is again seen to be a very powerful political force--one that can unite or, in this case, divide a group of people. It can determine how nations and their borders are situated geographically. However, is it just language that exclusively serves to divide the nation? The article also mentions ways in which the two regions are different including voting tendencies and the relative prosperity of their people. So, in this case, is language solely used to distinguish between the two already different regions or does it have a role in causing the differences between the two? It would be interesting to look into the elements of both the French and Dutch languages and see if either have implications that can cause such differences.

The article "Seattle officer in video apologizes for language" discusses an officer's reaction to the posting of a video in which he was caught calling a suspect racial slurs. He was quoted as saying, "I'm going to beat the [expletive] Mexican piss out of you." However, afterwards, during a news conference, he told the media, "I know my words cut deep and were very hurtful. ... I am truly, truly sorry." This situation demonstrates how language can reveal and even exacerbate sentiments caused by an individual's notion of race. It reminds me of the recent discussion we had in class about categorization. We often perpetuate stereotypes because of the way we categorize people upon first notice. These stereotypes can be especially harmful when they make their ways into societal institutions, such as law enforcement. Another example of this is the recent immigration law passed in Arizona which effectively permits the use of racial profiling to arrest an individual.

Language seems to play a considerable role even in these types of situations. For example, would the police officer be as scrutinized if he had not chosen to use the word "Mexican?" It seems that this can have two effects: either shocking or surprising those that view the video or perhaps affirming beliefs that are ingrained into some viewers' minds. Even the way in which the article is presented can be interpreted in different ways. It describes him as "tearful," but also when quoting him relies on the word "said" in order to convey objectivity. Thus, this article reveals both in the actual event and in the presentation of the event how the relationship between race and language is still perpetuated by our society. Recent actions taken in protest the Arizona law include the production of shirts that state "I am an illegal immigrant" and a Facebook event entitled, "Do I look Illegal?" Language in this situation is used to statements that do indeed affect the enforcement of policy. If a police officer has any reason to suspect an individual is an "illegal immigrant" then he or she has to stop them--a fact that underscores the creation of the aforementioned shirts. Language then serves to provide a tool for those who wish to oppress those who are part of categories perceived as inferior. At the same time, it can be used to mediate situations or demonstrate strength or solidarity within a community.