Assignments TOK 2 Language 1. Write down descriptions of the following terms to remember. ambiguity grammar back translation idiom body language irony classification linguistic determinism communication metaphor connotation Sapir-Whorf hypothesis denotation stereotype emotive meaning weasel words euphemism 2. How much could you know about the world if you had no language or means of communicating with other people? 3. Take any familiar word of your choice, such as ‘table’, or ‘door’, and repeat it twenty times, fast. What happens? What does this suggest to you about the relation between words and things? 4. How easy is it to misunderstand the body language of someone from a different culture? 5. Make up a meaningful –though not necessarily true – English sentence which to the best of your knowledge has never in the history of the universe been written before. 6. Give some examples of words that entered the English language as a result of the computer revolution. 7. Do you think animals have language? Read the ‘Dialogue on Animal Language’ in the resource file at the end of this this chapter. Who do you think gets the better argument – Dolly or Guy? 8. Read the following passage, attributed to Judy Lanier, which is called ‘The Montillation of Traxoline’, and answer the questions below. “It is very important that you learn about traxoline. Traxoline si a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Cheristannians gristeriate large amounts of fevon and then bracter it into quasel qu asel traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge. 1. What is traxoline? 2. Where is traxoline montilled? 3. How is traxoline quaselled? 4. Why is it important to know about traxoline? 5. What do you understand? 9. Define as precisely as you can the following words: a. triangle, b. table, c. love. 10. How would you try to explain to a blind person what the word ‘red’ means? What does this suggest to you about the limitation of definitions? 11. How do you know that what we both call ‘red’ I don’t experience as what you would call ‘green’ if you were looking through my eyes, and what we both call ‘green’ I don’t experience as what you would call ‘red’ if you were looking out of my eyes. 12. What difference would it make in real life if the above were the case? 13. Do you think a robot could use and respond appropriately to language?
14. Do you think that communication would improve if we got rid of vague words, or do you think they sometimes serve as a useful purpose? 15. ‘It is easy to be certain – one only has to be sufficiently vague’ (Charles Sanders Peirce, 1839-1914). What do you think Pierce meant by this? Give examples. 16. Each of the following sentences is ambiguous. Give two different meanings for each of them. a. Flying planes can be dangerous. b. They saw Mrs Jones and the dog sitting under the table. c. Bob tickled the man with a feather duster. d. Refuse to be put in the basket. e. Mia wanted to hear the pop star sing very badly. 17. To what extent can punctuation help to reduce the ambiguity of a sentence? 18. When Bill Clinton entered the White House in 1993, his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton wanted to be known not as the ‘First Lady’ but as the “Presidential Partner’. What is the difference in connotation between ‘First Lady’ and ‘Presidential Partner’? 19. Explain the different connotations of each of the following sets of words: a. slender, skinny, thin b. stubborn, steadfast, firm c. praise, flatter, commend d. energetic, spirited, frenzied e. stench, smell, fragrance 20. Explain the difference between the following two sentences. Is either of them true? If so, in what sense? a. ‘No man is an island’. (John Donne, 1572-1631) b. ‘No man is a banana’. (Richard van de Lagemaat, (1958-) 21. Take a paragraph from a newspaper or magazine, and identify as many metaphors as you can. Try to rewrite the piece without using metaphors. 22. What problems are there in trying to interpret the following sentences? a. ‘If John works hard, he should do himself justice in the final exam.’ b. ‘It is as difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.’ c. ‘After he had said this, he left her as on the previous evening.’ d. ‘E=mc 2 23. What would be the advantages and disadvantages if everyone in the world spoke a single common language/. What would be gained by this, and what would be lost? 24. ‘Who does not know another language does not know his own’ (Goethe, 1749-1832) What can you learn about your own language by studying a second language? 25. In what other ways does learning a second language contribute to, and expand, your knowledge of the world? 26. Give some examples of words in Spanish, that have no precise English equivalent. 27. How would you go about trying to translate the following idioms into another language? a. ‘David is barking up the wrong tree’. b. ‘Tina threw a spanner in the works’. ’
c. ‘Samuel was only pulling her leg’. d. ‘Daniela is resting on her laurels’. 28. What kinds of text do you think are easiest to translate from one language to another and what kinds of text do you think are most difficult to translate? 29. What predictions can you make from the following labels? a. dog b. beard c. tiger d. mushroom e. teacher 30. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of classifying people according to their nationality? 31. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of classifying people according to their star sign? 32. What other ways of classifying people are there? Are some more natural than others? Are some better than others? 33. What stereotypes do you think exist in your culture concerning the following groups? a. Americans b. Feminists c. Lawyers d. Scientists e. Islamic fundamentalists f. Environmental Activists g. Buddhists h. Computer Hackers 34. In your culture, which of the following adjectives are associated more with men and which are associated more with women? How much truth do you think there is in these stereotypes? a. emotional b. active c. sensitive d. affectionate e. reckless f. aggressive g. tough h. cautious 35. Some believers of astrology say that Leos and Cancers are incompatible – i.e. if you are a Leo, there is no point in dating a Cancer, and vice versa. To what extent could this be seen as the astrological equivalent of racism? 36. If you are fluent in more than one language, to what extent do you think differently when you switch between languages? 37. Many years ago, the philosopher Bertrand Russell pointed out that we tend to interpret our own behaviour in the best possible light, and are less charitable when it comes to other people. To illustrate the point, he ‘conjugated’ the following ‘irregular verbs’: ‘I am firm; you are obstinate; he is a pig -headed fool’.
‘I have reconsidered it; you have changed your mind; he has gone back on his words.’ Suggest how the following verbs might be ‘conjugated’ a. ‘I speak my mind…’ b. ‘I take calculated risks...’ c. ‘I am tolerant…’ d. ‘I am spontaneous…’ 38. Take two advertising slogans of your choice (such as ‘Just do it’) and explain why you think they are effective. 39. Why do you think so many advertisers describe their products as ‘natural’? Are natural things always good? Can you give examples of things which are natural and bad? 40. Analyse the way language is being used in each of the following pairs of expressions: a. terrorist / freedom fighter b. pro life / pro choice c. genetically modified food / Frankenstein food d. free speech / hate speech e. ‘blocking you child’s access to objectionable material on the Internet is not called CENSORSHIP, it is called PARENTING’ (Al Gore). 41. In 1947 the United Stated Department of War was renamed the Department of Defense. What difference do you think this makes? What is the corresponded Department called in your country? 42. Explain how weasel words are used in each of the following cases: a. ‘Our product con restore up to 25% of lost hair’. b. ‘Probably the best lager in the world’. c. Dentifresh toothpaste helps fight tooth decay’. 43. According to a well-known children’s rhyme, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.’ Do you agree or disagree with this? Give reasons.
