Digitally disembodied
You are reading this on the Internet, so you have probably developed some level of digitally-enabled “ambient awareness” – a constantly-updated sense of what’s happening near and far. The Internet can extend our senses around the world, even if it’s just getting the latest snaps from family and friends.
In an excellent article in the New York Times, Clive Thompson talked about the cumulative effect of social media updates: “the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives.”
That’s the upside. The downside is that constantly looking at screens can cut you off from your other senses.
The question "What to teach them?" has evolved into "What will we learn together?" And that, I've learned, makes all the difference.
We choose our language like we choose our clothes — not just for their basic function, but for how we want to feel in them.
Language will find its own way - or rather, people will find their own ways to use the amazing sounds that we humans create.
I used to be a language Nazi: bristling at incorrect usage and correcting people willy-nilly - even family members - until …
English spelling is at best a rough guide to pronunciation rather than an authoritative hard and fast reference.
Having studied a number of languages and having taught English to Ukrainian and Syrian refugees for the last three years, I realise just how little use English spelling is as a guide to English pronunciation.
"You guys's" may not be elegant, but as a pragmatic plural it’s very functional and very English.
THE KEY QUESTIONS OF LIFE (AND DEATH)
- WHAT DO I NEED?
- WHAT ACTIONS COULD I PERFORM?
- WHAT DO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW?
SO... WHAT'S THE BEST THING TO DO NEXT?
