Group One Research (Poster #1)

Research Topic

My group and I are exploring ‘language’; in particular its different forms.

Topics covered so far:

• Definition & History of language
• Body language
• Onomatopoeia [The visual representation of sounds]
• Semiotics
• Colloquialism
  

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My Work To Date

DEFINITION(S) (In the broad sense)

• (Wikipedia) A language is a system of visual, auditory, or situational constraints. Language can use against itself the methods of an exclusively human mode of communication; although other animals make use of quite sophisticated communicative systems, none of these are known to make use of all of the properties that linguists use to define language. It can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon.

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HISTORY

The Rosetta Stone

• (Wikipedia) ‘The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing.’

• The Stone has been engraved with Egyptian and Greek, using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek. A group of priests in Egypt wrote the text which honours the Egyptian Pharaoh. In simple terms, it lists the good things that the Pharaoh has done for the benefit of the priests and people of Egypt.

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/rosetta.html

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab13

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ONOMATOPOEIA

Definition(s)

• (Collins English Dictionary) ‘Use of a word which imitates the sound it represents, such as hiss’
• ‘\On’o*mat’o*p[oe]“ia\, n. The formation of words in imitation of sounds; a figure of speech in which the sound of a word is imitative of the sound of the thing which the word represents; as, the buzz of bees; the hiss of a goose; the crackle of fire.’

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Instance of onomatopoeia in popular culture
Roy Lichtenstein, ‘Whaam!’ 1963 | Goscinny and Uderzo, ‘Asterix and the Soothsayer’ 1972 & ‘Asterix & Cleopatra’ 1965

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Onomatopoeia Poem: ‘Marching Band’ Lee Emmett, Australia

boom! boom!
bang the drum

ta-diddy-ta!
here they come
pah! pah!
trombone grand
bright silver sound
in marching band
ting! ting!
triangle ring
sharp and high
sound in sky
wrreee! wrree!
whistle blow
majorette
leads the row
wah! wah!
bagpipes moan
wheel around
and head for home.
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‘Active Noising’: The use of noises in talk, the case of onomatopoeia, abstract sounds, and the functions they serve in therapy, Michelle O’Rielly

• ‘Active noising is defined as deliberate, active sounds made by participants to represent something specific.’
• It is used for different purposes from children to adults;
  • ‘Children use noises as a way of orienting to conversational topic and as a way of attempting to engage in the main interaction.
  • Adults use noises as a way of ‘upgrading a claim by representing to the talk recipient the sounds as they were heard at the time, assisting in the authentication of the point being made.’
    
  • Authentication can also be made by analogies ‘contributing to the visualisation of them and drawing on common understanding to make a point.’
• ‘The key to active noising is the ‘activeness’ of it. The defining feature is the deliberateness of making a noise in an active way to recreate something, rather than just asserting a noise in a vague manner.’
• ‘The general concept is that speakers can formulate their talk in a way that it can be heard as reported talk. According to Wooffitt, the speaker may say the words in a way to be heard as if they were said at the time, this being ‘actively’ produced in a way that extends the idea of merely reported speech. He argues that one should not assume that when something is actively voiced it is necessarily quoted, but the speaker designs utterances to be heard as if they were said at the time. Active voicing is used in ways that help establish the factuality of a report and in some instances demonstrates corroboration ['To strengthen or support with other evidence'] (Wooffitt 1992).
• Conversation analysis (CA): ‘… pays attention to sounds that are vocalized but do not necessarily appear in standard English as a word.’ For example, the expression ‘mmm’ can be used to express evaluation of the pleasure of eating food. It can also be used in conversation, whereby the listener can signal that not only are they receiving the information, but are prompting the speaker to continue speaking.
  
• A family therapy situation (that lends itself to child and adult speech traits) is focused on detail with regard to onomatopoeia and abstract sounds. [My own little spiel:] Onomatopoiea seems to overlap in meaning with active noising, therefore it is difficult to distinguish between the two.
  • Methods or tactics of onomatopoeia: In debrief to the therapist, the parent may increase the volume of the word in order to increase ‘the severity of the noise as it was heard at the time…’
  • Furthermore, ‘micropauses within the conversation prior to the onomatopoeia are also relevant. By leaving a 0.2-second pause before making the loud sound increases the effect of the noise’.

Active noising is described with strong reference to onomatopoeia (please read the following extracts from O’Rielly’s Abstract):

• ‘Active noising is defined as deliberate, active sounds made by participants to represent something specific.’
• ‘Children use noises as a way of orienting to conversational topic and as a way of attempting to engage in the main interaction. Active noising serves the specific function for adults in upgrading a claim by representing to the talk recipient the sounds as they were heard at the time, assisting in the authentication of the point being made.

O’Rielly refers to Dr. Robin Woofitt, who has researched in this area, who argues that ‘one should not assume that when something is actively voiced it is necessarily
quoted, but the speaker designs utterances to be heard as if they were said at the time.’.

NB: In light of this information, it is somewhat difficult to separate the meanings of onomatopoeia and ‘active noising’.

O’Rielly also refers to ‘conversation analysis’ (‘…pays attention to sounds that are vocalized but do not necessarily appear in standard English as a word.’). To expand, she uses an example of the expression ‘mmm’ used to evaluate the pleasure of food. She further refers to ‘transition relevant places’, in which emphasis can be placed on such expressions through use of pausing in mid-sentence (termed ‘micropauses’), with further aid of increased volume of speech.

Active noises are also argued to strengthen analogies. Active noising ‘authenticate[s] the noises by contributing to the visualisation of them and drawing on common understanding to make a point.’

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SEMIOTICS
Definition(s)

• (Wikipedia) ‘Semiotics, semiotic studies, or semiology is the study of sign processes (semiosis), or signification and communication, signs and symbols, both individually and grouped into sign systems. It includes the study of how meaning is constructed and understood.’

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Semiotics for beginners, Daniel Chandler [http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem01.html]

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COLLOQUIALISM

• An expression not used in formal writing or speech; often associated with more ‘”common” or ‘basic’ language; for example ”gonna’ (going to).
• ‘Often used primarily within a limited geographical area’; ‘y’all’ (North America?), ‘Cripes!’ (Australia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloquial
• ‘…A characteristic of speech (or writing) where a speaker (or writer) feels free to express themselves informally and often outside the confines of correct grammar or social niceties. These expressions are usually cheeky, personal and amusing.’ http://www.culture.gov.au/articles/slang/

http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/adventures-barry-mckenzie/

• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)
  • A satirical exploration of the popular cultural beliefs that England and Australia had of each other in the 1970’s.
  • Features many Australian colloquialisms such as ’sheila’ [lady], ‘the raw prawn’ [someone being inappropriately direct or offensive], ‘Pom’ [nickname for an English person]
    
  • It also plays on the cultural meaning of words; a ‘feature’ (i.e. a television program) is taken by Barry to mean ‘exposing his naughty parts’.
    
• ‘Bazza’s stridently colloquial expressions are entertaining but self-conscious and occasionally close to offensive.’ For example:
  • ‘[Barry McKenzie] Now listen mate, I need to splash the boots. You know, strain the potatoes. Water the horses. You know, go where the big knobs hang out. Shake hands with the wife’s best friend? Drain the dragon? Siphon the python? Ring the rattlesnake? You know, unbutton the mutton? Like, point Percy at the porcelain?
  • [Blanche]I think he wants to go to the loo.’
• ‘Cripes! It’s about bloody time some fairdinkum outfit decided to give Aussies the chance to experience this dinky-di classic uncut, uncensored and in widescreen. Umbrella, you little beauty!’ [http://www.victorharbor.yourguide.com.au/review_detail.asp?class=books&review_id=27]
  

• (http://www.culture.gov.au/articles/slang/)’The term ’slang’ (some language references, such as the Macquarie Dictionary, prefer to use the term ‘colloquialism’) describes a characteristic of speech (or writing) where a speaker (or writer) feels free to express themselves informally and often outside the confines of correct grammar or social niceties. These expressions are usually cheeky, personal and amusing.

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ESPERANTO
Definition(s)

(http://www.esperanto.net/info/index_en.html)

• ‘Esperanto is a language, but not of any country or ethnic group: it is a neutral, international language.’
• ‘The basic rules and words of Esperanto were proposed by L. L. Zamenhof at the end of the 19th century’
• ‘Esperanto is most useful for neutral communication. That means that communication through Esperanto does not give advantages to the members of any particular people or culture, but provides an ethos of equality of rights, tolerance and true internationalism.’
• Characteristics:
  • Phoenetic, and no ’silent’ letters or exceptions
  • Lesser amount of words to remember compared to other languages
  • Structurally more similar to non-European languages
• Latin and “Romance” languages (particularly French) account for 75% of the language; Germanic languages (German and English) account for approximately 20%, with the remaining percentages accountable to Slavic and Greek languages
• Professor Sidney S. Culbert of the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, conducted a worldwide survey of spoken languages around the world. Of Esperanto, he concluded that approximately two million people worldwide speak the language (this is equivalent to a ‘minority’ language such as Hebrew) [http://www.esperanto.net/veb/faq-5.html]

Esperanto flag

Pronunciation

World map of possible lodgings and hosting locations

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Summarised content (for writing of literature review)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rosetta Stone

• http://home.netcom.com/~qkstart/rosetta.html

Hey guys, I haven’t included anything on colloquialism (apart from ‘active voicing’ of course); I haven’t cross-checked with Shaun but I am certain he has plenty of concise stuff on the general topic [massive cop-out].
‘Active Voicing’ is a very large topic, therefore I have included a variety of quotes that aim to explain it. Please crop this to your liking, I know you asked for less but I think you guys will have a better way of culling it than I, based on how much you want to devote to it [massive cop-out 2]
/
I’ve also included Esperanto – it wasn’t specified but it’s there anyway, if you need it.
/
Referencing: I’ve provided the main reference but no ‘in-text captioned’ ones, I hope this is acceptable.
/
All of the following info is taken from Page 3 [Research Summaries], in case you want to see pictures for context. I hope the content is workable also, I regretfully suspect it won’t be, so please give me a call if in need (I’ll be available from 12:30 onwards).
/
Good luck, if this information falls into the wrong hands, then you know what to do.
Mel, how’s that backslash key going? Michael, that’s one massive bunny! Ha!

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ACTIVE NOISING

O’Rielly, M 2005, ‘Active Noising’: The use of noises in talk, the case of onomatopoeia, abstract sounds, and the functions they serve in therapy.’, Text & Talk, Vol. 25 Issue 6, p745-762, Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost, AN 18908332, viewed 15 March 2008.

‘Active Noising’: The use of noises in talk, the case of onomatopoeia, abstract sounds, and the functions they serve in therapy, Michelle O’Rielly

• ‘Active noising is defined as deliberate, active sounds made by participants to represent something specific.’
• It is used for different purposes from children to adults;
  • ‘Children use noises as a way of orienting to conversational topic and as a way of attempting to engage in the main interaction.
  • Adults use noises as a way of ‘upgrading a claim by representing to the talk recipient the sounds as they were heard at the time, assisting in the authentication of the point being made.’
    
  • Authentication can also be made by analogies ‘contributing to the visualisation of them and drawing on common understanding to make a point.’
• ‘The key to active noising is the ‘activeness’ of it. The defining feature is the deliberateness of making a noise in an active way to recreate something, rather than just asserting a noise in a vague manner.’
• ‘The general concept is that speakers can formulate their talk in a way that it can be heard as reported talk. According to Wooffitt, the speaker may say the words in a way to be heard as if they were said at the time, this being ‘actively’ produced in a way that extends the idea of merely reported speech. He argues that one should not assume that when something is actively voiced it is necessarily quoted, but the speaker designs utterances to be heard as if they were said at the time. Active voicing is used in ways that help establish the factuality of a report and in some instances demonstrates corroboration ['To strengthen or support with other evidence'] (Wooffitt 1992).
• Conversation analysis (CA): ‘… pays attention to sounds that are vocalized but do not necessarily appear in standard English as a word.’ For example, the expression ‘mmm’ can be used to express evaluation of the pleasure of eating food. It can also be used in conversation, whereby the listener can signal that not only are they receiving the information, but are prompting the speaker to continue speaking.
  
• A family therapy situation (that lends itself to child and adult speech traits) is focused on detail with regard to onomatopoeia and abstract sounds. [My own little spiel:] Onomatopoiea seems to overlap in meaning with active noising, therefore it is difficult to distinguish between the two.
  • Methods or tactics of onomatopoeia: In debrief to the therapist, the parent may increase the volume of the word in order to increase ‘the severity of the noise as it was heard at the time…’
  • Furthermore, ‘micropauses within the conversation prior to the onomatopoeia are also relevant. By leaving a 0.2-second pause before making the loud sound increases the effect of the noise’.

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COLLOQUIALISM

• An expression not used in formal writing or speech; often associated with more ‘”common” or ‘basic’ language; for example ”gonna’ (going to).
• ‘Often used primarily within a limited geographical area’; ‘y’all’ (North America?), ‘Cripes!’ (Australia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colloquial
• ‘…A characteristic of speech (or writing) where a speaker (or writer) feels free to express themselves informally and often outside the confines of correct grammar or social niceties. These expressions are usually cheeky, personal and amusing.’ Australian Slang 2007, Australian Government Culture and Recreation Portal, viewed 15 March 2008, http://www.culture.gov.au/articles/slang/

• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)
  • A satirical exploration of the popular cultural beliefs that England and Australia had of each other in the 1970’s.
  • Features many Australian colloquialisms such as ’sheila’ [lady], ‘the raw prawn’ [someone being inappropriately direct or offensive], ‘Pom’ [nickname for an English person]
    
  • It also plays on the cultural meaning of words; a ‘feature’ (i.e. a television program) is taken by Barry to mean ‘exposing his naughty parts’.
    
• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie 2007-2008, Australian Screen, viewed15 March 2008, http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/adventures-barry-mckenzie/
  ‘Bazza’s stridently colloquial expressions are entertaining but self-conscious and occasionally close to offensive.’ For example:
  • ‘[Barry McKenzie] Now listen mate, I need to splash the boots. You know, strain the potatoes. Water the horses. You know, go where the big knobs hang out. Shake hands with the wife’s best friend? Drain the dragon? Siphon the python? Ring the rattlesnake? You know, unbutton the mutton? Like, point Percy at the porcelain?
  • [Blanche]I think he wants to go to the loo.’
• ‘Cripes! It’s about bloody time some fairdinkum outfit decided to give Aussies the chance to experience this dinky-di classic uncut, uncensored and in widescreen. Umbrella, you little beauty!’ The Adventures of Barry McKenzie 2007, Victor Harbour, viewed 15 March 2008, http://www.victorharbor.yourguide.com.au/review_detail.asp?class=books&review_id=27
• 
  

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ESPERANTO

Informaiton about Esperanto 2002, Esperanto.net, viewed 15 March 2008, http://www.esperanto.net/info/index_en.html

‘Esperanto is a language, but not of any country or ethnic group: it is a neutral, international language.’

• ‘The basic rules and words of Esperanto were proposed by L. L. Zamenhof at the end of the 19th century’
• ‘Esperanto is most useful for neutral communication. That means that communication through Esperanto does not give advantages to the members of any particular people or culture, but provides an ethos of equality of rights, tolerance and true internationalism.’
• Characteristics:
  • Phoenetic, and no ’silent’ letters or exceptions
  • Lesser amount of words to remember compared to other languages
  • Structurally more similar to non-European languages
• Latin and “Romance” languages (particularly French) account for 75% of the language; Germanic languages (German and English) account for approximately 20%, with the remaining percentages accountable to Slavic and Greek languages
• Professor Sidney S. Culbert of the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, conducted a worldwide survey of spoken languages around the world. Of Esperanto, he concluded that approximately two million people worldwide speak the language (this is equivalent to a ‘minority’ language such as Hebrew) Frequently Asked Questions, Esperanto.net, viewed 15 March 2008, http://www.esperanto.net/veb/faq-5.html