T... is for Tone

A large part of how we speak a language and how it sounds is guided by the tone. Languages in which the change of a tone can signify a change in the meaning of an utterance are called intonation languages. The basic tones are the rising tone and the falling tone. While there are words which can be spoken in different tones to indicate different things, there are also groups of words, or phrases, which are tonal.
On utterance of a word, the tonic syllable is the most important because that is when there is a change in the pitch of the voice speaking it. The pitch movement can have different directions and rise and fall are two of those. In a rising tone, the pitch of the voice goes from low to high from the tonic syllable. It is marked above the syllable with a (/) and indicates a question or the idea that the utterance is incomplete. In a falling tone, the pitch of the voice goes from high to low from the tonic syllable. It is marked above the syllable with a (\) and indicates a sense of finality and that the utterance is finished.
The most important role of intonation may well be grammar. While rising tone indicates a question or an exclamation, falling tone indicates a statement. Apart from that, intonations help people understand which the important parts of an utterance are, for they are the phrases often stressed on. Finally, tones indicate emotions. Perhaps, this is where speaking takes and edge over writing, because when an utterance is spoken, its accompanying tones convey so much more than just the speech. Attitudinal nuances are brought to the fore. Anger, pain, dismay, friendliness, resignation, hope are all emotions expressed most vehemently by the intonations of a language. 

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This is the twentieth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare

S... is for Shakespeare

Tomorrow is Shakespeare's birthday. I have read a lot of him in school, most notably Julius Caesar and Tempest. This time, I'm having to read Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was the reason I learnt to read plays, and his plays were the reason I learnt to like them. During my UK stay, I didn't get a chance to visit Stratford, unfortunately, but someday. I did go to the RSC-managed Shakespeare's Globe, built to replicate the original building at the original site. I took a guided tour and highly recommend it for the next time you're in London!
I do like the way he writes. While some of his themes are most definitely outdated and bizarre, I really enjoy the dialogues. The plotting and planning, the soliloquies, the proclamation of love - all of them, I find them entertaining and well written. Having said that, I think it is important for one to be initially 'taught' how to read Shakespeare, and then left on one's own to figure out the rest of his vast body of work. I would think it rather difficult to truly understand and enjoy his works if I weren't taught it. Anyway, Happy Birthday to him. He has already achieved immortality through his works...

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This is the nineteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism

L... is for Language

One of the modules I'm required to take is called Aspects of Language. It deals with what language is, why it came into being, and what is it used for. Though we all may know the answers to these questions, it is very interesting to analyze them properly. For instance, I had to study about the similarities and differences between animal and human language and I want to share it with you here, because it is interesting to know.
The most traditional way of understanding human language is by comparing and contrasting it with animal language, if at all it may be termed so.

Sound signals – both humans and animals use sound signals to convey emotions. But humans have developed a way to transfer language onto other mediums like written and seen.
Arbitrariness – when animals communicate an emotion, they generally assume a pose or attitude to go with it. Attackers spit and growl, the prey makes helpless noises. When humans communicate, there is usually no correlation between the emotion and the word being used to describe it. When one proclaims joy, one doesn’t need to jump around! The symbols used are thus arbitrary. This is also the reason why there are multiple words for the same thing, ie, synonyms.
Learning – while birds that aren’t taught will sing, babies that aren’t taught language will babble unintelligently. If a fawn is threatened by a predator, it will instantly cry out the sound for help, but a threatened child will not be able to should ‘Help!’ However, a child that has been taught the symbolism will. Thus, while both humans and animals CAN learn, humans can only learn when taught. Animals seem to be born with knowledge of their language.
Displacement – Humans can describe things which are not around them, by means of language, this is displacement. We can talk of danger as an experience, but animals will only cry danger when there is danger in their vicinity. Thus the ability to converse through the boundaries of time and space is an important distinguishing characteristic.
Creativity and breadth – Human language is vast! While animals are endowed with the most basic vocabulary to survive, humans have limitless options with language. It is this that sets them apart in the animal kingdom, the ability to use language as luxury.
Duality – Animals use sounds in isolation or simple combinations. Humans have a more complicated way. Sounds and words are on one level but how they are struck together to form meaningful sentences is another level. This depends on grammar and structure of different languages.
Structure – Because of the framework of grammar, words can be rearranged to form sentences with the same meaning. A chunk of words can be rearranged differently, and this is unique to human languages.

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This is the twelfth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats

I... is for Interpretation

Interpreting something that one reads is a representation of what one is. How a text is perceived is to a large extent the reader's personality. For instance, a lot of my avid reader female friends are massive fans of Darcy, Heathcliff, and Rhett. What is it about these men that attracts young women, I wonder. I am personally not attracted to any of them. So what is it that draws one? What is the individual's interpretation of a plot? Of dialogues? What do writers want to convey when they write a particular statement in a particular way?
How does one ever know? Which critics are right? It is so strange that the study of literature involves the reading of those people who have read texts widely and have offered their own thorough opinion. I find it strange because every person is entitled to his/her own opinion. Why should I have to conform or quote? Why can't I be a critic!? What's your take on the interpretation of novels, poems, and plays?

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This is the ninth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour

B... is for British Literature

Right at the onset, I would like to say that I'm quite overwhelmed by the lovely comments I got on my post yesterday. It is a beautiful feeling to read them. I'm having a busy day today (my cousin is coming and I'll see him after two years!) but I'll read more blogs tomorrow.
So, like I said, my first year modules for school are all about British literature. And while I've never been one to think of a person's nationality while I read his/her works, I was quite surprised. I have read many of the poets, playwrights, and novelists on my course without thinking that they were British, but they were! So many of them! While it is natural that this should all be happening in the country that gave the world the language itself, but it is still wonderful that they can read, write, and enjoy in their mother tongue.
I've always expressed myself best in English. A rigorous secondary school education coupled with an inherent love for the language ensured that English became my first language. So I would never know what it is like to enjoy studying in a language that is fairly alien, but friends tell me that it is a chore. Anyway, point being that I'm glad the British gave us this wealth of Literature and that I finally got around to studying it. Another happy coincidence is that the course creators have included Sylvia Plath, who was married to an Englishman. I do like her works.
In case, you're wondering, for second year, we were given optional modules to choose from Indian, Canadian, Australian, and American Literature. I chose American (Hemingway, Twain, Fitzgerald, Capote sigh) and Australian (because I have NO idea what it contains!).

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This is the second post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism