From RSS Feeds, I Discovered...

            From the RSS Feeds, I decided to follow the TEDTalk link to the TEDTalk blog and watch a video about how different languages and people in general give meaning to the words they use to communicate.  John Koenig, the speaker in the video, focused on the idea that words do not have meaning except for the meaning the speakers give the words.  As a foreign language student and a future language teacher, it excites me that this is something people are beginning to talk about and research.  It is not something I have ever thought much about, but it is very interesting and is, in my opinion, something that is very important to understand as a language learner, especially at the upper levels of language learning.  Koenig listed examples from a few different languages of words that do not have equivalents in English and must be translated as phrases or ideas, but not as exact word-for-word translations.  This can add a whole new level to language learning that many early learners, including myself, can tend to overlook.

            Near the end of the video, Koenig mentioned an idea that, as language users, people can put themselves in a box when it comes to the meanings of words.  In this sense, he is arguing that people tend to only use words for which they know the accepted meaning and not create new words or use some words in a new context.  Because of this, language is never growing or expanding to allow new terms to explain known feelings or ideas that previously could not be explained in a single word.  This is one reason I believe learning a new language helps speakers learn about their own first language; as they learn terms in their second language that may not translate perfectly, they are able to learn about ideas and descriptions they may not have known beforehand.  This RSS Feed video was very interesting for me because it related so closely with my subject matter and information that will be vital for me to teach my students one day.  It also allowed me opportunities to continue viewing videos about similar topics or to search for videos on new ideas or different topics.

John Koenig, Beautiful new words to describe obscure emotions, TEDTalk, February 2016 at TEDxBerkeley http://www.ted.com/talks/john_koenig_beautiful_new_words_to_describe_obscure_emotions?rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TEDTalks_video+%28TEDTalks+Main+%28SD%29+-+Site%29#t-436348