It is interesting to be studying this reading which posits that the actual practice of writing can, in itself, be considered as much of a technology as the medium with which we write, simply because another of my subjects this semester – Communication Histories and Technologies – has raised similar issues only recently. While those readings focused more on the problems labelling anything as ‘technology’, this was more concerned with why writing itself is worthy of being labelled as such, stating in its first sentence that ‘writing is a technology for collective memory, for preserving and passing on human experience’.
I agree somewhat with this. I think it is easy to say writing is technology. Our alphabet, our grammar, our spelling, it is all a system that we have developed over eons of time, a mechanical system composed of tiny parts that meld together, cogs that work only when placed next to the right cogs, and we are not born knowing how to piece it together. What’s more, it is being re-invented with every passing generation. Sure, we say the English language is dying a slow death, but really, when the internet is so easily accessible, the meanings of words that we have now and that we know of from years ago are forever stored on a server somewhere. Shakespearen, a foreign ancestor of the English language to the uninitiated, is translated as careful googling by even the most kewl of kids.
I once read that the English language is shrinking, and I don’t believe it. I’ll admit that the words we use frequently are diminishing, but the English language will always contain the words it contains now, and it will only increase in magnitude as we add words and phrases like ‘lol’, ‘planking’ and ‘bootylicious’. With television, books and movies churning out funky new colloquialisms every second, and with the chances of a word simply disappearing forever diminishing, how can you argue that our language is dying? It makes no sense to me. Let’s see what today’s ‘word of the day’ is on dictionary.com:
dither
\ DIHTH-er \ ,
verb;
1. to act irresolutely; vacillate.
2.North England . to tremble with excitement or fear.
noun:
1. a trembling; vibration.
2. a state of flustered excitement or fear.
And yesterday:
verisimilitude
\ver-uh-si-MIL-i-tood, -tyood\ , noun:
1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2.something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.
Because of the internet, these words will – most likely – exist as long as humanity is sentient.
Moving on. As someone who has a very basic (VERY BASIC) understanding of some languages other than English, I can see how we take the fluidity of our tongue for granted. We have something most over languages don’t: freedom. Yes, we are somewhat compounded by strange laws and customs, but as long as what we say is grammatically correct, we can still say it. Sometimes, even that doesn’t matter. Take Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for example, adding ‘y’ to the end of words that don’t end in ‘y’ in order to turn them into adjectives. Sometimes adjectives are used in place of nouns.
Chinese has a much more rigid system in terms of use of language. Of course, grammar is simpler (literally: dog tired=the dog is tired/dogs are tired), but they have a much more repressive dictionary, I mean fire mountain=volcano. They don’t even get a new word for that, it’s just two others they’ve shoved together. Goat? Mountain sheep. Computer? Calculation machine or electric brain. Haemorrhage? Literally ‘losing blood’. Bruise? Defeated injury. It’s very simplistic, but hilariously fun to explore. Some are a tad infuriating, I.E America=Pretty country. Africa=Not a continent, as in that’s what it means.
Sorry, I’m kinda off-topic, but I’m having fun. Of course, to really understand Chinese, you have to realise that it is a picture-based language, like Ancient Egyptian used to be. Back to the definitions above: Volcano = 火山. Goat = 山羊. Computer = 计算机 or 电脑. Haemorrhage = 出血. Bruise = 挫伤. America = 美国. Africa = 非洲. It’s a beautiful thing to look at, but not so easy to grasp for us foreigners.
So it’s nearly eleven at night, and my brain is now swimming in English and Chinese dictionaries, while my limited French vocabulary waits anxiously on the side, waiting to be used. SCREW YOU FRENCH. NO ONE LIKES YOU. Anyway, I’m gonna head off to the bed place and do the sleeping thing. Wish me luck!