Bruner and Wittgenstein: Language Learning
Bruner and Wittgenstein: Language Learning A crucial phase in the child's development comes with its acquisition of language, but before we can engage in any pedagogical efforts to further infant development or to aid atypical cases, we need to understand methodologically what occurs during language learning. Jerome Bruner, in a methodological adaptation of Ludwig Wittgenstein's middle and later work in an extension of Noam Chomsky's LAD, has put forth one influential proposal (Bruner 1983). Ludwig Wittgenstein's own remarks on the topic also furnish an interesting story independent of Bruner's selective use of his corpus, especially insofar as his approach results in an irreducible riddle and a hypothesis by his own account (Wittgenstein 1953 and 1958). The two views are explored, contrasted and critiqued. In the end, neither will do to resolve problems in our methodological understanding of language acquisition, for which the most important reasons are given. Most children learn language with remarkable ease, but how are we to account for this extraordinary fact? The problem plaguing our understanding of language and language acquisition can be described as. How can one learn anything genuinely new and become linguistically creative and how this learning is possible at all, unless one already has some path into language, for example, a suitable framework in which
lost hearts
"Lost Hearts" "Explain the way Mr. James creates suspense and tension in Lost Hearts." The story "Lost Hearts" is written by M.R.James. This short story is bolt unforgettable and intriguing. Within the story M.R.James uses violent descriptions and shows ghostly figures to create tension. Throughout the story unexpected things take place. The reader gets intrigued the author brings the obsession Mr.Abney has with pagans and religions. This put a question into the reader's minds of why he could be obsessed. We learn about the disappearance of the other two children who have already been in Aswarby Hall, and their ghostly sightings. Soon we realise the third victim will be young cousin Stephen. The writer shows how large and imposing the house is by, describing the "red-bricked house." This is done to create curiosity and interest. The sinister atmosphere within the story gives us an impression that this house is by its self and is isolated. I know this because we are told that "Surrounded by a flat park," This quote shows that this house is very un-welcoming and is un-easy for a chill to stay in. The atmosphere of Aswarby hall is very strange. The "fires" gives the idea of hell being like a danger. The quote "tall and narrow windows," gives me that impression that not much light enters the house
In Mario Puzo's Omerta, The nephew of Don Raymonde Aprile, Astorre, defends his family and family fortunes against his uncle's last mafia rival, Timmona Portella.
Omerta As Vincenzo Zeno lay dying in his village of Castellammare del Golfo, he called on three men that owed him one last favor. They were Raymonde Aprile from New York, Octavius Bianco from Palermo, and Benito Craxxi from Chicago. The Don had a three year old child whose mother died at childbirth who would need a father to raise him. He chose for his son to go with Raymonde Aprile and be brought up in his family. When the Don returned from Sicily with Astorre, he came home to find his wife dying of cancer. So he placed Astorre in the custody of his closest advisor, Frank Viola. But this plan quickly reversed itself when the Don found out that Viola had ambitions to succeed him. Astorre then moved back in with Don Aprile because his "father" committed suicide in the trunk of his car, and his mother died of a brain hemorrhage. This is when the Don officially became the uncle to Astorre. Starting at the age of ten, Astorre would accompany the Don on trips to Sicily. They would go every year for a month in the summer. On Astorre's first visit to Sicily, they were kidnapped by a local Mafioso by the name of Fissolini. While kidnapped, Don Aprile warns Fissolini of his power and of the huge mistake he was making. The next morning Bianco was there with his men to rescue the Don and Astorre. After hearing what Fissolini has to say, he makes up his mind to have them
Breaking Language
Nistorica Bogdan Cotiso 1st year MA British Cutural Studies Breaking language in broadsheets and tabloids Language is one of the most important features when it comes to the media, or to analyzing life in general. Besides painting, there is no other written way of expressing one's belief or point of view on a certain subject. After a brief introduction on British press I shall speak throughout the essay about the two approaches on the same subject of a broadsheet and of a tabloid. The articles are taken from The Guardian and the Daily Mirror and tackle the issue of child of 14 who commits suicide while in custody. To start with, it should be noted that Britain's first newspapers appeared over 300 years ago. Now, as then, newspapers receive no government subsidy, unlike in some other European countries today. Hence, the survival of newspapers is very much dependent on advertising, which constitutes a vital source of income. Surprisingly enough, this small island boasts approximately 130 daily and Sunday papers, 1,400 weekly papers and over 6,500 periodical publications. More newspapers, proportionately, are sold in Britain than in almost any other country. According to David McDowall "national newspapers have a circulation of about 13 million on weekdays and 17 million on Sundays, but the readership is twice this figure". The national newspapers, both on weekdays and on
Observation Number 2 - Family Description.
Date: 16th October 2003 Time: 2.00pm Observation Number 2 Family Description To ensure confidentiality of all the family, I have changed all their Christian names for purposes of this write up. The family are of an Indian origin and follow the Sikh religion. The parents, Mr and Mrs Singh, have been married for 8 years. They live in West London and both work as postal workers for Royal Mail. Mr and Mrs Singh both work on separate shift patterns, Mr Singh works an early shift of 4am-1pm and Mrs Singh works a later shift of 2pm-9pm. This arrangement ensures that one parent is always at home to care for their two children. The Singh's have an 8-year-old boy (Charanjeet) and a girl aged 3 (Simran). Mrs Singh is at home in the mornings to get the kids up and ready for school, whilst Mr Singh is at home during the afternoons and, often being assisted by his parents, they take care of the children after school. For the purposes of my observations, I will be monitoring their daughter Simran The Singh's have a close-knit extended family as Mr Singh's parent live next door and his brother lives only a few streets away. The grandparents play a very active and important role in the care and upbringing of their grandchildren. They are very often on hand and very willing to help out with any day-to-day childcare duties. The children see more of her patriarchal family than
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both the Prescriptive and Descriptive approaches to language. How has the recent arrival of the Corpus affected this debate.
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both the Prescriptive and Descriptive approaches to language. How has the recent arrival of the Corpus affected this debate. Introduction Language is a tool of communication and communication gives people an opportunity to understand each other. However, language constantly changes. At some moments it is difficult to understand someone who uses words, terms or phrases that you have never heard before. Especially difficult it becomes if that person comes from other from yours region or country and uses lexical units that are not common at your region. Changes of the language are rapid and dynamic. They occur constantly and in great numbers and variations. That is why dictionaries and language manuals need periodical updates. This is supposed to help in classifying and reflecting all the changes that have occurred in a certain period of time. Nowadays this necessity of updating is becoming even more significant. This happens because new technologies, concepts, ideas, and, consequently, new words and styles of communication shape themselves within the society and replace older ones. Sciences and industries develop new technologies and concepts daily. Hence, they need to be and are being reflected in our everyday language, accepted in our everyday life. Some words change their meaning, some get out of use, some get new meanings which
The Influence of Anne Fisher
Ann Fisher was the first female English grammarian (van Ostade, 2000). Her dissatisfaction towards the levels of education permitted to women led her to write A New Grammar (1745), in which she proposes some refreshing grammatical reforms which diverge from the traditional attempts to 'Latinise' English grammar. Her work contains "a practical method of teaching English grammatically" (1754: vii), which she, as a teacher, used "with uncommon Success, for some Years past" (1754: vi). She advises a progression from learning the simplest elements of the language, and gradually working towards the more complex structures. Thus, her grammar is divided into four sections: orthography, prosody, etymology and syntax. In the Preface, Fisher reinforces the Johnsonian view that language is bound by rules and it is the grammarian or lexicographer's purpose to prescribe these rules. This is seen when she states, "The Method of... expressing the Ideas of one Person to another... is universally called LANGUAGE - And the Art of doing the same by Rule, or in the Manner the best speakers and Writers express their Sentiments, is every where called GRAMMAR... (Fisher 1753: i). Fisher associates grammatical rules with "the best speakers and Writers", and such an attitude is also seen by Priestley, who provides examples of composition "from the most celebrated writers" (1761: 65), perhaps
Life in traditional India.
Life in Traditional India Imagine a place where a caste system rules the life of its people, where no matter how hard one works the caste one is in decides their life and where cow dung is considered a magical healer. That place is India. Within a country so far from the modern world, people live strictly by religion and tradition, by following their castes. It is that, that keeps them strong and has helped them survived for hundreds of years. Originally, there were four castes. The brahmans, kshatryiyas, vaiœyas, and the sudras. The lowest of all the castes is the untouchables who were not one of the original four but still considered one of the major castes. Each class represents a part of the Creator. The brahmans are thought to have come from his mouth, the kshatryiyas from the arms, the vaishyas from the thighs and the sudras from the feet. Modern Indian society had over 3000 different castes and sub castes, "the fourfold caste is merely a theoretical division of society...it is a sociological fiction." Only two things separate the modern castes from the originals, and the things that separate them are only words. There are two names to represent the different worlds Varna meaning the first four and Jati representing the modern castes. How their came to be so many different castes remains a mystery with many theories. One possibility is because of intermarriages
Education aid
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE ----------???---------- Education aid for Under graduate students In the United States And In Vietnam Class: 05C Students: Nguyên Trân Ðuc Huy Trân Thi Tuyêt Mai Lâm Nguyên Hanh Uyên 12/2008 I. INTRODUCTION Education is the key to unlocking human potential. The acquisition of skills and knowledge enable people to overcome poverty and disease. Education helps people come out of oppression and alienation and take control of their lives. The higher education we pursue, the more expensive fees we must pay; and in some cases, we cannot have enough money for higher education, especially in university level or higher. However, there are many ways to explore opportunities that can turn our dream of going to the university into reality. We can take the advantages from grants and scholarship, loans and wages for our tuition. II. EDUCATION AID FOR UNDER GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN VIETNAM 1. Grants and scholarships. Grants and scholarships are attractive ways to pay for college because you do not need to repay the money. a. In the U.S In the U.S, grants require some form of grants writing often referred to as either proposals or submissions. Grants require a service and the organization that
The Lexicogaphy of "Extraordinary Rendition"
rendition, n. /rndn/ . The surrender of a person or possession. 2. Law. The transfer of (a person) from one jurisdiction to another, or an instance of this; esp. the extradition of a fugitive criminal. COMPOUNDS (chiefly in Law). C1. extraordinary rendition, n. The illegal capture and transportation of a criminal suspect (esp. a terrorist suspect) from one jurisdiction to another, or an instance of this; esp. when they are subjected to torture during interrogation. Euphem. 983 M. C. BASSIOUNI Internat. Extradition 11 The United States increasingly resorts to extraordinary rendition devices, including abduction, thus circumventing traditional extradition processes. 2000 R. SIEVERT Cases and Materials on U.S. Law and Nat. Security 469 The court in Toscanino was setting a standard for evaluating "extraordinary rendition" (abduction) by US officials that was somewhat consistent with the worldview of... government officials in 1974. 2002 Washington Post (Electronic ed.) 26 Dec., These extraordinary renditions are done without resort to legal process and usually involve countries with security services known for using brutal means. 2008 Guardian (Electronic ed.) 6 May., The last British resident left in Guantánamo Bay is suing the UK government for refusing to produce evidence that he was a victim of extraordinary rendition and torture. 2009 Mirror (Electronic ed.) 27