Blog 6: Old fashion Idioms

I found an article that list a bunch of old fashion idioms to browse. It relates to the past honors assignment and this current chapter 5. The website shows a large list of Idioms, both old and new. An example of an Idiom that is old or not used as much is "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." This means that to have something right now is better than taking something you don't have. I have never heard of that before but it makes me want to start using it in my vocabulary. Another Idiom that I never heard of is a little weird and I don't know when anyone would ever use it. The Idiom in "a funny farm." This idiom refers to a mental hospital. I guess someone could say, "Jimmys in the funny farm, have you heard? For more idioms, the website is www.idiomsite.com. 

Blog 5: Fictional Languages

I found a post of 10 fictional languages that are used in books, movies, and games. The post is from listverse.com. I found it interesting because I could recognize 3 of the 10 fictional languages, these include Parseltoung from the Harry Potter series, Simlish from the Sims computer games, and Klingonese from the Star Treck series.This is interesting to me because everyone knows that the languages are not real and have no meaning at all, but people can still recognize them give them a name. I also feel like I can recognize these languages better that real languages. For example, I don't have much experience with different Asian Languages. So if I heard someone speaking Japanese, I would probably guess Chinese or Korean because I don't have experience with hearing those languages. But If I heard someone trying to speak Parseltounge I would know that it's from Harry Potter. I guess it just has to do with what your exposed to. 

Blog 4.The Strange Talents of Hyperpolyglots

A Polyglot is a person who knows or uses several languages. Most people are a monoglot which means they can speak one language. I recently came across a video of a guy calming that he was a Hyperpolyglot! What? A hyperpolyglot, what does that even mean? So I typed the word into google and came across an article titled The Cult of the Hyperpolyglot.  This article interviews a man who has a talent for learning languages. They followed a 54 year old man named Ray Gillion, he claims that he can speak 10 languages. The article explains that this talent is genetic, they have a neurological hard wire that allows them to switch from language to language fast. Below is a video of Richard Simcott, he is an ambassador to the UK who can speak 16 languages. 

 

Blog 3: Gabrielle Giffords Brain Injury Recovery

Gabrielle Giffords recently suffered from a brain injury. I'm sure everyone remembers the tragedy in Tucson when the State Representative and 18 others were shot outside a Tucson Safeway. Giffords survived the shooting but is still suffering with the brain injury. She has a difficulty speaking, is partially blind, and is paralyzed in her right arm.
This is a video of Giffords giving a speech to congress over gun control this past week.

I chose this video because it was directly related to the lecture in class last Thursday. She clearly has problems speaking after her brain injury, shows sighs of speech aphasia. She can still be understood but sounds almost like a robot. What I find most interesting about her story is that after being shot in the line of duty, she still is fighting for what is right to her beliefs and what is right for America. I also love that she doesn't allow her injury to stop her from speaking her mind. She is a role model to anyone and everyone who has ever had to suffer with a brain injury. For more information about Giffords and her injury's, read the following article. 
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2042360,00.html