Blog 14

Langer & Postman

"Audible Actions":

Audible Actions, as defined in the reading, are sounds that an infant repeats. When they get a conversational reaction from a parent, or any other adult, they will realize the significance of the sound/words that they just made. The baby will make a connection between the sound that they are emitting and the response that they are receiving. This is what leads to the development of a child's language. I believe that this is important because it informs a kid on whether or not they are making sense to their elders. It is also important because it allows the infant to practice with babbling, where they are free to make mistakes and correct them as they continue to grow. 

"Phoneme":

As defined by Google, a phoneme is, "any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, for example p, b, d, and t in the English words pad, pat, bad, and bat." So, basically, a phoneme has to do with articulation and diction of speech that forms words and creates the language. Lalling is almost the exact opposite. It is defined as the process of saying words incorrectly. Sometimes, this can be referred to as lisps or stuttering on certain letters, but it is where some letters or words come out as they are not supposed to.

"Gestalt":

Gestalt means, "a structure, configuration, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute a functional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts" In paragraph 16, Langer is most likely referring to sound as the new phenomena. It becomes a new symbol for the child, is identified, and then named. The text explains that a child's main purpose with speech seems to revolve around playing with concepts, and that is exactly what this term is referring to.

Susanne Langer is best known for her involvement in the importance of language in the early stages of life, and also the successes of developed language through great social environments.

"An Organ of Perception":

An Organ of Perception may be defined as, blatantly, having an organ where we have the ability to hear or see, or become aware of something through the senses. To me, that's what I picture, at least, when Postman is describing a metaphor. He may have said this because he is talking about the importance of language and how since we have moved on from teaching the metaphor as an important concept in our writing, it is almost as if we are losing a part of ourselves, and our ancestry. For example, when we look at old English, such as Shakespeare, we find it harder to understand, although we still study it in High School and College literature classes. But, we are not taught how to read passages, or books, such as those. Rather, we are taught to read it together as a class and interpret together, watch a movie on the book that we're reading, or go online to find a word-for-word transfer into modern English. Postman's belief that we have an "Organ of Perception" may be true, but if that's the case, if we keep us this method of teaching English and don't stress on the importance of metaphors, then, we'll never be able to understand as well as generations before us.

Over and Under Achievers in School:

I believe that Postman brings forward the idea of over-achievers and under-achievers in school based on his theory of an "Organ of Perception". He believes that, at one point, this is how we understood and wrote old English, and it probably was a genuine theory. But today, we are lacking the importance of putting metaphors into our school curriculums and into our everyday vocabulary. Postman mentions this because the under-achievers in school tend to have a lesser vocabulary than the over-achievers. The under-achievers are more likely to not do as well on spelling tests, reading novels, or writing papers, whereas those who study older and richer literature are likely to have a more developed vocabulary, and be more successful in their learning environment.

Territory Mapping:

When talking about mapping out a territory, I think of being on a college campus and being a Murray State student. First of all, a thing that I consider my territory, aside from the college, itself, would include my classes. Everyday that I have class, they are not always the same. Some days I have more classes than the other, and other days, I have simpler classes that I rarely receive assignments in. So, I need to balance through mapping. The words that help me map out my classes are the words that I learn in each individual subject. This includes prior knowledge, stuff I've learned, and even words and phrases that I will end up learning in these classes.

Neil Postman, brings forward the idea that metaphors are important in

our society and through the advancements of language.