Speech Culture

One culture that I've been a part of since 1995 is Speech Team culture.  Within that culture, there are beliefs in supporting your teammates, having a mascot, practicing to do your best, taking judges' critiques as guidance, and giving it your best effort every round. We dress up for meets, and duos might even try to match each other. There are nicknames for the different categories or traditions like wall-talking that are specific to this group of people. There's even a "speech clap," similar to the KoMet clap.  I'm proud to be a part of this culture. I've met many life-long friends because of it and was even able to get to know my hubby, then my boyfriend, much better because of it.

Zootopia and culture

The movie Zootopia offers examples from a variety of cultures. Each area of Zootopia has its own expected dress, language, rules, and tradition. This can especially be seen with the police force, and Judy needs to quickly learn this new language. She has a specific dress. She has goals she needs to achieve on her shift as well as personal goals. There is even a hierarchy to the animals in Zootopia.

Got Any Grapes?

I don't know what it is, but whenever someone mentions a duck, my mind immediately follow with "Got any Grapes?" or "Waddle Waddle." Then the song gets stuck in my head, causing some extreme psychological noise. My family has been witness to this earworm as well as many others.  And now for your viewing pleasure:

Translating Toddler

It is no secret I adore my kiddos as well as talking about them, so expect to seem them popping up in my blog from time-to-time. Right now, my two-year-old daughter is learning to talk. Each day she shares more words and clearer words, but there are times that I just don't understand what she is saying. This is an example of Semantic Noise. She knows what she is trying to say, but I am just not always understanding. Often, I'll repeat back what I think she is saying, but as a question, and she'll respond with "ya" or "no." It can be fun at times, but other times frustrating. 

Ope

Over this past summer, I was informed that "ope" is the Minnesota word for "excuse me." It was after I heard a radio segment on it that I realized I use "ope" all the time and hear it just as much. I asked some cousins in Oklahoma and California if they had ever heard the word used in that context before, and they said no! This is a word that could be considered Minnesota slang or jargon. Learn more here:  Article on Ope

Ambiguous sign

While flipping through Social Media a little while ago, I noticed a post my brother-in-law Craig shared. It took me a few seconds to click with what was going on, and that is because of ambiguity. Like the driver of the truck in the picture, I thought of the color green right away. After a moment, I realized it was green as in environmentally friendly parking, like a Tesla for example. Which way did you take the sign the first time you saw it?

Nonverbal example in class today

Today we started Chapter 6, my favorite chapter, all about nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is powerful; even when we are sleeping or dead, we are still communicating nonverbally. In class today, I gave students "the look" and "the hand" as shared by a student in class. Both of these combined helped to motivate at least a couple students to get to work. Without words, I used my face and body to send messages. This is nonverbal communication.