COMM 120 Grossmont Does Humanity Shape Language that Shapes Humanity Discussion

Part One:As you write your initial post, please think about and respond to each of the three questions belowand write in a way that encourages your reader to reflect and be motivated to engage with you in a discussion. Be thorough by supporting your assertions with evidence, including no fewer than three concepts from this week’s readings about the power of language to support your claims.

1) In approximately 150 words, please respond to the following question, “does humanity shape language or is it language that shapes humanity?”

2) Watch (all the way through) any one of the videos listed under “optional videos” (found within this week’s module) and then in approximately 150 words, discuss two or three points made in the video that really stood out for you.  Be sure to explain what it was about these points that struck you as interesting, important, or otherwise noteworthy.  Please be sure to clearly identify which of the videos you watched.

3) Language is symbolic and is therefore arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract.  All of these qualities mean that the opportunity for misunderstanding one another is pretty high.  Describe an example of when you, or someone else, used a particular word or expression that meant one thing to you, but it meant something else completely different to another person.  For example, a group of students in my class experienced a problem when they agreed to meet “in front of the library.”  They all waited “in front of the library” for about 10 minutes before getting annoyed that half of the group wasn’t there.  How could all be waiting for half of the group?  Because half of the group was on the south side of the building (technically the Tech Mall entrance) and half of them were on the north side of the building (technically the Library entrance).  Next, explore how frequently you think a word or expression means different things to the people involved in the interaction and the effect these kinds of misunderstandings might have on our understanding of one another and be sure to link into what you read about this week.

Part Two: Engage in a discussion with the classmates in your discussion group using the following 3CQ format (Compliment – “I liked that…”, Connect – “Something else I read this week that addresses what you are talking about was…”, or “I experienced something like that when…”, Comment – “what I would add to your post is that…”, “I came to a different conclusion on this because…”,  and Question – “I wonder why…”, “what might happen if…”, “I’m curious what you think about…”.