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Category: Culture

Speech and Song: One and the Same

Why Study Music and Speech Together? Researchers have long wondered how human language developed into the state in which it currently exists, and few considered how a culture’s music might provide insight into its language as well. Music and speech are intrinsically linked—both as a means of communication and a manner of self-expression. Thus, researchers posited that discovering what [...]

2024-10-10T04:26:26-04:00October 2nd, 2024|Communication, Culture, Education, Languages|

The Deseret Alphabet: Where It Came From and Why It’s Gone

Why Was the Deseret Alphabet Created? The Deseret alphabet was the brainchild of Brigham Young and his colleagues. Young, one of the foundational members of the Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, sought to create an alternative to English so that adherents of Mormonism could separate themselves from their surrounding culture. In fact, it was Young’s [...]

2024-09-25T15:24:49-04:00September 25th, 2024|Culture, Education, History, Languages|

The Relationship Between Non-Verbal Communication and Culture

Non-verbal communication is a universal language that transcends spoken words, conveying emotions, thoughts, and intentions through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. While we may rely on speech to articulate ideas, much of what we communicate is expressed through non-verbal cues. These unspoken signals are powerful, yet their meanings often vary from culture to culture. What might be considered [...]

2024-09-18T17:39:50-04:00September 18th, 2024|Communication, Culture|

Understanding Code Switching: Is It Authentic?

Code switching is the practice of adjusting one’s speech or writing depending on the circumstances or audience. While some code switching can occur between languages, more often, it arises in variances of dialect or even slang. For instance, imagine a lawyer speaking before a judge. People generally understand that this lawyer would do well to speak formally and politely [...]

2024-09-11T17:29:33-04:00September 11th, 2024|Communication, Culture, Education, English|

Understanding Dual-Language Programs and Their Benefits

Suppose that a young woman from Argentina immigrated with her family to the United States. She has always dreamed of being a psychologist, but upon enrolling in university education to start her training, she discovers that many of the classes (taught in English) are moving at a pace too fast for her to enthusiastically engage with because English is [...]

2025-02-20T13:18:05-05:00September 4th, 2024|Communication, Culture, Education, English, Languages|

Technology – A Double-Edged Sword in Indigenous Languages’ Fight for Survival

Indigenous languages have a precarious existence in contemporary times. Although so many local, vernacular languages have been spoken and transmitted for hundreds of years, most find themselves at the threat of extinction today. The severity of the crisis can be aptly conveyed with this one statistic by the United Nations: an indigenous language goes extinct once every two weeks. [...]

2024-08-28T16:56:49-04:00August 28th, 2024|Communication, Culture, Education, Technology|

How Sports Changed American Language Forever

Whether you’re a native speaker of American English or you’re just starting to pick it up, you’ve likely noticed how common it is to hear references to sports in conversations regardless of whether the conversation was casual, formal, or even business-related. Americans who reference sports in conversations usually do so through the use of idioms – a phrase or [...]

2024-08-21T17:22:02-04:00August 21st, 2024|Communication, Culture, Education, English|

Advantages to Learning a Second Language as An Adult

Can Adults Learn a Second Language? The short answer is yes—adults can (and should!) pick up more than one language. The idea that a student is most receptive to information at a young age, and that the brain hardens against learning new information later, is largely a myth. What actually occurs is that adults leave environments such as schools [...]

2025-02-20T13:19:51-05:00July 24th, 2024|Communication, Culture, Education, English|

Cockney Rhyming Slang

Cockney rhyming slang to the untrained ear, can often sound like a different language altogether – instead of a unique variation of English. To outsiders, at first listen, this bizarre way of speaking may seem as if the speaker is randomly ascribing multiple words or phrases to a single noun or purposely rearranging a sentence beyond all recognition. But [...]

2024-07-17T17:12:01-04:00July 17th, 2024|Culture, Education, English|

Embracing Diversity in Universities: Learning from Brazil’s Affirmative Action Approach

Affirmative action has been a contentious topic in the United States since its widespread introduction in 1965 at the hands of then-president John F. Kennedy. However, the US is not the only nation facing internal conflict about the viability of affirmative action as a policy in the workplace and academia. In 2012, Brazil implemented a nationwide mandate to implement affirmative [...]

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