1. What do we use language for? To express emotion; To drown out silence; To establish a sense of belonging; To establish relationships; To enjoy the sound of language; To affect other’s emotions; To affect other’s behaviour; To convey information; To lie, to cheat, to confuse!

2. WE USE LANGUAGE AS A MEDIUM FOR COMMUNICATING OUR KNOWLEDGE

3. The invention of the printing press, The creation of the Academie Francaise by Cardinal Richelieu in 1634; Dr Johnson’s Dictionary, 1755; “The chief intent of it is to preserve the purity, and ascertain the meaning of our English idiom.” The Move Towards a Standard

4. Different views of Grammar Prescriptive Grammar- the idea that language has an ideal form which a community of speakers and writers should adhere to. Variations from this ideal are “errors”. Descriptive Grammar- the idea that language is constantly changing, and the rules of a language can only be recorded at a specific time, or even for a specific person.

5. ADDICT Originally a word for slaves given to Roman soldiers to reward them for performance in battle. Now a word for a slave to anything. ASSASSIN From the old Arabic word “Hashshshin” for someone addicted to hash. Originally referred to a group of warriors who would have a few drags before battle. AVOCADO From “ava guatl”, an indigenous South American word for testicle.

6. What’s the earlier meaning? Giftpeasant Knightdragon Mistress payment for a wife Nice boy, or servant Sillywonderful Villain happy, blissful Wormignorant Awfulwife

7. Spellings such as “luv”, “Xtra”, and “nite”; Gender issues in language; The possessive apostrophe; New words constantly being coined.

8. Should we all speak the same language? Latin, French and English have all been very influential languages, but never universal; The French philosopher Rene Descartes wrote of the need for a universal language; Dr L.L Zamenhof created Esperanto, the language of “hope” in 1887. Not many people speak it.

9. Language and Thought “Speech is the representation of the experiences of the mind.” ARISTOTLE “Man lives with the world about him, principally, indeed exclusively, as language presents it.” WILHELM VON HUMBELDT “We see and think as we do, mostly because of our language community.” BENJAMIN WHORF

10. Do the words in our language affect the way we view the world? hua dii = intelligent (lit. good head) Jai dii= generous, kind (lit. good heart) hua oon = obedient (lit. soft head) jai oon = (over) sensitive (lit. soft heart) hua khaeng = stubborn (lit. hard head) jai khaeng = firm, unbendable (lit. hard heart)

11. Does language affect culture or is it the other way round? ow jai = willing to please khat jai = to displease khreng jai = to have consideration for others Is it true that, as a general rule, Thai people:  try to avoid conflict?  see “mai pen rai” as an important cultural concept?

12. Conclusions. Do we opt for complete subjectivism? Do we opt for complete subjectivism? Linguistic Relativism: the view that our thought, and therefore our knowledge, is determined and limited by our language. Linguistic Relativism: the view that our thought, and therefore our knowledge, is determined and limited by our language. Linguistic Realism: the view that our language is determined by our needs and by the world we experience around us. Linguistic Realism: the view that our language is determined by our needs and by the world we experience around us.