As award-winning blogger Maria Popova once said, "We can never see the world as it really is". And that's because, on the one hand, we are part of the very system we are trying to describe, and on the other because the things we perceive make little or no sense to us until we plot … Continue reading How Do We Make Sense of Things? The Language Connection
Tag: discourse analysis
Ways Out of the Lockdown: 4 Types of Discursive Strategies
To say that words are powerful, that they influence thought and perception, and engender representations is a truism. Their force and importance is uncontested. Sometimes it is the case, however, that a new physical context emerges before we even have a concept for it. And for it to become a psychological reality, a perceptible reality that … Continue reading Ways Out of the Lockdown: 4 Types of Discursive Strategies
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Social Distancing? 7 Communication Tips for Maintaining Relationships
So, you are now in your second, third, or possibly even fourth week of social isolation. These times are tough on everyone (but more so on extroverts). On top of that, watching the news is like a bucket of negative emotions being dumped on your head on a daily basis, the future feels uncertain at … Continue reading Social Distancing? 7 Communication Tips for Maintaining Relationships
Language and Thought: How Interconnected Are They?
Motto: "The problem with words is you don't know whose mouths they've been in." (Dennis Potter) Ever since Aristotle, and probably way before that, our world has been both aware of and fascinated by the hypnotic power of words. Our word choices and how we put them together to create context and meaning, social representations … Continue reading Language and Thought: How Interconnected Are They?
How discourse analysis helps me be a better transcreator
As Wikipedia will have it, transcreation (the craft of creative translation) refers to "the process of adapting a message from one language to another, while maintaining its intent, style, tone, and context. A successfully transcreated message evokes the same emotions and carries the same implications in the target language as it does in the source language." That's … Continue reading How discourse analysis helps me be a better transcreator
Language and Logic: Deconstructing Political Discourse (I)
Why does language matter? Why is it important and beneficial for people to have very good language skills? Postmodern culture theorists will tell you all notions are socially constructed, and that language is used not only to reflect, but also to co-create realities. In a sense, all reality is textual: it depends itself on language … Continue reading Language and Logic: Deconstructing Political Discourse (I)