I enjoyed this week’s reading and their attention to human language. Overall, they made me reflect a lot on my own connection to language and the kinds of interpretations and interactions that are informed by my own perception and experiences.
War Bride: This story was very intriguing in how cautiously the narrator dealt with words and their implications. I didn’t really like how intentionally passive the narrator was, as I personally feel that words/language are a privilege to be used for expression. While her main argument seemed to be centered around the negative and harmful effect words can carry, I also think that words contain the authority of inspiring and performing good. The fact that her eyes grow and widen further and further made me interpret that negatively, as they could be absorbing bad information and events instead of good. Her passivity is also problematic in the sense that she, as a woman, takes on a submissive role where she actively chooses not to use her own voice and words.
A Poor Aunt Story: I liked this story a lot and how it made me think about how meaning is created differently for everyone. Having a “poor aunt” on your back that is interpreted differently by different people was an interesting way of demonstrating this phenomenon, as it deals with independent histories as well as shared connotations (in this case pity). I also liked how it described meaning as coming from participation from the reader/whoever is engaged with the words.
The Great Passage: I loved this story! This felt very lighthearted, and I enjoyed reading about someone so passionate about a pretty niche topic: dictionary making/editing. I also thought that the metaphor describing a dictionary as a ship crossing a sea of words was imaginative and inspiring, as it kind of suggests how new words could be discovered along the way.
The Emissary: This story was a bit confusing for me to follow, but it reminded me of “Memory Police” and Yoko Tawada’s other story “Scattered All Over The Earth”. I think she constructs these dystopian futures very well, but it takes a while to fully see the world she creates clearly. It was also interesting how she considers how lack of foreign influence affects culture and national identity.
The Fall of Language in the Age of English: This was very philosophical and quite a different read than what we’ve read throughout the semester. It offers an interesting perspective on how human nature can be better understood, and how technology and language dominance affects our own perception of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment