I don't think we realize the extent of linguistic's application in everyday life. For example:
1. In the card we received, nasal sounds were associated with m and n noises. Assuming that breathing relieves pain, is it possible that we make m and n noises when we are feeling pain to cause more oxygen into our brain to relieve pain or is this too far-fetched of a theory?
2. Also, as I brought up in class, we are asked by doctors to "ahh" because the sounds causes the tongue to stay at the bottom of the mouth, allowing the doctors to see into the back of our mouths and to obtain samples from there.
3. Doctors could also use it in conjunction with speech therapists to look at how patients with brain injuries such as post-stroke patients have a different type of speech. For example, a person with a right-brain stroke would have a hard time using the muscles on the left side of the tongue. Knowledge of linguistics can help someone like this learn how to speak again.
Are there any other examples that anyone can think of?
1. In the card we received, nasal sounds were associated with m and n noises. Assuming that breathing relieves pain, is it possible that we make m and n noises when we are feeling pain to cause more oxygen into our brain to relieve pain or is this too far-fetched of a theory?
2. Also, as I brought up in class, we are asked by doctors to "ahh" because the sounds causes the tongue to stay at the bottom of the mouth, allowing the doctors to see into the back of our mouths and to obtain samples from there.
3. Doctors could also use it in conjunction with speech therapists to look at how patients with brain injuries such as post-stroke patients have a different type of speech. For example, a person with a right-brain stroke would have a hard time using the muscles on the left side of the tongue. Knowledge of linguistics can help someone like this learn how to speak again.
Are there any other examples that anyone can think of?
Caleb's point and question are actually quite interesting. As he mentions, "m"and "n" are nasals by virtue of their sounds being produced by lowering the velum. Words like "brim" and "pin" are produced only when the velum is lowered. The part where his assessment goes a bit sideways is in the assumption that nasals increase oxygen flow to the brain. On the surface it makes sense to assume nasals increase oxygen flow by virtue of being called "nasal" but in fact nasals DECREASE oxygen flow. The sound "m" is made with the velum lowered and a complete obstruction of the air stream at the lips (Language Files, p. 49). The sound "n" cuts off the air stream as the tip of your tongue hits the alveolar ridge. Put linguistically, "m" is a voiced bilabial nasal stop and "n" is a voiced alveolar nasal stop. I actually enjoyed the nature of Caleb's comment because it made me reflect on voicing, place and manner of articulation.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Virgil's analysis: nasal sounds decrease airflow by 1) preventing air from escaping through the nasal passage and 2) obstructing the oral cavity (49). This suggests that nasal sounds do not increase oxygenation during times of pain.
ReplyDeleteHowever, expanding our analysis to look beyond total airflow, but also at rates of airflow, we might reach a different conclusion: In the case of hyperventilation, the use of nasal sounds to slow or restrict breathing might actually be beneficial during periods of pain because of the very restriction that Virgil identified.
This is because slowed breathing is associated with increased pain thresholds (see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21939499). If we accept that nasal sounds decrease the rate of breathing, we might conclude that using nasal sounds actually aid us in dealing with pain.
Taking a linguistics class can push you to ask question like: What good does this do me? When will I ever use this?
ReplyDeleteThat is why I believe this is a very interesting post since it pushes you to reflect on the practical uses of linguistics outside of the scope of academia. My initial thoughts immediately jump to the sphere of computational linguistics and the fact that all of us have at some point used tools like Google Translate & Siri. While we may not immediately attribute their functionality to linguistics and things that we are learning like phonemes and place of articulation; these tools' very viability relies on our explicit knowledge of these things.
Other examples that come to mind are in the field of marketing and branding. Companies definitely hire linguists to consult on names for products and slogans for marketing campaigns in order to see how different pronunciations might the message they are trying to sell.
All in all, it is clear that linguistics has a widespread use in our everyday life even though we may sometimes not realize this. Thus, recognizing and appreciating its importance will further our nuanced understanding of linguistics as we embark on our academic overview of the field.
Nicolas brings up a great point. I’d be lying if I said I didn't have that thought myself after the first lecture when I was drowning in a sea of diphthongs and upsilons. But it seems that the deeper you dive into the field of linguistics, the more you’ll recognize its incredibly applicable nature.
ReplyDeleteProduct marketing is a science that fascinates me and despite having thought about aspects of marketing extensively I had not once considered linguistics to be a part of the equation. Then last week at the undergraduate night two random shapes were drawn on a board and when instructed to match two names to the shapes the audience instantaneously unanimously agreed on what each shape should be called. My mind was blown. Of course I thought the answer was obvious, but the fact that everyone did to...
I can’t help but pose the (virtually unanswerable) questions. Where do the associations come from? Are they innate? Or do we acquire them along with our first words? And if these semantic associations are acquired, how did they come about? Through marketing, or did the marketing industry see the prize in sounds and follow suit?