First post of a new era?

So, this is my first linguistics-themed post! To celebrate, I've given the blog a redecorate since obviously guys are interested in linguistics too and I don't want to put anyone off by it being overly pink!


Let's start at the very beginning - linguistics is the scientific study of language (although it is a BA/MA rather than a BSc/MSc, which I don't wholly understand!). Linguists, confusingly enough, can be either students of languages or students of linguistics although languages =/= linguistics.


I thought I'd have a regular feature on here of 'word of the week' because enhanced vocabulary is never a bad thing and etymology is so fascinating! This week's word is the adjective perspicuous, which means clearly expressed or understood, lucid, (of a person) able to give an account or express an idea clearly (Credit: Google dictionary). Its other forms are the nouns perspicuity and perspicuousness and the adverb perspicuously. I think this is a really fascinating word in terms of etymology - it's from the Latin perspicio which means to see through sth., to perceive or discern clearly (Wiktionary), which itself really relies on spicere, to look at/see. The really interesting thing about this word though, is the other variants that have grown alongside it - from this root we also get perspective, perspicacious and even perspex. From spicere we also get conspicuous, inspect, retrospect and even expect (ex + specare, frequentative of spicere [etymonline.com])


Anyway, mustn't let myself run away with etymology! Now for today's other feature, which is a brief look over some common linguistic terms and their meanings.
Semantics - the study of meaning. This is a fascinating field as it looks beyond the actual sound a word makes but the meaning it signifies.
Morphology - the study of words! Includes how they are derived and made.
IPA - you don't commonly come across this word as such, more you come across what it refers to. IPA is an acronym for International Phonetic Alphabet which is a standardised notation system for sounds in language. For example, in IPA the name Madeleine may be written as  /ˈmadəlɛn/ .
Syntax - the study of the rules of language so that you can form sentences. I've also heard it referred to in everyday speech as grammar and punctuation although I'm not sure how correct this is.
Phonetics - the study of (how humans form) sound.
Phonology - the study of how sounds have meaning
Phoneme - the smallest meaningful unit of sound in a language. For example I is a phoneme in English, being the first person. However E is just a sound.
Sociolinguistics - the study of the effect of society on language (e.g. geography, social class etc). A related field that sociologists and anthropologists study is sociology of language which is the effect of language on society.


Blogspot is getting angry that I've written so much and used bold and italics (thank you Aldus Manutius!) so I'd better leave it here for now. Three cheers for linguistics! :)

What day is it today?

What day is it today? I lose track. It might be a Tuesday, probably not but I'm going to blog on the off chance that it is. I know this blog sucks, I'm not stupid. I've been giving it some thought lately. I think  one of the main reasons for this blog's lameness is its lack of direction, and this is my fault (obviously, since I'm the one who writes it!) because I don't really have much direction in my life. I have too many interests - music, art, languages, fashion, sport, a thousand more - and I don't have time to pursue them all in enough depth for my liking.
It occurred to me that I should write about something that I'm knowledgeable about. But what do I know? I'm just some kid with too much time on her hands. I know about school - in the UK, which is no good since most people who find this will probably be Americans. I know about my religion, which is no good because I might want my friends or family to see this one day. I'm too secretive!! I'd love to write a fashion blog, but I'm too poor to go shopping to buy all these fabulous styles :/ Then, I realised it. I know what degree I want to do right? Sure, linguistics or modern foreign languages. So that's what my blog will be about from now! (If I remember to write it....)
Linguistics, my journey learning various languages, etymology, semantics, morphology, the lot!
YAY FOR BEING A LINGUISTICS GEEK!!!!!
:)

Happy New Year!

Okay, so now I feel terrible. No sooner than I announce that I'm blogging on a Tuesday, do I totally go and not write anything for weeks! My new line is that I will try to blog once per week, but it could be more or less; I'm not promising anything this time!
Today's blog is all about new years' resolutions. A cliche subject I know, but what else am I gonna write about around now?!
So I haven't really made any official resolutions. There's the usual 'be more organised', 'learn Italian, 'lose weight' blablabla. I'm not going to do any of those things. I'm just going to stay my same old self, but feel bad because I can't remember what comes after uno, due, tre. I can count higher in Welsh, and that's because I watched a tonne of Welsh TV in the summer holidays. My desk is a mess already and I've put on weight because of all those mince pies. So what. The weight'll fall off naturally in a few weeks and if everything is out on my desk, then I know where it is. So my thoughts on new year's resolutions are this: waste. of. effort. You're never going to do it so don't make yourself feel bad! I'm not saying don't try to change your lifestyle, quit smoking etc because you should- I'm saying only do it when your heart's in it and not just because of some stupid holiday. For help on stopping smoking visit:
http://smokefree.nhs.uk/
http://www.quit.org.uk/
http://www.quit-smoking-stop.com/how-to-quit-smoking-tips.html
And speaking of which, I've never really understood why we celebrate new year when we do. It would make more sense at the beginning of spring (around beginning of March) and not midwinter! January is so named because of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings but this still applies - why is January when it is? As far as I can tell, there is no astronomical reason for this either. If anyone knows anything about this, please leave a comment!
Well that's all for this post, folks! I hope you're all fine and dandy (can you see a catchphrase emerging here?) and I'll ramble a bit more soon :)
- Joanna Eve

Further Musings (: - on the origins of christmas

So today, I was at home by myself when Spice (the naughty cat) comes in. I was watching Friends so I was rather absorbed but I eventually got up to tell her off for shredding the curtains. BUT, I then saw what she had in her mouth - a tiny dead wren. I felt terrible: if I had got up when she first came in, the bird might not have been dead at that point and might have survived. I had to wrestle its tiny corpse off her and dispose of it, all the while trying not to cry (and failing miserably). This is only a day after I cried my eyes out watching a YouTube video (available here, I don't want to embed it cause I'll only start crying again). Argh, teenage hormones making me all emotional!
On the plus side, the The Sixteen concert I went to was awesome :) and even better, I only have three more exams until I'm off for Xmas!
I love Christmas. I love the tree and the lights, the family and the food, the TV and the laziness, church and presents. This might surprise you if you've read my profile as it clearly states that I'm pagan, which I am. Christmas is the only time I go to church (except for a wedding or funeral of course). I believe all gods are one God so I do still believe in Jesus and the God of the church. I celebrate Yule and Saturnalia alongside Christmas - Saturnalia because my main pantheon is the Roman/Greek one and Yule (the winter solstice) because I love to feel in touch with the cycles of the earth. It's also interesting to find out where all our traditions come from - the yule log, mistletoe and the Christmas tree were all pagan symbols first and Christmas is even in December to coincide with earlier pagan festivals so that the invaded population would take Rome's new religion easier! It's funny how things change. From a pagan festival, to a christian holiday, to being outlawed under Cromwell and now today's mainly secular holiday - Christmas sure has come a long way.
...
Whilst writing this, I got up to close the blind but I slipped and fell over the end of my bed - banging my head on the wall, bruising my ribs on the foot of the bed and ramming the bedknob into my neck/shoulder. I am now in bed nursing a bag of frozen peas. Today is not my day.

I hope that you're all fine and dandy, unlike me! Until next time, folks.
- Joanna Eve