Why languages?

     As both a linguistics major in college, and a speaker of three languages- ones in which I am reasonably fluent, anyhow, never mind the smatterings of others I've picked up- people often ask why I chose to study language. The answer is a complex one, and ironically contained within itself, but here goes an attempt on why I am fascinated by languages.

     1) Language and thought. There are a number of different theories on whether language forces thought patterns into a certain path, or if thought patterns are learned before language, and therefor forces linguistic style into a certain shape. Regardless of the chicken or the egg question here, there is clearly a connection between language and thought, and I am fascinated by how people who speak other languages- or even other dialects- can view the world differently. For example, studies show that people who speak languages that differentiate between perfective and imperfective verbs (i.e. verbs that imply an end points vs those that don't, such as 'completed' vs 'worked on') focus more on whether a task was finished or not rather than how long it may have taken. Little things like that permeate literally everything we say and think, and that, to me, is awesome.

Yes but, for how long?

     2) Langauge and culture. Different cultures hold different things to have more importance in life, leading them to lexicalize different concepts. Lexicalization is giving an entire concept a single word, rather than having to describe it each time. As cultures mix and merge, they borrow each other's lexicalizations, since there's no one word that is a direct translation. That's why, for example, we have to use "c'est la vie" to denote the necessity of just accepting that some things happen succinctly, and "schadenfreude" to point out when someone is taking joy from others' misfortunes. Those concepts were not important or recurring often enough as English developed to become words of their own, but to the French and Germans, respectively, they were. I love finding out backstories and etymologies to explain why things developed the way they did, and what the lives of earlier people were like that made those ideas so necessary.

Keeping busy

     I know it's a little early still, but I'm quite ready for 2012 to end (the year, not the world, thank you), so I've been starting my personal year in review already over the past few weeks. While I'm not sad that any of the year happened, it was definitely not one of the best years. Unfortunately, most of this can be blamed on no one other than me, and while I'm taking steps to ensure that next year will be better, there are still a few more weeks of this one to endure.

     In many, many ways, life is cyclical. A misjudged reaction to a given situation often nudges you too far into the opposite camp, and sets the wheels in motion for bouncing back and forth between extremes without finding balance. For example, spring semester this year was a little rough, and I was really looking forward to summer break. Despite the chaos of a month in Russia, however, I was extremely bored during the summer. As a result, when it came time to set up my schedule for fall semester, I overestimated how annoying a split schedule of work and classes would be, and have been struggling to not feel overwhelmed.

     The key to remember in this particular situation is that everyone has a different definition of "busy." For me, I like to be effectively active from 9-5, preferably, and then have the rest of the day to do whatever hobbies, crafts, or personal enrichment classes strike my fancy. If I don't have those 8 hours of productive (and that is the key word- productive) work, I don't feel like I'm really doing enough. Even if the rest of my time is crammed full of driving, classes, homework, volunteering, etc, I just won't feel like I've earned the right to consider myself "busy," regardless of how exhausted I am from everything else.