A Dialogue On Language By Martin Heidegger

The first example of figurative language was, “The days were like nights.”(Wiesel 67). The type of figurative language used in the example is a simile as the text is comparing two unlike things, “day” and “night” by using the words “like” or “as”. If the reader were to compare the two, “day” and “night”, they would come to the general understanding that the difference between day and night is that the day is bright and the night is dark. By comparing these two it becomes clear that what Eliezer means by “The days were like nights.”(Wiesel 67) is that the days he spent everyday at the camp was always filled with never ending darkness, just like at night. By figuring out the general definition of what night means in the book, the reader can also

In the excerpt from Language in Thought and Action, S.I. Hayakawa claims that the most interesting and least understood application of words is when they are used in an attempt to influence the future. He explains that facts, opinions, and commands can all be used as a way of “making things happen by means of words.” I agree with Hayakawa’s statement that this “directive language” is interesting and important because I see how prevalent it is in today’s society. As he said, control of the public’s behavior is the driving force behind countless professions, including preachers, writers, and politicians. These people, whether we realize it or not, are constantly trying to change how we think through what they say. These attempts are important

Night contains a significant amount of figurative language. Select 3 examples from the text to analyze. In analyzing each example, be sure to explain how the specific example impacts the text. (How does it affect the reader? How does it affect the reading experience? Why did Wiesel make that specific choice?) Please use a different type of figurative language for each example.

In the novel, Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis, Greek gods Hermes and Apollo make a bet that if they gave any animal the gift of intelligence, the animals would be even more unhappy than humans. In making this bet, fifteen dogs are granted the gift of intelligence allowing them to be able to communicate through their own newly formed language and become self-aware. At first, the dogs band together to form a pack, but quickly realize how language complicates their ability to work together. With the gift of intelligence, the dogs become individuals and think separately rather than working with a pack mentality. There is no longer harmony between the dogs, but instead a fight for dominance and a battle of intelligence. We will identify how language eroded the pack through disagreements and violence as the dogs become aware of their status and differences.

The novel “Night”, an autobiography about Elie Wiesel’s experience during the Holocaust, a genocide that killed millions of Jewish people. In the novel “Night”, Elie Wiesel develops the character Elie through the use of explicit details, emotional language, and powerful diction in order to show that Elie and the Jewish people had discarded their faith in god after feeling neglected throughout the novel.

When I was reading The Transformation of silence into Language and action by Audre Lorde, remember me that day at work about my strong acensent. The article of Audre Lorden at the end have the big reflection that let broke the silence will be better to became a strong person and know that my voice have to be lisent because it is important. For me is important to speak so I can be hear by the customer and get better in my inglish. For the woman was important to broke the silence so she can be out of their painful of be silence. Also in my experience of racism at work reflect the philosophy by Judith Butler and is where I find what I really think about language, and culture. I was like I don't want to know how far cruelty and ignorance

Martin Heidegger’s “Memorial Address” is more than a commemorative speech honoring composer, Conradin Kreutzer. Heidegger takes this opportunity to bring to light a pressing issue. The philosopher concerns over the societal imbalance between calculative thinking and meditative thinking, favoring the prior. This topic at this given event holds so much significance because he is speaking to an audience who is currently experiencing the issue he speaks of, and could easily apply it to their very current societal and situation.

Unconsciously, we all speak different languages; we categorize the way we speak by the environment and people at which we are speaking too. Whenever a character enters an unfamiliar environment, they experiment with language to find themselves and understand reality. For immigrants, language is a means to retain one’s identity; however, as they become more assimilated in their new communities their language no longer reflects that of their identity but of their new cultural surroundings. When an immigrant, immigrates to a new country they become marginalized, they’re alienated from common cultural practices, social ritual, and scripted behavior. It’s not without intercultural communication and negotiation

In the article “Lost in Translation”, the author, Lera Boroditsky, maintains as her thesis that the languages we speak not only reflect or express our thoughts, but also shape the very thoughts we wish to express. Boroditsky begins the main section of her essay with the history of the issue of whether or not languages shape the way speakers think. Charlemagne was the first to think that languages do in fact shape the mindset of speaker, but Noam Chomsky rebutted this idea with his thought that languages do not differ much from each other, thus in turn proposing that linguistic differences do not cause a difference in thinking. Now with scientists

The article Is Language the Key to Human Intelligence? , Written by David Premack a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, explains how humans have displayed their intelligence through language, unlike animals whose language, (any) hasn’t evolved at all. Premack uses examples such as grammar and syntax of the human language and explains the uniqueness and evolution of language over time. He claims humans have humans have six symbols system: “two that evolved- the genetic code and spoken language- and four that we invented: written language, Arabic numerals, music notation, and lab notation (a system for coding choreography)”. One word that he puts emphasis time over time is Recursion (“makes it possible for the words

The film “The Linguists” follows linguists Gregory Anderson and David Harrison on their journey to learn about and document endangered languages in Bolivia, India, Arizona, and Siberia. Through their quest, they are able to interact with some of the few remaining speakers of languages that are near death and they manage to make an impact on how these communities view their heritage language. Focusing on the moribund languages of Siberia and Arizona, it becomes evident that speakers of the heritage language feel a love for the language and the culture it represents, but went through periods of oppression and embarrassment for being speakers of a minority language that ultimately shaped their attitudes on the language.

Ken Wiwa presents several ideas pertaining to language and culture within his essay, Get Beyond Babel. Wiwa explains that every language has a chance of dying out over time. For any language to survive through years of societal changes, it must be adapted so it can be used to embrace other cultures, new technology and new perspectives. Wiwa presents the concept that language is the same as culture. I do not agree with this concept because I believe that culture is carried by the people, not by the language.

According to Susanne K. Langer in the essay “Language and Thought,” an essential difference between animals and humans is the way humans think in symbols and signs, instead of just solely relying on signs. Langer suggests that thinking in signs, which is something both humans and animals share in common, is a process that leads us to react instinctively to the physical presence of that sign. Signs are very much a direct cause to a particular effect. It seems that to learn a sign you simply must be conditioned to respond certain ways to a specific observation. Symbols, though, are exclusively human devices of language that provoke thoughts about a particular thing. The use of symbols has allowed humans to reach much more complex levels of thought,

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” – Benjamin Lee Whorf

Zora Neale Hurston’s Moses Man of the Mountain is one of the most successful novels where she expresses various characteristics of an ideal leader through her main character Moses. At the same time, she addresses other leaders such as Aaron and Miriam and explains how they fail to contribute as leaders because of their selfish attitudes. Hurston highlights Moses as an old man with great lawgiver. In her novel, Hurston turns the biblical character Moses into a spiritual African –American leader who can uses magic (hoodoo) and folklore to guide his people.