Language Usage

I live in a country that has 11 official languages. English is my first language, Afrikaans my second and I am in the process of learning the third – Xhosa.

Ndisafunda Ukuthetha IsiXhosa.

In May 2007 I done an oral examination and passed it with an ‘A’. I am a little rusty as I only start intermediate lessons this coming Tuesday. The wait has been long but at the same time it made me realise just how uninterested people can be. See, our class started with at least 20 people in it. Some dropped out along the way and some never did the oral and some failed it. All in all, three people passed and that wasn’t enough for a new intermediate class. So finally, its here and I’m REALLY excited...

Link to for more info:
http://www.uct.ac.za/faculties/ched/departments/mep/study/

Chances of you speaking to “your kind” can sometimes be slim and so what you actually saying might not be fully understood by the next person if they’re not “your kind” as different backgrounds, not being able to express correctly and not understanding your expression in the same way you do...

...Language barriers in other words...

Certain words have been used incorrectly for so many years that it has become abnormal to correct; and sometimes you have to be almost apologetic for correcting it? We have what is called “Common Spelling Errors”; it almost sounds okay to make those errors now, not so? Never mind the incorrect use of language grammar! I am guilty of talking in what is called “kulerd language” and likely to have incorrect grammar usage too.

Could that really be the reason some people who are in the advertising business are just poor at doing what it is they claim to be good at? Are they not understanding their readers, are the readers misinterpretting them, help me understand this...

It most cases in my experience, most messages are misunderstood when written in an email, a website, a sms etc compared to a verbal conversation. And yes society is swinging more towards this type of communication and I am all for it, but it can cause major confusion, anger, hurt in some cases, and it can make you feel even worse if you believe that what you are reading is what you understand it to be saying to you? You with me?

Could it also be that people just don't know common netiquette? I refer to emoticon usage (UCT people please don't get too excited, you can only see emoticons in email if you actually set your profile to view html messages because in GroupUnwise, it is not the default!),a little :-) or a :-P (My boss once asked why I made a colon, dash and P?)...and he's an HOD, one would assume that at least a professor would be aware of these things?

In my opinion, it is such a pleasure being able to converse face to face. To see the smile, to hear the laugh, to wipe the tear if necessary, to hug if needed, to argue your point, to see the body language, to correct if wrong, to ensure that you are understood, and you feel like you really are connecting to that person...

Whenever I visit Mitchells Plain I start mocking and talking with that added accent or if I feel like having fun, I talk to myself in different languages (like dialect) whilst showering in the morning – the things we have to do to keep ourselves amused if we live on our own!

I totally amused myself and laughed aloud at the adverts you can see if you follow the link…Have fun! Whilst browsing a few local sites, I saved a few to an album on my Facebook profile. (the link is the blog post title)