Both readings explore how the language(s) we know shape our understanding of the world around us, and how changes in language can literally reconfigure that world and how we act within it. And of course, language itself is always shifting to meet new realities. New words come into existence, disappear, combine, shift, and change. Both readings explore how the language(s) we know shape our understanding of the world around us, and how changes in language can literally reconfigure that world and how we act within it. There are many examples of this process, but here’s a recent one: this short article “Quarantinis, Covidiots, and Social Distancing”

I’d like you to do two things in this post.

First, describe one idea or concept in these two readings that struck you as particularly interesting or significant and explain why.

Then, write about an experience or experiences of your own with changes in language. You might focus on new words or expressions emerging and taking on new meaning, or rules for how you express yourself shifting and changing as you move between communities and/or cultures. What are these changes and in what ways are they significant or important?