Many people think that to learn a language they need to attend many classes or to buy language books. What they don’t realise is that their mobile devices like iPods and smart phones can be turned into language learning devices. In this post I will show you [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/08/1160/feed/ 0 http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/07/english-lounge-how-to-speak-and-write-correctly/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/07/english-lounge-how-to-speak-and-write-correctly/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:50:20 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=1136 by Joseph Devlin

Requirements of speech, vocabulary, parts of speech, requisites

It is very easy to learn how to speak and write correctly, as for all purposes of ordinary conversation and communication, only about 2,000 different words are required. The mastery of just twenty hundred words, the knowing where to place them, will make us [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/07/english-lounge-how-to-speak-and-write-correctly/feed/ 0 grammar,language,podcast by Joseph Devlin - Requirements of speech, vocabulary, parts of speech, requisites - It is very easy to learn how to speak and write correctly, as for all purposes of ordinary conversation and communication, only about 2, by Joseph Devlin Requirements of speech, vocabulary, parts of speech, requisites It is very easy to learn how to speak and write correctly, as for all purposes of ordinary conversation and communication, only about 2,000 different words are required. The mastery of just twenty hundred words, the knowing where to place them, will make us not masters of the English language, but masters of correct speaking and writing. Small number, you will say, compared with what is in the dictionary! But nobody ever uses all the words in the dictionary or could use them did he live to be the age of Methuselah, and there is no necessity for using them. There are upwards of 200,000 words in the recent editions of the large dictionaries, but the one-hundredth part of this number will suffice for all your wants. Of course you may think not, and you may not be content to call things by their common names; you may be ambitious to show superiority over others and display your learning or, rather, your pedantry and lack of learning. For instance, you may not want to call a spade a spade. You may prefer to call it a spatulous device for abrading the surface of the soil. Better, however, to stick to the old familiar, simple name that your grandfather called it. It has stood the test of time, and old friends are always good friends. To use a big word or a foreign word when a small one and a familiar one will answer the same purpose, is a sign of ignorance. Great scholars and writers and polite speakers use simple words. To go back to the number necessary for all purposes of conversation correspondence and writing, 2,000, we find that a great many people who pass in society as being polished, refined and educated use less, for they know less. The greatest scholar alive hasn’t more than four thousand different words at his command, and he never has occasion to use half the number. In the works of Shakespeare, the most wonderful genius the world has ever known, there is the enormous number of 15,000 different words, but almost 10,000 of them are obsolete or meaningless today. Every person of intelligence should be able to use his mother tongue correctly. It only requires a little pains, a little care, a little study to enable one to do so, and the recompense is great. Consider the contrast between the well-bred, polite man who knows how to choose and use his words correctly and the underbred, vulgar boor, whose language grates upon the ear and jars the sensitiveness of the finer feelings. The blunders of the latter, his infringement of all the canons of grammar, his absurdities and monstrosities of language, make his very presence a pain, and one is glad to escape from his company. The proper grammatical formation of the English language, so that one may acquit himself as a correct conversationalist in the best society or be able to write and express his thoughts and ideas upon paper in the right manner, may be acquired in a few lessons. It is the purpose of this book, as briefly and concisely as possible, to direct the reader along a straight course, pointing out the mistakes he must avoid and giving him such assistance as will enable him to reach the goal of a correct knowledge of the English language. It is not a Grammar in any sense, but a guide, a silent signal-post pointing the way in the right direction.   The English Language in a Nutshell All the words in the English language are divided into nine great classes. These classes are called the Parts of Speech. They are Article, Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction and Interjection. Of these, the Noun is the most important, as all the others are more or less dependent upon it. A Noun signifies the name of any person, place or thing, in fact, anything of which we can have either thought or idea. There are two kinds of Nouns, Proper and Common. Common Nouns are names which belong in common to a race or class, as man, city. MOOKLISH no http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/05/foreign-languages-for-jetsetters/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/05/foreign-languages-for-jetsetters/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:38:48 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=1090 In the era of globalization learning languages is becoming increasingly important. More and more people have to speak English for travel, work or business. Other languages will become important as well. Increasingly, people are learning Mandarin Chinese because of the business opportunities in that country. We are all coming in contact with other languages in a [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/05/foreign-languages-for-jetsetters/feed/ 1 In the era of globalization learning languages is becoming increasingly important. More and more people have to speak English for travel, work or business. Other languages will become important as well. Increasingly, In the era of globalization learning languages is becoming increasingly important. More and more people have to speak English for travel, work or business. Other languages will become important as well. Increasingly, people are learning Mandarin Chinese because of the business opportunities in that country. We are all coming in contact with other languages in a new way through the internet. The world is getting smaller and this makes language learning more important than ever. Also, the internet and personal devices like iPods and iPads create new ways of learning languages. With an iPod or iPhone you can be learning a language anywhere and anytime. You could be learning while waiting for the bus, commuting on the subway, sitting in a cafe, or even while shopping. So how can we use the internet and personal devices to learn languages? And what is the best, the fastest, and the easiest way to learn a language? One way to find out is to ask polyglots. Polyglots are people who have learned to speak many languages, often between 5 and 10. First, most polyglots agree that to learn a language it is very important to like the language and to be interested in it. If you don't like the language and aren't interested in it, then it will be more difficult to learn it. So it is very important to try and have a positive attitude, to be relaxed when you are learning, and to enjoy learning that language. Second, all polyglots use certain techniques to learn a language. Some polyglots like to study grammar and memorize long lists of vocabulary. But many think that learning grammar is not that important if you don't like it and it's boring for you. On the other hand, it's much more important to read and to listen a lot in the language that you want to learn, and then to repeat and read aloud. Third, polyglots all study consistently without long breaks. They all agree that it is impossible to learn a language if you study once week. If you want to learn a language you'll have to study a little bit most days.     Fourth, polyglots recommend that you don't study too much grammar or try to memorize vocabulary. Grammar exercises are boring for most people, and they don't remember the explanations. Memorizing vocabulary is also boring. Polyglots also don't try to speak to native speakers too early. It's better to wait until you have more confidence after practicing reading, listening, repeating, and reading aloud. You'll make fewer mistakes and are more likely to remember corrections. So, to begin with, you need to find something to read, to have a translation into your language, and to have an audio version for listening and speaking. Remember that polyglots try to enjoy the language, so they try to find books and audio that they really like. The more interesting the books the faster you will learn. They also try to hang out with friendly native speakers whose company they enjoy. Remember that having a positive attitude and a strong motivation is the most important thing in learning a language. Finally, polyglots recommend that you use a system for storing your vocabulary. This is where the internet and the personal devices really help a lot. If you have a list of vocabulary in your notebook, or on your computer, you can input this into an online flashcard system. The best and most popular flashcard system is Quizlet.com. Don't just put the word and its definition! You will learn much more if you put the original phrase in which you found the word together with the definition.     You will want to use your personal device like iPod or iPhone. Of course, you can put the mp3's of the audio to listen to. You then need to search on your iPhone for some flashcard apps that are integrated with Quizlet, such as Flashcards Deluxe by OrangeOrApple, or Flashcard Touch by Agilis Lab. You can get a free version Flashcards Deluxe Lite to try. Good luck and happy jetsetting!   PRINT ARTICLE MOOKLISH no http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/04/art-culture-design-and-aesthetic-seamlessness-of-life/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/04/art-culture-design-and-aesthetic-seamlessness-of-life/#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2011 05:02:28 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=1027 I recently discovered that I have an interest in design. I’m not sure when this happened. Most recently it’s manifested in heavy doses of reading, and listening to, the Monocle and other design magazines.

This is more of a re-discovery actually. I’ve always had some interest in culture and design, especially architecture and urban design. [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/12/04/art-culture-design-and-aesthetic-seamlessness-of-life/feed/ 0 I recently discovered that I have an interest in design. I'm not sure when this happened. Most recently it's manifested in heavy doses of reading, and listening to, the Monocle and other design magazines. - This is more of a re-discovery actually. I recently discovered that I have an interest in design. I'm not sure when this happened. Most recently it's manifested in heavy doses of reading, and listening to, the Monocle and other design magazines. This is more of a re-discovery actually. I've always had some interest in culture and design, especially architecture and urban design. But I have increasingly found art disappointing, that is, the establishment art that you find in art galleries or dance festivals. For example, in South Korea and Taiwan there was a lot of talk about art and design, with art schools and festivals. But I found most of it of little interest or relevance other than as a backdrop to a weekend outing for coffee and obligatory 'enculturation'. I'm not finding art galleries even cool anymore, just cold.     However, my trips to Tokyo and Hong Kong have undermined my growing skepticism towards art and design. I found the Tokyo subway aesthetically satisfying. An art gallery in Hong Kong was an equally pleasing space. In all this, I am finding that I'm particularly interested in well designed spaces. I found the Tokyo University campus inspiring. The CBD in Hong Kong, despite its dense razor sharp architecture, is surprisingly serene and comprehensible. I put it down to the pervading sensibility that sets a particular tone. What I think it comes down to then is that design, in the sense of urban design, sets the standard for art. Art galleries, the good ones, are more about the space and the tone than the artwork in the more traditional sense. Where art and design continues to be about the isolated object it doesn't work for me. When I was working at an 'arts university' there were art or design objects lining the corridors. Yet the university administration never bothered to ask itself whether the university campus was a pleasant place to study or work in. It wasn't. I have also attended dance performances in art galleries. But again, even a well-designed artspace, if it stands out in a degraded urban space, works in a stunted and artificial way. It's disconnected from the pervading reality of urban blandness. The environment sets the tone, and the design space merely reinforces this through contrast. But in reality, in those sorts of contexts, the art space simply doesn't work. It's as unsatisfying as the blandness that encompasses it. By contrast, walking through Hong Kong, coming against an artspace, reinforces a seamless experience without the need for loud marketing of art product. It is no less, and no more, satisfying than coming up against two identical olive-green Mazeratis huddled in a perfectly suitable parking space like toy cars in Tokyo. Intentional or not, design works only as part of a seamless aesthetic experience if it is not to be merely either a critical statement on the intolerable blandness of consumer culture, or else an impotent effort to aesthetically lift itself above it. [Print article]   Tokyo—Tokyo University, etc.                   Hong Kong—Hong Kong Arts Centre, etc.                 MOOKLISH no http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/14/authenticity-objectless-art-and-the-end-of-culture/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/14/authenticity-objectless-art-and-the-end-of-culture/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:08:18 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=970 Critical theory’s interest in art is primarily as a source of the ideological underpinnings of an oppressive social order. Affirmative culture is the sanctified ‘museal’ art that is relegated to the realm of aesthetic appreciation and spiritual fulfilment (“aesthetic education”) in a way that diffuses its dangerous and explosive contents. It succeeds in reconciling the liberal [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/14/authenticity-objectless-art-and-the-end-of-culture/feed/ 0 http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/13/therapy-for-the-jaded/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/13/therapy-for-the-jaded/#comments Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:31:39 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=958 I just realised that I don’t have any videos of Contact Improvisation and this one is just so inspiring. It’s rare to find decent pieces of this calibre. Filming dance is not at all easy because good dance is so subtle, and making film from it is a whole other art. So that’s something that I also [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/13/therapy-for-the-jaded/feed/ 0 http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/06/psychological-paywall-in-the-era-of-internet-anarchism-feldenkrais-method/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/06/psychological-paywall-in-the-era-of-internet-anarchism-feldenkrais-method/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 06:53:30 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=882 At a time of ever  increasing accessibility to information from non-traditional sources such as Wikipedia, Youtube, or Wikileaks, the established sources of information and institutions that disseminate it are coming under challenge.

Established media organisations, institutions of higher education, publishing houses, and so on used to be able to present themselves as the necessary vehicles [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/06/psychological-paywall-in-the-era-of-internet-anarchism-feldenkrais-method/feed/ 0 http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/05/for-connoisseurs-of-heavy-irony-only/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/05/for-connoisseurs-of-heavy-irony-only/#comments Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:12:07 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=862 I have started to realise that my thinking about things has become entangled, and of course that usually means that some disentangling needs to be done. So I got stuck on the word ludic as the key to thinking about those activities that are aesthetic, pleasurable, or to use the newly coined term, somaesthetic, in a [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/05/for-connoisseurs-of-heavy-irony-only/feed/ 0 http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/03/2010-in-review/ http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/03/2010-in-review/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:57:21 +0000 Tom T http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/?p=855 The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,100 [...]]]> http://criticalsomaesthetics.com/2011/01/03/2010-in-review/feed/ 0