In the introduction of (re)Making Language by Seth Graves, we are given a historical background of the rise in Gothic fiction which led to increased literacy. During the late 1700s, towards the end of the Enlightenment Era, while interests in sciences and humanity rose, “reading and writing literacy rates expanded.” News, stories, and ideas spread extremely fast in this revolutionary time. However, the vast acquisition of knowledge led to the uncovering of horrors, lies, and all the truths. The reading goes on to use Dr. Fankenstein as a suitable example of the situation, particularly because of its origin during the time period.

The reading transitions into the idea of “language acquisition in social and global context. Language is the symbolic bridge that connects us all to the rest of the world. Under the title Language, Discourse, and Literacy, the definition of language, discourse, and literacy is explained. Language, though often thought of as grammar, is actually the “interaction recognized by a specific community,” including images, gestures, computer codes, or emojis. Language is always adapting to the way that we use it. Discourse is defined as “a group [sharing] a common set of language-use practices,” and literacy is the “understanding of and ability to participate in the literacy practices of a discourse community.” Literacy can be shaped by “our understanding of what is possible.”

“Introduction to (re)Making Language”

Seth Graves argues that knowledge is acquired through language. As seen in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, the creature first learns about what war is after overhearing a conversation. He then expresses his opinion of this and a realization of himself through language. By doing so, we learn how the creature feels, and the same thing occurs when we use language to communicate with one another. With language, we are able to acquire new knowledge and express our own opinions about it, just as the creature had done.

“Language, Discourse, and Literacy”

Language is an of exchange of symbols that allow both parties to effectively communicate their ideas to one another. In many cases, there are groups that use language in a certain way, and these groups are called discourse communities. Examples of this are your friends and your colleagues from work, and they way you casually communicate with your friends would most likely be different than the way you communicate with your colleagues. There is also literacy, and it refers to how we are able to use language within a certain discourse community. The way we use literacy can shape our ideas and change our understandings of things.

Response

Language is used everyday, so it is important to know that it is used to share and obtain knowledge about the world and ourselves. Without it, how would we be able to be aware of what’s going on? How would we be able to effectively express our own emotions? The way we use language can affect how we share and obtain knowledge as well. For example, the creature from Frankenstein was often called a “monster” or other horrible terms by people that he tried to help, which led him to believe that he was a monster when he really wasn’t.

In “Introduction to (re)Making Language,” Seth Graves talks about how the gothic novel provided an outlet for exploring horrors and corruptions of the mind. It first became popular in England during the later period of the Enlightenment Era. One example of a gothic novel is “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelley and the character in the novel gives an example of how communication and language are essential even in our feelings. The character feels very lonely and was desperate to have someone to talk to. This shows that communication helps us to cope with our feelings. 

In “Language, Discourse, and Literacy,” Groves refers language to an interaction recognized by a specific community. He explains that an image, gesture, a line of computer code, or even an emoji can all be a form of language when they are used in a symbolic exchange of communication. Furthermore, he explains that the language we use affects the way we think and the language we have are based on discourse communities. A discourse community forms when a group shares a common set of language-use practices. When one uses literacy they have knowledge of discourse and this can be found in written language. 

Language is interesting because it helps us to gain new knowledge. When we gain new knowledge, we are also opening our minds to different emotions, good and bad. It helps us to find new ways of expression which is why language is always adapting and changing. The reason why we think and act the way we act is because of the kind of exposure we have of literacy. With limited literacy, our minds also become limited as to what we feel and think.

“Introduction to (re)Making Language,” Seth Graves, pgs 39-40

In “Introduction to (re)Making Language,” Seth Graves asserts the importance of language for the purpose of communication and the acquisition of knowledge and understanding. Graves uses Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to exemplify this point by arguing that Frankenstein, through language, was able to discern himself and the world that surrounded him. Just like Frankenstein, everyone can credit their perception and reception of things to their relationship with language. This concept derives from Enlightenment ideals of individualism.

“Language, Discourse, and Literacy,” Seth Graves, pgs 41-42

In the segment “Language, Discourse, and Literacy,” Seth Graves claims language is far greater than reading and writing and maintains it as an adaptive human instrument. Language is more extensive than just a means of communication, as it creates an avenue of discourse between individuals as well as the concept of literacy. This consequently leads to greater potential for both expression and understanding.

Response

Thinking about the Literacy Narrative coming up, this idea of language as a way to scrutinize how I identify myself in this world interests me. Misconceptions and stereotypes are propagated through words and the way we may describe ourselves can have been influenced by those same words. I have just spent the last week looking at someone’s rhetoric and now trying to think of my own, not just in writing but in life, is simpler by thinking of language like this.

 

A stereotype people might associate with me is that I’m not smart because I was a cheerleader. Often in movies, cheerleaders are portrayed as the dumb girls, but that isn’t true.

Summary and response: Introduction to (re)making Language

This text talks about how language can open up your world to greater knowledge, but also greater sorrow. The example of Frankenstein and his monster was used. The author talked about how the monster didn’t question his being until he overheard a fellow human talking. I think its very interesting to look at education and language as a positive and negative.

Summary and response: Language, Discourse, and Literacy

This text focused on the different types of language and discourse communities. A discourse community as mentioned is a group of people that have a common set of language use practices. AN example of this would be a group of people with the same profession, like a biologist. The text then goes into talking about literacy and how it is shaped by what we believe is possible. The most interesting part of this text I think was when the author was talking about how language doesn’t have to be verbal. Language can be a gesture, code, or an emoji.

(re) Making Language Summary

The reading “(re)Making Language” conveys the message that words (language) can be helpful in understanding others and one’s own self. To prove this claim, the reading puts forth the example of the classic gothic novel from 1818, “Frankenstein.” the gothic genre was a result of the enlightenment ideas of “freedom of mind.” Through this genre, people started exploring the corruptions of the mind and the common fears that most people have. Similarly, this was the case with “Frankenstein.” Dr. Frankenstein’s unnamed monster learns about the world and the concept of war which makes him sad and bewildered as to how can one human take the life of another. Moving on, as he gains more knowledge, he realizes that he is lonely and has no one to communicate and share the weight of the world with. All in all, Dr. Frankenstein unnamed brings back the point that language helps people acquire knowledge which is essential in understanding “meaning and feelings in our lives.”

 

Language, Discourse, and Literacy Summary

Language doesn’t suggest grammar, what it really means is recognizable interaction within a community. Language is also an important part of our reality; it shapes how and what we think. A group that uses similar “language-use practices” forms a discourse, and the group who uses is known as a discourse community. Discourses are very important since they, in a sense, are small aspects of our lives that form who we are as a whole. Literacy is a term used to define someone’s knowledge of a discourse. In other words, literacy is how we interact with others using language. There are many types of literacies such as digital literacy, rhetorical literacy, and culture, all of whom are referred to as an “understanding and ability to participate in the literacy practices of a discourse community.” Amongst some ways of gaining literacy skills, one way is to understand the genre convention of the languages used in the discourse community one is part of. Also, one important factor that effects literacy is what is perceived to be possible by someone.

 

Response

One thing I learned after reading these two texts is that communication holds utmost importance since we are always being judged. So keeping this in mind, what is more important is that we should use careful language since it represents who we are. What really startled me was the notion that although knowledge opens us up to the truth, it also makes us vulnerable to all emotions since not all the truths are easy to hear.

Introduction to (re)Making Language:

Author Seth Graves discusses in his article how during the Enlightenment Era, the literacy rates of people all across United States had begun to increase rapidly. Citizens of the colonies had seen successful revolutions in the French colony of Haiti based on enlightenment ideas, which would ultimately become the foundation for the American Revolution. He uses the monster in the gothic novel Frankenstein to depict how language can have such a dramatic effect on both our knowledge and thoughts.

Language, Discourse, and Literacy:

Graves explains how language is “referred to an interaction recognized by a specific community” and how it can be represented by a symbolic form of communication. A set of multiple languages used by the writer ultimately creates a discourse (ways of being in the world). This specific knowledge of a discourse community is what describes a literacy, which has developed from being defined as the ability to read and write to include “using language within a specific discursive space”.

Introduction to (re)Making Language

Summary: Through words, we are able to express our thoughts and feelings. By learning new words or languages we can expand our knowledge allowing us to express our ideas in more ways than one. However, this comes with the risk of knowing too much for our own good. Seth Graves says it best when he writes “Knowledge broadens our receptivity to emotion, but with the risk that it opens us up to all emotion.” The example Graves gives is from Frankenstein, when the monster gains the ability to express his thoughts through words. He was able to reflect on what he overheard from a conversation on human history, as well as consider his own place in the world. Only the bravest can express themselves with the words, both good and bad, that best describes who they are.

Language, Discourse, and Literacy

Summary: Language refers to any form of interaction that is used by a specific community. This can be through words, images, body language, etc., as long as the meaning behind them is recognized and understood.  A discourse is a shared set of language-use practices, and a discourse community is a group that uses the discourse. These communities may be related on the basis of profession or social groups. Literacy refers to one’s knowledge of a discourse, which affects how we interact with the members in a discourse community. Depending on the social environments we’re exposed to effects what literacies we acquire and how we acquire them.

Response

Now I know why you asked us if we can think without language and my answer still remains true, correct even. If we can’t name things specifically then we wouldn’t be able to create sensical thoughts. After reading Language, Discourse, and Literacy, I was hit with the realization that we all speak many ‘languages’. For example, there is formal language that you would use amongst professionals and there is informal language that you would use amongst your peers. Both ‘languages’ get our ideas across without fear of being misunderstood. Out of the two readings, I enjoyed (re)Making Language more because it sort of explains why we often find ourselves at a loss for words or forgetting what we wanted to say. It’s most likely due to the fact that we just don’t have the vocabulary to express what we actually want to say.

 

Introduction to re(Making) Language

In this writing, Graves uses Mary Shelley’s classic Gothic novel Frankenstein to show the effect that language can have on our knowledge and thoughts. Frankenstein’s monster overhears one man talking about the gruesome history of the human species, causing him to reflect upon this new knowledge and turning his wonder into disgust. Language also led to the monster considering his place in the world, realizing his desires to have someone to talk to. Through the exploration of language and knowledge, we open up to emotion and are able to understand ourselves and others.

 

Language, Discourse, and Literacy

Language is essentially an exchange of symbols that varies depending on the specific community using it. These groups that share a common language are called “discourse communities” and can be anything from professions to social groups. As people engage in discourse, language evolves, changing based on the way it gets used.  Literacy, which was traditionally regarded as the ability to read and write in a given language, can be defined as a person’s understanding of a discourse. Literacy is affected by the social environment we’re in, as people use language differently in different social groups. Literacy practices can even shape ideology and be used to exert control, as shown by the Jim Crow laws after the American Civil War.

 

Response

My biggest takeaway from these readings is the importance of language in shaping our thoughts and knowledge. By using language in various discourse communities, the very way we think of the world and of ourselves changes. We are able to use language differently in each group, as well as understand the language that the rest of the group uses.

(re)Making Language

In this writing, Seth Graves explores the idea of language, knowledge, and communication. Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein is used as an example to establish his point. Frankenstein’s monster first acquired knowledge when overhearing the troubling history of humankind’s mark on the world. He’s shocked that humans were capable of being so vicious and began to contemplate his place in the world. Graves talks about this since the same thing can happen to us. Knowledge, and therefore language, introduces new concepts to us and changes our outlook.

Language, Discourse, and Literacy

Graves starts off this writing by discussing the term “language.” He explains it is more than grammar and is just any way we can communicate, whether it’s through images, gestures, code, or emojis. He then discusses how language is adaptive and brings up discourse communities. A discourse is described by James Paul Gee as “ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, glances, body positions, and clothes.” Discourse communities can relate to your profession, social group, or even a web forum. Graves then moves to his explanation of literacy, which is one’s knowledge of a discourse. There are multiple literacies like digital literacy, rhetorical literacy, and cultural literacy. Literacy is powerful as it can shape ideology and our understanding of what is possible.

Response

These writings were interesting to read because of how important they depict language. We use language in our life every day for things we don’t even think about. It’s very interesting to think that communication is able to shape people’s minds, their ideologies, and outlooks. Communication is also highly adaptive, and we have certain ways of communicating with others simply because of a perceived context and group dynamic. Language is such a powerful tool, yet it is commonplace and is used all the time.