As weโve learned in this sign language series, sign is far from the same everywhere. In fact, itโs just as diverse as the rest of the worldโs languages! However, just as Esperanto was created to be an international spoken language, universal sign language could exist. But how successful has this initiative been, and should it even be a project [...]
Imagine: the Mexico menโs soccer team wins the Gold Cup. As a person from Mexico yourself, youโre proud to be there for this exciting moment. A player approaches you, shouting a sentence in Spanish. What did he say? Arenโt you supposed to know? Everyone is watching. This stressful experience encapsulates the cultural and personal impact of no sabo: those [...]
To understand just how important interjections are and why you subconsciously use them as much as you do, itโs helpful to know what role they serve. You likely place them into conversations (at a rate of one every 12 seconds or so!) without much thought, even though they are some of the most impactful utterances. But what do they [...]
Thereโs a funny thing about pop culture: the more fleeting it seems, the more lasting its impact often is. And perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the words that owe their origins to Billboard-topping, chartbusting numbers. We might forget it, but several of the words we use today started on a lyrics sheet in a studio that [...]
The fact that no one really sits down to read anymore (or, at least, thatโs the way it might seem) is a symptom of many concurrent cultural and societal influences. However, this lack of reading acumen is more than just a change in preference; itโs having real impacts on entire generations, including those who grew up enjoying the earthy [...]
For Deaf individuals, this question is integral to understanding the unique and complex systems at work in the language part of the brain. Sign language is neurological in the same way that spoken languages are. However, the brain processes sign language differently from spoken languages, which can impact the cognitive faculties of a Deaf individual (often for the better!). [...]
While English has been the dominant language spoken in the US since the country's founding, Americans have been listening to Spanish-language music since music was recorded, and likely much earlier than that. However, within the last decade, listenership for Spanish-language music has increased by nearly 1,000%, and Spanish has now become the second most listened-to language for music worldwide. [...]
Sign language is uniquely relational. Unlike phone calls, which can be completed over distance with no visual element, sign has not enjoyed the same ease of communication during the Industrial Revolution and beyond. The good news is that this is changing, and itโs doing so faster than ever. As technological advancements continue to outpace themselves every year, sign language [...]
One of the most fascinating aspects of sales and marketing is how a single campaign will yield vastly different results depending on the background of the individual who receives it. While the product itself is likely to go unchanged, how itโs presented and the language used may look and sound drastically different. Careful research will need to be invested [...]
Whether you love it or dread it, small talk is woven into the fabric of everyday life. From elevator chats to pre-meeting pleasantries, it plays a quiet but crucial role in helping us navigate the social world. But why does small talk matter, and why do so many people find it excruciatingly hard? As it turns out, small talk [...]
