Time-Traveler Speech || Self-Evaluation

Knowledge of audience

• As far as comparison goes, there isn't much to compare space objects to. I may have insulted intelligence when explaining what the sun and moon were, but it seemed fine otherwise.

Voice

• When it comes to diction and clarity, I'm surprisingly audible (I'm usually too quiet) and use language that the audience would be expected to understand. I didn't use very many, if any, fillers in the presentation, though I did have a small giggle-fit that I shouldn't have had.

Body Language

• I commanded attention by being a little bit more animated, using my hands to illustrate certain aspects such as the tail of a comet or how Pluto and its moon are the same size. I tend to stand more in the invisible box, though I do move a little bit. It's a tight squeeze in there. I made an adequate amount of eye contact, though I may have been a little too fidgety.

Preparedness

• I took a paper up with me that listed a bunch of key points, and I refered to them when I wasn't sure where to go next. Luckily I put enough of the things about space that I knew for it to work out. I did search the list one or two times, but overall I picked out points pretty quickly.

Overall Effectiveness

• I was rather interesting simply because of my diction and casual tone of voice. It was easier to connect to such a casual tone than someone sputtering out scientific facts about bathtubs or crayons. If I could go back and do it again, I would better prepare myself. I did have a good list, but having a better idea of what to say may save me from another giggle-fit. I'd also try to break out of the box in order to seem more interesting.

The Magic in Writing

Many people enjoy reading, but some people have to ask themselves why. Why do we enjoy reading and writing so much? They're just words printed on paper!

Well, the writing is an art, and art can be magical.

It's like when we appreciate a work of art, cry at an emotional movie, or lay down in bed and listen to our favorite song over and over again. It appeals to us in a way we can't explain, which can only be defined as magic.

Writing words on a paper can create a story, which people can picture in their minds. The writer is an artist of a different trade, and artists are magicians in influencing how we see things. An artist can make a moving picture, a musician can make a moving tune, and a writer can make a moving story.

Art is a lot more than simple words or pictures on paper. What if someone said to poke holes in that photograph of your family? Why wouldn't you? It's just ink on paper. You wouldn't because it means something to you. It's art. It's magic.

Latin Words in English Today

A Roman tablet, written in original Latin.

They say Latin's a "dead language," but is it really dead? No, because, in a way, it's not dead. It's very much alive. We use Latin everyday, without even knowing it! The roots in many of our words come from Latin, and we still use certain Latin phrases.

Latin is part of our everyday lives, even if we don't know it. Take the word canis for example. In Latin, canis means dog. The more "mature" name for dog, in English, is "canine." See the connection?

Another example is vulneratus, which means wounded. In English, there's a simple clue: in what condition is someone able to be wounded? "Vulnerable." Exactly.

Scientists and doctors use Latin literally all the time. Scientific names such as Turdus migratorius (American Robin) and Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah) are used to describe animals, and other living things, by their characteristics and type. What are these names written in? Latin.

We also use phrases from Latin, such as et cetera (etc.), nota bene (N.B.), and exempli gratia (e.g.) are all used in English today, especially in more professional settings. In school, children are taught these things, and there are still even Latin classes. (They say Latin also makes it easier to define words on the SAT!)

So you see, the "dead language" is not actually dead. It lives on in science and in our language. They say it's dead because we don't say things like "gratias tibi ago" in place of "thank you," but that isn't what a dead language is. A "dead language" is when it ceases to exist, and the Latin language will live on forever.

Words Make Suspense/Horror

In every story, there is always some type of element. One element is the element of surprise, or even suspense. How are we able to feel the suspense that we're supposed to feel when reading a story? It's all about the diction.

Diction is extremely important, for it is the word choice when writing a piece. The things that go bump in the night may scare you in movies because you can eat it, but seeing the words may not seem as suspenseful. If certain words are used, however, the suspense may be felt. 

Words such as "crept" and "stalked" put forth an image in our minds that someone is being pursued by someone else, or maybe they just feel like they are. "He was being followed" sounds a more relative to the audience than "He was being stalked" though, so it depends on the style and the reader. The protagonist could be going down the street to learn that he was being followed. 

Said protagonist may get home to find an unnerving letter, and the face of the stalker may be the last thing he sees before he dies. The audience, if the story has the right diction, could be on board with the story and put themselves into the character's shoes. When the character is killed, the author may be able to say they scared someone. There is a reason some people don't read suspense/horror stories!

Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is a card game that combines the use of nouns and adjectives in order to make certain combinations. In Apples to Apples, you have green cards and red cards. Someone picks up a green card and says the adjective written on it. All of the other players--there should be three or more people playing--pick out a red card from the hand they're dealt. (Each person should have been given seven red cards.) The person that said the adjective is not allowed to put in a red card this round. Instead, they take the cards, without knowing who gave them which card, and picking one that they feel is most closely related to the adjective. This can either be accurate or inaccurate, and the latter is usually just for laughs.

It makes use of the English language, and it also makes words more fun. The cards themselves are witty--especially the red ones--and it's a very entertaining game to play with large groups of people. The possibilities and combinations of words are endless!

Literature and Child Development

When a child learns to read for the first time, they, depending on the books they read, are slowly introduced to the culture around them. These parts of culture can include gender roles in society as shown in fairy tales in which the prince saves the princess. The values of the parents may also be instilled in the child, for it is the adults who choose what books go on their child's bookshelf.

Cinderella is a classic example of this very thing.

In Cinderella, Cinderella was enslaved in her own home by an evil stepmother and her two ugly stepsisters. It's implied that Cinderella is beautiful compared to all of them. A fairy godmother intervenes and hands Cinderella the chance to go to the ball as she wanted, pretty much handing the main character the very thing she wanted. (Her step-family would not let her go.) At the ball, the prince (unnamed) falls in love with her, but Cinderella's fantasy ends at the stroke of midnight. She leaves her glass slipper behind when she runs home in shame. Later, the prince is looking for her, and he eventually finds Cinderella despite how the stepsisters tried to cheat their way into marrying the prince. (Those two did some weird things to their feet...) In the end, Cinderella and the prince live happily ever after. The end.

A child reading Cinderella may assume that the prettiest of girls, even if they have hardships, can have anything they want handed to them by someone from pity or admiration. Cinderella is given a night of romance in a fancy dress (possibly from pity) and a life of luxury (most likely from the prince's admiration of her). This child will then grow up thinking, because she is beautiful, that she can have or obtain anything she desires.

Boy, is she up for a major wake-up call in her future!

Choose Your Words Carefully

When it comes to writing, any word can either make a piece greater or pull it down the ranks. One has to be careful when writing, because too many fancy and "intelligent" words can make him sound like a snob. No one wants to read a book written by a snob who shows off his use of language, making it seem as though he believes to be smarter than his readers.

For example, look at the following sentence:
The man ran through the entire house in which he lives from the man running after him.

Now, that sentence doesn't really describe anything. The man ran through the house, but who was running after him? Just another man? Why? Is this supposed to be a chase?

Look at the sentence again. This time, it has been revised and shown below:
The male scampered through the residence from the unwanted male intruder pursuing him.

This version of the sentence is far too eloquent, using larger words and making it seem like the writer believes he's smarter than anyone who reads it. Plus, with such a multitude of words, it looks kind of like a train wreck. It could be much cleaner than this.

Take a look at the sentence one last time:
The man scrambled through the house from the intruder.

Much better. This sentence brings a much better balance of eloquence and simplicity, and it's more precise than both of the other sentences. It can be assumed that the intruder is chasing the man, and the sentence itself implies that the writer didn't tear apart a thesaurus in order to write it.

Writing is an art, and too much of something can really hurt it. Watch your words, and make sure that there isn't an overload of "intelligent" words. You know what they say: too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.