"the A-Z's of the English Language" by Liz Ukstins

The A-Z's of the English Language 

by Liz Ukstins

The English language is subjective. It means different things to different people. For example, the English language could be, to one person, simply the means to communicate, while to another, any sentence is a work of art. Below is an A-Z interpretation of the English language given by an educator of the deaf and blind. She is fluent not only in English, but in Spanish and Sign Language. The 'test subject', so to speak, was asked to give a word about the English language that she associated with the given letter. She was then asked to explain the reasoning behind each answer.

Antonym, Book, Comma, Dictation, Exclamation, Fortitude, Glossary, Highlight, Intense, Juxtaposition, Kinesthetic, Language, Monologue, Natural, Onamonapia, Painful, Question, Racy, Situational, Talk, Unique, Verse, Washing-away, X-treme, Yesterday, Zest

"Antonym, because there is a positive and negative to the English language - a good and a bad, which are ironically antonyms. Book, because thats where words are found. Comma, its an essential to the English language. How awkward would it be to not have commas? Dictation, because words are dictated. We see and hear words to understand them. Exclamation, because English is exciting. Also, because we exclaim things to show emotions. Fortitude, because English can suck sometimes. There are three to's to use, how confusing! Glossary, because thats where we learn new words. If we don't know a word from, for example, a textbook, we just look in the back. Highlight, because the spoken language is the highlight of any culture. If you can speak the language, you can go anywhere. Intense, because the English language is difficult to learn. It can be intense at times. Juxtaposition, because languages are unique. The same word in, lets say, German and English could be contrasting in pronunciation but have the same meaning. 'Ambulance' compared to 'Krankenwagen' is comical, but is a perfect example. Kinesthetic, because there are so many different ways that people learn. It makes me happy to know that in English, we have a word for each of these learning styles. Language, beside the obvious, because languages are art. Words are the pictures. Cultures are the colors. Monologue, because a person talking to themselves shows as much character as talking to someone else. Natural, because it is natural for someone to want to communicate. I have never seen a deaf or blind person refuse to try to communicate. Onamonapia, because thats a word about the English language that starts with an 'O', also because onamonapia is fun! Bam! Painful, because anyone who has learned English as a secondary language will tell you that it was no cake-walk. The English language has been proven to be one of the most difficult languages to learn, next to Mandarin Chinese and Finnish. Question, because we ask questions to learn. We answer questions to spread knowledge. Racy, because we have these things called euphemisms. I can say "She turned on the light switch" and some will interpret it as being sexual, but in reality, 'she', whoever 'she' is, just turned on a lamp. Situational, because depending where you are in the world, you may have to speak another language. Talk, because the basis of communication is verbal association. Unique, because English is made up of more than eleven original languages. Verse, because poetry is the bomb. Washing-away, because words like 'selfie' and 'fleek' are in the dictionary. We are losing the integrity of our language.  X-treme, because the average English-speaker has 20,000 words in their daily vernacular. Yesterday, because the words we say today are based on the words from yesterday. For example, the words nine and eleven did not have the same significance they have today that they did on September 10th 2001. Finally, zest, because to speak English, you need excitement and energy."

I found that this "experiment" was an interesting outlook of the English language and revealed a lot about the person providing the answers (the words she chose showed intelligence and confidence). I, personally, challenge everyone reading this to perform the experiment on themselves. It may reveal some truths about yourself or even our ever-expanding English language; you may learn something new. 

Starry Night Interpretation By: Matt Dumbroff

Earlier in the week, we examined a famous painting entitled "Screaming Man", and went into depth interpreting the painting. I would like to examine another famous painting, one that most are familiar with called "Starry Night" by Van Gogh. Below is a picture of the revolutionary painting.

This widely known painting set into motion what was known as the impressionist painting movement. In this piece Van Gogh showcases sweeping brush strokes and an organic feel. The renowned piece is also wide thought provoking and open to interpretation. Many critics claim that this was Van Gogh's view from his cell in the mental asylum to which the visionary artist was confined. My interpretation of this is one of despair and isolation. I view this painting as Van Gogh looking in on a world which he may never become a part of, confined eternally to a prison cell of isolation, with bars forged of self-conflict, accompanied by self loathing and despair. This conflict is shown through the deep contrast of colors in the background, as well as the irresistibly close town which has an unperceivable depth to it, making it ironically seem so close, yet impossibly far away. The artist's mixed feelings are further demonstrated by the rigid, straight lines in the town, with comparison to the free-flowing lines in the sky. This is my interpretation of the thought provoking painting "starry night" by Vincent Van Gogh.