Blog 1: What kind of writing studies research do you think you might be interested in?

Language is very tricky. Two people in conversation can create sentences that are completely original and yet the two will understand one another. However, even within the same language, there are phrases specific to a home, a region, a country, and so on that will not be understood by those excluded from the group. Communication becomes a greater challenge still when each person speaks a completely different language. Sure certain cues can be drawn from body language, even that is sometimes culturally bound; I don't believe there are any signs that are completely universal aside from facial expressions [happiness, sadness, disgust, shock, etc.] and those actually agreed upon internationally. Explaining idiomatic phrases to an ELL student illustrates this point exactly.

If you can explain the structure and meaning of a sentence or idiomatic phrase to an ELL student, and it is understood, to me that is the true test of both linguistic and teaching mastery. In being multilingual  and multicultural myself, I find it both fascinating and useful to understand the origins of words and grammar regardless of whether or not the words and structures stem from the "standard" form of the language. In fact, the more colloquial forms of the language often show what is truly essential to the structure and pronunciation of words in order to be understood by others who are native speakers.

In taking linguistics here at Kean, the idea that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to say something but rather it's a matter of appropriateness resonated with me. Discourse analysis looks at this point. Why do we talk to friends differently from professors? How do we know what language to use? It is always the case that there is a distinction? However, and an educator, I want to be able to teach the structure or the basics as tools for empowering each student's voice.

To follow up, in creating voice or empowering it, rhetorical skills tie in with the appropriateness of language. How do people utilize language not only to get their idea across but also to persuade, argue, connect ideas, and so on. As with discourse, how to know when certain language is appropriate to use in order to achieve goals is important.

Overall, my interests within writing studies lie in language appropriateness, which spans linguistic, rhetorical, discourse analysis as well as writing across the curriculm and