In my everyday conversations, I do use slang, especially when communicating with my friends.
I use slang to emphasize some things that I say or to shorten long words. For example, I may shorten "what happened to you" into "wham to you" or to emphasize how slow someone is, I may call them a "bep". I also use slang to be less formal in my conversations with my peers.
I think I use slang appropriately because whenever I have conversations with my peers and I use slang, they understand exactly what I am trying to say. However, when addressing persons older than myself, I minimize or even eliminate slang entirely out of the conversation as a sign of respect. I talk in proper English and make the conversations as formal as possible.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Assignment #9: Myself as a Verbal Communicator
In my opinion, I am not an effective verbal communicator.
I often mumble words and talk very softly, especially if I am speaking in class and I am unsure of what I'm saying (eg. answering a question in class). My mother and friends constantly have to ask me to speak up so that they can hear what I'm saying. Sometimes if I am nervous, I usually speak quickly and say everything that I have to say in one breath.
The few times that I do have clarity in my speech are when I am confident in what I am saying or I am very familiar with the persons with whom I am having a conversation with.
By definition, linguistic sensitivity refers to embracing and understanding the spirit of the communication process rather than simply translating word-for-word what a person is saying. I think I do demonstrate linguistic sensitivity as I pay attention to not only the words being said by another person, but their tone of voice, facial expression and body language to fully understand the message that they are trying to communicate to me.
I often mumble words and talk very softly, especially if I am speaking in class and I am unsure of what I'm saying (eg. answering a question in class). My mother and friends constantly have to ask me to speak up so that they can hear what I'm saying. Sometimes if I am nervous, I usually speak quickly and say everything that I have to say in one breath.
The few times that I do have clarity in my speech are when I am confident in what I am saying or I am very familiar with the persons with whom I am having a conversation with.
By definition, linguistic sensitivity refers to embracing and understanding the spirit of the communication process rather than simply translating word-for-word what a person is saying. I think I do demonstrate linguistic sensitivity as I pay attention to not only the words being said by another person, but their tone of voice, facial expression and body language to fully understand the message that they are trying to communicate to me.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Assignment #8: Newspaper Article
For this assignment, I chose to read "Free Transportation, Schools for Disabled" in the Guardian newspaper, dated Oct 11th, 2011.
This article was about the Government allocating part of the budget to fund transportation and scholarships for the disabled so that they may have a better state of living. It was noted that poverty levels had increased since last year, especially among families with a disabled member. Because of this, the Government is supporting them by providing not only education, but additional grants to single mothers of children with a disability and food support via Food Card Programmes for families with a child who is disabled.
From this, I perceive that the Government is trying to make equal opportunity for the disabled to better their lives and be educated like persons who are not disabled. The Government is also trying to make their lives easier and this changes my perception slightly about the Government of Trinidad. Although many opinions may be thrown around about controversy, levels of crime, inflation and unemployment and other politically related issues, my perception is that the Government is actually making an attempt to make disabled persons feel less alienated and ostracized by giving them this opportunity for education and providing support for them.
This article was about the Government allocating part of the budget to fund transportation and scholarships for the disabled so that they may have a better state of living. It was noted that poverty levels had increased since last year, especially among families with a disabled member. Because of this, the Government is supporting them by providing not only education, but additional grants to single mothers of children with a disability and food support via Food Card Programmes for families with a child who is disabled.
From this, I perceive that the Government is trying to make equal opportunity for the disabled to better their lives and be educated like persons who are not disabled. The Government is also trying to make their lives easier and this changes my perception slightly about the Government of Trinidad. Although many opinions may be thrown around about controversy, levels of crime, inflation and unemployment and other politically related issues, my perception is that the Government is actually making an attempt to make disabled persons feel less alienated and ostracized by giving them this opportunity for education and providing support for them.
Assignment #7: Class Presentations [Part II].
For our Communication Skills presentation on culture and communication, we chose to do our project on Japan.
The Japanese culture was very weird for us. They do things very differently in their country when compared to the more Western countries.
They appreciate distance between themselves and hate personal contact of any form. Gestures such as a pat on the back or a high five is not present at all in Japan because of this. They also view silence as valuable as words expressed. They prefer to talk to little than too much. Shouting and talking loudly, especially on a phone in a very small, enclosed area is also seen as rude. Compared to our culture, this is all very weird because most of these things are normal to us; their culture is basically the opposite to ours.
A great form of respect is to take off shoes when entering a building (house, restaurant etc.) as a sign of respect. When I was growing up, and even today in modern times, persons still take off their shoes when entering a house as a sign of respect. In a sense, Trinidad may have adapted this tradition from Japanese culture. Another sign of respect, however, is to slurp noodles when eating them. In our Western culture, this is seen as very rude and we usually try to avoid slurping noises by all means necessary.
Unfortunately, I didn't really learn anything new in this project because I already had a hands-on experience of Japan last year when I visited my aunt. The only new thing that I learnt was that persons in Japan usually use the same bath water to bathe all members of the family (to be economic). As a communicator with this knowledge, this will encourage me to communicate to my mother how grateful I am that I don't have to use second-hand water when bathing.
The Japanese culture was very weird for us. They do things very differently in their country when compared to the more Western countries.
They appreciate distance between themselves and hate personal contact of any form. Gestures such as a pat on the back or a high five is not present at all in Japan because of this. They also view silence as valuable as words expressed. They prefer to talk to little than too much. Shouting and talking loudly, especially on a phone in a very small, enclosed area is also seen as rude. Compared to our culture, this is all very weird because most of these things are normal to us; their culture is basically the opposite to ours.
A great form of respect is to take off shoes when entering a building (house, restaurant etc.) as a sign of respect. When I was growing up, and even today in modern times, persons still take off their shoes when entering a house as a sign of respect. In a sense, Trinidad may have adapted this tradition from Japanese culture. Another sign of respect, however, is to slurp noodles when eating them. In our Western culture, this is seen as very rude and we usually try to avoid slurping noises by all means necessary.
Unfortunately, I didn't really learn anything new in this project because I already had a hands-on experience of Japan last year when I visited my aunt. The only new thing that I learnt was that persons in Japan usually use the same bath water to bathe all members of the family (to be economic). As a communicator with this knowledge, this will encourage me to communicate to my mother how grateful I am that I don't have to use second-hand water when bathing.
Assignment #6: Class Presentations [Part I].
In the Communication Skills class, there were various presentations on the cultures of many countries.
Some cultures that were presented in class were: Nigerian, Hindu, Arabic, Muslim, Hebrew and Japanese.
A variety of things were presented, ranging from spicy rice from the Nigerian culture, to the history of the various cultures and their beliefs, and way of life. Their dress codes were also discussed, but many of the groups failed to present the way in which the culture that they researched actually communicated with each other within that culture.
Some cultures that were presented in class were: Nigerian, Hindu, Arabic, Muslim, Hebrew and Japanese.
A variety of things were presented, ranging from spicy rice from the Nigerian culture, to the history of the various cultures and their beliefs, and way of life. Their dress codes were also discussed, but many of the groups failed to present the way in which the culture that they researched actually communicated with each other within that culture.
Assignment #5: Cultural Impact on Communication.
The culture of Trinidad is very diverse. As a Trinidadian, the culture has a great impact on the way that I communicate, both verbally and non-verbally.
Although Trinidad is a "boiling pot" where many different cultures, religions and people come together as one, citizens of this country tend to be very rude & judgmental and form stereotypes & prejudices. Most of the time we don't like adapting to new things and form cliques with persons of similar religions, ethnicity and so on. Because of this learnt behaviour, I sometimes watch other persons "cuteye" (of different cultures, religions, ethnicity etc.) or even utter a "steups" if their accent sounds funny to me. I do this subconsciously and I really should break this habit.
Trinidadians are also very verbal and usually say what is on their minds. Persons have a habit of voicing their unasked opinions under their breath and I have picked up this terrible trait. In addition, it is not uncommon to hear someone yell obscenities about someone's mother out of their car windows, followed by a certain hand gesture after receiving a "bad drive". I am currently a learning driver and I am trying to stay clear of this horrendous trait.
Trinidadians are also renowned for the phrase "bonx meh nah". This phrase is uttered when a pedestrian is crossing the road slowly and an oncoming car is waiting to pass. As I have recently started to travel to school, on a bad day I would pick up this attitude, but on other days I would ne'er dare to intimidate taxi drivers in Curepe junction.
Lastly, Trinidadians are known for their late arrival. Usually if a person has to be at a place for a certain time, they would start to get ready at the time that they were supposed to arrive. Similarly, usually if I have to meet a friend somewhere, when they call to ask where I am, I would tell them that I am about fifteen minutes away, when in actuality I have just finished getting out of the shower. Even when I was in high school, I was late for classes probably about eighty percent of the time. Thankfully, I don't reach that late to classes in University because I have picked up a better sense of responsibility and punctuality.
Although Trinidad is a "boiling pot" where many different cultures, religions and people come together as one, citizens of this country tend to be very rude & judgmental and form stereotypes & prejudices. Most of the time we don't like adapting to new things and form cliques with persons of similar religions, ethnicity and so on. Because of this learnt behaviour, I sometimes watch other persons "cuteye" (of different cultures, religions, ethnicity etc.) or even utter a "steups" if their accent sounds funny to me. I do this subconsciously and I really should break this habit.
Trinidadians are also very verbal and usually say what is on their minds. Persons have a habit of voicing their unasked opinions under their breath and I have picked up this terrible trait. In addition, it is not uncommon to hear someone yell obscenities about someone's mother out of their car windows, followed by a certain hand gesture after receiving a "bad drive". I am currently a learning driver and I am trying to stay clear of this horrendous trait.
Trinidadians are also renowned for the phrase "bonx meh nah". This phrase is uttered when a pedestrian is crossing the road slowly and an oncoming car is waiting to pass. As I have recently started to travel to school, on a bad day I would pick up this attitude, but on other days I would ne'er dare to intimidate taxi drivers in Curepe junction.
Lastly, Trinidadians are known for their late arrival. Usually if a person has to be at a place for a certain time, they would start to get ready at the time that they were supposed to arrive. Similarly, usually if I have to meet a friend somewhere, when they call to ask where I am, I would tell them that I am about fifteen minutes away, when in actuality I have just finished getting out of the shower. Even when I was in high school, I was late for classes probably about eighty percent of the time. Thankfully, I don't reach that late to classes in University because I have picked up a better sense of responsibility and punctuality.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Assignment #4: Self Perception
As the average person, I have many identities, personalities and perceptions. They vary widely when it comes to moods, outlook on life and some of these identities have even been named. The main identities that I am comfortable discussing publicly are: the student, the child, the teenager and the artist.
Gabriella the student.
This identity is very basic. I have this identity when I am in school, and sometimes at home. The philosophy behind this identity is "I must educate myself to succeed in life". From the time that I get to school until I leave, I have this serious attitude about learning. Although it may be true that I hate school (getting up early, travelling, walking across campus several times, dealing with people etc.), I love to learn. I love to know new things and put that knowledge to use in my everyday life.
In addition to being a student at school, when I get home, I am also a student. This happens when I am reviewing what I learnt at school that day and arranging and organizing my notes. I would also spend my whole weekends just doing notes if I have nothing else to do or even stay up until the wee hours of the morning just completing assignments which aren't due til the week after. I hate to have assignments build up; I feel as if I am falling behind if they do.
Gabriella the child.
This may sound odd, but I still have the identity of a child because I believe that life is all about enjoying yourself and still having fantasies. Up to this day, I still believe in unicorns and fairies and I don't care when persons tell me otherwise. I still believe in monsters at night and I have a favourite blanket that I might die without. I still watch cartoons and eat macaroni and cheese. I still ask my mom to kiss my "boo boo" 's when I get hurt and sometimes my friends even say that I sound like a baby when I talk. Sometimes we have to relax and lay back because life is too stressful, and that's when this identity of mine comes out.
Gabriella the teenager.
This identity can relate with other typical teenagers. The perception behind this personality is basically "live fast, die young, no regrets, never look back". It's all about enjoying life now because we never know what could happen or when we are going to die. Life is too precious to be living in the past, we need to be living in the present and appreciate every second of it. Upon the death of one of my friend in July, this identity became stronger than ever. Almost everyday after he died, I was out of my house socializing with my friends and living up every moment of it. Before the curfew was in effect, I would "lime" with my friends until the next morning. Even after the curfew was in effect, we would have "curfew sleepovers" and just have a good time talking a bunch of nonsense, without a care in the world. Basically because of this identity, if I died today, I would be happy because I would know that I spent a great amount of quality time with the people that are closest to me without any regrets.
Gabriella the artist.
This is probably the most prominent identity that I have. It is always present at any given time of the day. The outlook on life that this identity proposes is "we're all just looking for some colour in this life of grey". That means, we're all just looking for some way to shine through uniquely in this world where people are trying to look like others. I experiment on a daily basis with this philosophy. I have done so many things because of this identity, from painting my nails in a certain design to wearing sneakers with dresses. However, I think I express this side of myself mainly through my hair. I have cut it in many various styles, straightened it, let it frizz out, put in highlights, dyed my hair red, bleached my hair blond; some days I would braid one side of my hair and leave the other out - these are all the different ways in which I express myself and I don't care if no one else likes it because all that matters is that I like it.
At the end of the day,
all these identities come together
to make up the person
that I am today,
and I'm okay with that.
Gabriella the student.
This identity is very basic. I have this identity when I am in school, and sometimes at home. The philosophy behind this identity is "I must educate myself to succeed in life". From the time that I get to school until I leave, I have this serious attitude about learning. Although it may be true that I hate school (getting up early, travelling, walking across campus several times, dealing with people etc.), I love to learn. I love to know new things and put that knowledge to use in my everyday life.
In addition to being a student at school, when I get home, I am also a student. This happens when I am reviewing what I learnt at school that day and arranging and organizing my notes. I would also spend my whole weekends just doing notes if I have nothing else to do or even stay up until the wee hours of the morning just completing assignments which aren't due til the week after. I hate to have assignments build up; I feel as if I am falling behind if they do.
Gabriella the child.
This may sound odd, but I still have the identity of a child because I believe that life is all about enjoying yourself and still having fantasies. Up to this day, I still believe in unicorns and fairies and I don't care when persons tell me otherwise. I still believe in monsters at night and I have a favourite blanket that I might die without. I still watch cartoons and eat macaroni and cheese. I still ask my mom to kiss my "boo boo" 's when I get hurt and sometimes my friends even say that I sound like a baby when I talk. Sometimes we have to relax and lay back because life is too stressful, and that's when this identity of mine comes out.
Gabriella the teenager.
This identity can relate with other typical teenagers. The perception behind this personality is basically "live fast, die young, no regrets, never look back". It's all about enjoying life now because we never know what could happen or when we are going to die. Life is too precious to be living in the past, we need to be living in the present and appreciate every second of it. Upon the death of one of my friend in July, this identity became stronger than ever. Almost everyday after he died, I was out of my house socializing with my friends and living up every moment of it. Before the curfew was in effect, I would "lime" with my friends until the next morning. Even after the curfew was in effect, we would have "curfew sleepovers" and just have a good time talking a bunch of nonsense, without a care in the world. Basically because of this identity, if I died today, I would be happy because I would know that I spent a great amount of quality time with the people that are closest to me without any regrets.
Gabriella the artist.
This is probably the most prominent identity that I have. It is always present at any given time of the day. The outlook on life that this identity proposes is "we're all just looking for some colour in this life of grey". That means, we're all just looking for some way to shine through uniquely in this world where people are trying to look like others. I experiment on a daily basis with this philosophy. I have done so many things because of this identity, from painting my nails in a certain design to wearing sneakers with dresses. However, I think I express this side of myself mainly through my hair. I have cut it in many various styles, straightened it, let it frizz out, put in highlights, dyed my hair red, bleached my hair blond; some days I would braid one side of my hair and leave the other out - these are all the different ways in which I express myself and I don't care if no one else likes it because all that matters is that I like it.
At the end of the day,
all these identities come together
to make up the person
that I am today,
and I'm okay with that.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Assignment #3: Newspaper Article
For this assignment, I read an article in the Newsday, dated Thursday 22nd September 2011, located on page 5. The title of the article is:
Woman attacked during curfew - Beaten to death
This article was about a domestic dispute between a mother of five and a male friend during curfew hours. It was stated that after this dispute, the male friend got so enraged that he took up a piece of wood and beat the woman to death. After doing this,he surrendered himself to the Chaguanas police station.
An autopsy revealed that the woman died from blunt force trauma to the head.
When the daughter was interviewed, she stated that even though she is in support of the state of emergency to decrease crime, it appears that it is now fueling a different sector of crime - domestic violence related crimes. This woman's death is the 5th domestic violence related death since thestate of emergency started a month ago.
The daughter also suggested that her mother probably died as a result of her schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder which blurs the line between the real world and the imaginary world making it hard for the person to think logically. Because of this, she probably didn't know how to defend herself properly when she was being attacked.
This is a very sad article and it would suggest that our country is in a mess. It was also stated that this was the 277th murder since the year started. Keeping in mind that only 266 days in the year have passed, at least one person has died everyday this year. What is our country coming to? We are in deep trouble and if something is not done to properly educate the population and instill the correct morals and values, who knows the chaos that could take place in a few years from now?
This also raised a red flag in my mind when it came to the topic of communication. Just the fact that the male companion had to resort to beating and eventually killing the woman because of an argument that they had, would mean that there was ineffective communication. Because of hispoor communication skills, the male companion saw that it was necessary to put his mental thoughts into a physical beating.
As a communicator, this influences me to sit down and LISTEN and try to UNDERSTAND my colleague's point of view and what they are trying to say when I am having conversations with them. By all means necessary, I would try to admit when I am wrong and not get enraged. I too, have an anger problem but I would never want it to get as far askilling another living, breathing human being.
Besides, we don't need anymore murders in this country.
Woman attacked during curfew - Beaten to death
This article was about a domestic dispute between a mother of five and a male friend during curfew hours. It was stated that after this dispute, the male friend got so enraged that he took up a piece of wood and beat the woman to death. After doing this,
An autopsy revealed that the woman died from blunt force trauma to the head.
When the daughter was interviewed, she stated that even though she is in support of the state of emergency to decrease crime, it appears that it is now fueling a different sector of crime - domestic violence related crimes. This woman's death is the 5th domestic violence related death since the
The daughter also suggested that her mother probably died as a result of her schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder which blurs the line between the real world and the imaginary world making it hard for the person to think logically. Because of this, she probably didn't know how to defend herself properly when she was being attacked.
This is a very sad article and it would suggest that our country is in a mess. It was also stated that this was the 277th murder since the year started. Keeping in mind that only 266 days in the year have passed, at least one person has died everyday this year. What is our country coming to? We are in deep trouble and if something is not done to properly educate the population and instill the correct morals and values, who knows the chaos that could take place in a few years from now?
This also raised a red flag in my mind when it came to the topic of communication. Just the fact that the male companion had to resort to beating and eventually killing the woman because of an argument that they had, would mean that there was ineffective communication. Because of his
As a communicator, this influences me to sit down and LISTEN and try to UNDERSTAND my colleague's point of view and what they are trying to say when I am having conversations with them. By all means necessary, I would try to admit when I am wrong and not get enraged. I too, have an anger problem but I would never want it to get as far as
Besides, we don't need anymore murders in this country.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Assignment #2: Reaction to 9/11
Ten years ago, on September 11th, 2001, I remember that I was in my Std. 3 class when all hell broke loose. A teacher fell to the floor and screamed that her husband had died in a terrorist attack in New York.
For the rest of the day, there were no classes and everyone was praying for the rest of the day. At only age 7, I didn't quite comprehend what was going on and I didn't see the importance. I even remember making a horrid joke pondering about the significance of her loss when she could just get remarried. However, 10 years later, I realize how much this impacted on society. Many persons lost mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and other loved ones, even persons in Trinidad.
I am a member of the Tumblr society, and on the 10th anniversary of the attack, many persons blogged images of the day. Seeing those images made me wonder how those affected persons could ever recover from that experience. I also wondered how humans could be so inhumane to their fellow man. It occurred to me that persons usually start wars because of misunderstandings and misconceptions in the communication process, but that was as far as I got in my thoughts.
For the rest of the day, there were no classes and everyone was praying for the rest of the day. At only age 7, I didn't quite comprehend what was going on and I didn't see the importance. I even remember making a horrid joke pondering about the significance of her loss when she could just get remarried. However, 10 years later, I realize how much this impacted on society. Many persons lost mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and other loved ones, even persons in Trinidad.
I am a member of the Tumblr society, and on the 10th anniversary of the attack, many persons blogged images of the day. Seeing those images made me wonder how those affected persons could ever recover from that experience. I also wondered how humans could be so inhumane to their fellow man. It occurred to me that persons usually start wars because of misunderstandings and misconceptions in the communication process, but that was as far as I got in my thoughts.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Assignment #1 for my Comm Skills Class
My name is Gabriella ;
If sleeping was in the Olympics, I would take the gold medal ;
On a scale of 1 - 10 of my current communication skills, I would say that I'm a 5.
.. This is because I'm quite shy & Ihate people. The reason that I hate people is because within the first 5 seconds of meeting a person, most people, especially in this country (Trinidad), form a prejudice for no reason against that person and I really hate that.
It's like they're judging you when they don't even know your first name.
My mom says that my problem is that I look intimidating and that I usually mumble my words. Its almost as though I put up this big wall to keep people from talking to me, just because I know for a fact that the majority of them are already wondering why I may seem so antisocial and awkward. My statement is not even an assumption; I have already had encounters where persons randomly come up to me and ask me why I'm antisocial and prefer to be alone by myself in a corner.
My solution to all this nonsense? Simple - Get out of this country ASAP.
.. I'm serious though. I have been to other places outside of Trinidad, including Japan. It's funny though; even though I had to communicate with my hands to the Japanese, they were much friendlier than Trinidadians.
However, if that plan fails, I can just plaster myfake smile and try to talk to others without trying to seem pretentious, ostentatious or creepy as I usually try to do.
If sleeping was in the Olympics, I would take the gold medal ;
On a scale of 1 - 10 of my current communication skills, I would say that I'm a 5.
.. This is because I'm quite shy & I
It's like they're judging you when they don't even know your first name.
My mom says that my problem is that I look intimidating and that I usually mumble my words. Its almost as though I put up this big wall to keep people from talking to me, just because I know for a fact that the majority of them are already wondering why I may seem so antisocial and awkward. My statement is not even an assumption; I have already had encounters where persons randomly come up to me and ask me why I'm antisocial and prefer to be alone by myself in a corner.
My solution to all this nonsense? Simple - Get out of this country ASAP.
.. I'm serious though. I have been to other places outside of Trinidad, including Japan. It's funny though; even though I had to communicate with my hands to the Japanese, they were much friendlier than Trinidadians.
However, if that plan fails, I can just plaster my
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