Blogomatic for the People is devoted to providing unique insights and information on many different topics of interest. My goal is to edify the readership with information on history, philosophy, theology, art, music, literature, the culinary arts, human interest stories, personal opinions, and any and all topics I think may be of interest to the great conversation of the liberal arts.
New words are not formed, fashioned, or constructed. They are coined. It seems to me, this occurs in one of two ways: (1) organically, rising out of the collective primordial soup of language with no clear author or progenitor, and (2) deliberately, at some fixed point in time with authorial intent. Here is my deliberate attempt to coin a new word for the entire Internet speaking world:
blogodaria (bla go dar i a) [from Bulg blagodaria, idiomatic for "thank you" + English blog ] thanks for the blog
In Bulgarian, blagodaria means "thank you." Given the homophonous nature of the first four letters with the word "blog," the new term suggests itself. Mechanically, the essence of the coinage is simply achieved by changing the "a" to an "o" in the first syllable.
The next time you favorably comment on a blog, don't forget to write: blogodaria or "thanks for the blog."
I can't remember which class I was in when I first heard the phrase "code switching." I am not even sure if I was in high school or in college. But the teacher's definition of this phrase has stayed with me for years --not verbatim, but the gist of it: code switching is the phenomenon that occurs when people change their manner of speaking depending on who they're conversing with at the time. Likewise, the social setting a person finds themselves in greatly influences the way they speak. For example, when meeting someone at a friend's bar-be-que, a person might say: "How's it goin'." A day or two later that same person may be seen at the cotillion greeting someone new with a "How do you do?"
That's a simple example which sounds quite reasonable. We all know that different social circumstances demand different modes of expression. But, what do we make of the more sustained and complex instances of the same phenomenon. I once new a man who gave business proposals to Fortune 500 companies. He would "wow" the executives with his eloquence, perspicacity, and polished delivery. Then, he would be seen at the local pub, hitting his head with a checkered gym shoe, quoting Jeff Spicoli: "Dude that's my skull." His original sentences would also be in the same "California surfer dude" idiom.
This "code switching" phenomenon must be investigated further. It is a weird cultural force that, I dare say, everyone seems to engage in to some degree. Its implications are huge and a little frightening. Is code switching normal or as one friend of mine called it "a little bit like Multi-Personality Disorder?" I have failed to find any research on the topic. An entry for "code switching," can be found on Wikipedia, but in a different context. It used the phrase "code switching" to describe the habit of bilingual speakers who toggle between two languages while speaking to other bilingual speakers. An example of this would be the speaking of Spanglish by Americans of Hispanic descent or Greenglish by my own ethic group. An explanation of code switching, used in the context of my teacher's definition, could not be found.
An Appeal
If anyone is aware of any books or journal articles on the topic of "code switching" (as defined by my teacher), please send me their titles in the "comments" section of this blog. If nothing can be found, I invite anyone so inclined to consider writing a book on "code switching." Irony would demand that you change your writing style with each successive chapter.
Afterword: "Code Switching" in Popular Culture
A scene in Martin Scorsese's movie, The Departed, describes "code switching." Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) and Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) recruit Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to be their undercover agent. Dignam accuses Costigan of being a "code switcher":
DIGNAM You were kind of a double kid, I bet, right? One kid with your old man. One kid with your mother. Upper middle class in the week, and then dropping your 'r's and hanging in the Southie projects with daddy on the weekends. I got that right?... You had different accents? You did, didn't you. You were different people... I need you, pal. You've already pretended to be a Costigan from South Boston.
Of course, the whole movie has to do with "code switching." The conflict lies in the tension between the protagonists who are pretending to be someone they are not.
Most of the authors I admire are quite dead. However, one man writing today has produced a brilliant string of books. He is on a roll. His realm: non-fiction. His approach: interdisciplinary. His name is Jared Diamond.
Spotlight:Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.
This book rattled the walls of the academic community when it arrived on the scene in 1997 and by 1998 it was the proud winner of a Pulitzer Prize. Never the less, its appeal to readers world wide transcended the scholarly sanctum of the university. Like all Great Books it was written for everyone, not just the specialist. The fact that Guns, Germs, and Steel traverses the realms of history, sociology, linguistics, anthropology, archeology, biology, genetics, and pollinology (just to name a few) while maintaining a thoroughly captivating readability, gives testimony to Diamond's gifts as a writer.
Guns, Germs, and Steel made it possible for me to articulate questions about history and human societies that I was unable to give voice to before. It gave clarity to thought processes that were intuitive, nebulous, amorphous, and down right confusing. Then, it provided convincing answers to those questions.
In the opening chapters, Diamond retells a famous story most of us can recall from social studies class: Pizarro's conquest of the Incan Empire with just a few hundred men. Then, he poses a fascinating question. What were the historical forces at work that allowed the Spaniards to cross the ocean and conquer a great empire, instead of the Incan king, Atahualpa, sailing to Spain and conquering the Spanish? The subsequent chapters endeavor to answer the question and explain why some societies possessed certain advantages while others did not. The explanations are so fascinating and insightful that I had the feeling of emerging from Plato's cave. My shackles were broken and my historical blinders removed!
Post Script
After reading Diamond's book, I was never able to sing the chorus to Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" the same way again. Sing along while you watch the video below. But, every time you get to the refrain, substitute the lyric: "Send guns, germs, and steel."
It was too much for the McCain campaign. Their national co-chair, Phil Gramm made one too many mistakes. Keith Olbermann revealed Gramm was working as a paid lobbyist while advising John McCain on economic policy. His mission: to lobby congress regarding the mortgage crisis on behalf of the Swiss banking giant, UBS. I wish his efforts were on behalf of the citizens losing their homes.
Damaging as this revelation was, McCain kept him on. Then Gramm spoke. In a great show of compassion for the American people while addressing their economic woes, he said: "We have sort of become a nation of whiners." In other words, all those who do not share the same privileges and entitlements with which Phil Gramm was born, have no right to complain. Phil would rather his countrymen endure their hardship quietly.
Thanks Phil!
Wanting to appeal to the middle class voter, McCain realized that he could not advocate his economic policies while rubbing our noses in them. So, he cut Gramm loose; or rather, Gramm resigned.
Ah Phil! His recent words and deeds bring back such fond and vivid memories! Like the time he betrayed his fellow Democrats in 1981 by revealing their budget strategy to the Republicans. Always trying to top his latest achievements, he then went on to help Reagan pass his own budget. The war on the middle class went full steam ahead. Not wanting to miss out on the action, Gramm quickly joined the GOP and rode into combat on an elephant instead of a donkey.
Welcome to my blog! It seems appropriate to start off with a Mission Statement a la Jerry Mcguire or perhaps with a Declaration of Principles like Charles Foster Kane:
I.
In this day and age, American society has become cut off from itself. We wake up in boxes we call our home, get ready, climb into another box and drive, only to enter yet another box (even worse a cubicle, a box within a box) for labor intensive activity that pays the bills. As we drive home several hours later, perhaps we stop at one last box to pick up a gallon of milk. Our sense of national life has diminished; the day of the boulvardiers is no more. We have become segregated from each other and, therefore, ourselves. But we need that sense of civic and national life we call community, if for no other reason, to discuss the important issues we face as a nation, a people. If our streets have become built up with monolithic structures on a plain of suburban sprawl; If mausoleums of mercantilism seem to be artificial and devoid of life; If even a cup of coffee has become corporate and "to go;" then don't we need a forum in which to converse again? It is in this spirit I present my blog. There is so much beauty in the world and too many problems that threaten its collapse. They need to be discussed. Speaking with our friends, in person, can never be replaced. Blogging on the internet is just another small way of moving the conversation along.
II.
This blog promises to express my thoughts and opinions and invite the responses of its readers(whether they agree or disagree with me). Hopefully, it will be interesting and fun to read, as well.
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