Blog Post #5

Blog Post #5

Multilingual vs. Monolingual

   As a multilingual myself I do understand most terms such as code-switching or being able to refer to the same object or word in different ways with metaphors, allusions and the synonyms. I found it very interesting how it had to be around 50,000 words in order to be able to speak fluently in a language, which I did not know. As a multilingual I believe that the way this is written makes learning language seem more difficult or near impossible, which in all honesty not difficult at all.

   What I found very interesting is that just by working your brain at a higher level it can prevent or delay mental diseases such as age-related dementia by 4.1 years and "full-blown" Alzheimer's by 5.1 years which is something no one ever thought of when learning a language. Even though learning another language doesn't prevent the mental health issues completely it does, as stated in the article, help cope with it better. Also learned that being a multilingual young-adult I am more privileged due to my exposure of words in many different languages I'm learning which is also relating to my wealth status. As a language lover I do not believe in the phrase "I know this language." No you do not know it completely, you may not know how to write or understand the division of words or you simply do not know all the existing words in the language which would be impossible due to the fact that 500+ words are officially added to the dictionary yearly.

   One of the more interesting facts I found in the article were the speed the multilinguals and the monolinguals thought and reacted especially at the example of entering the color of the specific ink in a computer. It was also really interesting to learn Bialystok's argument over how she expected that the greatest differences would be in the frontal lobes, where higher functions such as decision making and executive control take place unlike the use of thickening of the cortex in two brain regions, most importantly the left inferior parietal helping code for languages and gestures. 

   In my opinion monolingual people are not less smart than multilinguals but unlike monolinguals the multilingual people have opened their brains to a higher function of the language control being able to multifunction all the languages simultaneously together to create a faster, better working network of knowledge for the person, creating the illusion of the multilinguals being "smarter".

Sincerely,

Aurora Sera Unal

   

Blog Post #3

Blog Post #3

A Good Name

    As you might already know my name is Aurora. But my full name is Aurora Sera Unal. I love my name. Even though I am Turkish, my name does not sound Turkish at all. Because it's not. Starting with my first name, Aurora means; lights in both the southern and northern poles caused by the breaking of light and creating a beautiful "Aura" like lights to dance in the sky. How I got this name was, when my mother was pregnant she would look at daily astronomical photos from a specific newsfeed. Decided to name me after Aurora Corealis. Even though my name does not consist the Corealis part it is the origin of my name. But due to cultural difference in my name when I was first born the Turkish council didn't allow me to have this name forcing my parents to give me a Turkish name. My father went through a lot of effort to get my name to be officially in papers as Aurora.

    My second name being Sera, the meaning that can be found online is earth, or the hot tent used to grow plant in colder regions. But the meaning I was given this name is simplicity and beauty like a mansion due to the closeness in words "Sera" and "saray". I have used the name Sera most of the years of my life because most people have difficulties pronouncing Aurora. But I have decided that I don't care how people pronounce it because I prefer my first name due to just preference.

   My last name has a complicated story. It wasn't the original name of my father of his father, it was originally "Karabayram" which translates as dark celebration. My older fathers believed that this brought bad luck to our family for many years in every important celebration that we had so my grandfather decided to change our last name to "Ünal" which is pronounced as "uhr-nal" but since no one except Germans or Turkish people understand it or can pronounce it as a family we do not use the dots and just pronounce it as "you-nal". Since my last name is also changed into something that isn't Turkish it is easy to be mistaken as an American, German or Russian since I can speak all of those language to confuse people.

Sincerely,
Aurora Sera Unal

Blog Post #2

Blog Post #2 

Cultural Markers

    Most people believe that German is one of the rudest languages both to the ear and when spoken directly to another person. Even though German has endless words that just keep getting longer and more specific, it sounds harsh as if all the long words are there to swear at another person.

   I completely disagree with this, even though my German isn't flawless, I have experienced both ends as someone who doesn't understand German and someone who slowly started speaking it. I am aware that the language itself when spoken can come harsh or rather rude to the ear, but the only reason that occurs is because the language is so precise that it becomes either scary or impossible to speak and write. But once one has been exposed to  high amounts of German the dialect itself becomes rather fluent, soft and beautiful because the person can really understand how the language is structured. 

   As I was learning German one of the biggest difficulties I had was the pronunciation. Yes it is a very hard language to learn, it's hard because it is extremely precise and can have many grammatically impossible expectations of the non-native speaker, which can be overwhelming. In this language there will be no time were question marks are left in the other persons head because each word specifically calls to one and only one meaning. 

   Another misconception people have about Germans is that they are rude. This links back to the use of language sometimes being too straight forward can cause discomfort or cause the other person to get offended over a comment that was not ill-willed but too specific and honest for their liking.

   If these two misconceptions were to be overcome by those who do not understand German the communication between different cultures won't be any difficulty. Due to the less offence taken by one side leading up to causing a conflict. Not only that but Germans were culturally raised to use language very properly and correctly therefore if people know about these aspects, even if they speak in another language they will not get offended by their straight forwardness and honesty.

Sincerely,
Aurora Sera Unal

Blog entry #1

Blog Entry #1

05.09.2016

Blog, I honestly do not know how to start this so I will just go right ahead. My name is Aurora Sera Unal. I am 17 years old and I obviously go to Raha International School. I have lived in many countries such as Izmir Turkey, Girne Cyprus, Eskisehir Turkey, Abu Dhabi UAE and most recently was Berlin Germany. I came from a boarding school in Berlin from my last two years, now I am back at my old school to finish off my last two years of IBDP. Honestly when it comes to interests I would need to write a whole essay just to count the things I throw myself into. Either for entertainment or purely out of someone else’s entertainment, which sucks sometimes. But my biggest interests are sailing with my cousin, baking, volleyball, badminton, singing and playing instruments and a newly discovered interest; learning how to use musical.ly.

Like almost all of you I have priorities on what I care about. My main priority is my family. Then my family’s well being and happiness. My family in truth is the only people I care about the most. For goal setting, my dream for this year would be to be extremely focused and organised and successfully finish my two year IB Diploma curriculum. After I get my Diploma would be to move in with my cousin and do professional sailing with Piratt, Lazer, Lazer Prime, 420 and 460 sailing boats alongside our University life. 

A way this class would help me achieve my dreams would be first of all I pass the two year program with great grades. The second would be that it will play a dominant part in my career path. Due to the reason language is the path I want to take alongside the entertainment business, I will need an in depth understanding of how to use, influence, understand and analyse any form of literary or non-literary texts. The reason why people study language in the first place is, to be able to understand but also manipulate the language or whoever uses the language in their own benefit. It is important to know and understand the uses and possible ways of use whenever studying a language. As quite the “social butterfly” I tend to be, language at one point in my life did build an enormous barrier. Lucky to be me I know how to overcome such challenges with patience, responsibility and over time, it will just be a small obstacle you will look back to.

Ps. My family would probably say that this describes me the most due to the fact that I will get extremely angry over something small immediately. Causing me to sometimes be dumbfounded by my sudden anger attacks. :D

Sincerely, it was very nice of you to have read my first blog,

Aurora Sera Unal