Lookie Here

Pictures are becoming increasingly important in our visually-orientated culture, specifically in social media, shaping a sense of place. Take Hawaii for example, you can visually see the beach and the sun, but the picture itself cannot convey the sensory effects. Tuan (1991, p. 694) states that “warm conversation with friends can make the place itself seem warm” which is why pictures rely on linguistic communication to visually orientate place. Words supply a “temporal dimension to landscape that the visual image alone cannot provide” (Tuan, 1991, p. 691). Without a combination of pictures and words, it is impossible to feel the sensation of Hawaiian sand between your toes, which makes a picture a form of narrative.

Language, icons and pictures are all components of narratives on Facebook. Advertisements, memes, birthday celebrations, and the latest news are posted for user consumption, where readers (friends) can create narratives through the way in which they act. Guynn (2016) states that online icons are the “new shorthand to express thoughts and feelings”. The ability to share these personal opinions contributes to shaping a sense of place, thus allowing Facebook posts to become narratives with a purpose (Kuttainen, 2016). This brands the narrative components as key features in the Facebook context.

Social media has created this intense desire and opportunity to share what we learn in life and about ourselves. Humans are visual creatures, meaning most of us process information based on what we see. Narratives on Facebook are formatted through photos and captions so that information is digestible for users to consume, react, and share. This enables users to easily create a sense of place through social interaction. The aspect of human communication adds to the warmth and aliveness of a place (Tuan, 1991, p. 690), contributing to narratives on Facebook being a reflection of our identity through the story which we choose to tell.

References

Guynn, J. (2016). Meet Facebook's new emoting emojis: love, haha, wow, sad and angry. Retrieved from USA TODAY: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/02/24/facebook-reactions-launch/80803468/

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002. Week 5. [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_76323_1&content_id=_2422311_1

Tuan, Y.-F. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 690-694. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563430

The G8 Net Slang

Image: Internet Slang

“If you want to talk about something new, you have to make up a new kind of language” (Haruki Murakami, nd). We often associate language as just a method of human communication, but after this week I have come to a greater understanding that language is so much more. Reflecting on Tuan’s readings I have come to the realisation that language defines the aspects of a place or object (Tuan,1991). Continuing the application, of the weekly lectures and readings to my chosen social network, Reddit, I can see a “The worlds in which different societies live are... “(Sapir 1958, p.69) under the influence of the language used.

Reddit hosts many hubs that attract people with similar interests together called Subreddits. Within each Subreddit different languages are used. People who are in the News Subreddit have their own language being very informative, and a formal style. While in the Gaming Subreddit the use of language shifts to a more casual tone and uses heavily abbreviated words. Similarly, to how Tuan applied the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis that early European settlers didn’t have the names to understand the geography of Australia, while the native indigenous had the names to understand the geography of Australia. Redditors who are a part of the News Subreddit would feel lost and out of their place when going to the Gaming Subreddit as they have given names to concepts or ideas that people in the News Subreddit would not have an understanding of.

This week’s readings have challenge the way I have viewed the language used on Reddit and the Subreddits that I frequent, it has sparked an interest to continue exploring space and place within Reddit.

Refference

Kuttainen, V. (2016).BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 5: Stories of Place: Story Lines  [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au 

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative- Descriptive Approach. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 

Parrack, D. (2013, June 20). Learn the lingo: Common gaming terms you should know. Retrieved August 26, 2016, from Make use of, http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/learn-the-lingo-common-gaming-terms-you-should-know/

Similar Songlines

Image 1: Social Network (Techgenie 2016)

For the virtual to exist as reality it must first exist as the concept of the mind, and then talked about to be perceived by others (Chatwin, B. 1987. pp.14). When Facebook was created from the “storytelling” of a thought, converting it into an idea that became reality (Kuttainen, V. 2016. Powerpoint slide 22), similarly to the Aboriginal Australians conceptualization of the Earth being created, its vast social networks can be thought of as a ‘Songline’ that many walk down creating communication with the other side of the globe (Chatwin, B. 1987. pp.13). Many Facebooker’s go on journeys or ‘Walkabouts’ everyday traveling down these ‘Songlines’ meeting new like minded people who are also on the same journey as them (Chatwin, B. 1987. pp.13), that are willing help each other along the way. 

“Anywhere in the bush you can point to some feature of the landscape and ask the Aboriginal with you, “what’s the story there?” or “Who's that?” The chances are he will answer [...] depending on which Ancestor walked that way” (Chatwin, B. 1987. pp.13). On Facebook it can be seen as the same, any page that you access on Facebook there is always someone that will help others to continue down their ‘Songlines’. 


One difference between the two concepts is that, unlike the Aboriginal religious aim, to keep the land the way it is and how it should be (Chatwin, B. 1987. pp.14); Facebook’s network is constantly changing and adding new information not trying to keep itself as it was when it was first created. Another difference would be that, of the Aboriginal Australians ‘Songlines” that only exist within Australia itself on a local scale, whereas Facebook’s ‘Songlines’ are that of a global scale and can be easily undertaken by anyone around the world. 







Reference list:

Image 1: Techgenie. 2016. Social Network. Retrived from http://news.techgenie.com/latest/facebook-partners-with-security-vendors/ 

Chatwin, B. BA1002: Our space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place. The Songlines [weekly readings]. London, England: Robert Hartnoll

Kuttainen, V. 2016. BA1002: Our space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place. Lecture week 5. Powerpoint slides. Retrived from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Do You Get What I'm Saying?

 

Figure 1. Mandarin (The Pun House).

  As everyone discovered in the lecture by Kuttanien (2016), the Sapir-Whorf hypotheses explains: that a society's language alters their view on reality and that a society's world is distinct from others. The same can be said for different work networks; they all have their own jargon that is only understood by those in the know.  Chef networks are no different. The language of chefs has two major uses: it can be used to describe a singular object in extreme detail, right down to the smallest, insignificant, minuscule description or it can be blunt.

     Take for example the first few pages of this chef terminology, and you will notice how one word has a built in meaning which is crucial knowledge for people working in a professional kitchen. Many of these terms are originally French, but throughout the years have been transformed into part of the chef's vocabulary.  These and other terms are mixed with the names of food for writing menu descriptions and recipes. The writing of menu descriptions, uses language and naming to create an image of a dish in the mind of the customer. A good description should elicit "sensory effects that cannot be directly shown such as... fragrances" (Tuan, 1991, p. 691).

     A chef's vocabulary also consists of kitchen slang and phrases of description (please note that this link contains some coarse language) that are alien to people that do know what they actually mean. As the service period of a kitchen is a very fast paced environment, there is no time for long drawn talk; this is how the blunt part of the language is introduced. Kitchen slang is a way of talking that is extremely direct and demands short responses so the team can communicate in speed and precision. Knowing this terms (they change depending on the kitchen), instill a sense of self-identity within the work community. Without them, you can feel out of place very quickly.

Reference List

Chef"s Resources. (2016). Language of the professional kitchen. Retrieved from: http://www.chefs-resources.com/kitchen-management-tools/kitchen-management-alley/language-of-the-professional-kitchen/

Kuttanien, V. (2016). BA1002 Stories of place: Story Lines, week 5 notes [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2422320_1&course_id=_76323_1&framesetWrapped=true

The Pun House. (n.d.) Mandarin [Image]. Retrieved from: http://www.imgrum.net/user/instapunny/1557108036/1063329082842772923_1557108036

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the naming of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696.

Winnipeg Technical College. (2008). Culinary terminology: Chefs. Retrieved from: http://www.jcfswinnipeg.org/documents/chefs-terminology.pdf

Face-BOOK: The Importance of Language

Image: Dado Ruvic (www.cnbc.com)

When considering words that describe our virtual space, our minds often flick to the words cyberspace, the World Wide Web, or the net. These words both reflect and shape our ways of imagining virtual space on the Internet because of how well they describe the space it has grown to become. Cyberspace is exactly what it sounds like, as is The World Wide Web, a name that speaks volumes on the capacity and enormity of the Internet today, while the term ‘the net’ is simply short for ‘the network’ of vast information linked together making up the internet.

Language is most important on the Internet, especially in my chosen network of Facebook, as without the use of words and language it would not exist, maybe as some other form of social media, but it just simply would not be Facebook. 

“A principle reason for the neglect of speech is that geographers and landscape historians (and I believe, people in general) tend to see place almost exclusively as the result of the material transformation of nature.” (Tuan,1991) This statement is correct as I personally neglected language and speech in the same way until I began to further explore the world of Networks and what they are made up of.

The language used on Facebook shapes the way we perceive the content we are currently viewing, for example “ warm conversation with friends can make the place itself seem warm; by contrast, malicious speech has the power to destroy a place’s reputation and thereby its visibility.” (Tuan,1991) The same goes for the network of Facebook.

Facebook itself has no set language or preferred way of speech; it is its users that determine the mood, the place and the use of space. Its versatility means it can both express self or community identity, all based on the language of the user.

References:

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563430

9 projects Facebook has been developing this year (2015). CNBC - Technology. Retrieved from: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/05/6-projects-facebook-has-been-developing-this-year.html