Indian Epics Blog

 Does Grammar Matter? The video also brought up an important point about how speech evolves language, and how positions of power dictated how language is spoken. I never knew that the standardized way of writing was pushed by those in power, but it does make sense. It's interesting to see how descriptivism and prescriptivism analyze language in unique, important ways. I've actually never considered the role of grammar in a global context, but my language classes have pointed out how irregular sentence structures can be. For example, I'm currently learning Latin, and verbs and subjects can be placed wherever in a sentence, with adjectives following the noun. This is in stark contrast with English. As a result, I can see why these rules can make English difficult to learn. The video also teaches of the divide within linguistics between the two fields. Prescriptivism considers the language to follow a consistent set of rules and standards, while descriptivism see variation an...

 What is Myth? The video noted that there are a variety of different versions of a specific myth, and I've noticed that throughout our class. Although this can make studying myths difficult, it's invaluable in showing how storytelling evolves over time. One narrative can take so many different forms and shift the focus, which makes the story a lot more fluid. Rather than a rigid, defined structure, this malleable nature of mythology makes it fascinating. It's crazy to think that we don't necessarily know the true authors of these stories, but we've been telling them for so long. Even the authors we know could be re-telling stories that were long forgotten. It shows just how impactful storytelling can be, as it can span across time and the conveyed ideas can be constantly re-imagined.  I had never considered how broad and vague the term "myth" can be until this video, and it's a bit surprising. We definitely use the word as a synonym to mean untrue, bu...

 The danger of a single story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk provided greater insight on the meaningfulness of storytelling. Her speech highlights how one story can dominate our understanding of people and places, although both are very complex and nuanced. It's crazy how limited the conventional American perspective is when discussing Africa. The diversity across African countries is often completely ignored in American discourse, and the poverty and violence are the main focuses of stories told about Africa. It's also interesting how the speaker focused on a classist lens too by recognizing the single story she was told of Fide. Oftentimes, poverty can become the dominating source of identity for lower-class individuals, and it ignores the redeemable and important qualities of these people. Chimamanda was not afraid to critique her own perspective, as she was in the position of power by basing her understanding of Fide's family on one story of their poverty. I a...