language
As we are fed more content, we are pushed deeper into algorithmic niches. In return, we are encouraged to engage with more extreme and polarizing identifiers because it is more labelable, more indexable by the machine — the creation of the “Island". On this island, the slang, in-jokes, and archetypes which emerge as a community develops in isolatio... See more
Babelification is the process by which, after splintering, insular digital groups develop unique languages which makes reintegration in shared digital spaces difficult, if not impossible. When someone believes their insular language in online echo chambers is commonplace reality, clashes ensue when that same individual is placed in a context where ... See more
Babelification
Language, as a social instrument, is more than its content. It’s also a signifier defining the speaker. Therefore language, whether expressed as slang, dialects, patois, or accents, is a marker of cultural identity. The language you use signals to other people: am I like you? Do we come from the same place? Do we share perspectives? I... See more
Language, as a social instrument, is more than its content. It’s also a signifier defining the speaker. Therefore language, whether expressed as slang, dialects, patois, or accents, is a marker of cultural identity. The language you use signals to other people: am I like you? Do we come from the same place? Do we share perspectives? I... See more
Protagoras observed a strange paradox about language. Despite the perpetual flux and change of the physical world, language lends the mistaken impression that the world is not in flux, that it is stable. As the Presocratic philosopher Empedocles had observed only a few years before, ‘there is no birth for any mortal thing, nor any cursed end in dea
... See moreRobin Reames • Ancient Greek Antilogic Is the Craft of Suspending Judgment
Untranslatable
untranslatable.co
an online dictionary of idioms and expressions contributed by native speakers all over the world
a beautiful passage from sublime’s innaugural zine on why language matters, in the context of building a different web.
Amhrán na Leabhar (Song of the Books) - LYRICS + Translation
youtu.be“historically, the English had banned the Irish (Gaelic) language - books in Gaelic were confiscated. Now, Gaelic history and culture is largely oral, so this effectively meant banning everything about the culture. In an attempt to try preserve the language, they loaded this ship with a ton of Gaelic books and old manuscripts filled with all kinds of knowledge. Sort of as their perceived last hope at preserving the language, which is over 2000 years old, but the ship hit a rock not far from shore and sank in full view of the people. So this song is a lament of the loss of all that knowledge and, ultimately, the culture” - Bri