Scientific Literacy: Its Importance for Daily Decision Making

 

Photo credit: Karolina Grawbowski, Unsplash

In this podcast episode, Dr. Lilian Hill discusses Scientific Literacy: Its Importance for Daily Decision Making. This topic is important because scientific literacy is needed in daily life to make appropriate decisions. It is also foundational to other forms of literacy such as environmental literacy, climate literacy, and health literacy. Scientific literacy is a form of functional literacy, meaning having practical skills to apply the ability to read, write, and perform math to navigate life, address real-world problems, and contribute to the community. In this sense, it is related to other forms of literacy we have discussed including information literacy, digital literacy, and social media literacy. 

Listen to the Podcast

Information Literacy Episode 22 Transcripts

 

References

Ashbrook, P, (2020). Becoming scientifically literate. National Science Teacher’s Association. Retrieved from https://www.nsta.org/science-and-children/science-and-children-aprilmay-2020/becoming-scientifically-literate

 Ehrenberg, R. (2012, July 9 ). Arsenic-based life gets even more toxic: Scientists pound two more nails into the coffin of an incredible scientific claim. Science News (Blog). Retrieved from https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/deleted-scenes/blog-arsenic-based-life-gets-even-more-toxic

 Lovell-Badge, R. (2013). Nine out of ten statistics are taken out of context. Speaking of Research, Retrieved from https://speakingofresearch.com/2013/01/23/nine-out-of-ten-statistics-are-taken-out-of-context/

 Tokalić, R., Evans, N., & Paloš, A. P. (2020, October 28). Inaccurate representation of results in the media: What is this about? Embassy of Good Science. Retrieved from https://embassy.science/wiki/Theme:1f1c45e8-e91d-4eb4-b252-23e319d34f78

Language and Culture

 

Image credit: Lilian Hill

By Lilian H. Hill

 

Some words are unique to regional culture, foods, and traditions. Language use can also be understood as an indicator of race, ethnicity, social class, and immigration status. While this can contribute to social disparities, the continuous integration of immigrants and their families contributes to a vibrant, ever-changing culture, and a varied lexicon or vocabulary (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2015). The process of immigration takes time and can be considered a two-way street in that it offers benefits to immigrants and the people of the country.

 

People who come to the U.S. from other countries will have an accent as will people who move from one region of the U.S. to another. Keep in mind that it is easy to believe that the way you speak is “normal” and that only other people have accents. The truth is that we all will have an accent when away from home, and some people who learned a second, third, or fourth language after the age of 12-14 will always have an accent in the newly acquired language. If they remain away from their place of origin for a significant length of time, they may develop an accent in their first language, too, because our speech is influenced by where we live.

 

It can be very frustrating to be asked where you are from, when returning to where you feel is home! This can even happen within a single language. I have lived in the southeastern U.S. for more than 39 years, and when I return home to English-speaking parts of Canada I am often asked where I am from. However, I retain some Canadian speech habits so in the South I am also asked where I am from. People can overcome accents with intensive speech therapy and coaching; however, this choice tends to be made by people who are very self-conscious.

 

Different cultural traditions within the country will have specific vocabulary and habits of speaking. While it is easy to make negative judgments when you hear someone speaking differently than you; in fact, different speaking traditions have their own vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation. In other words, they are recognized as languages. Your employer will want you to speak, read, and write Standard English, even if you may speak very differently among your friends and family.

 

Unfortunately, because of racism and discrimination, only some people are asked to “code-switch” from one tradition of speaking at home to Standard English at college or work. Code-switching refers to altering your speech style including its volume, speed, vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar as a way of fitting in. This can be accompanied by changing appearance, clothing styles, expression, and even body language to make other people feel more comfortable, counter common stereotypes, and gain employment (McLuney et al., 2019).

 

Creating New Words

Everyone creates new words and phrases (Anderson, 2018; Boyle, 2019). Several processes are involved: 

• Loanwords: borrowing words from other languages.

• Compound words: combining words to make a new one (heart + broken = heartbroken; sand + castle - sandcastle).
  
  
• Formation: combining words but letting parts drop off (e.g., sleazy – y = sleaze; dork + adorable  = adorkable).
  
  
• Repurposing: Taking a word from one context and applying it to a different one. For example, the crane, a long-necked bird, lent its name to mean a large lifting machine.
  
  
• Conversion: changing a word’s function from one part of speech to another (having a friend [noun] but also friending [verb] someone on Facebook).
  
  
• Derivation: adding prefixes or suffixes, e.g., preteen, hyperlink.
  
  
• Eponyms, meaning a name or place becomes the common description, e.g., sandwich named for the Earl of Sandwich or Kleenex instead of facial tissue.
  
  
• Abbreviations and acronyms (e.g., ICYMI stands for “In case you missed it.”).
  
  
• Nonce words:  words taken out of the air (e.g., bling (source unknown), or “on fleek,” coined by celebrity Kayla Newman.

 

Sometimes the meaning of a word changes altogether. For example, the word “nice” was used between 1300-1600 to mean silly, foolish, or ignorant. Then it acquired the meaning of meticulous, attentive, or sharp, while since the 18^th century, it has been used to mean agreeable and pleasant (Herman, 2015).

 

It also means that you can create a word that may end up in a dictionary if enough other people start using your word.

 

1. Creating new words allows you to convey specific meaning and express your creativity. New words attract your listeners or readers’ attention and help them focus on your meaning. For your new word to become recognized, other people must adopt and use it, so that the new word spreads.
   
   
2. Some authors create new languages and when the books become extremely popular, some of that language enters common vocabulary. Think of the invented game called Quidditch from the Harry Potter books written by J. K. Rowling or the species called Orcs from Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
   
   
3. New words are created to describe new experiences. Some of these experiences are the result of technological innovation. For example, the word telephone comes from tele, meaning far away, and phon, meaning sound. In other words, telephone is a compound word made up of two root words. Television, smartphones, and email are similar examples.
   
   
4. Our impatient world is always looking for speed and efficiency, so words are often shortened. So, phone is short for telephone, personal computers are called PCs or Apples, computer applications are known as apps, and so on.
   
   
5. To meet length limitations. For example, texting and tweets restrict the number of characters that can be used. This prompted the use of single characters used in place of words (R U ready?) and more extensive use of acronyms that then entered our spoken vocabulary.

 

 

This continual process of language reinvention will result in many new words being invented within our lifetime. Some other words will not be used as often and will fade away. 

 

References

Anderson, C. (2018). Essentials of linguistics. Retrieved from https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics/chapter/6-6-creating-new-words/

Boyle, A. (2016, February 4). How new words are born. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2016/feb/04/english-neologisms-new-words 

Herman, J. (2015, December 22). 11 words with meanings that have changed drastically over time. Retrieved from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/61876/11-words-meanings-have-changed-drastically-over-time

How Language Changes Over Time

 

Image credit: Andrew De Leon, Unsplash

By Lilian H. Hill

 

All languages change. The English we speak today is very different from the English of the past. The way words are pronounced and spelled can change. The meaning of some words has changed over time. New words are added to the language on a regular basis. For example,  among new words in 2023, The Oxford English Dictionary added “porch pirate,” “deepfake,” and “antigodlin” (meaning something that is diagonal or askew) (Gutoskey, 2023).

 

Borrowing Words from Other Cultures

One way that languages change is by exposure to other languages. When people speaking different languages come in contact, they often ‘borrow’ words from each other (Anderson, 2018; Boyle, 2019). Good examples include words in English that came from other languages including croissant from French, karaoke from Japanese, avatar from Sanskrit, and loot from Hindi. Likewise, English words are used by speakers of other languages. You may have listened to a conversation in a language you don’t know and been surprised when you recognize a word or two, and then realized the people having the conversation are mixing in English words. 

 

Now that we are a global economy, more frequent word borrowing is occurring and words from many other countries are being adopted in English, including words from China, Japan, Latin American countries, and African countries. Sometimes words go back and forth between cultures. For example, the word “anime” was coined in Japan, but was originally based on the English word animation. Now we use the word anime to describe hand-drawn and computer animation originating, or designed to look like it, from Japan. When a word is adopted into English the word may transform its sound, spelling, or meaning. 

 

How Words Enter Dictionaries

Lexicographers, people who create dictionaries, pay attention to how people use words. Their job is not to decide on the meaning of words or to decide which words are “good” or “bad.” Instead, they continually learn about new words by observing the ways that people employ language. When a new word usage becomes common, it can be added to the dictionary. Likewise, briefly popular words that fall out of common use may be removed in future editions (Anderson, 2018; Boyle, 2019). 

 

Dictionaries are not an authority that exists outside of human control. Rather, they are created by human beings just like us. That means dictionaries have flaws and that they can change in response to how people use language daily. Like many other processes, online dictionaries are now in common use, and we are less likely to purchase them in printed form.

 

Regional Variations and Dialects

Even within the same language, there are variations in pronunciation and meaning of words used by people living in different times. If you studied a Shakespeare play, Beowulf, or read Chaucer (2023) in the original language during college you will be familiar with how different the language was in the past. For example, “Ful wys is he that kan himselven knowe” (from The Monk's Tale, one of 24 stories in Canterbury Tales published between 1387–1400) can be translated to “A wise person knows himself.” (Gender-neutral language was clearly not used during Chaucer’s time). You can guess some of the words in this quotation, but the spelling and even the sentence structure are unfamiliar today. 

 

 

Language also varies by location. Think of how differently English sounds in Canada, Britain, Australia, the U.S., India or Africa. There are regional differences in the ways that English is used in different locations of the U.S. such as New York City, Boston, and Atlanta. There are even variations used within single cities or regions. The accents in each city are distinctive and they are different dialects of the same language. You may be able to detect what part of a city someone comes from by the way they speak. A dialect is a regional variation of a language that has distinct pronunciations, grammar, and vocabulary. Instead of a single way to speak, write, and read English called American Standard English, linguists now recognize multiple dialects and ways of speaking (McWhorter, 2016). 

 

One reason for this variation is that people in these locations have different experiences and need words that describe them. When I moved from Canada to Florida, I was given a small humor book titled, How to Speak Southern by Steve Mitchell (1976). Some words are unique to the South, such as “fixin to,” (meaning planning to do something) or “mash the button” (meaning to push a button). Other words were explanations of pronunciations that differ from the way things are said in another region and some were words that are run together in pronunciations. For example, “jeet yet?” is a way of saying did you eat yet? There are other regional books of this nature. 

 

People speaking different dialects of the same language can usually understand each other and converse. Therefore, it is tempting to define the difference between a single language language and multiple dialects as being rooted in mutual intelligibility. Yet, there are dialects of English I’ve encountered that were very difficult to understand. Another point of clarification may revolve around the written form. We expect to see standard English used in books, journals, magazines, and government communications. In contrast, regional variations, when they do make it in print, are often found in quotation marks. Despite the difficulty of differentiating language and dialect, it is clear that there is a need for both terms so they will persist over time (McWhorter, 2016).

 

References

Anderson, C. (2018). Essentials of linguistics. Retrieved from https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics/chapter/6-6-creating-new-words/

  Boyle, A. (2016, February 4). How new words are born. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2016/feb/04/english-neologisms-new-words

Chaucer, G. (2023). The Monk’s Tale. Harvard’s Geoffrey Chaucer Website. Harvard University. Retrieved from https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/monks-prologue-and-tale 

Gutoskey, E. (2023, March 21). 17 Terms That Just Got Added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Mental Floss. Retrieved from https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/oxford-english-dictionary-new-words-spring-2023 

McWhorter, J. (2016, January ). What’s a Language, Anyway? The realities of speech are much more complicated than the words used to describe it. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/01/difference-between-language-dialect/424704/

Mitchell, S. (1976). How to speak Southern. Random House. 

McLuney, C. L., Robotham, K., Lee, S., & Smith, R. (2019, November 15). The costs of code-switching. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2019/11/the-costs-of-codeswitching 

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2015). The Integration of Immigrants into American Society. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/21746.

Graffiti: Street Art or Vandalism?

Photo credit: Red Mirror, Unsplash

 

By Lilian H. Hill 

What’s the difference between graffiti, street art, and public art?

 

One way to differentiate graffiti from street art is that graffiti tends to be word-based and street art is more likely to include images. However, this simplistic method must evolve as graffiti and street art change in character. 

 

Graffiti is often defined as unauthorized writing or drawing on a public surface. It consists of writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public space. Due to its unsanctioned nature, some graffiti may be executed quickly. Therefore, drawings are sometimes simple, executed with spray paint, and contain words, tags, and simple symbols. A tag is a unique term or symbol that becomes the artistic identity of the artist, somewhat analogous to an artist’s signature (Lewis, 2023). Multiple drawings may overlap with each other on a surface and build up over time.

 

Despite the use of tags, graffiti art is usually anonymous due to the possibility of legal sanction. In other words, instead of a legible signature, the tag may be a symbol or be based on a pseudonym. Initially, graffiti was typically perceived as vandalism, associated with gang activity, and blamed for a loss of property values. Therefore, many cities enacted legislation and explored methods of graffiti removal. (Not surprisingly, because the least expensive method of graffiti removal is painting over it, most of the websites providing instructions to remove graffiti are hosted by paint companies).  However, as methods and tools became more sophisticated, some examples of graffiti are taking their place in the art world (Lewis, 2023).

 

Street art is publicly sanctioned and may be commissioned. The images tend to be more elaborate and pictorial. They may be commissioned to create tourist attractions and promote local artists. Artists typically sign their work. An artist may recruit and direct a team to assist them in creating a large mural or other type of art. 

 

A closely related term, Public Art is intentionally created for public spaces and has been approved by property owners, local authorities, and arts organizations. Its purpose can include enhancing the community environment and enriching the public’s experiences of common spaces. Investment in public art can improve street safety, provide tourism and new jobs, and combat social isolation and anxiety (Dhenin, 2021).

 

Photo credit: Lilian Hill

Creation of public art trails became popular during the COVID pandemic quarantine as much of public entertainment sites were closed, including museums, zoos, theaters, community and cultural centers, and other public services. Brochures containing maps of locations of murals on public buildings and even utility boxes are published online to encourage participation. Members of the public can use them as a self-guided tour. The public trail map example below is from Hattiesburg, Mississippi but examples from many other cities can be found. Hattiesburg was recognized as one of 11 cities worldwide as leaders in public art. Other cities included Philadelphia, Miami, Paris, New York, Vancouver, Cape Town, and Berlin. This is remarkable for a small Mississippi city with a population of less than 50,000 (175,000 if you include surrounding towns in the metro area). Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker indicated that this is a testament to the talent and creativity of Mississippi artists and the leadership of the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art.

 

Free download, http://hburgart.com/trail/

Benefits of public art include creating visual pleasure, cultural expression, community building that reduces anxiety, addressing community problems, and marketing a city space.

 

Why discuss Graffiti on the Information Literacy site?

 

The relationship between graffiti, public art, and information literacy may not be immediately apparent, but there are connections, particularly in the context of understanding and critically analyzing visual communication in public spaces. Graffiti is a form of visual communication that conveys messages, ideas, and emotions through images, colors, and symbols. Understanding graffiti requires visual literacy, which involves interpreting and making meaning from visual cues. Information literacy extends beyond textual information to encompass visual information, and graffiti can serve as a medium to develop and enhance visual literacy skills.

 

Reasons why people create graffiti can include expressing their thoughts, emotions, and identity. Graffiti artists may express subculture affiliation, personal and cultural identity; social commentary; defiance and rebellion; and connection with community. Images that highlight the experiences of minority subcultures can elevate human conversation and be a source of civic pride. Graffiti can be a form of protest and social commentary, or an act of visual dialogue and connectivity with other artists. As experimental art, it can even be related to other forms of ephemeral art such as chalk art, rock balancing, and sand and ice sculpture, because it is subject to elimination. See this example of chalk art that will last only until the next rainfall. 

 

Photo credit: Gotta Be Worth It, Pexels

Overlap Between Graffiti and Public Art

 

Graffiti and public art overlap when it comes to purposes of street beautification and urban revitalization designed to improve the appearance of public spaces.  

 

In recent years, the lines between graffiti and street art have become blurred, as some street artists have roots in graffiti culture and certain graffiti writers have adopted more artistic and elaborate approaches (Lewis, 2023). As attitudes toward public art evolve, the distinction between graffiti and street art continues to shift, reflecting changing perspectives on urban art forms.

 

Throughout its history, graffiti has remained a dynamic and evolving art form, continually adapting to social, cultural, and technological changes while maintaining its roots in self-expression and urban identity. It continues to be a subject of debate, with discussions about its legality, artistic merit, and impact on urban environments.

 

References

 

Dhenin, M. (2021, December 6) Why public art is good for cities. Yes! Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2021/12/06/public-art-cities

Lewis, C. (2023, July 31). Graffiti tags – Explore the modern art form of graffiti tagging. Art in Context. Retrieved from https://artincontext.org/graffiti-tags/