What does it mean to write?

Almost all of us, in one form or another, write on a daily basis. Whether it be for university classes, personal diaries, texting, and all the other myriad forms of writing that exist today, one cannot deny the essentiality of writing. However, have you ever asked yourself what it means to write?

More often than not, we do not question the meaning behind our own actions. We simply do them. Perhaps, one can put this down to the fast paced nature of modern life. After all, we hardly have any time to relax ourselves, so how can one expect us to meditate, reflect, ruminate upon our actions and decisions? That hardly seems fair and the truth is that it is not fair. Alas, it is the world we live in.

To those of you who thought about such a question before (or perhaps one in a similar vein to it), what was your answer? Such a question could never have a universal answer because every single human being has a little unique style to them. Perhaps some of you used writing as a medium to communicate with, while some used it as a way to channel their emotions. There is no perfect answer here. Only your answer exists.

For those of you who may have never pondered such a topic before, let me help you by sharing my personal answer to it. To write is to discover the world hidden inside of our world, the world between the lines.

Is the writer the creator or the discoverer of the story?

For me, a writer’s job bears an uncanny similarity to that of a ferryman. You may ask yourself “how so? A writer uses words to convey the meaning of thing, while the ferryman gets people from one side of the river to another”.

Simply put, the characters in the story are the writers of the story. They are real and they do exist. They live their lives struggling with both mundanity and climaxes. They feel love, hate, joy, sorrow, anger, and sadness just like everyone else. At the end of their life, they are sent to cross a river with the help of a ferryman. From one riverbank to another.

During such a journey, they tell the ferryman of their lives. By the end of the long voyage, the ferryman would have come to know almost every detail of their story. Thus, the ferryman no longer is a ferryman. Rather, he becomes a scribe documenting his travelers’ lives. Case in point, the writer is the ferryman and the ferryman is the writer.

I personally find that writers do not create their own stories; rather, they draw upon their discoveries about the world we live in, whether these discoveries are imaginary or real. Those discoveries are the so called “characters” of the story (to the ferryman, they are known as travelers). Writers simply weave words to tell the story of those characters.

One personal experience of mine is when I knitted together the expression, “like the loneliness of a leaf in autumn”. During one particular autumn a few years back, I saw a leaf getting carried by the wind away from the tree that was all it has ever known. I asked myself, “Isn’t this leaf, whose fate moved from the stability of the tree to the erratic nature of the wind, lonely?”.

It may seem a fool’s errand to contemplate the emotional state of an inanimate object such as a leaf; however, that is not the point. The point here is the discovery of the world of the leaf in autumn. It is a cruel and lonely world away from its home and place of birth. It is that world that gave birth to my expression. I simply connected it all together. It is as Elizabeth Bowen says:

Characters are not created by writers. They pre-exist and have to be found.

– Elizabeth Bowen

Links

Characters and writers

Why do some writers write?

What does it mean to be a writer?

What do writers say about writing?

Questions

What is the meaning behind your writing?

Do you think writers discover or create?

Have you ever thought about writing beyond the scope of a book?

Knowing Different Languages

People are always interested in knowing about the number of languages a certain individual can speak. It is always fascinating and amazing to get in contact with people who are capable of speaking several languages. It introduces you to the diverse cultural insights, enhanced and smooth communication skills, and the complex critical thinking abilities those specific individuals would have, which are qualities truly everyone would desire. However, have you ever really thought of the importance of polishing your fluency and understanding of your mother tongue before proceeding to learning additional languages? Improving your accuracy and expression in your mother tongue goes far beyond just proper speech. Factors like ability to read and write also play a crucial role in determining one’s proficiency and expertise in a language. Unfortunately, nowadays, the drive to learn various languages has defeated the motivation to perfect our first language. Being a Pakistani, I have always been keen on learning more about my language. My family and I shifted to Kuwait when I was 7 years old, which restricted my ability to develop my reading and writing skills in Urdu. Although I was fluent in speaking Urdu, till date, I often struggle with reading complex passages like News headlines and other books that have overwhelming amounts of traditional Urdu vocabulary. 

Introduction to Roman Urdu

However, does any of that even matter anymore? People have developed alternative ways of communicating in Urdu by the use of Roman Urdu. Roman Urdu script is the use of English characters for Urdu words and vocabulary. This is a widely adopted method in various social media platforms, along with everyday messaging, comments, reviews and other forms of texts that would normally be conveyed in traditional Urdu. The rise of Roman Urdu in Pakistan has further decreased the motivation to strengthen Urdu reading and writing proficiency for an individual. 

The Role of Roman Urdu in Pakistan

It’s important to question when and how Pakistan experienced a rise in Roman Urdu. As explained in this article, Roman Urdu serves the purpose of satisfying people’s socializing needs, and is therefore mainly used by individuals that are highly active on websites and other online platforms. These individuals are composed of Pakistan’s young population that find convenience in using the English keyboard instead of the Urdu letters and commands, therefore have developed the habit of sending Urdu messages, comments and other texts using English characters. The authors of the article make an important contribution that thoroughly explains the rapid increase of Roman Urdu. They explain how Roman Urdu is also greatly used for the purpose of information extraction and to perform other search techniques. Several people amongst the users of these online platforms face difficulties in efficiently comprehending the English language, therefore the development of Roman Urdu serves as an excellent channel to extract academic or other information that can deliver them their desired results. Although it acts as an effective and valuable tool to deliver important knowledge and information for people that lack English proficiency, others have also incorporated Roman Urdu into their lives by using it for other socializing purposes. Not only has Roman Urdu been incorporated for personal communication and simple search engines, its rising involvement in everyday life is evident through its use for other entertainment purposes like memes, tweets and Instagram stories and posts that once again target the young population. This shows that gradually, Roman Urdu is penetrating the most frequently used and famous platforms of social media, and will eventually secure a stable position in Pakistani society. 

Accuracy of Roman Urdu 

Now that we understand the purpose and use of Roman Urdu in Pakistan, it is important to analyze its accuracy and efficiency in conveying the message. This article presents and thoroughly explains the flexibility and adjustments of words and vocabulary that can be introduced in Roman Urdu unlike normal Urdu. Traditional Urdu has a fixed format of writing sentences, punctuations, lining, and formatting which adds an element of organization and clarity to the writing that also aids the process of reading and understanding, whilst giving the language its own unique characteristics. On the other hand, Roman Urdu can translate the same word in English characters, with no punctuation and specified rules for spellings and formats. Although the transition from Urdu to English characters is an effective one,  Roman Urdu takes away all the elegance and structure of the Urdu language. The meaning stays the same, but the way people may read and pronounce words can differ on several margins, which affects the articulation and diminishes the beauty and identity of the language. 

Will Roman Urdu Replace Traditional Urdu?

Although this may seem as an exaggerated question, considering the rapidly changing environment we are surrounded by, it does not take time for people’s language patterns and habits to evolve and take new forms. Several people are highly influenced by social media activities, and considering the vast use of social media amongst the young population, it will not be a surprise to notice the gradual elimination of traditional Urdu from the lives of the upcoming generations. They may know how to speak and communicate in Urdu, however, the ability to convey their thoughts into Urdu words and express their emotions in their mother tongue, may become a rare quality. 

I often see my parents or other people from the same age group that still use Urdu letters and words to text and communicate online, and I find it so fascinating to see their ease and convenience in using the Urdu keyboard and language. However, if we really think about it, this should not be a surprise to us. The question of “Do you know how to read and write in your language?” should not really be a common one. In fact, everyone should work towards strengthening and enhancing the understanding of their own language because that is their initial and ultimate personality. Their mother tongue is what shapes their personality and highly influences their thinking and life habits. Apart from just verbal communication in Urdu, I think it is essential to ensure its written presence in the books and other literature materials to secure the cultural significance of the language that beautifies and leaves a remarkable touch to the country as a whole. The quote below is a great conclusion to the point of knowing and communicating in your mother tongue.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.

~Nelson Mandela

Questions for discussion:

1. What do you think is the importance of being able to read, write, and speak in your mother tongue/ first language.
2. Do you believe that one can truly express themselves in a language other than their mother tongue?
3. Do you think the rise f English language in society can threaten/diminish the existence of other languages?

Links:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009913332030149X?casa_token=M5rlRCfswmgAAAAA:FSSRNaf523Cy_3t1B0VQuBehVKmEQUgWAssDjdDtAddrowgkKHnrXIKV_8YS8EB8-LrMYpQi

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9094176

For many people, including myself, nationalism is a big part of our identity. The sense of community among people of the same Palestinian, religious, and cultural backgrounds makes people connect on a deeper level than many people believe is possible. There is a saying in Gaza that goes, “when a person is in pain, they yell out ‘AKH,'” which means “brother” in Arabic. A sense of brotherhood wherever a person is, is very important, especially in the diaspora. Although nationalism has gotten a bad reputation in the past because it is seen as “superiority” or the political movements that have tainted the image of nationalism, it could be used for political gain, but that is not the purpose of it. The purpose of nationalism is to give people a purpose in life and a sense of community.

Nationalism and Feminism

When a person thinks of the ideology of nationalism, feminism would not be the first thing on their mind. On the contrary, feminism and nationalism are very interlinked because of the shared history between them. Nationalistic movements against colonialism in Palestine led to one of the biggest women’s liberation movements in the history of the region. Educated women were not a rare occurrence in Palestine, which opposed all norms of the time in the region.

Additionally, the feminist movement is inherently nationalistic because the main goal of feminism is the liberation of women and their people, which is also a large part of what nationalism is. Moreover, feminism and nationalism may clash when the feminist movement feels that the nationalist movement is prioritizing the nation over women.

How Nationalism Affected my Life

As a Palestinian, nationalism has always been a large part of my life. When the Free Palestine riots were trending in mid-2022, my sense of nationalism spiked up by miles because of the sense of community that I was feeling when I was watching it on TV. People around me who were not Palestinian or did not have a nationalistic sense usually did not understand this feeling. Usually, I bond well with older people because they are usually people who were born in their homeland and migrated to the UAE, and nationalism is always a large part of older Arab people.

During the Palestinian riots in London in front of the Israeli embassy, the protests were getting a lot of attention from so many social media platforms and influencers, as well as newscasters. This gave hope to the Palestinian people inside and outside of Palestine.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/22/palestinian-solidarity-protests-marked-around-the-world

Discussion Questions

How has nationalism affected your life?

what other ideologies like feminism do you think is an indirect part of nationalism?

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If I had to count the number of times music has helped me get through less-than-ideal moments in life, I would need a gazillion fingers and a time machine. Superficially, we all know that music has the astounding ability to evoke a wide array of powerful emotions within us, and one such emotion is nostalgia. All of us have experienced nostalgia at some point in our lives – the longing or sentimental yearning or feeling for the past – but whether it is bittersweet or melancholic depends on the person and their experiences. From time to time, certain songs or pieces of music may trigger vivid memories and transport us back to a particular period or place. A song associated with your first love, first heartbreak, a cross-country road trip, or something your mum and dad used to play at home – does any of this sound familiar? Well, in this blog post, we will be exploring that very connection between music and nostalgia and also attempt to explain why music has such a strong grip on our memories and emotions.

Now, contrary to popular belief, the concept of “nostalgia” has existed for centuries. It is even more interesting to note that the word “nostalgia” originates from two Greek words, “nostos” and “algos,” which mean “return” and “pain,” respectively. This makes sense because initially, nostalgia was thought to be a disease or medical condition, and it was linked to homesickness. But in the present day and age, we know nostalgia is not an ailment but a natural human emotion which can be triggered in so many ways – one of the most sure-fire triggers being music.

Now why is music so “nostalgic” to us human beings? Quick hint – it has something to do with our memories. Our brains have this innate ability to associate music with specific memories and emotions, and according to several leading research studies, it has been shown that music can activate the same regions of the brain that are involved in emotional and memory-based information processing. Scientists have also been able to prove that music “activates the entire brain,” which is super cool when you think about it.

Another reason why music is so effective in initiating nostalgia is that certain songs often tend to be linked to significant life events, all thanks to our limbic system (the system that stores all your fears and emotions). For many people, a favourite song may remind them, for example, of their first love or a special moment in their lives. Since these moments have a heavy significance in our lives owing to “high emotional intensity,” the music essentially gets intertwined like many other things (the color of your partner’s dress, the smile they wore, and so on), creating a powerful connection between the two. Consequently, music is known to create a sense of comfort and familiarity. Many people find that listening to music from their childhood or teenage years provides them with an “auditory haven,” a way for them to return back to simpler, carefree times. The reason for this sentiment is that the music we listened to during our yester-years becomes a part of our identity and shapes our perceptions of the world around us. So, if we hear the same exact song years later, it brings back those lived-through memories from our subconscious mind to the forefront.

It is also interesting to note that the relationship between music and nostalgia can be different for different people. While some people find that certain songs or pieces of music strongly trigger their nostalgia, the same may not be applicable to another individual, thus forming a degree of contextuality. Our memories, experiences, and emotions are unique to us, and that plays a massive role in the feelings certain songs may bring into our psyche.

Now, so far, we have been talking about music-linked nostalgia on an individual level but how can we take this to a broader scale? As of late, you may have noticed that many movies and TV shows use classical hits to create a sense of nostalgia and transport viewers back in time. Let me take two very memorable movies that use this trope to their advantage – “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Baby Driver.” For those of you who have watched these movies, you know very well the significance of music in them. Whether it be Star Lord’s Walkman or Baby’s iPod; the movies truly would not be the same without them. Additionally, the inclusion of these wistful songs creates a sense of nostalgia on a larger scale as audiences who have grown up with these specific songs will most likely connect on an emotional level.

To put everything in a nutshell, the relationship between music and nostalgia is complex and multifaceted. Music has the power to evoke powerful emotions and transport us back in time, reminding us of significant life events and creating a sense of familiarity and comfort. While the way we respond to music is unique to each individual, there is no doubt that it plays a very significant role in our lives.

Questions:

1. What is a song that reminds you of your childhood? Was it a song you came across yourself, or was it recommended by someone else?
2. How do you think the use of music in movies and TV shows contributes to our collective sense of nostalgia? Can you think of any examples of movies or shows that use music in this way?
3. In what ways do you think music can be used to help us process and cope with difficult emotions like nostalgia and grief? Have you ever used music in this way, and if so, how did it help you?

Music is a big part of most, if not all, of our lives. It is something we grew up with, whether it was by falling asleep to our mom’s favorite song in the car, or a rock band we were captivated with in our ‘rebellious teenager’ phase. It has, quite literally, always been there for us. You’re in a good mood? Put on some happy music. Feeling down? Put on some sad music. Need a confidence booster? Put on some upbeat music. Point is, music has always been something we could rely on to cope with our emotions and understand them better.

Lyrics

A fundamental aspect of a song is its lyrics. Although music itself is enough to make a person feel a specific emotion, lyrics do form an integral part of songs. Barradas in “When words matter: A cross-cultural perspective on lyrics and their relationship to musical emotions” mentions that lyrics help people explore and understand their feelings better. When artists write music and sing about something that could be relatable to most people, it gives them a sense of comfort because they know they’re not alone.

Additionally, lyrics help put into words feelings and experiences that most people are unable to express on their own. So in a way, certain songs could be the voice for people who don’t know how to convey their message the way they want to. This can be seen in many aspects of our lives. For instance, when your best friend sends you a song with a text right after that says, “THIS IS LITERALLY OUR SONG!!!”, wouldn’t you focus on the lyrics to see what they’re trying to say? Or how about when your partner makes you a Spotify playlist? How often are songs added to that playlist because they express your partner’s feelings through their lyrics?

How Music Affected My Life

There was a point of time in my life where I was really confused about the way I felt toward certain concepts; specifically love. I always knew that I was a person that loved to love, but what I didn’t know was that I loved being in love. I felt like I was alone in this experience and I started viewing myself as someone who wasn’t normal. That was, until I came across my favorite band: The Neighbourhood. I discovered their song “Void” and instantly became obsessed with it.

Thought you could better me but

Then you stopped lettin’ me walk

Now you’re just settin’ me off

So I’m tryna lose you

https://genius.com/The-neighbourhood-void-lyrics

Analyzing the Lyrics

1. For a long time, I’ve been chasing love because I felt like I needed to be in love with someone to feel alive. I used to believe that love “could better me” because having a partner would allow me to rely on them and be taken care of. But what I didn’t realize was that there are also negative sides to being in love.
2. It felt like love “stopped letting me walk” in a sense that I felt restricted, like I had no freedom to do what I wanted or prioritize the more important things in my life.
3. Love started “setting me off”. I was angry. I didn’t like the fact that I was addicted to being in love. It was an endless loop of liking someone and then moving on to the next person, and I was desperate for it to end
4. So I tried to lose it. I started working on myself and trying to experience newer things to show me that there was way more to life than just being in love.

These specific lyrics always felt personal to me because I could relate to them on a deeper level. They helped me realize that I was in fact, not alone, and definitely not weird for feeling the way I did. I was able to think about my thoughts and feelings and how I could work on them to be a better version of myself, so in a way, it’s safe to say that this song changed me.

Another fascinating thing about lyrics in songs is that it can be interpreted in any way. For example, the exact lyrics that I mentioned above could also be analyzed to be talking about being addicted to drugs, rather than the concept of love itself. And according to Genius, the songwriter did have a past with drugs, which goes to show that lyrics can easily be molded into whatever notion a person wants it to be. There isn’t a wrong or right answer when it comes to analyzing lyrics, it all depends on the way you think and view the world. I’ve come across people who have had completely different views on the lyrics of ‘Void’, and that’s okay! Their interpretations are still valid because they coincide with their thoughts and experiences.

The Benefits of Listening to Music

Apart from the emotional benefits of listening to music, there are quite a few health benefits too. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, music helps reduce anxiety and improves sleep quality as well as memory. It is mentioned that music is seen to be a great workout for the mind as it aids in boosting creativity, and allows us to recollect memories that are easily associated with the music being played. Music also plays a vital role in increasing our mental health. Most people use music as a coping mechanism or an escape to reality when the world starts getting too loud for them.

Overall, music is something that allows people to delve deeper into their thoughts and emotions, and it helps people connect with one another, whether it is directly (by recommending songs or listening to songs with your loved ones), or indirectly (by relating to different people’s experiences through lyrics and their meanings).

Questions

1. Has music ever helped you through a rough patch in life?
2. What are your opinions on analyzing song lyrics and the impact it can have on an individual?
3. How has music contributed in increasing your creativity and analytical thinking?

References:

https://genius.com/The-neighbourhood-void-lyrics

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/keep-your-brain-young-with-music#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20listening,%2C%20mental%20alertness%2C%20and%20memory.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/03057356211013390#body-ref-bibr17-03057356211013390

I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit

J.R.R. Tolkien

To put it plainly, worldbuilding is the process of creating, constructing and developing a fictional world. This imaginary universe, with all its corresponding history and geography, will serve as the setting of the work, whether it is a novel or a poem, or a visual medium like film, comics or video games.

The world authors create could cover vast expanses of land, sea and space or it could be confined within the boundaries of a town. They could fill the world with all sorts of flora and fauna, a multitude of different kinds and races inhabitants, invented history and languages. They can approach this in many ways, using top-down worldbuilding or bottom-up worldbuilding, building off a primary world to create a secondary world or creating a uchronia. The key is to create something that is believable, meaningful and something that has real depth.

Quite frankly, there are approximately 7,000 languages, being spoken around the world. Each with its own set of sounds, vocabularies, and structures. But do they influence and shape how we think? Lera Boroditsky, a language and cognition professor, presented a ted talk on how languages “shape” and change the way we think. Moreover, The talk has received a whopping 10 million views on youtube, at this current date. Having talked about how languages differentiate themselves in the way we think about counting, looking at different colors and responding to others; Boroditsky recognized there are interactional differences between languages.

Shockingly, it is extremely fascinating how Boroditsky talks about how languages have these intrinsic traits to identify and interact in different ways. She uses the example of the Russian language, having different terms for shades of colors. This allows them to identify changes in color without thinking, due to their language in identifying the shades. Other examples like the Kuuk Thaayorre people in Cape York Australia, being able to use there senses as a compass. According to Boroditsky, they are able to close their eyes and tell you where the direction of “South West” is for example. Finally, she talks about how different languages, using the example of English and Spanish, having different meanings to their responses when an incident occurs. Boroditsky mentions how languages like Spanish, having an approach that is less to blame for the person commiting the incident. She uses an example of breaking a vase. Even if someone broke the vase, either by accident or intentionally, they would mention “the vase broke” instead of he or she broke the vase. This could indicate how Spanish speakers have identified the sense of not shaming others in the mistakes they do. Moreover, Boroditsky mentions, due to the not mentioning who broke the vase in this case, they are less likely to recall who did it and the situation as a whole.

Personally, i was shocked to hear this, how languages could help enhance or add traits that can be useful in your life. Learning the language of the Kuuk Thaayorre people for example, could help me identify routes when camping or hiking. I may not even have to use Google maps anymore! Moreover, learning the Russian language could help me identify shades colors as well as other undiscovered artifacts. Finally, learning the Spanish language could help with more discipline and respect when it comes to shaming and blaming. With over 7000 languages in the wild, the possibilities are limitless. You never know what could happen in 10 years time, maybe languages become skills in itself, that could help you in your life.

Discussion Questions

Could learning languages be the new way to learn different skills and traits? (Persuading, Critical thinking for example)

What languages do you speak and what are some traits and differences to other languages you have identified?

Marianne, he said, I’m not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.

Sally Rooney, Normal People, pg. 113

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Style and Structure

Sally Rooney’s style of writing is infamous for its unusual emission of quotation marks. Initially, that irritated and confused me, however as I continued reading, I got accustomed and even started to appreciate that choice. It became apparent to me how this mirrors the couple’s tendency to miscommunicate – a main theme in this story. In addition, the novel manages to further portray the dynamic between the two main protagonists through not only it structure but also the first line:

Marianne answers the door when Connell rings the bell.

Sally Rooney, Normal People, pg. 1

This line accentuates how Marianne would always be there for Connell, and how she would do anything he would ask for.

Another remarkable element of the story’s structure is how the events are timed. The chapters are in chronological order, each chapter usually corresponding to a specific week or month. Each chapter starts off with the present tense, and then switches to a flashback, which is indicated by the shift to the past tense. Finally, the chapter goes back to the setting it started with, and goes back to the present tense. This is to convey how the present is influenced by the past, and how previous events shape our mindsets and future actions and attitudes.

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Class

As a Marxist, I think that class is sort of the structuring principle of our social life. So then when it comes to writing a novel, of course I have to be attentive to the way that class structures social life. Otherwise I’m not writing about the world that we really inhabit.

Sally Rooney

A notable example of that is when they both applied for a scholarship in Trinity College. For Connell, it would be of practical help, as it would remove a huge financial burden off his and his mother’s shoulders. On the other hand, for Marianne, who does not struggle to pay for rent nor tuition, earning it would simply be “a matter of reputation” (pg. 138).

Another way the writer highlights the significance of social class is how although both Marianne and Connell are intelligent, people perceive their intellectuality in different ways. In Trinity College where elitism pervades, students idolize Marianne and appreciate her intellect, meanwhile, they look down upon Connell with disdain. Connell also realized the relationship between social class and education, and that upper class people yield to literary works to appear cultured, rather than to educate themselves.

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All in all, this novel is more than just an emotional coming-of-age love story. It exemplifies how relationships are affected by factors beyond the characters, as there are several external circumstances such as class. As well as that, it effectively lets the readers into the characters’ minds, not only demonstrating what they think, but also why they think in that way. Personally, what I enjoyed most about this book is how realistic and well-rounded the characters are; your feelings and thoughts about them will change as you read on.

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Questions for Further Discussion

1. How do you think social class and education are related?
2. In what ways do you think that the structure of a text influences its meaning?

Links

https://baos.pub/3-interesting-themes-in-sally-rooneys-normal-people-6963539751cf#:~:text=Normal%20People%20is%20the%20story,way%20back%20to%20each%20other.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3kyw8b/sally-rooneys-new-book-normal-people-will-teach-you-about-yourself

Last weekend, I attended a talk by the Pakistani writer, Mohsin Hamid, at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. While the talk was about his last novel, what stayed with me the most was a comment Hamid made about the future of reading. He insisted that, despite panicked predictions of books becoming museum artifacts, and writing being an aging art on its deathbed, reading will continue to offer people something valuable and irreplaceable. 

Hamid’s argument

Hamid argued that reading is unique in that it is an act of co-creation and collaboration–a kind of contract, I would say–between the reader and writer. While our conversations around writing tend to center around the writer, no story is complete until it finds a reader because technically, words on a page are still, soundless things; they are printed symbols with no audiovisual component, no reel of images to guide or shape what you should see.

A book truly comes alive when it enters the chamber of a reader’s mind and become their–your–own private story like a beam of light refracted through the lens of your life experiences, or a customized film projected onto your mind’s eye. It’s this unique quality, Hamid argues, that will allow reading to survive in today’s oversaturated media landscape.

Hamid extended his argument by pointing to film adaptations of books and the passionate debate they inspire. Think of a time when you watched, or heard of, a film adaptation and thought: ‘Jail!’ According to Hamid, most criticisms of adaptations are readers mourning the loss of the world they had conjured in their head (think The Hunger Games or Harry Potter). For the reader, every movie director of a book adaptation is a dictator overthrowing their sacred, private universe. ‘What about my world?’, asks the wounded reader. 

My thoughts

I find Hamid’s argument compelling for the way that it forces us to reimagine our traditional understanding of reading. Typically–and I say this as someone who has related to this position in the past–we think of reading as a static, passive role, both physically (as in reading is just sitting and staring at a book), and emotionally (all readers read identically/all readers are interchangeable).

But Hamid’s line of reasoning transforms reading into a dynamic process and repositions the reader as a co-producer of a book. I would even argue that when we read, we juggle several roles–of cinematographer and casting director and set and costume designer, all at once. We weave entire worlds out of words, animate mute, inky symbols with life. 

This maybe explains why reading often feels intensely private, intimate, even transcendent. The most rewarding reading experiences occur in a time warp where time slows and is suspended; they collapse time and dissolve distance between the writer and reader until a 19th century Brazilian author is speaking to you, a 21st century student, in a cross-century conversation that feels like a communion.

This is the marvel of reading: it’s deceptively simple–so sedentary, so silent–but equally poignant and powerful. It’s this tension between appearance and experience that’s one of the most enjoyable things about reading. Who is to say what vivid, heart-wrenching, glorious, piercing film plays in your mind when you sit down to read, but you? 

Some critiques

If I were to disagree with Hamid, it’s only to say that I think his argument, as powerful as it is, can be extended to many art forms. Films, visual art, music: the best of any art form establishes a dialogue between the artist and the audience. It offers a simulation of life that allows us to return to Real Life with more clarity, perhaps even courage.

I also believe that reading will survive, but maybe not in the way that Hamid imagines. With the rise of audiobooks and ‘BookTok/BookTube/Bookstagram’–two phenomena that deserve posts of their own–reading is reinventing itself. So while Hamid is an old-school physical books purist, today and tomorrow’s generations will probably read, but the act of reading may shape-shift.

All said and done, though, I can understand Hamid’s impulse to champion reading. He is, after all, a writer, and I suspect it isn’t the most cheerful thing to hear people rushing to write eulogies of your livelihood. In the 21st century evolution of entertainment and a Survival of the Fittest, all Mohsin Hamid is trying to do is bet on reading making it to the end. I would bet on it too.

Questions for discussion:

1. What are your thoughts on the future of reading? Do you agree with Hamid? Will it become a thing of the past, or does it have what it takes to survive?
2. How is reading similar to and/or different from your favorite forms of entertainment?
3. Do you have a favorite, or least favorite, movie adaptation of a book? Have you ever felt strongly about a film adaptation? If so, why?

If you want to hear from Hamid himself…

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mohsin-hamid-discusses-the-last-white-man/id452692811?i=1000576465680

Links

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/persuasion-poster-photos-dakota-johnson-henry-golding

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.46303.html

It is fascinating how many people have misconceptions about bilingualism and its effect on a child’s delay in speaking. People repetitively ask questions like these:

• Won’t kids be confused learning two languages at once?
• Won’t being bilingual or teaching a child more than one language cause speech delay?
• Would you ever be fluent in a language if you don’t learn a language at an early stage?

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Bilingualism causes speech/language delay

THAT IS A MYTH!

While a bilingual child’s vocabulary in each language may be smaller than average, his total vocabulary, from both languages, will be at least as large as that of a monolingual child. Bilingual children may say their first words slightly later than monolingual children, but they will say them within the normal age range (8-15 months).

When bilingual children begin to produce short sentences, they develop grammar in the same patterns and timelines as monolingual children. Language delay is not caused by bilingualism. A bilingual child who is experiencing significant delays in language milestones may be suffering from a language disorder and should be evaluated by a speech language pathologist.

According to the “Critical Period” theory, there is a window of time (early stage) when a second language is most easily learned. This theory has led many people to believe that learning a second language as a child is preferable. However, some findings have put this theory into question. Therefore, the fact that one might not be “fluent” in a language because they learned it later on in their life, is FALSE.

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Overall, there are many misconceptions when it comes to the effects of being bilingual, and these misconceptions vary widely. It is advised to verify our assumptions by doing some research, so we do not fall into this trap!

References

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022096510002079

https://www.hanen.org/helpful-info/articles/bilingualism-in-young-children–separating-fact-fr.aspx#:~:text=Bilingual%20children%20may%20say%20their,learning%20one%20language%20(5).