Wednesday, June 29, 2016

ข้อเท็จจริงเกี่ยวกับ EU และนโยบายเกี่ยวกับภาษาของ EU

ข้อเท็จจริงเกี่ยวกับ EU และนโยบายเกี่ยวกับภาษาของ EU


Janpha Thadphoothon



นโยบายทางด้านภาษาของอียู คือนโยบายพหุภาษาครับ
One of the objectives of the EU’s language policy is therefore that every European citizen should master two other languages in addition to their mother tongue.
อียู ไม่เคยกำหนดภาษาราชการเฉพาะภาษาหนึ่งภาษาใด      นั่นหมายความว่าทุกภาษาของชาติสมาชิก คือ ภาษาราชการ

ดังนั้นข่าวที่ว่า จะกำหนดให้ภาษาฝรั่งเศส หรือ เยอรมัน             เป็นภาษาราชการของอียู จึงเป็นความเข้าใจที่คลาดคลื่อน

ภาษาราชการ (The European Union has  official and working languages)    ทั้ง 24 ภาษา          ได้แก่ 
1. Bulgarian            
2. French
3. Maltese            
4. Croatian
5. German            
6. Polish
7. Czech
8. Greek
9. Portuguese
10. Danish
11. Hungarian
12. Romanian
13 Dutch
14. Irish
15 Slovak
16 English
17 Italian
18 Slovenian
19 Estonian
20 Latvian
21 Spanish
22 Finnish
23 Lithuanian

24 Swedish



อ้างอิง

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/atyourservice/en/displayFtu.html?ftuId=FTU_5.13.6.html

https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%9B

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Division_EN.asp





ข้อเท็จจริงเกี่ยวกับ EU และนโยบายเกี่ยวกับภาษาของ EU

ข้อเท็จจริงเกี่ยวกับ EU และนโยบายเกี่ยวกับภาษาของ EU


Janpha Thadphoothon

Photo credit: http://www.oa.b-books.cz/yearfour/eu/eu.php


นโยบายทางด้านภาษาของอียู คือนโยบายพหุภาษาครับ
One of the objectives of the EU’s language policy is therefore that every European citizen should master two other languages in addition to their mother tongue.
อียู ไม่เคยกำหนดภาษาราชการเฉพาะภาษาหนึ่งภาาาใด นั่นหมายความว่าทุกภาษาของชาติสมาชิก คือ ภาาาราชการ

ดังนั้นข่าวที่ว่า จะกำหนดให้ภาษาฝรั่งเศส หรือ เยอรมัน เป็นภาษาราชการของอียู จึงเป็นความเข้าใจที่คลาดคลื่อน



อ้างอิง (References)

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/atyourservice/en/displayFtu.html?ftuId=FTU_5.13.6.html

https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%9B

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Division_EN.asp





Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

การใช้ ทซีโมริ つもり หลังคำกริยารูปพื้นฐาน

การใช้ ทซีโมริ つもり หลังคำกริยารูปพื้นฐาน

แสดงการคั้งใจ หรือ วางแผน

เช่น

日本に行くつもり/予定です。
nihon ni iku tsumori (or yotei) desu.

夏休みに日本へ行くつもりです。
natsu yasumi ni nihon e iku tsumori desu
หยุดพักร้อนนี้ ฉันตั้งใจญี่ปุ่น

ฉันวางแผนไปญี่ปุ่น .





あなたと結婚するつもり/予定です。
anata to kekkon suru tsumori (or yotei) desu.
ฉันวางแผนแตงงานกับเธอ

今晩何も食べないつもりです。
konban nani mo tabenai tsumori desu


夏休みにどこへも行かないつもりです。
natsu yasumi ni doko emo ikanai tsumori desu

หยุดพักร้อนนี้ ที่ไหนก็ตาม ฉันไม่มีแผนจะไป


การใช้ ばかり บาการิ ในภาษาญี่ปุ่น

การใช้  ばかり บาการิ ในภาษาญี่ปุ่น


Janpha Thadphoothon





ばかり บะการิ มีความหมายคล้าย ๆ กับ ดาเกะ dake หรือ เพียงแค่
ผมพูดญี่ปุ่นได้แค่นิดหน่อย 少しだけ Sukoshi dake สุโกชิ ดาเกะ

เป็นการเน้นว่า มีแต่ เช่น 辛い食べ物ばかり
 辛い (からい)คะระอิ แปลว่า เผ็ด
คะระอิทาเบโมโน ของกินที่มีรสเผ็ด

นันเดโมคาไรเดสุ なんでも  辛い อะไร ๆ ก็ เผ็ด
タイ料理    なんでも  辛い . ไท เรียวริ นานเดโม คะไร / อาหารไทย อะไร ๆ ก็ เผ็ด

นอกจากนี้ ยาการิ ยังใช้กับประโยคโครงสร้าง ...dewa naku  / ไม่เพียงแต่

男の子ばかりではなく、女の子もたくさんいました。
Otoko no ko bakari dewa naku, onna no ko mo takusan imashita.
โอโตโกะ โนะ โกะ บาการิ เดวะ นาคุ ออนน่า โนะโกะ โมะ ทักซัง อิมาชิตะ
ไม่ใช่จะมีแต่เด็กผู้ชายมากมาย มีเด็กผู้หญิง มากมายด้วย 

彼はダンスばかりではなく、歌もうまいんです。 


Watashi wa nihongo bakari ja naku, furansugo mo benkyou shitai desu. 私は日本語ばかりじゃなく、フランス語も勉強したいです。


Friday, June 10, 2016

The NLD and ASEAN

The NLD and ASEAN 

 Janpha Thadphoothon


This article discusses the stance of the NLD-led government of Myanmar on ASEAN. After forming the new government headed by President U Htin Kyaw, the media and critics have put a spotlight on the NLD's perception of ASEAN as a bloc, at the implicit level.

As we know, the National League for Democracy (NLD) and Asean have had a somewhat unusual relationship. During its lengthy struggles, NLD members must have felt that they received little or nor support / attention from other Asean leaders. ASEAN, on the other hand, has its policy not to intervene with internal matters of its members, hailed as one of the ASEAN ways.


                              Photo credit: youtube

This historical reality somehow makes the media and critics skeptical about the foreign policy of Nay Pyi Taw toward and on ASEAN. This skepticism expands to its stance of China, as it seems that Nay Pyi Taw is forming a cordial and intimate relationship with the West (as discussed by Than Tha Aung.

Than Tha Aung has noted that "Nowhere to be found is the term 'Asean' under the NLD's manifesto or in the first policy brief."

To be fair, the new government has followed the Asean tradition of making it a priority to visit other Asean neighbors. A few weeks ago, it made a visit to Laos. This moth it is coming to Thailand.

References

Chongkittavorn, Kavi,  The Nation (March 21, 2016 ). "NLD-led Myanmar’s upcoming challenges"
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/NLD-led-Myanmars-upcoming-challenges-30282053.html

Than Tha Aung (10 June 2016). Bangkok Post. "New Govt Should Not Disregard ASEAN"


Thursday, June 9, 2016

Taxi AEC Project

Language Learning and Achievement

Language Learning and Achievement


Janpha Thadphoothon


The aim of this paper is to explain what 'achievement' is and how achievement should be articulated in the context of foreign language learning.



What does it mean when we say we have achieved a particular aim?


It may mean that we have succeeded in doing something or causing it to happen. A student may wish to get the IELT score of 6.5 or 7 after finishing a language course. If he or she have got that score, it can be said that his or her aim has been achieved. Having a sense of accomplishing something brings us satisfaction; on the other hand, having a sense of failing in doing something brings us dissatisfaction. When we feel pleased after accomplishing something, we tend to develop positive attitudes towards it. We would love to do it again. If we are unsuccessful, we tend to avoid it. One success leads to another. By the same token, one failure leads to the next. Successive failures lead to the state of feeling indifferent towards that failure or being helpless. However, how success or failure is measured is up to many factors.



Different students have different aims. In learning a language, some students’ aim may be limited such as being able to pronounce a word ‘education’ or passing the final test; others may be to be able to write a short story or a novel. In fact, people have a variety of needs, and each need has different levels. Human needs therefore are of dynamic.


What are human beings’ basic needs?


Our basic needs may include foods, clothing, medicines, fuel, and shelters. These basic needs are of the same as those of the beasts. Such things are necessary for any life forms to function properly. Higher forms of needs are feelings called security, acceptance, autonomy, self-esteem, love, or self-actualization.



How can we tell that a particular student has achieved something?




Institutions have set up objectives in advance and means to achieve such objectives have provided. Ideally, it is to directly observe each student. The practical way to do that is to observe the student indirectly. We have to infer from the student’s levels of performance in a test. The good test therefore must be valid and reliable. In short by inferring from the test, we know whether the student has achieved the set objectives satisfactorily or not. Good, fast, and cheap are three characteristics of any ideal tests, which all institutions are looking for but they are difficult to find.



What about the student? How can he or she know if he or she has achieved something? Many students will say that they feel satisfied or dissatisfied with their test scores. In this regard this sort of feeling has been programmed by the society through the institutions. The scores [in numerical forms --- more sacred if expressed with two or three-digit decimals] obtained have significant implications because they can be used as instruments for doing something else such as getting jobs, promotion, or more education. What about his or her needs? Apart from the basic necessary of life, his or her real needs are vague, mostly controlled by the society. It is difficult to free oneself from such societal bondage. Few men have tried, for example, Thoreau who suggested that the only way to know oneself is to take time to listen to oneself. He wrote: “ If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” His point is that few of us examine ourselves closely enough to know what drummer we are marching to. Many of us simply join the bandwagon, very few dare deviating. True, it is happier. But are we aware that even that feeling which we call ‘ happy’ has been subtly controlled?


It has been recognized that testing has both overt and covert effects on test takers. In addition to having to pay lots of money for the course and the test fee, many students end up feeling desperate in life. After two semesters of learning English, even in Australia, their English has not reached the satisfactory level that the Institutions have set.


As far as formal or semi-formal education is concerned, we have been marching with the majority in the first place. Following the majority is more secure: get good grades, have good jobs, get married and settle down in a small town, and forget about things.

Don’t worry if you fail. The majority has invented mountains of explanations to be accounted for. Maybe you IQ is below average, your need more inspiration, you need more practice, you are too young or too old, you need more equipment, etc.

The society directly and indirectly governs the institution. The institution, in similar manners, controls the teacher who, in turn, imposes such agreements on the students.


Achievement and Belief


In psychology, one of the needs is called need for achievement. It follows that anyone has carried with him or her this noble faculty is likely to succeed in education, career and life in general. Some psychologists explain that people with higher social status are different from those from the lower social status in values and beliefs associated with achievement. The higher status group is of the belief that: (1) one can manipulate the physical and social environment to his or her own advantage, (2) the belief that one need not subordinate his or her own need to the family group, and (3) the belief that one should forgo short-term satisfactions and rewards in the interest of long-tern gains (Rosen, 1959).



I have raised this issue to remind us that the notion of achievement can be viewed in different dimensions. To be successful, it seems that one must be persistent. William Hickson urged us to try and try again:

         

“ ‘Tis a lesson you should heed,

Try, try again.

If at first you don’t succeed,

Try, try again.”



One, however, should not take the advice literally. It is essential also to be prudent. Considering Emerson’s suggestion for reality check, ” Foolish consistency is the hobgoblins of little minds.”



Successful minds can wait. Whatever things one wishes to achieve, one must do other things first. H. W. Longfellow wrote in A Psalm of life as follows:



            “ Let us, then, be up and doing,

            With a heart for any fate;

            Still achieving, still pursuing,

            Learn to labour and wait.



What is English achievement?





I have gathered the following relevant literature, simply to help me, hopefully, solving some aspects of this problem.



Looking up the word ‘Achievement Test’ in the Collins English Dictionary, I found out that the word is a noun referring to a test designed to measure the effects that learning and teaching have on individuals.



Next I searched the Internet and found two texts as follows.



Angus (2001) makes the distinction between two kinds of tests: achievement tests and ability tests as follows:



“A distinction should be made between achievement tests and ability (IQ) tests. Achievement tests purport to identify what a student has learned academically. IQ tests have a more ambitious goal of attempting to estimate an individual's learning potential i.e. what they are capable of learning.”



According to Power (2001), achievement tests, in general, are usually more formal, designed to show mastery of a particular syllabus (e.g. end-of-year tests, school-leaving exams, public tests) though similar (re-syllabus) to progress tests. Rarely constructed by classroom teacher for a particular class.



In addition, I asked the ILTA (International Language Testing Association) via the academic discussion list called ‘LTEST-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU, which I have been it’s member for two years and a half. The question I have posted was:



“ I have a big trouble defining the term ‘ English Achievement’ in my thesis.   What’s the notion of this term?’



I have received two replies. The first is from Fred Davidson, an associate professor from the University of Illinois. I have met him at the international conference in Bangkok two years ago. The second is, unexpectedly, from Prof. Lyle Bachman, Director of English as Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE), University of California.



According to Davidson:



            “ A classical definition of ‘achievement’ would be mastery of taught material.

               That is, achievement refers to demonstrated control of a syllabus or set of

Objectives, as for example in a final examination at the end of a course or set of courses.’



However, Fred thinks that the term, quite a bit, gets mixed up with the term ‘proficiency’, which refers to general mastery of skills over time.



Prof. Bachman agrees that the terms ‘ achievement’ and ‘ proficiency’ are often used in very unclear ways, and sometimes synonymously. He suggests I read chapter 3 of his book, Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing or chapter 2 in Alan Davies’ 1990 book, Principles of Language Testing. I followed his professional advice by reading Davies’ book.



Davies (p. 20) distinguishes four test uses: achievement (or attainment), proficiency, aptitude, and diagnostic. The different uses can be distinguished in terms of time and content. According to Davies, the achievement test:



            “ ...refers back to previous learning and is concerned solely with that:

  achievement tests are typically used at the end of a period of learning...”



the proficiency test:



            “ ... is also interested in what has been learnt but in a much more vague way.

 Unlike the achievement test the proficiency test exhibits no control over

 previous learning; instead it establishes generalization on the basic of typical

 syllabuses leading to entry and is more directly related to what it attempts to

 predict, namely, performance in the language under test on some future

 activity....”





Moreover, I have read McNamara’s section 4 of his new book, Language Testing. He defines that achievement tests are tests which aim to establish what has been learned in a course of instruction, whereas, proficiency tests aim to establish a candidate’s readiness for a particular communicative role, e.g. in a work or educational setting (McNamara, p. 131).



Based on above literature, it is recognized that a test given by a course administrator or a teacher by the end of the semester often refers to as an achievement test, whereas, most standardized tests, e.g. TOEFL, IELT, GMAT, are referred to as proficiency tests.

   

I, therefore, define that the students’ English achievement refers to their English knowledge and/or skills that they have previously learnt from a particular program/course or set of programs/courses, which is measurable indirectly via the use of school-based tests or alternative assessment.



What if certain individual students have rather low self-esteem and are only satisfied with limited achievement?



References



Davies, Alan. (1990) Principle of Language Testing. Oxford, Basil Blackwell Publisher.



LTEST-L@LISTS.PSU.EDU (Accessed 29 July, 2001)



McNamara, Tim. (2000) Language Testing: Oxford Introductions to Language Study, Widdowson, H. G. (Series Ed.), Oxford, Oxford University Press.



Power,Ted. Methods of Language Testing & Assessment Reasons for testing i.e. the objectives of test-types, http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/esl0704.html (accessed on 25/07/2001 12:37:44 PM)



W.A. Angus, Using Achievement Tests, Diagnostic (Achievement) Tests, and Tests of Intelligence with ESL Populations, http://www.psychtest.com/ESLtest.htm (accessed on 25/07/2001 12:19:59 PM)



Rosen, B. C. (1959). “ Race, Ethnicity, and Achievement Syndrome,” American Sociological Review 24(1995), 47-60.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

"For whom the bell tolls"


"For whom the bell tolls"

by John Donne

Photo credit: http://routeduvin.typepad.com/photos/bookcovers/forwhomthebelltolls.html



No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

Fear and Pseudo-science

Fear and Pseudo-science

Janpha Thadphoothon

Humans have weaknesses, unlike machines or objects. They are endowed with 'fear'. Some fears are rational; many aren't.

Here, I should like to look into the nature of fear as mentioned earlier, realizing that )fear) pushes humans into believing in such sanity of pseudo-sciences (not real science).



As all human beings have fear, esp. they fear of something they don’t know its cause(s) or its whereabouts, fear of what is unknown or unknowable. They fear death and suffering, for example.

To overcome these shortcomings or gaps, some of them base their beliefs on scientific explanations: whatever exists can be observed and measured. However, many, consciously, the majority of people, turn to those fancy explanations and feel comfortable with them: other things being equal the simplest explanation has to be the right one. The worst case: Those who unconsciously believe such metaphysical explanations to be the scientific ones.

This sort of human nature was probably one of the motives driving a man like Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) to put his pen to paper and came up with Enemy of the People, (which have led some critics to associate him with Fascism, in addition to Feminism.)

Nevertheless, let’s look up for meanings of the word ‘fear’.

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, fear refers to:

1.    feeling caused by nearness or possibility of danger or evil;
2.    dread and reverence;
3.    likelihood; and,
4.    anxiety for the safety.
The updated Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners has come up with these different connotations:

1.    It is the unpleasant feeling you have when you are in danger.
2.    If you fear someone or something, you are frightened because you think that they will harm you.
3.    A fear is a thought that something unpleasant might happen or might have happened.
4.    If you fear something unpleasant or undesirable, you are worried that it might happen or might have happened.
5.    If you say that there is a fear that something unpleasant or undesirable will happen, you mean that it is possible or likely.
6.    If you fear for someone or something, you are very worried because you think that they might be in danger.
7.    If you have fears for someone or something, you are very worried because you think that they might be in danger.
8.    If you fear to do something, you are afraid to do it or you do not wish to do it.
9.    You say that you fear that the situation is the case when the situation is unpleasant or undesirable, and when you want to express sympathy, sorrow, or regret about it.
10. If you are in fear of doing or experiencing something unpleasant or undesirable, you are very worried that you might have to do it or experience it.

11. If you take a particular course of action for fear of something, you take the action in order to prevent that thing happening.


It can be inferred from the above definitions and connotations that fear is the kind of unpleasant or undesirable feeling. You have fear when you are under threats, e.g. you might get killed or injured by something or someone. Human beings, like animals or not I am not quite sure, seek happiness and sometime meanings in life; and avoid suffering. In short, you want to be immortal.


Perhaps its potential root is ignorance. You are of incapability to know what and where you will be after you die. If there were hells and heavens, you would prefer the latter one, wouldn’t you? Most people believe or choose to believe that life continues after death. What you do not know drives you to seek answers, and thus creates room big enough for both sciences pseudo-sciences, and whatever exists.

Is fear our basic instinct like sex? Maybe, maybe not, or is it something that we have been conditioned? Or both? Or is it something --- which has already been determined by Providence? )

Hopefully, one day, we human beings may open wholly new ways of thinking about life and mind and even reality at large.

In psychology, people believe that certain kinds of fears can be cultured.


One of the most cited attempts by researchers to explain fears logically and scientifically is the classic study of Watson and Raynor  (1920). In addition to revealing that our fear is the undesirable feeling resulted from operant conditioning by anxiety-evoking stimuli, they have also demonstrated that fear can be generalized. Below is the study summary.

“ Watson and Raynor have described an experimentally induced phobia in a year-old infant [perhaps during that period of time research ethics allowed them], Albert, whose irrational fears were largely the result of overgeneralization. Albert was first exposed to a white rat; then, just as he was about to touch the rat, a loud noise was produced behind his head. On again being presented with the rat, Albert behaved in a highly emotional manner. After several pairings of the rat and the loud sound, Albert displayed a violent fear response when the rat alone was presented. Further tests revealed that by this time Albert had developed a phobia; the fear had generalized to other fluffy objects including rabbits, dogs, a seal-fur coat, cotton, wool, and human hair…”

Watson and Raynor have also illustrated that inappropriate generalization can be found in everyday life e.g. the letter from the advice column:

“ My girl friend fixed me up with a blind date and I should have known the minute he showed up in a bow tie that he couldn’t be trusted. I fell for him like a rock. He got me to love him on purpose and then lied to me and cheated on me. Every time I go with a man who wears a bow tie, the same thing happens. I think girls should be warned about men who wear them.

Against Bow Ties   “

(Watson and Raynor 1920, cited in Bandura and Walters 1963, p.8).


Based on experience, you would disagree with the girl because you might know a man behind a bow tie who can be trusted.

You might fear something like snakes, spiders, cockroaches, etc. The above examples might explain part of its causes.


You may have witnessed such generalized fears e.g. the All Black has to a Haka dance before playing rugby; Nobody would want to get married on Friday 13th, maybe because you are afraid that doing so will ruin your marriage and ghosts might break your neck or knock your brain out and etc.


Fears in Education

In the sphere of education, fears play a crucial role in shaping youngsters.

Learners, too, have been conditioned in such unhealthy ways. They have carried with them in their perceptions loads of fears. Some of them have lost their confidence and have developed the external locus of control, believing that their fate depends solely on something beyond their control.

In education, lights should be encouraged to expel or drive away human ignorance and fear. In many cases, this is not the case. Many teachers and educational institutes foster fears and irrationality. Fears are everywhere in places without peace, laws and order. Fear creeps in when your freedom is being hurt.

I hope I am not out of the ethers. I welcome whoever is reading mine to join me in this enterprise.

References


Bandura, Albert & Walters, H., Richard. (1963). Social Learning and Personality Development. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc, New York.

Monday, June 6, 2016

PROPOSITIONS UNDER 7

PROPOSITIONS UNDER 7

Photo: Internet
Ludwig Wittgenstein
in "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus"



7 What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.




Ref:
http://sqapo.com/wittgenstein.htm

Meno Dilemma: Questions and Answers

Meno Dilemma: Regarding the Nature of Questions and Answers


Janpha Thadphoothon

This is a kind of riddles. People often ask questions and they expect to get some answers.

In education and many aspects of life, people are expected to answer the questions. In exams, students are considered excellent if they could answer the questions.

However, as we know, questions themselves are, sometimes, more interesting than answers.


Photo credit: www.antiqbook.com

Let's learn from one of the most brilliant minds, Ludwig Wittgenstein, see what he had said about questions and answers in the context of logic.

In  Tractatus logico-philosophicus or the "Treaty of Logical Philosophy"

Section 6.5

For an answer which cannot be expressed the question too cannot be expressed.
The riddle does not exist.
If a question can be put at all, then it can also be answered.

Elsewhere it is put this way:

6.5 When the answer cannot be put into words, neither can the question be put into words. The riddle does not exist. If a question can be framed at all, it is also possible to answer it.

This is also known as MENO dilemma  It goes something like this. If you ask a question, you already know the answer. You may argue you do not know the answer. Then, again, how can you ask the question in the first place.

In 6.522, he put it that:


There are, indeed, things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical.


Even in places where all scientific rules as we know them seem to be obsolete, humans may als attempt to raise questions: why? how or what?

References


http://sqapo.com/wittgenstein.htm

Friday, June 3, 2016

On Nietzche’s Theory of Superman

On Nietzche’s Theory of Superman

Janpha Thadphoothon

Admittedly, bearing well in mind how meager my perception of his philosophies is, still, I could not resist my temptation and natural curiosity; thus, I came up with this story.

One may wonder who Nietzsche was?



Photo credit:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/10/15/nietzsche-on-difficulty/



Friedrich (Wilhelm) Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher, poet, and classical philologist, and one of the most provocative and influential thinkers of the 19th century.

Throughout mankind’s history the search for excellence has been our central theme; the Spartans of ancient Greek had cruel ways of selecting fittest generations for wars. By this I refer to the search for perfection of man; the dynamic bio-socio-techno evolved specie --- from homo sapient to homotech excellentia (my term, by the way), which can create countless possibilities in terms of mankind development.

We all have seen the Hollywood series of Superman or Spiderman, but were those too science fictionalised or ambitious to be taken seriously?


A lot of people who used to laugh and/or are laughing at his radical stance regarding the future of man may have to readjust their stances. At this point in time, Fewer and fewer people dare saying that this possibility is obsolete.

Back in the turn of the 20th century, very few people realized this possibility. However, with the advancement of cloning technology and genetic engineering plus artificial intelligence movements, and other frontiers of sciences, uncertainties have risen; things could be as he and his precedents have predicted.


Probably Marx and Hegel et al may be wrong in asserting that only through the raising of all humanity to a higher level in social life the liberation of all of humanity can lead to the formation of a new type of man. They were partly correct, nevertheless. Those who were in similar veils should embrace Vygotsky who used to write that Nietzsche’s wild imagination was erroneous had lost the opportunity to readjust his tenet or proposition.

According to Vygotsky (p. 183), Nietzsche posited that:

“ evolution did not exhausted its possibilities when it creates man and that the modern type of personality is not the highest achievement and the last word in the process of development…”

Nietzsche, therefore, arrived at the conclusion that:
 

“ A new creature can arise during the process of evolution, a superman, who will have the same relation to contemporary man, as contemporary man has to the ape.”

Even if his prediction was true, no one can guarantee that the first prototype of such being will communicate in English and how.

Up to this point, I should like to borrow Professor Andrew Lian’s bon mot: So what?

Well, nothing much, really, I am just wondering about the future of education in general.

One teacher I know, many years ago, used to feel upset when students did not pay attention to his lecture, and in addition to his lengthy explanation of why we students should study and why schools exist, he predicted that in the near future a technology or device which can enable us to down any information we need into our perception, including languages and mathematics.

I admire those computer nerds and absentminded cum die-hard scientists who are spending their time on this quest. I only wish they succeeded within my lifetime --- and theirs.

By jove, if it were going to take a hundred years or so, my contemporaries and I, frankly speaking, envy those who could live that long to be materialized. Have a nice day!

References


http://home.earthlink.net/~pdistan/howp_9.html Accessed 6/09/01.

http://www.mb-soft.com/believe/txn/deathgod.htm. Accessed 6/09/01.

Vygotsky, Lev. “The Socialist Alteration of Man” in The Vygotsky Reader edited by Rene vander Veer and Jaan Valsiner (1998) Blackwell, Oxford.

Paradigm Has Shifted

Paradigm Has Shifted

Janpha Thadphoothon


What is a paradigm? It's simply a model of something.

What do we mean by 'paradigm shift'?

A paradigm shift is a big change --- a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions or belief.



Photo credit: http://humansarefree.com/2016/04/understanding-new-world-order-who-what.html


Most of us, if we remain true to ourselves, feel that things have radically changed.

Animal-unfriendly Expressions in English

Animal-unfriendly Expressions in English

Janpha Thadphoothon

The language we use is not just a system of signs or symbols. it often reflect our social construction.

Language as a symbolic system does not function in vacuum. There are truckloads of values and ideas embedded into it. Often such historical and experiential embodiment is the result of its use in society. Very often, we do not think much about it. But when we carefully look into our language we might be more aware of our construction ans perhaps our shortcomings.

Language has power. It reflects values and reinforces values. One example of the power of language can be seen in various animal-unfriendly expressions found in English. In Thai, we have a saying โง่เหมือนควาย or as stupid as a buffalo.

In many languages, we can often notice the biases against animals.

Three such animal-unfriendly expressions in English are:




a. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. (This means that we can use different ways to achieve our goals.)

b. Kill two birds with one stone. (This means to perform two tasks or achieve two goals at the same time.)

c. Don’t be a sitting duck. (This means someone or something likely to be attacked or unable to put up a defense. A duck hunter knows that if a duck is sitting still, it’s a much easier target than a duck in flight.)

In semiotics, we have learned how discourse represents and constructs society. The way we use those expressions, if anything, reflects our attitudes and mindset of those animals.

Bearing this bias in mind, as a teacher, you may ask your students to find the biased expressions or proverbs in Thai or in English. Let them discuss and unpack the many values embedded in them.


Wednesday, June 1, 2016

The Ari Cult and the Bagan Civilization

The Ari Cult and the Bagan Civilization





คำผวน ในภาษาเวียดนาม (Spoonerism in Vietnamese)

คำผวน ในภาษาเวียดนาม (Word Play in Vietnamese)

จันทร์พา ทัดภูธร


การนำคำมาเล่น หรือ word play มีด้วยกันทุกชาติทุกภาษา การผวนคำ หรือ spoonerism คือรูปแบบหนึ่งของการเล่นคำ

ในภาษาอังกฤษ ก็มีการผวนคำเช่นกัน เรียกว่า spoonerism ครับ

ตัวอย่างที่นิยมยกกันมาบ่อย ๆ คือ  "The Lord is a shoving leopard" ซึ่งผวนมาจากประโยคที่ว่า
"The Lord is a loving shepherd."

ภาษาไทยเรานิยมเล่นคำผวนมาก เช่น อะรีดอย = อร่อยดี

ภาษาเวียดนามก็เช่นกัน ผมขอแนะนำรูปแบบการเล่นคำ 2 แบบ คือ

1. nói lái นอยไหล คือ การสลับคำ แปลตรงตัวว่า พูดใหม่ / พูดอีกครั้ง โดยสลับคำหลังไปหน้า หน้าไปหลัง แต่คงตำแหน่งของเสียงวรรณยุกต์ เช่น

chửa hoang ( การอยู่กินด้วยกันโดยไม่ได้สมรส  - (ท้องเถื่อน) ผวนเป็น hoảng chưa (กลัวยัง)
คำว่า chửa (ฉัว)  แปลว่า ท้อง ส่วน hoang  (ฮวง) แปลว่า เถื่อน

hoảng  แปลว่า กลัว + chưa  ยัง

mèo cái แมวไก๋ แปลว่า ไก่ตัวเมีย
ผวนเป็น mài kéo ไมแก๋ว แปลว่า ลับกรรไกร

2. เป็นการเล่นคำของเด็ก ชาวเวียดนาม โดยนำคำที่คิดขึ้นมาวางไว้หน้าคำหลัก แล้วผวนกลับพยัญชนะต้นและเสียงสัมผัส เช่น

la phở  - lơ phả   ลาเฝอ - เลอฝา
(เฝอ คือ อาหารคล้ายก๋วยเตี๋ยว)

แบบนี้คล้ายกับการผวนคำของไทยมากที่สุด ต่างรงที่นำคำอื่นมานำหน้าคำหลัก กล่าวคืออีกฝั่งอาจไม่มีความหมายก็ได้ เช่น  จำใด (ไม่มีความหมาย)  ผวนเป็น ใจดำ (มีความหมาย)




อ้างอิง

"Nói lái" https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%B3i_l%C3%A1i


A Discourse Analysis of Metaphor Use in AI and Machine Learning Texts (DRAFT ONLY)

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