4. TOK
• Centre of IB programme
• As teachers of Languages we are being asked
to link our subject to TOK. We are all teachers
of TOK!
5. Language as a WAY OF KNOWING
• Ways of KNOWING
• Areas of KNOWLEDGE
• A symbol system engaged in representing the
world, capturing and communicating thought
and experience. It can be seen as existing in
itself, as something to be played with and
transformed and shaped in its own right and
something that can transform and shape
thought and action.
• Knowledge Issues- language issues we could bring
up with our students.
6. Knowledge issues in Language
• What is a language / what is a dialect?
• Do you have a different perception of the world
in a different language?
• How does being multilingual affect your
perception of the world?
• Do certain languages lend themselves to certain
things better than others? French seen as more
flowery and philosophical / German as more
logical?
• The rôle of accents- does this affect the way we
view people?
7. KIs in Language
• Traduire c’est trahir. What does it mean to
translate something? Does something get lost
in translation?
8. Translation issues!
• Japanese hotel room - You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid
• Paris hotel elevator - Please leave your values at the front desk
• Tokyo hotel - It is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such a thing is please not
read this notice
• Bucharest hotel - The list is being fixed for the next day. During this time you will be unbearable
• Athens hotel - Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11am daily
• Sarajevo hotel - The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid
• Moscow hotel - You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and
writers are buried daily except Thursday
• Swiss menu - Our wines leave you nothing to hope for
• Hong Kong tailors shop - Ladies may have a fit upstairs
• Bangkok dry cleaners - Drop your trousers here for best results
• Paris dress shop - Dresses for street walking
• Rhodes tailor shop - Order your summer suit. Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation
• Rome laundry - Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time
• Swiss mountain inn - Special today... no ice cream
• Copenhagen airline - We take your bags and send them in all directions
• Moscow hotel - If this is your first visit to the USSR, you are welcome to it
• Norwegian lounge - Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar
• Tokyo shop - Our nylons cost more than common but they are better for the long run
• Acapulco hotel - The manager has personally passed all the water served here
•
9. KIs in Language
• Do we let languages evolve naturally or
attempt to standardise and straight jacket
them?
• How does spoken language differ from written
language in its relationship to knowledge?
10. Real Academía de la lengua española
Académie Française
Many countries have
groups / committees to
protect the language
and decide on what is
allowed and what is not.
11. Standardisation
The following languages, to name just a few, have had revisions imposed
in the attempt to modernise or standardise:
– Dutch – 1997
– German – 2005
– Portuguese – 2008
– Urdu – reformed recently
– Arabic – there is a standardised form of Arabic which no one
actually speaks.
The Académie Française, at one stage, tried to curb the number of
Anglicisms in its language. Accents were also up for review but to what
extent can we impose rules on these languages?
12. KIs in Language
• What is the rôle of language in sustaining
relationships of authority? Can control of
written language create or reinforce power?
• How can we distinguish between facts and
emotive language used?
• What do we gain and what do we lose when
we name something?
13. Language and AOKs
• Mathematics – How is mathematics like a
language?
• Natural Sciences – What rôle do metaphors
play in Science?
• Human Sciences – Is language unique to
human beings?
• History- Is it possible to describe historical
events in an unbiased way?
• The Arts – Is art the language of emotion?
14. Language and AOKs
• Ethics – Should offensive language be
censored?
• Religion – Does religious experience lie
beyond language?
