Language Learning From Cartoons

Language is one of the main reasons that we, as human beings, have been able to progress and adapt so much through history to build kingdoms, empires and populations like we have today. That doesn’t seem to big of a deal now because we’ve been blessed to be in an era of awesome communication techniques, but when compared to a panda or a giraffe, for example, they don’t have anywhere near the ability to communicate as we do and thus can’t progress like we can and have through our history. We can relate the things that we’ve learned to others through our trials, so that someone else may be able to use that knowledge and skip over the time it would take to learn it and begin something new, based on that knowledge. Language evolves rapidly, like the technology of today. With each new generation of kids, there are new vernaculars and idioms. Relating to this blog, in most cartoons, the new language is spoken very clearly and also uses phrases that can be interpreted very well, given the context. Even those with limited knowledge of a language can watch a cartoon and know what’s going on with the story.

“For language is not simply the medium by which we express our ideas and experiences to each other. Rather it is fundamental to the thought process itself. It involves categorizing and naming objects and sensations in the outer and inner worlds and making associations between resulting mental symbols. It is, in effect, impossible for us to conceive of thought (as we are familiar with it) in the absence of language, and it is the ability to form mental symbols that is the fount of our creativity, for only once we create such symbols can we recombine them and ask such questions as “What if …?” (Lamberton 2006:374)

Language is that important, even down to our thoughts. One of the best ways to learn is by hearing and practicing clearly pronounced language. When I liven in the Dominican Republic, I knew hardly any Spanish. So in order to practice my listening, I went to a neighbor's house from time to time and would watch with their kids, Spongebob Squarepants (Bob Esponja) and Pinky and the Brain (Pinky y Cerebro), to name a few. Half of the time I had already seen the episode and knew the dialogue in English more or less, so when I heard them in Spanish, I wrote down the phrases and translations.

One of the important things is that these cartoons are good for older people to learn new idioms in their own language, too. For example, my favorite cartoon by far is the Ninja Turtles. Michelangelo frequently uses odd terms and phrases, such as, "gnarly," "radical," "bodacious," and the personal favorite, "cowabunga." An Interesting side note to this is that they live in New York. Generally, as is mentioned in the documentary, Riding Giants, terms like this have been found to originate from California and Hawaii, during the beginnings of the surfing era.

The following map has details illustrating my theories on the origins of the knowledge of surfer lingo.

View Alternate Origin of Ninja Turtles in a larger map with details.

Many of the phrases make no sense on their own, but with the context, one can learn how to use them and ultimately what they mean. In The Adventures of Fat Albert episode, Don’t Call Us, Fat Albert says, “Don’t be a dropout, be a winner.” If someone that is watching, doesn’t know what a dropout is, they only need to know what a winner is and they know that a dropout isn’t a winner. Through the context of the episode, you learn that a dropout is one that quits school. Cartoons are a great way to learn new languages, and also a good method to learn new lingo of your own language.

Other Sources:

Lamberton, Don. "New Media and he Economics of Information." The Handbook of New Media. Ed. Leah A. Lievrouw and Sonia Livingstone. London: Sage, 2006. 364-385.

"Ninja Pedia." Mirage Studios, Inc., 2009.

Riding Giants. Dir. Stacy Peralta. Perf. Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, and Laird Hamilton. Sony Pictures, 2004. (on google videos)

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