ENGL 3001 Position Paper "Beowulf"

Year: 2014-2015

Professor: Nellie Vázquez

Class: INGL 3001

College: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus

Grace H. Rodríguez Cruz

Professor N. Vázquez

English 3001

September 3rd, 2014

The “Beowulf” epic and the Christian approach to Pagan cultures

During the time “Beowulf” was created, the Christian religion was surfacing as one of the most influential of all. The followers would begin to write poems where they could attach the love for their religion and the need to spread it to heroes and events so appealing that they would capture the admiration of the pagans and teach them about their terms of salvation and righteousness. “Beowulf” is one of these poems, if not the most influential of the time. It is stated that the Old English Poetry had a set of characteristics to which the timeless epic also holds dear to its source; holding the figure of a Viking hero so close to a resemblance of Jesus Christ and the everlasting battle with evil, which in this case, takes the form of Grendel.

Even from the very beginning, the Christian references are shown even when it is being talked about Grendel’s parents: “Monsters born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God, punished forever for the crime of Abel’s death.”(verse 20) These make it more influential for a pagan audience to learn about Christianity to understand the reference in a more enjoyable matter. The people who would hear or read the epic would feel curious as to why these similes are being done to feel more connected. The heroic part is obviously centered on the main character: “Beowulf, Higlac’s follower and the strongest of the Geats-greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world-“ (verse 110) as one of the many ways we are referred to the heroic prince. Another characteristic is the extensive use of figurative language; from the examples found in the epic, one of my personal favorites will be the reference to Beowulf’s sword in the fight with Grendel’s mother. “The iron sang its fierce song, sang Beowulf’s strength” (verse 475) which bring the elegance of the art of oral stories to the maximum visual image stimulation for the audience and makes the next characteristic, the elegiac, even more beautiful to experience. We can find triumph and failure in the epic. One of the examples is the triumph over Grendel “The battle was over, Beowulf had been granted new glory” (verse 340) and the failure can be felt almost at the end of the story when old Beowulf is defeated in the dragon fight “…Wrapped around in swirling flames-a king, before, but now a beaten warrior.” (verse 690). The audience becomes very fond of our hero because we see his suffering, bravery and growth throughout the poem. Our hero is glorified, persecuted, abandoned, adored and has the charm to conquest himself some loyal readers and hearers. Just like that, the Christians bring to life another version of Christ and a new set of fans to learn more about this real-life hero who, like Beowulf, became a legend.

Sources: "From Beowulf." The Language of Literature: British Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2000. N. pag. Print.

Kirtlan, Ernest J.B. The Story of Beowulf: Translated from Anglo-Saxon into Modern English Prose. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1914. Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine. Web. 01 Sept. 2014.

ENGL 3225 Critique

Year: 2013-2014
Professor: David Luciano
Class: INGL 3225
College: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus

Grace H. Rodríguez Cruz

ENGL3225- Introduction to Language

Prof. D.H. Luciano

March 10th, 2014

Humans have always wanted to find the answers of the mysteries of everyday life. Some may aim for space, and others may aim for closer grounds. Marc D. Hauser, Noam Chomsky and W. Tecumseh Fitch introduced the article: “ The Faculty of Language: What Is it Who has It and How Did It Evolve?” in which the main purpose of the writing is to explain the relation between the biology with and the linguistic outbreak the humans created to distinct themselves from other animals. “One aim of this essay is to promote a stronger connection between biology and linguistics by identifying points of contact and agreement between the fields.”

From the main topics, the authors mainly focus on proving how the faculty of language has a broad sense called the FLB and the narrow sense (FLN). The broad sense includes what provides the capacity to generate an infinite range of expressions from limited elements. These will include the  sensory-motor system, a conceptual-intentional system and the computational mechanisms of recursión. However, the FLN brings to the article the distinction of human exclusive components like using numbers, navigation systems and social relations.

The level of expertise of the authors is highly convincing due to the fact of all three of them domaining the topic of study. The authors convincingly talked with the Works and examples done by other fellow researchers such as Darwin, Boysen and Matsuzawa, Galileo, Descartes and so on to bring forth proof and to bring the thesis from their own works. The accuracy of the article was spot on in everything they explained, giving a table to proof the emphirical behaviors and pictures to make the visual learning easier. The article might be from the early 2000s, but it shows good domain and a still belieavable argument that dates today’s mystery with language.

In my opinion, the article is beautifuly written with logical proof and an enthusiasm for teaching others that I’ve rarely seen around a neuroscience article. I definitely agree with their aim and the relationship between the biological factor and the linguistic development because it has a good part of the “how” and the “why” language started.

ENGL 3225 Bilingualism

Year: 2013-2014
Professor: David Luciano
Class: INGL 3225
College: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus

Grace H. Rodríguez Cruz

INGL3225- An Introduction to Language

Prof. David H. Luciano

April 29^th, 2014

Bilingualism

·         What is bilingualism?

According to ASHA, 2004: Bilingualism is “commonly defined as the use of at least two languages by an individual. It is a dynamic and fluid process across a number of domains, including experience, tasks, topics, and time.” This can be categorized in two different ways: Simultaneous bilingualism and Sequential bilingualism. “Simultaneous bilingualism occurs when a young child has had significant and meaningful exposure to two languages from birth. Ideally, the child will have equal, quality experiences with both languages. Sequential bilingualism-Occurs when an individual has had significant and meaningful exposure to a second language, usually after the age of 3 and after the first language is well established.”

·         Types of bilinguists individuals

According to Maria Rosaria M’Acierno, there are three types of individuals when it comes to bilingualism: compound, coordinate and sub-coordinate. A compound learner is “who learns two languages in the same environment so that he/she acquires one notion with two verbal expressions.” Coordinate learners “acquire the two languages in different contexts (e.g., home and school), so the words of the two languages belong to separate and independent systems”; and a sub-coordinate learner is that who one language dominates more than the other.

·         Six ways of acquiring bilingualism

Eduardo Hernández Rangel, 2009, explains on his writings about six different ways to acquire two languages:

1.       One person- One language

1.1.    Each parent has a different native language and a certain knowledge of the other’s.

1.2.    The community has the dominant language of one of the parents.

1.3.    Strategy-Each parent speaks to the child in their own native language.

2.       Non-dominant home language

2.1.    Parents have different native languages

2.2.    Community has the dominant language of one of the parents.

2.3.    Strategy-Both parents speak the non-dominant language to the child and he/she is exposed to the dominant language only outside the house.

3.       Non-dominant home language without community support

3.1.    Parents have the same native language.

3.2.    The community’s language is different from the parents’.

3.3.    Strategy-The parents speak their own language to the child.

4.       Double non-dominant home language without community support

4.1.    Parents have different native languages.

4.2.    The community’s language is different from the parents’.

4.3.    Strategy-Parents speak their own language to the child.

5.       Non-native parents

5.1.    Parents share the same native language.

5.2.    The community’s language is that of the parents’.

5.3.    Strategy- One of the parents addresses the child in a language which is not his/her native one.

6.       Mixed Languages

6.1.    Bilingual parents

6.2.    A sector of the community is also bilingual.

6.3.    Strategy-The parents use code-switching.

·         Advantages of being bilingual

According to Anne Merritt’s article on 2013, being bilingual can boost you more than just on your professional career, it can also:

1.       Improve the functionality of your brain. This skill boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem-solving tasks as well.

2.       Makes good multi-taskers, because they can easily switch between different structures.

3.        Delays Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

3.1.1. Bilinguals tend to have the first signs at the age of 75.5 instead of the average 71.4

4.        Multiple language speakers are better at remembering lists or sequences

5.       Better at observing their surroundings.

5.1.1. They are more adept at focusing on relevant information and editing out the irrelevant. They’re also better at spotting misleading information.

6.       Make more rational decisions.

6.1.1. Bilinguals are more confident with their choices after thinking it over in the second language and seeing whether their initial conclusions still stand up.

7.       More effective communicator and a sharper editor and writer. Language speakers also develop a better ear for listening.

·         References:

1.       American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2004). The Advantages of Being Bilingual. Retrieved from ASHA: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/The-Advantages-of-Being-Bilingual/

2.       American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2004). Bilingualism. Retrieved from ASHA: http://www.asha.org/practice/multicultural/issues/bll.htm

3.      Merritt, A. (2013, June 19). Why learn a foreign language? Benefits of Bilingualism. Retrieved from The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10126883/Why-learn-a-foreign-language-Benefits-of-bilingualism.html

4.       Hernández, Eduardo. (2009). Bilingualism. Retrieved from SlideShare:http://www.slideshare.net/lalohr/types-of-bilingual-acquisition

5.       D’Acierno, Maria R. (1990, March). Three Types of Bilingualism. Retrieved from ERIC: http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED321574 

ENGL 4011 Phonetics Chapter 2

Year: 2013-2014

Professor: María Rodríguez

Class: INGL 4011

College: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus

Grace H. Rodríguez Cruz

843 09 6818

ENGL4011- Phonetics

      Many of the teachers I’ve had the opportunity to take classes with struggle to get the attention of the students. From the main complains I’ve heard, the excuse I hear the most to not pay attention to class is how much the teacher lacks the correct articulations and accent. Due to this, the students lose credibility in the teacher and stamp the “incompetence” sticker on the forehead without making any further observation. Henry Sweet, the creator of the phonetic alphabet believed that phonetics was “the indispensable foundation of all study in language…” In other words, these teachers may have known many of what they might’ve been teaching, but they didn’t know how to grasp the essence of the word in the pronunciation. That is what the future teachers need to prevent and what we need to obtain and wrap it around our students’ head to give to the world as a gift.

      The knowledge of phonetics gives the teacher an advantage when it comes to planning strategies for a better learning of the English pronunciation. The students will be exposing their learned material from past classes, giving an idea of how much there is and how much is needed. The diagnosis of this will help on making a better daily plan to the groups that include the material and more participation in reading and answering in front of class. Besides helping in their skills of projection in front of crowds; this will give us the opportunity to help correct the phonetic errors while a good communication is being developed. The orthography can be also checked with the knowledge of phonetics by helping out in story writing and essay making instead of the basic questions the students are used to answer and break the monotone replies consisting in building sentences around the same words of a question. The students will learn how to express themselves creatively and correctly while their own personality starts to shine in paper. The pragmatics is essential to our students. The rules of conversation are crucial and understanding the pragmatics of language is something that should be constantly reminded to our students.

      Whatever they learn or remember will be the educator’s responsibility. And even if the students forget a thing or two in the end, the most important goal for a teacher is to alert the groups of errors and to correct themselves when they do them. The self-awareness is one of the most important objectives when it comes to learning a second language, and it will be satisfactory to pass on the introspective to the fresh minds. The ability to understand and to correct what is wrong is the fresh start of a different L2 learning generation.

ENGL 4011 Phonetics Chapter 1

Year: 2013-2014

Professor: María Rodríguez

Class: INGL 4011

College: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus

Grace H. Rodríguez Cruz

ENGL4011

August 22^nd, 2013

 “Speech is a distinctly human phenomenon.” The beauty of language goes way beyond the naked eye does. This brings the concepts of the six independent subsystems of language: Phonology (speech, sounds), Morphology (word inflection and derivation), Syntax (order and construction), Lexicon (vocabulary), Semantics (meaning) and Pragmatics (context). Language also depends on dialects; these are always present and different even if the same language is being spoken. The types of lects include: Sociolect (depends on the social and economic position), Genderlect (based on gender differences), geolect (depending on the place) and Idiolect (the uniqueness of every individual). In the area of linguistics, the study of the word can be conducted in a theoretical (nature of the individual versus the linguistic background) or descriptive (the study of how the components operate). In a descriptive level, language can be studied based on the existing patterns of the language (synchronic) or the changes given to the root of speech (diachronic). These studies can be tested with a native speaker but linguists cannot expect any explanation from which the language has the certain structures. He/she may have the morphology, syntax and semantics because it is learned in an arbitrary way, not because he/she was obliged to learn.

In order to study a language, the linguist must make a corpus (an outline or example to work with). The corpus can be based in three things: (A) Select a certain author or time period, which is a closed/limited investigation. (B) Take recordings and notes from a native speaker, which starts in an open matter but closes when the data is collected and ready to investigate. Or (C) beginning the investigation with an intuition or insight about the language, leaving the act of collecting data in an always open matter.

ENGL 4920 Elements of a Literary Work

Year: 2013-2014

Professor: Walter Rybarckewicz

Class: INGL 4920

University: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus

“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” novel takes place in present everyday New York filled with heavy traffic, fumes and crowds the city is so used to. The main characters of the novel are Jace Wayland, a cocky heart-breaker whose past child abuse turned him into someone who doesn’t trust nor feels easily; Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, a pair of dark-hair brothers highly skilled in fighting with weapons; Simon Lewis, a geeky soft-hearted boy who doesn’t let his hope down on drastic situations; and the main character, Clarissa Fray, a petite-size, redhead who has the heart of a lion, even if she cannot do much of physical defense.

The story opens with Clary and Simon on their way to a club where she witnesses a murder of one of the boys from the place. However, it is only then she realizes no one else can see the three killers except for herself. Keeping the secret for others to not believe she has lost her sanity, she starts seeing one of the boys responsible for the murder and begins to feel anxious and unsafe. When the boy finally talks with her, she is explained the killed boy was a demon who wanted to feed on mundanes-who are humans with no exceptional power-and as a shadowhunter-an instrument of good and order in the hidden supernatural world-needed to destroy him. Shortly after this encounter, Clary’s mother gets kidnapped, leaving no logical explanation for her about why. It is then that her journey starts with her best friend and the three newly-found shadowhunters to find her mother and an explanation to all the problems that have been appearing ever since.

During the course of the story, Clary finds out about the Mortal Cup, a device who her mother’s kidnapper wants and was hidden in a place no one knows. The climax of the story comes out when she figures that the cup is hidden in a drawing her mother made and sealed with magic. The end of the novels shows the finding of her mother in an unexplained coma state, the realization that her mother’s kidnapper is her father and her love interest is her newfound lost brother.

The end of the book was a little frustrating because the main goal of the character was finding her mother, but now that she found her in a coma state, a whole new adventure opens up for another part of the story. I wasn’t expecting the ending as it was but it was an enjoyable read.

The narrator is an omnipresent being who gets into a character’s head and explains the thoughts and the scenery of the situation. Even if the narrator doesn’t really identify as any character, we see the thoughts of them dominating the points of view.

The work is written in prose and is an easy, believable read due to an everyday speech used. The cruel honesty and the sarcasm used give the feeling of the recent way of talking among teens.

Some of the metonymies I can remember are the references to Idirs is usually referred to be the place where shadowhunters belong; their birth place. Also, besides the mundanes, the term Downworlders are the creatures who have a demonish quality to them, whether a vampire, a werewolf, a witch, a faerie or any other kind that is constantly portrayed as evil. Some of the symbols are the Tarot cards and coffee reading, which explain to the characters the wanting of the impossible. We later find out that the whole romance part of the story gets its hopes shattered when the whole realization of Jace and Clarissa being siblings.

The work has a mixture of humor and suspense, making it a better read; even if the book is pretty slow paced.

The message of the story was to keep your hopes and determination on the same page and to reach the goal you want. It also describes a strong female character and not a damsel in distress as a main character.

The story was not as predictable as I believed it would have been. Considering this is a Young-Adult novel and was expecting more of a teenage girl drama, however I got pleasant plot twists here and there and not much of a “cheesy” atmosphere. Making it more focused on storyline and character development.

ENGL 3231 The American Romanticism and the impact in the New England culture

Year taken: 2013-2014

Professor: Nereida Prado

Class: INGL3231

University: University of Puerto Rico, Cayey Campus

Grace H. Rodriguez Cruz

INGL-3251-American Literature I

Prof. N. Prado

December 2^nd, 2013

The American Romanticism and the impact in the New England culture

          The American culture has dedicated itself to be define in their own ways based on other ideas. As an example to this, we find how the American Romanticism has its unique authors and signatures to separate from the famous British one. As part of this, we find the “negative Romantics” such as Nathaniel Hawthorne with his famous work “Young Goodman Brown”. In here we see passages such as: “By the sympathy of your human hearts for sin ye shall scent out all the places—whether in church, bedchamber, street, field, or forest—where crime has been committed, and shall exult to behold the whole earth one stain of guilt, one mighty blood spot.” This represents the moment where the devil breaks the illusion of good society Brown had of Salem and the evil essence of humans is shown to his and the reader’s eyes. However, Henry David Thoreau expresses optimistic views in his work “Walden”: “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail” and “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.” These are examples of the optimistic nature that can be portrayed and expressed of a positive and harmonious human life. But even with these differences, the authors of a complex group maintained certain characteristics that kept the essence of Romantics from the 1830s to the 1860s. It is by this that we can find the interest in nature, the social criticism and the intuition over logic as main themes for the works and inspiration for the unique authors.

          The interest in nature is an outstanding theme to many, but it became the signature to beloved author Ralph Waldo Emerson. In his work “Hamatreya” we see the peculiar Earth Song that sweeps us to reality on how would nature feel if we try to control it: “They called me theirs, Who so controlled me; Yet every one Wished to stay, and is gone, How am I theirs, If they cannot hold me, But I hold them?” The never-ending thought Emerson portrays in his poem make us reflect more about how we treat what we have and to have empathy with our roots with nature. This characteristic is always portrayed in the Romanticism; not necessarily pasted as a strong emotion to nature, but mostly towards a certain person or our own self. Emerson was the father of nature-loving poems on this period of time, but he also left behind other poems like “Give all to Love” where the encouragement to give in the impulses of strong feelings is portrayed and the encouraging of love and positivity is the daily quote “Give all to love; Obey thy heart/Friends kindred days/Estate good fame/Plans credit and the Muse/Nothing refuse.” Even though, it also talks about heartbreak, it gives the option of moving forward and expect a greater love and happiness.

          The social criticism was forever engraved in the Romantics’ heart when Harriet Beecher Stowe took on her shoulders the writing of slavery. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” displeased many and set the bar of empathy and civil rights movement for colored people. “Of course, in a novel, people’s hearts break, and they die, and that is the end of it; and in a story this is very convenient. But in real life we do not die when all that makes life bright dies to us. There is a most busy and important round of eating, drinking, dressing, walking, visiting, buying, selling, talking, reading, and all that makes up what is commonly called living, yet to be gone through…” This explains that, even if Tom’s life was only in a book and his suffering ended by the end of it, the other slaves who do dream and live every day in a terrible condition for a human being, are out there waiting to have equality and a real life to live. The only life they’ll get. Many anti-Tom’s Cabin literature appeared as counterpart for her work but the allies of the abolition, mostly northern men, encouraged the tales of real life slaves to be published and to accentuate the negative and most inhuman aspects of the practice. This gave way to the “Life and Times of Frederick Douglas” which was a book about said person and the treatment of slaves. “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” This encouraging quote by Douglas was one of the many reflective moments shown to express the need of a change and to express the empathy for others.

          The intuition over logic and reasoning is one of the most outstanding characteristics for the Romantics to maintain, however, it will be Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry who will be forever engraved in what the character believes to see and not in what you’re expecting. “I cannot, for my soul, remember how, when or even precisely where, I fist became acquainted with the Lady Ligeia.” With the first sentence of “Ligeia” it is expressed the doubt of the character towards his memories but he chooses to go along with his instincts. However, the opium addict is conscious enough to know he might hallucinate every now and then to certain things, but his love for Ligeia was ever so strong that he brought her back to life in the body of his deceased wife in the end of the story. In other works, like “Anabelle Lee” the passion and love is extreme and powerful “I was a child and she was a child/In this kingdom by the sea;/But we loved with a love that was more than love-/I and my Annabel Lee;/With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven/Coveted her and me.” This pessimistic author always gives us the view of one character and how his believes become facts, leaving the reader to decide whether logic has bended or his illusions were strong enough.

           Different yet the same; the Romantics of the New World stated how a group of completely different ideas can co-exist with each other to bring us an eternal mark of a beautiful and controversial period. Setting from optimistic and pessimistic levels to the love and state of mind. The group of this period signed history with extreme ideas and logical pushes to the minds of the readers and rulers for the greater good or the bad.