Softskill

Saussure: Language as Social Fact

Around the end of the century XII- Apparently everything looks good for the time, and some still remain convincing for the present. The similarities of language with biological has been widely rejected. This is make difficulty to understanding language as an academic discipline. If the language  is not the species of life. In the sense of whether the language is “stuff” that can be investigated? A layman pleased that French language is something that can be learned, which has a specific device and in some cases the same or similar to the English language but differ in other respects. But when the French language in an item and the item is something strange. It is clear that it is not a concrete object such as a table or as a stretch of land called French.  You can not see or hear the French language. You can hear is Gaston waiter said: “pas si bête..” You can see a line on a sheet of newspaper “Le Monde” but how can we interpret a being called the French language which is behind the thousands of concrete phenomena than can be observed as in the two earlier example? What kind of form that language? Biological paradigm shows the relationship between speech and French language as the relationship between certain carrots and carrot species; And up to the rejection of the biological paradigm opinion, this opinion has been regarded as satisfactory even though people can only see or eat carrots. People evaluated that it is pretty important to talk about carrots species and discuss, said, genetic relationship and species tubers. But at the first time biology had thrown to the side of the road; Second, the people have argued that the paradigm can not provide a complete answer to the on going discussion in biology. Because the species is an abstraction, at least individual species is a concrete thing. So many things can be easily perceived from the carrots. But the linguistic analogy in biological individual is idiolect; And almost all, not all, same as abstraction from the concept of language. We can not hear Gaston idiolect as a form; We can only hear the examples of idiolect. The comments that he says when he saw a tip that we left off, and it doesn’t has the example of parallels idiolect in biology. So, even though it’s not consider as a particular problem by linguists in the XIX century, question of “How does the meaning of the language or dialect of the underlying reality that can be perceived from certain utterances” is remain exist at that time. People who can answer the question that can satisfy linguists during his period of time and nowadays is Swiss academician: Ferdinand deSaussure.

Mongin Ferdinand deSaussure is his full name, born in Geneva in 1857, children of Huguenot family who moved from Lorraine during wars of religion at the end of XVI century in French. Even though people nowadays consider Saussure as the first man who gave the definition about synchronic linguistic – study about language as system in certain time, which divide as historical linguistic (which Saussure distinguished by the name diachronic linguistics) for linguists during his period was the only approach available to be learned that time – in his lifetime wasn’t meant to be famous. Saussure was educated as ancient linguist and in his young age was succeeded to publish a book title Memoire sur lesysteme primitive des voyelles dans les langues indo-europeennes (1878). The book published a few weeks after his twenty-firth birthday, when he was a student in German. It was one of proto indo-European language. Saussure give a speech about Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris from 1881 until 1891, before he went back to teach in Geneva, the entire publishing and almost his work more associated with historical linguistic rather than synchronic linguistic, with  a deep analysis concerning in various Indo-European language and not with the basic theory. Whereas, although Saussure produce his work on the theory of general linguistic at about 1890 (Koerner, 1973: 29). He seems reluctant to give it to someone else, and the story of how the ideas be in publishing is a strange thing. At the end of 1906, he was asked to take over responsibility in giving lectures on general linguistics and comparative history and languages of the Indo-European scholar who was quit his service for 30 years; Saussure taught the material in the rest of his study  in 1908-1909 and 1910-1911. In the first years, Saussure limit his study only about historical; but when he give it in the second years, he also included a brief introduction about synchronic linguistics and in the third years, all semesters are used to provide synchronous linguistic theory. Shortly after that, he died without a chance to publish any material from that theory. Some people have been asked to publish but he always replied that preparing the materials is very time-consuming, but two of his friends, Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye decided on a new fabric of the student notes with their lecture, Saussure. The book they produce is entitled Cours de linguistique Generale (Saussure 1916) can be used by scholars in the world to understand the thinking of Saussure and because of this the document, Saussure known as father of linguistic. 

Tugas 3 Article of Healthy

Laughter is the Best Medicine

The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter

Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

 Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.

Laughter is good for your health

§  Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

§  Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

§  Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

§  Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

The Benefits of Laughter
Physical Health Benefits: §  Boosts immunity §  Lowers stress hormones §  Decreases pain §  Relaxes your muscles §  Prevents heart disease	Mental Health Benefits: §  Adds joy and zest to life §  Eases anxiety and fear §  Relieves stress §  Improves mood §  Enhances resilience	Social Benefits: §  Strengthens relationships §  Attracts others to us §  Enhances teamwork §  Helps defuse conflict §  Promotes group bonding

Laughter and humor help you stay emotionally healthy

Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun.

The link between laughter and mental health

§  Laughter dissolves distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing.

§  Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.

§  Humor shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.

The social benefits of humor and laughter

Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created. This bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment.

Laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone

Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter and play also adds joy, vitality, and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times.

Incorporating more humor and play into your daily interactions can improve the quality of your love relationships— as well as your connections with co-workers, family members, and friends. Using humor and laughter in relationships allows you to:

§  Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.

§  Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts.

§  Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.

§  Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

Bringing more humor and laughter into your life

Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.

Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you do.

Here are some ways to start:

§  Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling.

§  Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.

§  When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”

§  Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.

§  Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Developing your sense of humor: Take yourself less seriously

One essential characteristic that helps us laugh is not taking ourselves too seriously. We’ve all known the classic tight-jawed sourpuss who takes everything with deathly seriousness and never laughs at anything. No fun there!

Some events are clearly sad and not occasions for laughter. But most events in life don’t carry an overwhelming sense of either sadness or delight. They fall into the gray zone of ordinary life–giving you the choice to laugh or not.

Ways to help yourself see the lighter side of life:

§  Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take yourself less seriously is to talk about times when you took yourself too seriously.

§  Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them. Look for the humor in a bad situation, and uncover the irony and absurdity of life. This will help improve your mood and the mood of those around you.

§  Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun.

§  Keep things in perspective. Many things in life are beyond your control—particularly the behavior of other people. While you might think taking the weight of the world on your shoulders is admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic, unproductive, unhealthy, and even egotistical.

§  Deal with your stress. Stress is a major impediment to humor and laughter.

§  Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.

Checklist for lightening up

When you find yourself taken over by what seems to be a horrible problem, ask these questions:

§  Is it really worth getting upset over?

§  Is it worth upsetting others?

§  Is it that important?

§  Is it that bad?

§  Is the situation irreparable?

§  Is it really your problem?

Using humor and play to overcome challenges and enhance your life

The ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships.

Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning.

Playing with problems seems to come naturally to children. When they are confused or afraid, they make their problems into a game, giving them a sense of control and an opportunity to experiment with new solutions. Interacting with others in playful ways helps you retain this creative ability.

Here are two examples of people who took everyday problems and turned them around through laughter and play:

Roy, a semi-retired businessman, was excited to finally have time to devote to golf, his favorite sport. But the more he played, the less he enjoyed himself. Although his game had improved dramatically, he got angry with himself over every mistake. Roy wisely realized that his golfing buddies affected his attitude, so he stopped playing with people who took the game too seriously. When he played with friends who focused more on having fun than on their scores, he was less critical of himself. Now golfing was as enjoyable as Roy hoped it would be. He scored better without working harder. And the brighter outlook he was getting from his companions and the game spread to other parts of his life, including his work.

Jane worked at home designing greeting cards, a job she used to love but now felt had become routine. Two little girls who loved to draw and paint lived next door. Eventually, Jane invited the girls in to play with all the art supplies she had. At first, she just watched, but in time she joined in. Laughing, coloring, and playing pretend with the little girls transformed Jane’s life. Not only did playing with them end her loneliness and mild boredom, it sparked her imagination and helped her artwork flourish. Best of all, it rekindled the playfulness and spark in Jane’s relationship with her husband.

As laughter, humor, and play become an integrated part of your life, your creativity will flourish and new discoveries for playing with friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and loved ones will occur to you daily. Humor takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, creative, joyful, and balanced perspective.

Source: http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Discussion of Sentence          :

1.         Laughter makes you feel good.

This sentence include to simple present tense.

Simple present expresses daily habits or usual activities. The simple present also expresses general statements of fact. This sentence include to general statement of fact.

Simple present tense                S                     +              V1                          ±            O

           Laughter             +            makes                   +   you feel good

2.         Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting.

This sentence include to present continuous tense.

present continuous tense expresses the on going activities and indicates future action.

               S           + be(am/is/are)     +     V1-ing/pres. participle

Shared laughter +          is   +  one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting.

                                   

3.         Humor takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, creative, joyful, and balanced perspective.

This sentence include to simple present tense.

Simple present expresses daily habits and also expresses general statements of fact. This sentence include to general statement of fact.

Simple present tense                 S                     +              V1                          +            O        +    Adv of manner

        Humor            +             takes      +          you    +     to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, creative, joyful, and balanced perspective.

How to Make Gerunds and Infinitives

What is a Gerund?

A gerund is a noun made from a verb. To make a gerund, you add "-ing" to the verb.

For example:
In the sentence "I swim every day", the word "swim" is a verb.

In the sentence "I like swimming", the word "swimming" is a noun.

Therefore, "swimming" is a gerund.

Second example:
In the sentence "She reads several books a week", the word "read" is a verb.
In the sentence "Reading is important", the word "reading" is a noun.
Therefore, "reading" is a gerund.

More examples of gerunds: buying, fishing, running, watching, telling, and so forth.

The word "gerund" actually comes from the Latin word gerere, which means "do".
You could say this actually makes sense: the gerund describes an action, something you do.
Gerunds are often used when actions are real or completed.

Examples:
(Note how the main underlined verb relates to real or completed actions.)

• She stopped smoking.
• I finished doing my homework.
• They keep on fighting.
• We discussed moving to Florida.
• You recommended waiting until tomorrow.
• He recalled falling asleep on the couch.
• She practices playing those drums all the time.
• John completed fixing the car.
• The job involves dealing with animals.
• Brian mentioned staying up late.
• They suggested not keeping the luggage.
• We started working on this yesterday.

What is an Infinitive?

An infinitive is the basic form of the verb + "to".

Examples: to buy, to fish, to run, to watch, to tell, and so forth.

Example Sentences:

"I want to swim."

"They asked us to leave."

"To be, or not to be – that is the question."

"The goal is to win."

The word "infinitive" comes form the Latin word infinitus, from in- (not) andfinitus (finished, limited).

You could say this actually makes sense: the infinitive describes an action, but unlike a regular verb, it is not limited in any way.

The regular verb is limited to the tense and subject. For example, in the sentence "Diana danced" the action is limited to Diana and to the past.

However, the infinitive is unlimited. In the sentence "To dance is easy", the action is not limited to any subject or to any time.

Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, general, or future.

Examples:

(Note how the main underlined verb relates to unreal, general, or future actions.)

• Kate agreed to come.
• I hope to see you soon.
• We plan to finish this shortly.
• They decided to return home.
• She promised to stop smoking.
• We agreed never to talk about it again.
• He offered to sell the house.
• I refuse to pay!
• You seem to be disappointed.
• She asked him not to leave.
• I want to drink.
• They need to get up early.

Source : http://www.really-learn-english.com/gerunds-and-infinitives.html