Vocalization
Human language is a specific form of communication based on vocalization—sounds
emitted from the vocal chords. It is interesting and fun to experiment with primitive
utterances, which still have meaning today. The following activity is meant to increase
awareness that vocalization, even as a basic primitive utterance is usually associated with
specific meaning.
1. Choose a partner. With your partner practice making each one of these sounds:
Sigh
Laugh, chuckle, or giggle
Snore
Whistle
Hum
Sniff
Growl
Whisper some gibberish
Cry
Shout “Oh”
Sputter (use consonants—s,
b, and t)
Groan
Gasp
Gulp
2. With your partner, discuss and decide on the meaning of each sound above. Answer
the following questions to help discern the meaning:
A) Choose three sounds and write down where you might hear these sounds.
B) Why are these sounds made?
C) Who does/can/ should make these sounds?
D) What is the meaning of these sounds?
E) Are these positive sounds (pleasant to make, easy to listen to, cheerful) or are the
negative sounds (offensive, upsetting, unpleasant)?
3. Rehearse your sounds to perfect the match between sounds and meaning. These
should be only one, definitive meaning projected by that sound and understood by the
listeners.
Jabberwocky
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsey were the borogroves
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjubb bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock with eyes if flame
Came whiffling through the tulgeywood
And burbled as it came.
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went sniker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock ?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooy, callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsey were the borogroves
And the mome raths outgrabe.
--Lewis Carroll
"Jabberwocky" is a poem of nonsense verse written by Lewis Carroll,
originally featured as a part of his novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What
Alice Found There (1872). It is considered by many to be one of the greatest
nonsense poems written in the English language.[1] The poem is
sometimes used in primary schools to teach students about the use of
portmanteau and nonsense words in poetry, as well as use of nouns and
verbs.[2]
The first verse originally appeared in Mischmasch—a periodical which
Carroll wrote and edited for the amusement of his family—claiming to be a
piece of Anglo-Saxon poetry.
Several of the words in the poem are nonce words of Carroll's own
invention, many of them portmanteaux. In the book, the character of
Humpty Dumpty gives definitions for the nonsense words in the first
stanza. In later writings, Lewis Carroll explained several of the others. The
rest of the nonsense words were never explicitly defined by Carroll, who
claimed that he did not know what some of them meant. An extended
analysis of the poem is given in the book The Annotated Alice, including
writings from Carroll about how he formed some of his idiosyncratic words.
A few words that Carroll invented in this poem (namely "chortled" and
"galumphing") have entered the English language. The word jabberwocky
itself is sometimes used to refer to nonsense language.
Some of the words in the glossary below were defined not by Lewis
Carroll, but by later commentators.
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Bandersnatch — A swift moving creature with snapping jaws, capable of
extending its neck.[3]
Beamish — Radiantly beaming, happy, cheerful. Although Carroll may
have thought he had coined this word, it is attested from 1530.[4]
Borogove — A thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all
round, "something like a live mop".[5] The initial syllable of borogove is
pronounced as in borrow rather than as in worry.[6]
Brillig — Four o'clock in the afternoon: the time when you begin broiling
things for dinner.[5][7]
Burbled — Possibly a mixture of "bleat", "murmur", and "warble".[8] Burble
is also a pre-existing word, circa 1303, meaning to form bubbles as in
boiling water. The Dutch word broebelen still retains this meaning of
bubbling boiling water.
Chortled — Combination of chuckle and snort.[5]
Frabjous — Possibly a blend of fair, fabulous, and joyous.[9]
Frumious — Combination of "fuming" and "furious".[6]
Galumphing — Perhaps a blend of "gallop" and "triumphant". Used to
describe a way of "trotting" down hill, while keeping one foot further back
than the other. This enables the Galumpher to stop quickly.[9]
Gimble — To make holes as does a gimlet.[5]
Gyre — To go round and round like a gyroscope.[5][10] However, Carroll
also wrote in Mischmasch that it meant to scratch like a dog. The g is
pronounced like the /g/ in gold, not like gem.[11]
Jubjub bird — A desperate bird that lives in perpetual passion, according
to the Butcher in Carroll's later poem The Hunting of the Snark.[3]
Manxome — Fearsome. A portmanteau of "manly" and "buxom", the latter
relating to men for most of its history.[12]
Mimsy — Combination of "miserable" and "flimsy".[5]
Mome — Possibly short for "from home," meaning that the raths had lost
their way.[5]
Outgrabe (past tense; present tense outgribe) — Something between
bellowing and whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle.[5][13]
Rath — A sort of green pig.[5] (See Origin and structure for further details.)
Snicker-snack — An onomatopoeia of unclear meaning, possibly referring
to sharpness.[14][not in citation given]
Slithy — Combination of "slimy" and "lithe."[5] The i is long, as in writhe.[6]
Tove — A combination of a badger, a lizard, and a corkscrew. They are
very curious looking creatures which make their nests under sundials and
eat only cheese.[5] Pronounced so as to rhyme with groves.[6] Note that
"gyre and gimble," i.e. rotate and bore, is in reference to the toves being
partly corkscrew by Humpty Dumpty's definitions.
Tulgey — Thick, dense, dark.
Uffish — A state of mind when the voice is gruffish, the manner roughish,
and the temper huffish.[8]
Vorpal — See vorpal sword.
Wabe — The grass plot around a sundial. It is called a "wabe" because it
goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it, and a long way
beyond it on each side.[5]
Language Lab
Topics: computer/electronics—convention of operators programmers
Space program—spaceship or Houston control center
Medical field—operating room or medical school lecture hall
Fast-food business—kitchen or training center
Sports broadcasting—football, baseball, basketball, soccer, gold,
swimming, gymnastics, skating—from the broadcasting booth
Music studio—recording session, concert setup
1. List words or phrases commonly used when speaking about your topic.
Have at least ten words or phrases and include the definitions.
2. With your group members, pretend that you are working in your
assigned field. Speak only the language of your topic.
3. Share the language of your topic with the class. All spoken language
must be associated with this vocabulary.
4. Discuss with your group the proficiency of language as it relates to
various topic-specific words. Does having words specific to a topic make
communicating easier?
Directions: Based on your experience with these words and sounds,
answer the following questions.
1. Why is there a need for new words?
2. Do new, topic-specific words make it easier to communicate? Why or
why not? Use examples from your own topic.
3. In what ways does this language constrict conversation for the speaker?
For the listener?
4. Give an example of a word with double meaning in your topic language.
What problems does that cause?
5. List some words that are found in more that one field but have different
meanings. Include those multiple meanings or definitions.
6. Can you think of a field or topic which is not current, or no longer exists,
and its language and vocabulary is no longer used, or has gone out of
fashion? Think of the early days of electronics, medical science, and
computer, or hair, makeup, and clothes styles.
7. Think of slang expressions used by young people in the past. Begin with
superlatives to describe something; cool, groovy, or cat’s meow. What are
the modern replacements?