Talk about talking!

Talk talk talk talk talk talk... (Photo credit: THEfunkyman)

‘Talk’ is used to express informal conversation between limited numbers of people.

 

Examples of various ways to use ‘Talk’ include:

to express yourself by speaking – “I want to talk to my people about the changes that are coming.”;

to have a conversation – “She talked about her busy day at the office for over one hour”

to discuss a subject – “ Let’s talk business.”;

to communicate – “They will now talk using sign language.”

speak a particular language – “I will now talk in my native Italian language.”

to reveal information – “The police questioned him but he wouldn’t talk.”;

to gossip or spread rumors – “The neighbors began to talk about the new teacher in town.”;

to make sounds – “When is my baby going to begin to talk?”;

to influence or persuade people – “Money talks, BS walks.”

 

‘Talk’ is often used with the preposition ‘about’ when introducing the subject of conversation, and ‘to’ when introducing the conversational partner.

 

Let’s give them something to talk about.

 

Talk to me like you mean it.

 

Verb Forms: Talk – Talked – Talking

 

Now let’s start talking and stop fighting. War is hell.

 

Are there things you’d like to talk about more on this blog? Give me a holla!

 

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Where do words come from?

I recently returned from a journey to Mecca KSA. It was, as always, a spiritual enlightening experience reminding me and other pilgrims of our limited knowledge and even more inconsequential existence.

Being in such a place surrounded by people from all walks of life; listening to them speaking many languages; watching exhibitions of unfamiliar cultures; and smelling a wide variety of aromas coming from foods and humans, I’m reminded of the Tower of Babel.

Babel, the biblical ancient city where its’ inhabitants, after the Great Flood, were one people speaking one language. Then God, in His almighty wisdom, decided to have them speak many different languages.

He created diversity of our tongues and colors as a sign for those of us who are endowed with knowledge to recognize the wonders of creation. Divided into linguistic groups and unable to understand each other, each group spread out in the lands to set up their own communities.

Today, we have thousands of spoken languages in the world and when these speakers converge in Mecca and are able to communicate with one another by simple gestures or a friendly smile, it is amazing.

To see a woman from a remote village in Kazakhstan communicate with a woman from a big city in America reaffirms how small the world is in which we live. Not only did I know exactly what she wanted, but she understood my response and acknowledged her gratitude.

Verbal communication is important for business, government assistance, and for buying and selling.  It is one of the best ways to quickly get your point across, but non-verbal communication is also essential.

In America, we have ASL or American Sign Language for the deaf and hard of hearing. In the Arab world, there is Arabic Sign Language for the deaf. These two forms of sign language are similar, but there are also a lot of differences just as the spoken languages of these two peoples.

Languages are meant to bring cohesiveness to common groups and to communicate with outsiders. Human language is a learned symbolic communication system. Teaching the English language, I find that new words are invented daily and the meanings of old ones have changed.

New symbols are created just as quickly as its meaning. It’s important to keep up-to-date vocabulary in planning new lessons to keep them fresh, and students excited about learning.

Have you ever been at a loss for words and had to revert to some sort of non-verbal communication to get a point across?

Are you aware of the new additions to the English language, these new words which are really old words in different forms? Like taking yesterday’s leftovers and adding gravy to it to make it a new meal.

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