Lost in Translation

The critically acclaimed 2003 movie "Lost in Translation" tells a story of two Americans in Tokyo, whose chance meeting in a hotel lounge leads to a development of a short but intimate connection. Bob Harris, a 55-year-old well-known, but lonely, American movie star is in Tokyo shooting a commercial for a brand of Japanese whiskey. Charlotte, a twenty-something, is a recent Yale philosophy major graduate who is accompanying her constantly busy photographer husband. Bored and jetlagged, both Bob and Charlotte attempt to deal with their culture shock by spending a great deal of their time at the hotel or by venturing out to only nearby locations. Although the two share their monotonous existence at the hotel for a couple of days, their paths do not cross for a considerable amount of time. One evening, Bob and Charlotte finally meet at the hotel lounge. After exchanging a short but pleasant conversation, they realize that they have a few things in common, including the current dissatisfaction with their lives as well as the lack of enjoyment in their visit to Japan. Their chance meeting in the hotel lounge soon

To read is to feel connected; to feel as though we are not alone, each of us read for a different purpose. Just like reading authors have a purpose for writing. The purpose behind Elie Wiesel novel “Night” is the duty he felt as a survivor, he felt as though he was a messenger and needed to tell the world about this catastrophe. There are many aspects that make a novel good and bad, each is determined by the details given by the author, but also the lack of detail can make a novel feel as if it’s bad because it leaves us hanging; wanting for more. There is always a way the author can make their novel better, just like with everything there’s always room for improvement.

The film “The Linguists” follows linguists Gregory Anderson and David Harrison on their journey to learn about and document endangered languages in Bolivia, India, Arizona, and Siberia. Through their quest, they are able to interact with some of the few remaining speakers of languages that are near death and they manage to make an impact on how these communities view their heritage language. Focusing on the moribund languages of Siberia and Arizona, it becomes evident that speakers of the heritage language feel a love for the language and the culture it represents, but went through periods of oppression and embarrassment for being speakers of a minority language that ultimately shaped their attitudes on the language.

Leslie Marmon Silko's essay, "Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective," and Amy Tan's essay, "Mother Tongue," share similarities and differences. Both authors discuss the challenge of language, each from their own perspective.

Ken Wiwa presents several ideas pertaining to language and culture within his essay, Get Beyond Babel. Wiwa explains that every language has a chance of dying out over time. For any language to survive through years of societal changes, it must be adapted so it can be used to embrace other cultures, new technology and new perspectives. Wiwa presents the concept that language is the same as culture. I do not agree with this concept because I believe that culture is carried by the people, not by the language.

In return, it also assisted in changing the way people valued disappearing languages in the way of opening the eyes of people all over the world through its amazing impact. Both of these positive effects caused a change in the world and for the people in it which is a small step towards reversing a very large problem. This important issue will not be corrected overnight, but as a famous Navajo proverb states: “A rocky vineyard does not need a prayer, but a pick axe” (“Navajo

What areas do Gregory and David choose when they are looking for languages to research?

Janelle argues that languages are becoming extinct. and, we are losing culture. She then rebuts her argument with the creating of a universal language for the world. This would create easy communication with everyone. But, overtime dialects would appear and we would be in the same position as before.

For those languages which have no written form, when the language dies off, so does the accumulated knowledge and history of the culture. Sadly, indigenous languages around the world are dying off at an alarming rate. It is estimated that nearly half of the languages spoken today are likely to die off within the next century if steps are not taken to preserve those which still exist.

Over centuries we have seen the amount and complexity of languages all across the globe reduced. If this trend continues, we could see the number of world languages potentially reduced from 6,000 to 600 in the future. Colonization and urbanization has led to the abolishment of languages spoke by smaller and less dominant civilizations. McWhorter uses the Native Americans in North America and the Aboriginal

When I read the first part of the reading we were supposed to do I found it uninteresting. One of the reasons why I found it uninteresting was because the names are hard to pronounce. I also found it hard to read and to understand. I also felt like the story was just way too long and it took to long for interesting things to happen.

Draft Using poetry as a means to escape reality and tell a story is something James Merrill excels in. His poem “Lost in Translation” studies his artistic rendering of self-experiences. By striving to translate experience into poetry, he is able to write an exceptional piece of literature. Merrill’s use of the boy and figurative puzzle enables him to narrate a poem that portrays how he perceives life and how one event can influence ideologies of oneself in the future.

When I fist started going out with my boyfriend Aaron I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, holiday dinners where everyone speaks Russian, and telling me that I should learn the language; what? were in America, they should learn how to speak better English, this is what I’m thinking when they half mindedly insult me, because I don’t know Russian. Aaron’s mother so generously translates everything her relatives are saying, but I still don’t understand, because of her thick accent and the way she pieces her words together to makes sentences. I feel so ashamed and belittled by these people, because most of them know two languages and I don’t. My favorite part about these little celebrations, is excusing myself from the table and the agony my ears feel from being trapped in a room with random noises and expressions

Having only heightened text and elaborate spectacles to guide them, much of the subtlety, specificity, and emotion must have been lost in translation.

“Lost In Translation” is one of those movies that seek to be something having something extra something that is more than a regular movie. Moreover, it does so effectively without being pretentious, all through the movie it does not seem like it is trying too hard to be something other than what is there. It is skillfully written, well directed and it boasts of a solid cast not very spectacular but full of good actors. Jointly, this eventually results in an enjoyable and interesting movie. The important thing is that it has a message to it. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson play two individuals lost in the new and unfamiliar surroundings, restlessly moving around a Tokyo hotel in the middle of the night, who fall into