Language usage, as I am using the term (others will have different ways of using it), is concerned with how we use language for specified purposes. My study of language usage includes an interest in how power at times distorts language, because it has the power to do so. Language usage also concerns itself with the distinction between rhetoric and reality. As well, the category is concerned with the formal, systematic study of rhetoric, and with humanity’s attempts to define reality.
I’ve been following a May 2, 2019 Twitter discussion featuring Jennifer Pagliaro, @jpags, City Hall reporter at the Toronto Star
/0 Comments/in Language usage, Newsletter, Toronto/by Jaan PillEmbodied Mind, Meaning, and Reason (2017) addresses how the body shapes the mind
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Language usage, Newsletter/by Jaan PillLong Branch residents say similar lot-splitting proposals have led to vastly different decisions, by Toronto Local Appeal Body
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Committee of Adjustment, Toronto Local Appeal Body, Local Planning Appeals Tribunal, Language usage, Long Branch, Long Branch Character Guidelines, Long Branch Neighbourhood Association, Mississauga, Newsletter, Toronto/by Jaan PillDuring the 21 years that I have lived in Long Branch with my family, I have learned many things. During our years in Long Branch, I have learned, for example, that the culture of decision making is decidedly more coherent and robust in Mississauga than it is in Toronto. That is evident, as I’ve noted […]
Demographics and interests can perhaps explain a fair amount, as Weeden and Kurzban (2014) argue
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Language usage, Newsletter/by Jaan PillIn a previous post, I refer to a study entitled: The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions and Why We Don’t Admit It (2014). The book features a couple of paragraphs (p. 207) that I am pleased to share with you: The causality is even harder to sort through when it […]
Learning to live in a post-fact world, where persuasion is most effective under conditions where facts don’t matter, is nothing new
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Language usage, Newsletter, Toronto/by Jaan PillI am currently working on my next opinion article for the Etobicoke Guardian / Toronto.com website, concerning the dismal history of land-use decision making in Long Branch. In a previous article, submitted on June 30, 2018, I spoke of the very desirable lakefront community of Long Branch. A subtext to my description of Long Branch – […]
Media Law for Canadian Journalists (2018) is a good book – I recommend it highly
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Language usage, Newsletter/by Jaan PillA previous post is entitled: Stay or go, in the face of lot-splitting/overbuilding? At that post I refer to a another post, entitled: Key considerations when preparing for a Committee of Adjustment or similar presentation As a follow-up to the latter post, I’m pleased to have the opportunity to bring attention to a great book […]
Jonathan Shay speaks of moral injury in Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character (1994)
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Language usage, Mississauga, Newsletter/by Jaan PillA previous post is entitled: We Were Soldiers (2002) is a movie based on We Were Soldiers Once …. and Young: Ia Drang: the Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam (1992) At the end of the above-noted post, I’ve mentioned other books that I’ve been reading, in addition to “We Were Soldiers Once …. […]
Extreme Cities (2017) is one of four books about cities reviewed in April 18, 2018 New York Times article
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Language usage, Newsletter/by Jaan PillAn April 18, 2018 New York Times article is entitled: “Four Books Explore Various Aspects of Cities Past and Present.” Among the books is Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change (2017), which I have referred to at a previous post entitled: I became interested in The […]
Trump / Russia: A Definitive History (2018): An apt companion piece to Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin (2015)
/0 Comments/in Commentary, Language usage, Newsletter/by Jaan PillTrump / Russia: A Definitive History (2018): An apt companion piece to Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin (2015) Updates A July 13, 2018 Atlantic article is entitled: “The Russians Who Hacked the 2016 Election: Robert Mueller’s latest indictment reaches back to the origin story for the investigation into interference.” A Dec. 8, 2018 Guardian […]