Issue 124.1: Language by MISC. Magazine, Trinity College Dublin

misc.

ISSUE 1: LANGUAGE NOVEMBER 2017

curiosity fosters discussion

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SPECIAL THANKS TO: Gary from Reads; our amazing writers and staff who worked extremely hard under sudden deadlines to get this issue out on time; the caffeine-feuled, sleep deprived state it takes to reach the perfect creative flow; all the editors and members of other publications who gave us feedback and guidance; and everyone else who gave us their time and patience. Front cover illustration by Harriet Bruce

CONTENTS.

EDITORIAL. What’s in a word? Perhaps we have some biases, but we believe much can be gleaned from the way we use words to represent, interpret and shape our reality. 20th century language philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein is quoted on our cover this issue; much of his life’s work was an attempt to surpass the misunderstandings that arise from our differing use of language. His work in mathematics and logic in the Tractatus would go onto influence the work of logicians and computer scientists who shared the view that language could be wholly formulated in logical form.

ARTS AND CULTURE

Movement ukraine: a 4 Dance: 16 as Language language between borders

His later work, however, would see him questioning one of his major premises: that linguistic statements are either a true or false representation of the state of reality; and in this grey area, we find many questions arising about how we measure the truth of what we say.

Silence 6 FILM: Speaks Volumes

Today, we still struggle with interpretation; we recognise that language mutates, that it can be ambiguous, and that this has implications for how we operate within society. Language is something we often conceive as something innately human, having evolved over time as the demands of social interaction commanded it. How, then, do we begin to conceive of artificial language and intelligence (pg. 22)? Should code be used to overcome the ambiguities of language, or do we have need to retain grey areas of interpretation (pg. 20)?

The Oral 8MUSIC: Tradition

Curiosity Fosters Discussion

STAFF.

identity 18 THe Politics of Fascism

How we speak has an impact on how we construct identity and, perhaps, our worldview (pg. 10-15) and language often finds itself at the heart of political conflicts centred on nationalism (pg. 16-19). But against these issues, we also have the universality of the arts: dance (pg. 4), music (pg. 8) and film (pg. 6) communicate ideas and feelings that, though may be situated in a cultural or personal framework, transcend any one type of experience, and speak the broader language of human experience in general. As always, we ask you to read with an open mind and a critical eye, and encourage you to share your thoughts with us.

POLITICS

20Coding the law: SOLVE FOR LEX

COMMUNITY turning 10verlan: french on its head

STEM

22The ai effect bigger 24The picture: predicting the weather

12mother tongue: three perspectives on native languages

26From philosophy to app design language 28Can change the brain?

Editor: Deputy Editor:

Niamh Moriarty Sorcha Kelly

Politics Editor: Politics Subeditor:

Róisín A. Costello Maia Mathieu

Layout & Design:

Editor and Deputy

STEM Editor: STEM Subeditor:

Stephen Reynolds Megan Steele

Community Editor: Community Subeditor:

Katie Baumann Hanyi Ma

Head Copy editor: Copy editors:

Arts and Culture Editor: Arts and Culture Subeditor:

Hester Malin Amyrose Forder

Conor Courtney Shaelin Vellani Kate Lewis

Visual Editor:

Amanda Harvey

Dance: Movement as Language

Illustration by Amanda Harvey

The development of choreography rose in parallel with theatrical movements. The Choreography has shaped modern theatre since the turn of the 20th century heralded the rise rise the Naturalist movement. Giving the oppurtunity of Naturalism, a theatrical form which emphasised the reflection of reality; theatre for directors to tell a story in the nuanced language of was no longer an embellishment designed movement, dance is increasingly being used in theatre to to entertain, but instead became a format express the intricacies of everyday human existence. for the audience to admire, consider, and reflect on their own lives. Before this, ballet had always been the traditional format for dance on stage. American Isadora Duncan Although often associated with popular Words by Amyrose Forder was the frontrunculture of yesteryear, dance theatre remains an essential Instead of ner who challenged this rigid classicism element of the arts scene drawing on the of traditional ballet, anguage comes in all different shapes, in Dublin. Choreographer rigidity of ballet, catalysing a sortsizes, letters, phonemes, alphabets. Michael Keegan-Dolan has on the formal of Renaissance of The most basic purpose of language is carved out his name as a to communicate. But what happens when 21st century great in Ireland relations between dance theory. Ina language is wordless? When a language and the UK after winning the music and dance, she stead of drawing on the rigidity of balis visceral, tangible? This occurs when lan- UK Critics’ Circle Award for took inspiration let, on the formal guage shifts the medium of pen and pa- Best Modern Choreography per, or sound, into physicality. One of the in 2008 with his group Fab- from the melodrama relations between and story- music and dance, prime universal communicators in the ulous Beast Dance Theatre. arts is dance. It aims to relay the world as Fabulous Beast’s aesthetic telling of Ancient she took inspiration from the melodrawe know it through the vessel we all live idea is a collage of physical Greek art. This ma and story-telling our lives through: the body. It allows us to theatre and dance with an progressed dance of Ancient Greek communicate what words cannot, to cross Irish midlands narrative. As towards natural art. human boundaries language forbids; when choreographer, his mission, other aspects of humanity are censored, is to shatter boundaries movement, almost choreography can speak to the audience. and bring to the table some- smoothly mimicking It allows a nuanced communication be- thing inspiring, and often athleticism. This progressed tween the performers and audience, giv- ground-breaking, in a genre dance towards natural movement, almost ing an agency contract to both. Theatre where so much respect is still reserved does not exist without someone watching for the classics. Last year, during the Dub- smoothly mimicking athleticism. The result it, without some sort of dissemination be- lin Theatre Festival, Keegan-Dolan brought is the fluid movement we have today in tween viewer and performer. Dance is a Swan Lake / Loch na hEala to Belvedere’s contemporary dance, a favourite of thepremium artform for this bond: interpre- O’Reilly Theatre, adding themes of clerical atre. Contemporary works as a mode of tation is allowed, absolute communication abuse and mental health to reach a con- dance which communicates through passion exhumed from the body, a physical is avowed. temporary audience.

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ARTS AND CULTURE. JUNK ENSEMBLE’s production of ‘Five Ways to Drown’ (2012).

outburst, rather than giving the audience room to interpret. Music is of equal importance to contemporary as ballet, but perhaps follows the formal structure of music more loosely. Martha Graham, whose pedagogical modern dance methods revolutionised the genre in the 20th century, has said: “Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.” It is this passion which stemmed from the Naturalism movement. The opportunity for nuance in the language of dance overrides that available in other art forms. The speed in which dancers can express action and emotion simultaneously surpasses other arts, the brain and the body merging reliance into a kinetic performance. Dance also has the advantage of being very much broken down into units, into each specific move, which can be built up and layered, representing the mental architecture of the performer and choreographer. The proprioception of dancers lends to exquisite detail of the body’s action, whether it be natural or choreographed, released from a part of the brain perhaps not at the forefront. Acclaimed classical and modern choreographer Wayne McGregor describes choreography in his 2012 TED talk as “a process of physical thinking”. Dance is fundamentally a cognitive process, relying on the immediacy of this intense relationship and the body’s transmitters to pick up what the brain wants to do.

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Immediate recognition of the other brings their limbs tightly swooped around each other’s bodies, carrying the dancers to the ground, the rough-and-tumble amplifying the horror of the unseen; they still don’t know who they’re touching.

Recently, performance innovators such as Dublin-based JUNK ENSEMBLE have used the art of dance to relay their artistic visions. Their show Dusk Ahead explores the very moment between day and night, and the impact of that setting on a number of characters. Drawing on fierce reliance of the cast and quick strokes of limbs, the piece represents the blur between real and imaginary, the romanticisation of emotions and inspiration, which that part of the day tends to inspire. The movements are tepid, smooth, sweeps almost mimicking a ventriloquist. A kiss is portrayed as two dancers falling into each other, bodies completely limp, all trust in their motion. In twin mimicry the female dancers relay the same routine of small, precise, boxed off actions,

while the males stand behind, shoulders twisted and jaunted to a degree only years of mastering flexibility could allow. In a particularly poignant moment, JUNK ENSEMBLE represent the bewilderment and confusion of this time of day with two male dancers blindfolded, diligently searching with flapping arms, their feet almost planted to the ground, until their leaning arms touch. Immediate recognition of the other brings their limbs tightly swooped around each other’s bodies, carrying the dancers to the ground, the rough-and-tumble amplifying the horror of the unseen; they still don’t know who they’re touching. At intervals throughout Dusk Ahead, the dancers become the band, playing the instruments live, showcasing the integral multiplicity of these skilled performers in relation to music. It is no wonder dance is sweeping the country; it is one of the most universal correspondents, the visceral nature affecting in a way that transgresses boundaries that different languages cannot. Dublin Dance Festival has been an annual addition to our city since 2008, a testament to the dedication of our island to the art form. For myself, there is nothing more mesmerising than experiencing a performer give their all to their artform, and the physical nature which dance has progressed is a particularly akin medium to this. While music is perhaps the most beloved of the arts, what’s a good tune if you can’t dance to it? =

Silence SPEAKS volumes Many cinema-goers and critics focus heavily on the on-screen dialogue of twenty-first century films. Analysing visual communication, however. as its own language traces the roots of the film industry to its very beginnings; illustrating how the silent film era came to shape film as we know it. Words by Ellen Finnerty

shuffling of feet. An ushering of voic- With so much emphasis loaded onto diaes, pairs of shoes file across the red logue and its deliverance, the silent movie carpets and struggle to part with the has become an almost alien species to the sticky floors. Once we find a seat and sink average film buff. Silent films attempted into its plush upholstery, popcorn munch- to bridge the suspension of disbelief beers and fizzy drink guzzlers alike gaze for- tween the picture and its audience, a gap wards, the draped, red fabric walls of the which has since been filled with words. cinema’s theatre making us feel closer to Relying on muted gestures, mime, and one another. The lights begin to dim and flashes of information on intermittent title cards, the silent film creates we retire to the privacy of Film owes so its own language. our minds, our face and eyes assuming their own preoccumuch of its pied expressions. progress to While McConaughey’s the silent era, charm might well tranPost-picture, the crowds growing from a scend the boundaries of flood out, distancing them- need to express language to all cultures, lanselves from this oasis. Mumitself visually guage, unfortunately, does not. But during the rise of bles about performances will and overcome the silent film in the early be dished out in exchange for the self-performed re- the boundaries 20th century, this cheap of orality. mode of entertainment prise of a favourite scene. For overcame the language the modern audience, dialogue seems to have become an integral barrier for the millions of immigrants into topic in this post-film ritual. Spurious dec- America, and was distinct in its accessibility larations include: “Oh my God, Judi Dench from other art forms. Moreover, the buris one of the only people I’ve ever seen do geoning industry created a huge new mara convincing Irish accent”, “Ah, the actors ket, as individuals and corporations fought did the best they could with that script”, to get their foothold in this new artistic “STOP, I nearly fainted when Matthew Mc- commerce. Conaughey did the Alright, alright, alright, bit.”

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Silent film makers pioneered this art form to the extent that virtually every style and genre of filmmaking has its artistic roots in the silent era, from your Hollywood classics right through to your chirpy Soviet Montage (if anyone would like to indulge in the latter genre, may I recommend Battleship Potemkin. What a delight!) Without the luxury of synchronised dialogue, directors and creative visionaries relied on their innovation to draw on other elements of filming to create the conversation between the screen and its viewers. Generally associated with exaggerated styles of acting, the silent film era resembled stage and theatre stylisation, using farcical comedy, slapstick jokes, and larger than life characterisations. Some may even say that the advancement of sound in film has widened this space between stage and screen. Similar to stage, the films by no means attempted to create a realistic image, and the charming self-consciousness of the era begot a certain wink-wink like relationship between audience and film. Indeed, a certain charm that could be said to have been lost in the development of sound for film is the live performance feel to the movies. With many silent films having a live pianist accompany the film, they

ARTS AND CULTURE. relied on all methods of communication (verbal aside) to bring life to the images. Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1894; pictured opposite), a first of its kind, is a four minute short that voices this ‘live charm’. In the clip, Annabelle Whitford plays a young Broadway dancer. As she dances, her white flowing veils change colour, mimicking the effects that lighting would have on a costume in a live theatre performance. Here, colour is used as a method of communication, an idea that filtered through film history like many other tenets associated with this era. We saw films such as Spielberg’s ‘Schindler’s List’ and Fellini’s ‘Amarcord’, referring back to the notion that colour can create a universal language, one that can express tone and emotion just as effectively as words. Although the age of the silent film may be well and truly over, its influence remains in the heart of film’s culture. ‘The Artist’, (2011) paid direct homage to the silent film genre, and winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, it was the first silent movie to win since the very first Academy Awards in 1927, in which Wings took home the Best Picture Oscar. In the discussion of the rise of the silent movie (and of films themselves), one cannot ignore the giant that was Charlie Chaplain. Whilst being best known for his

appearances in classic flicks, his influential work behind the camera proved to strengthen and develop the industry. As director, composer, and cinematographer, Chaplain made crucial contributions to the art of the silent film. His iconic character, the tramp, developed in 1914, remains a large influence on comedic and clowning actors today, from Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean, to Sacha Baron Cohen’s numerous characters.

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These visual displays offer a language that everyone can understand, silence therefore a form of communication that causes no divide among its viewers.

Many traditions associated with this era have filtered down through cinema history, and certain movies choose to use little to no dialogue and instead rely on things like colour, sound, and expression, to speak about and translate the piece’s artistic vision. Among films such as these is another french film, Les Triplettes de Belleville. This is a uniquely animated tale that focuses on Madame Souza, an elderly woman, and her

grandson, Champion, a Tour de France cyclist. The film’s charm is heightened by its silence, and the artwork in the piece patches up any holes that might have been created in dialogue’s absence. Much like richly illustrated children’s books, the drawings tell us much about the characters and their unfolding story. Madame Souza and Bruno are depicted as round, soft drawings, while the more sinister characters are sharp and angular. Chomet, the film’s director, uses animation as a universal langwuage in the same way that The Artist and other silent movies use body language, facial expression, and colour. These visual displays offer a language that everyone can understand, silence, therefore a form of communication that causes no divide among its viewers. It seems to be an increasing fad to return to the comfort of the past. While fashion, music, film, and other cultural trends are recycling, we see old tropes repeat themselves and rise again, like waves in our cosmic sea. Film owes so much of its progress to the silent era, growing from a need to express itself visually and overcome the boundaries of orality. Perhaps, at least in this case, it isn’t such a bad thing to remember where you came from, and learn from the masters and the creators of what we now call the modern film. =

Fellini’s Amarcord, 1973.

Ó Bhéal go béal: the oral tradition Words by Martha Kirwan

iving in the time of student DJs, piano songs learnt from YouTube, and Garageband, the ways in which we learn music have fundamentally changed. Not only has the rise of technology allowed for anyone to create music, but it has democratised this learning, and opened up a myriad of musical possibilities for those who can’t afford private music lessons. Although this has many positives, it has also taken the learning of music away from personal interaction, and into the depths of the dark bedroom computer or turntable. Like so many other areas of the arts, one can turn to tradition and times of past to regain the lost mode of the aural tradition, and reconnecting music with people. When the Irish fail to stretch language beyond the likes of the weather, plans for the evening, and the interminable state of being ‘grand’, one can see that music expresses something beyond the everyday small talk. Many turn to singing as our cathartic release, rather than relying on an awkward mumbling conversation, devoid of eye contact, to be in any way purgative. Sometimes singing a love song is just a lot easier than telling someone, ‘I love you’, in a flat Tipperary accent. The joining of this innate sense of musical communication, and the assembly of people, can be seen in no other than a quintessential Irish pub.

A session at Jim O’ the Mills. Source: Corey Taratuta, Flickr.

In Tipperary, a family-run pub is keeping the oral tradition of song learning alive. Cáit Ryan, daughter of publican Jim Ryan of “Jim O’ the Mills”, describes how this way of learning music builds a deeper connection between the song and the musician. Jim of the Mill’s pub in County Tipperary was declared by the Irish Times in 2015 as the, ‘Best pub in Ireland’, a feat that has been supported by the locals for years. Far from traditional business practice, the Ryan family open their home up to the public every Thursday, and only on this night a week do the public enjoy the affable comfort of their pub home. The house itself is tucked in between hills within the undulating terrain of Upperchurch and comprising of one beer tap, live traditional music, and resident locals, making this the hub of the lost oral tradition. Back when a léamhthuiscint or a scéal which inevitably began ‘Ní dhéanfaidh mé dearmad go deo ar an oíche sin…’ were not just a distant memory, I befriended Cáit Ryan in Junior Cert Irish class at home in Tipperary, and in the pursuing years I spent some of the most memorable Thursday nights in her family’s pub. Cáit’s perfect pitch and her bewildering ability to sing and play a copious number of instruments had always bewildered me. Cáit and her four sisters are all highly talented musicians, artists, and actresses, yet from the years I’ve known her, none have had formal training. Their father, Jim Ryan, returns from the farm each Thursday night,

meanders through the crowded pub to where the live music is, and readily joins in with ‘The Darling Girl from Clare’ or ‘Walk beside me’ in nothing less than a warm and sincere voice. Asserting my hunch, Cáit told me that their family’s musical abilities did not blossom from expensive music lessons (or, indeed, from an Apple Mac programme) but naturally, through their immersion in a musical environment from a young age. ‘Music was everywhere when I was growing up, singing was heard constantly, we were humming and singing away to ourselves as we did the jobs or fiddled away at whatever it was we were doing. Our home was (and is) a sonically rich environment. Songs, fiddles, neighbours’ voices, birds, the constant flow of the river, the dog, bodhrán, the piano going non-stop, sweeping brush sweeping, everyone tearing up and down the stairs, more singing, shouting, etc.’ Even more impressive than the Ryan family’s musical abilities is their interminable and extensive repertoire. With visitors from as far away as New Zealand, to as close as the adjoining parish, there is always an assortment of song requests which are almost never declined. While someone is always

ARTS AND CULTURE. sitting around the open fire who sings or strums along to whatever song a tourist or local might break into, their ability to hear and join the music of the other person is something to be reckoned with. This repertoire did not grow from internet searches or music books, but was passed down orally from the preceding generation. ‘Apart from the few songs that I ‘sought out’ to learn after hearing someone sing them on the radio or some television programme, my entire repertoire of songs and tunes came to me through a process of osmosis: after hearing them so often, they gently pass into that special space where all this wonderful music is stored. Once they get themselves into this space, they won’t leave. They are there for you to pick out at your will. I don’t think this is some physical space that belongs to the brain, but somewhere space-less and divine, that belongs to the soul.’ Cáit contends that the written form of the music is prohibitive to this osmotic process. As someone who went to violin lessons for five years, but cannot muster even the simplest of tunes when asked, it is obvious that learning music orally would have eclipsed anything I could have learnt from a music sheet. Music is something to be enjoyed, a more fluid way of expressing emotions rather than speaking, but when this emotive expression is interrupted by fear-inducing lessons or exams it seems that the brain is more reluctant to remind your fingers what keys to press on the piano in years to come.

Naturally, learning music orally is not the exclusive way to acquire supple fingers that dance along the piano keys or guitar strings. There must be a connection to the music and a desire to learn and explore the song. Musicians must fall in love with a piece of music before they can master it. For Cáit, ‘It’s more a question of me being entirely present and wholly enchanted by a performance of a tune or song that I pick it up just as it is, without it being broken down into phrases, or someone telling me how to articulate a certain note in a certain way. The whole tune or the whole song is so much more than the sum of its parts, and this cutting apart and sticking back together doesn’t suit me at all when it comes to learning music.’ If falling in love with the music you learn is conducive to becoming an adept musician, then the oral tradition is valuable in this process. Every Thursday, musicians in Jim of the Mill fall in love with the music imported to the pub through the singing voices or instruments of their visitors. They listen to one another carefully and often musicians leave the pub in the early hours of the morning infatuated with a new tune. We often use music to divulge the emotions that we are more reluctant to broadcast in conversation. We must feel an attachment to music if we are to rely on it for catharsis. This attachment has its origins in the learning process. For Cáit and other traditional musicians, the oral tradition has not perished, and continues to generate some of Ireland’s best musicians.

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Apart from the few songs that I ‘sought out’ to learn after hearing someone sing them on the radio or some television programme, my entire repertoire of songs and tunes came to me through a process of osmosis: after hearing them so often, they gently pass into that special space where all this wonderful music is stored.

Although one cannot map the trajectory of improving your craft, such as booking a DJ set in Berlin, headlining at Glastonbury, or passing grade 8, the oral tradition of song transcends the performative notion of music. Stretching from African tribal songs to English poetry of the medieval era, it will always be firmly entrenched in the sharing and joyous nature of music. This small pub in Tipperary encapsulates the lost charm of the oral tradition, and upholds the simple tenet of sharing beautiful music with one another. While one can seek to expand their repertoire, it will simply be in the hopes to share it with everyone over another pint of Guinness the following Thursday. =

V E R L A n In the secular state of France, second-generation immigrants from North Africa and Arab states have long struggled to assert their identity on their own terms. The emergence of ‘verlan’, a slang language originating in the country’s banlieues, provides a means of self-determination.

Words by Katie Baumann

et the scene: Paris. The gorgeous Seine River etches its way through the city, severing it in two. The Eiffel Tower stands proudly while streams of tourists are welcomed to climb its skeleton. Young lovers walk the cobblestoned streets hand-in-hand, eager to lock their love to the Pont des Arts. The smells of Parisian bakeries float through the air as citizens are entertained by all manner of culture. Welcome to Paris. The city of love. The city of lights. Move beyond Paris and venture into the ‘banlieues’, or suburbs. The banlieues of France sit on the periphery of the city proper and have become hotbeds of social unrest within French society. Since the 1980s, these areas have seen a rise in crime. Coupled with poor housing and high unemployment, the act of rioting is not uncommon. The banlieues are geographically unattached from the main city centres. Most

of the areas are furnished with quasi-tenement buildings, and those that reside in them are not always doing so by choice. Drawn by cheap rent and sometimes by default, those living in the banlieues experience a sense of isolation.

more chaotic. Who am I? Who do I want to be? What do I want to do with my life? How should I live my life? A few questions in the series of personal interrogation a young adult so often endures.

So, it is curious: how does a young adult While this description is not true for residing in a banlieue grapple with the every banlieue, timeless search for it is the stark These identity? For first-genreality for the immigrants, second-generation eration majority that live France is not their immigrants have homeplace. Through in these areas. been served two their native religion and Residents have usually emigrat- different and difficult language, they strive to ed from former to corroborate keep their North AfriFrench colonies identities. One passed can identities alive. For in Africa. The on or pushed on by their children, continNorth African uing these traditions their parents. One Berber people is naturally expected, painted on with a with many young Berand those from broad and biased bers and Arabs practicArab states fill French stroke. ing their parents’ native the banlieues. religion of Islam.

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As a teenager, it is common, if not human nature, to question personal identity. The tornado of hormones and teenage angst makes the search for it all that

However, a second-generation immigrant living in France, like any young person brought up in the French ed-

COMMUNITY. ucation system, would be exposed to ‘laïcité’ – the aggressive state secularism. A fission in identity occurs. Many of these young adults may only be able to profess their Muslim faith in familial or safe settings, forced to omit or lie about their faith in certain situations. On the other hand, some young people of the banlieues may wish to follow state secularism, feeling pressured to acknowledge their religion in order to satisfy the wishes of their parents and relatives. A chord of duplicity is struck. France’s secular environment, nevertheless, opposes any religion they publicly profess, whether dishonest or otherwise. It does not help that young people of the banlieues must also tackle the label of ‘outsider’. While these young Berbers and Arabs have grown up in France, conditioned by French society, societal and economic prejudice colours their own internal identity. They live in a banlieue, areas marked by poor housing and cheap rent for the alien, the poor, and the undereducated – the embodiment of the ‘other’. With the fission of identity often comes adolescent delinquency, drug taking, and petty crime. Therein exists a vicious cycle. Struggling with the idea of the ‘other’ in French society, second-generation immigrants grapple with their view of themselves, sometimes leading to self-destructive behavior and, in turn, fulfilling the prejudice and stereotypes French society has mapped out for them.

These second-generation immigrants have been served two different and difficult to corroborate identities. One passed on or pushed on by their parents. One painted on with a broad and biased French stroke. Neither truly embodies these young people, who are caught between two culturally different worlds. Instead, they have taken initiative in forming their own emerging identity within a globalised world with ‘verlan’. What is verlan? It is a sort of French Pig Latin, if you will. Verlan is the process of inverting certain French words so that syllables are pronounced back-to-front. The word ‘verlan’ itself is an example of this process, inverting the syllables of the French word ‘l’envers’, literally translating as ‘reverse’ in English. It is a slang language, and the spelling of it depends on the pronunciation, not the direct inversion of letters. There are a couple steps to create a word in verlan. While not all steps are used for each case, there is always an inversion of the syllables. One can also add or suppress the final vowel of the word. Parts of the word can be cut out. Often, there is the deletion of several syllables from longer words either before or after the inversion of syllables. There are several examples. ‘Femme’, which means ‘woman’, turns into ‘meuf’. The word for ‘crazy’ (‘fou’) becomes ‘ouf’; ‘cigarette’ becomes ‘garo’; and so on. In verlan, not only French words are inverted. As a slang language created by

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With the integration of verlan into global society, the process of re-verlanisation is a testament to how verlan has been taken by these secondgeneration youths as a marker of their identity.

second-generation youths searching for a more concrete identity, Arabic words have been peppered in. For example, the phrase “avoir la baraka” means “to be lucky” and comes from the Arabic word for benediction, while “avoir le seum”, or “to be annoyed”, comes from the Arabic word for poison. The word most commonly used for the group of second-generation immigrants hailing from North African descendants in France is the verlan word ‘beur’. ‘Beur’ works as an inverted version of the word ‘arabe’, translating as ‘Arab’ or ‘Arabic’ in English. As it is common for words to be re-verlanised if they have become too mainstream or too often used, ‘Beur’ has had the honour of being twice-verlanised to ‘rebeu’. An interesting phenomenon has occurred regarding verlan. Even as a covert language, it has started to enter mainstream culture and is a tool heavily used within French hip hop. The stage name for Belgian pop artist and songwriter Stromae is a perfect example, with ‘Stromae’ working as verlan for ‘maestro’, or master. With the integration of verlan into global society, the process of re-verlanisation is a testament to how verlan has been taken by these second-generation youths as a marker of their identity. Re-verlanisation occurs more frequently and with more commonly known verlan slang words so as to keep this secret language unique to the community. While many terms have yet to cross over from the banlieues to French mainstream culture, the verlan found in the banlieue retains its essence as a concrete code that demarcates identity on the speakers ‘ own terms. =

Stromae performing in BSF, 2011. Source: Eddy Berthier, Wikimedia Commons

History has dictated the rise of English as a near-common tongue, but is it a distructive force, threatening the preservation of culture worldwide? Three writers explore their relationship with their native language in this context: how it affects their identity, how it has shaped their culture and whether or not the English language has had a constructive role to play in either.

華語(CHINESE) Words by Hanyi Ma

here are two people living inside of this body. One is playful, energetic and bold; the other is serious, cautious and diplomatic. The one who speaks English, and the one who talks in Chinese, which one do you prefer? Learning English and speaking English are different. Reciting a new word, learning its pronunciation and making a sentence with it is how we learn a language in the first place. Yet, by any chance, you’d like to be fluent or excellent in spoken English, the key is to transfer your thinking pattern. Personally, I started to learn English when I was five, however, it wasn’t anything more than a subject to me until it became my major. I would have to say that I was a good student though: the type that doesn’t think twice about what the teachers say, but with good grades; who never thinks of the reasons of going to school and learning, because that’s the way it is; who can get 145 out of 150 in an English test but only be

able to speak Chinese in front of foreigners. And this is the type of student that is most welcomed in China. I used to think that this is the unavoidable drawback of China’s exam-oriented education. But now I see its connections to Chinese language. I’ll take my experience as an example. One time in China, I was having breakfast with my American friend Stephen in Pizza Hut. When we tried to get our bill, the waiter informed us that there was something wrong with the cash machine, our bank cards couldn’t be used, and he asked us if we could pay in cash. We apologised and explained that we didn’t have enough cash with us. Then the waiter said there was an ATM on the corner outside of the restaurant and asked us to withdraw from there. What would you do if that happened to you? I would say no problem, that I would do that. But Stephen refused and argued with him, saying that this was the restaurant’s problem instead of ours, and they had no right to make the customers solve their problem. In the end, the manager said the breakfast was on the house. Later on, I asked my family and several Chinese friends, would they refuse the inconvenience or just tolerate it? They all gave me

the same answer: that they would just go out and get the money. But when I asked them the reason why, they couldn’t give me one. When I look at it from the angle of written Chinese, however, I found something really interesting. Chinese characters originated from the practice of almost immediate representation of objects. The intention was to preserve objectivity in this representation and avoid the subject’s influence on how the object is conceived. Despite thousands of years of unintended influence transforming Chinese writing, almost every feature of Chinese personalities can be traced back to those original characters. As such, the visual aspect of Chinese vocabulary forms the concrete thinking pattern in Chinese people; we value the immediate impression that vision gives us. In other words, we trust instinct, association, and memory, to provide us with the true nature of the objective world. This has influence on how Chinese people operate in a modern society where social norms are constantly evolving. Coming from a culture that changes with nature, instead of challenging it, Chinese people are

COMMUNITY. more inclined to deny their true feelings to reach a solution, rather than create convenience for themselves. Hence, whenever we have a conflict of interest with others, we’ll naturally compromise. Most foreigners have the idea that Chinese people are diplomatic; so do I. It hides in every detail in our everyday life. For example, there is a famous singing competition in China called Superboy. In the latest show, three mentors were allowed to pick several singers who were eliminated in the earlier competition to come back and replace one of the competitors still in the show. The singers were permitted to pick anyone to sing against. Huang Rongsheng, Slide illustrating both ancient and who was previously eliminated, and Hong modern (pre-1949, referred to as Yulei, who was still in the competition, were traditional) Chinese characters. Source: Wikimedia Commons good friends. Huang told Hong privately that he would never choose him as a ri- Obviously, Huang picked him because Hong val, yet when he was brought back on the was the weakest one in the competition and show, he did. When the host asked Huang he wanted to be on the show so badly that why he chose Hong, he replied that Hong he would sacrifice his friendship in order to was his best friend, but he had noticed that do so. Yet, he had to make up something Hong wasn’t devoted to the competition to justify his actions to himself. Through and had been playing it safe. As a friend, he a seemingly noble act, he concealed his felt he had an obligation to push him to a own agenda - that is what Chinese people believe to be the beauty of indirectness. higher level.

Thanks to the various differences between Chinese language and English language, it’s difficult for foreigners to learn Chinese, and vice versa. Years of struggling to learn English has taught me that to think as English speaking people do is the key step, because language is the verbal expression of culture. Culture affects our thinking pattern, which means the language we are using will naturally influence the way we are thinking. For instance, in English we would say; we went to the restaurant to eat last night. But in Chinese, we would say; “Last night, we were in the restaurant to eat.” If you bear in mind that English-speaking people are more direct and tend to say the most important thing first, then it will help your English study. Looking back on my life, choosing English as my major was the best choice I’ve ever made, or else I wouldn’t be here studying in Trinity. For me, learning another language is like expanding your personality and discovering your potential. You’ll see that there is so much more you can do and offer to this world. =

AN GHAEILINN (IRISH) Words by Niamh Moriarty

úchas: this is what we are told the Irish language enshrines and protects. Our heritage. Who are father is, our mother is and what path their ancestral lines follow back in history: penal laws, and mass rocks and famine. We tell our tale of persecution and vow to never forget those who died protecting it. “Cén úsáid atá ag baint leis, cén buntáiste?”, a teacher once asked of our class. I don’t have much doubt in my mind that if most people in Ireland were asked that question, what use or advantage does Irish have, they would have more or less the same answer: little to none. You might be surprised to hear that there were many voices in that room that day, in a Gaelscoil in Dingle, that shared that sentiment. Or maybe you aren’t. Irish is politically salient in my little town; we’re talking about a place that fought for almost 8 years over its name: Dingle or Daingean Uí Chúis? To the rest of the country this was something laughable, but

to me it is indicative of the cumulative effects of a country’s attempt at ‘reclaiming’ a national identity, a heritage and a story of who we are that was never fully true for everyone of its inhabitants. The idea of being Irish, I think, brings up certain attachments: our sense of humour; our storytelling; our general willingness to chat shite with random people we meet; putting other people first because we’re too eager to please; a lot of repression and ‘getting on with things’; a lot of anti-Britishness; a lot of alcoholism. How true those things are really depends on who you are asking. But more importantly, something we don’t like to talk about is the other question lingering in the back of people’s minds, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously: “Okay, yes, you’re Irish, but to what degree?” And by Irish here, what often meant is that idea of Gaelic-ness. It’s a question that is deeply tribal, something I feel stems from the civil war and the idea that there is some hierarchy of Irishness. For all my life, I’ve felt placed on a battlefield I didn’t choose to fight on. Which tribe do I fight for?

My mother’s family has beautiful Irish. I used to love hearing their conversations, the rhythm of their conversation I can only describe as ‘ag lúscadh’; jumping to and fro, between extremes of deliberately slow and hushed tones, to explosions of syllables racing a million miles a minute, between bursts of cacophonous laughter. True Gaeltacht Irish, the kind I’ve never felt I’ve had. There’s a term that people use at home to describe that sound: ‘blas áilinn’. It’s something that you can’t teach, and it has at its root an idea that there is something superior about having a language ‘ó dhúchais’; passed down generation to generation, like a flame preserved despite a howling gale blowing. For me, that was a level I could never attain, because I’m not like my mother. I didn’t grow up with Irish the way she did; it was always something my parents didn’t want to broach because they were coming from very different tribes, so to speak. They hoped by not forcing us to think one way or another about what it meant to us, we could make up our own minds. But they were naive to think so. Irish was something forced upon us a lot in school, something that felt like a burden because teachers and other parents told us it was our herit-

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Language is a living, growing thing that doesn’t know the boundaries we draw for it. I hope someday we stop trying to confine it. age; there was a sense of obligation surrounding it. I grew up in Dingle, and I went to an all-Irish primary school in Lispole, east of my town, towards Tralee. In secondary school there would be many times we would be tested on our Irish speaking ability for streaming purposes. The name of your primary school mattered. Dingle? Not very good Irish. Lispole or Annascaul? Good enough for honours standard for Ireland in general, but not Gaeltacht standard. Anything west of that, you probably had ‘an bhlas ceart’, but if you were from Dunquin, you were in another stratosphere. The inheritors of an Irish so pure, so singular; the remnants of the legacy of the Blasket Islands. It angered me a lot to be written off like that, but the inevitable reference to my mother that always seem to creep in whenever I met a new teacher did more so, as if to say because of who I was ‘there is hope for you yet’, as if that was supposed to be some sort of encouragement. It saddened me how it helped foster a sense of inferiority among people, even in the small microcosm of our peninsula. A hierarchy of Irishness, with warring factions still fighting over who was on top. It can be seen not only in how we deal with language, but in the way we deal with GAA, with music, with

all the traditions held on a pedestal from the time of revivalism up until now. For me, it never felt like I could enjoy these things for their sake; it always felt like my innocent interest was being used for some other ulterior agenda; it wasn’t a celebration but a loud declaration in spite of a mysterious ‘other’. I distanced myself from a long time from that world because of that feeling. I stopped singing sean-nós, I stopped going to my brother’s matches, I starting finding a lump in my throat when I would speak Irish to people. It was like stage fright around speaking Irish. I felt like people were trying to gauge my Irishness, trying to ask which side of an arbitrary line I fell on. I felt this terrible shame, like I was letting my ancestors down. I began to hate everything about where I came from; I wanted to burn myself from the root. It is strange how heritage can stifle its own progress like that. Sometimes, when you are too close to a thing, it obscures the bigger picture. Because I also grew up in another world. A world of artists, and travellers and people wishing to share in that heritage. I’ve met people from all around the world who learn Irish traditional music, who speak Irish and who are fascinated by the culture I have felt so apart from all my life. A part of me has resented their freedom to explore it without being bogged down by the political entanglements, but a part of me also feels a debt to those people for giving me a space to do the same. Coming to Dublin, I’ve met people who speak Irish with great passion; perhaps not with the ‘blas’ that I would (mistakenly) hold to mark a true Gaelgeoir, but with a confidence and excitement I wish I shared. But for all those people, it feels

Trá Cam Dhíneol/Coumeenoole Beach. Photograph by Niamh Moriarty.

like there are so many more of us in this country who don’t feel that connection. With time, I learned that there was another way I could understand heritage. Not as history has dictated it to us, or as a timeline of people and their suffering, and an obligation to avenge them. In the writings of Flann O’ Brien, for example; a man who did not shy away from exposing the daftness of post-Independence Ireland’s sycophantic obession with the tales of dread and woe of the Gaeltacht dwellers and the shackling of Irish language learning to such. To carve out a space where Irish can be used, not just for its own sake or to self-congratulate ourselves on how Gaelic we are, but to express the idea that Irish can exist in the present (without perpetually setting its gaze toward the past) was a breath of fresh air for me. It allowed me to recognise that there are a diverse set of Irish voices out there not all speaking with one mind. And yet in discovering this, I began to recognise there is a way to conceive of the Irish character in a more positive light. All our humour, from the outrageous to the dark; all our grit and determination; and yet, also, a sense of the spiritual and humble side of ourselves are captured in the narrative on those pages. Not a heritage of lineage and history, but a heritage in the sense of an innateness; a way of expression that captures how it feels to be.

I don’t think Irish will ever be able to escape the political, but what I do hope is that we recognise nobody has a monopoly over it. Not me, not the descendents of the Blasket Islanders, not the puritans who want everything Irish to remain as it was in some illusive time ‘before the British’, not the upper middle class Gaelgóirs of Dublin or the staunch Republicans of this island. If you do not connect with it, then fair do’s to you; I only ask you to explore the reason behind that lack of connection. You may find, as I did, that all you needed was to explore it on your own terms. It has always been an oral language, and I hope someday soon I’ll overcome my inhibitions enough to find my voice once more. But for now, I relish in rediscovering words I’ve lost, in seeing the imprint Irish has made on English and vice versa and in carving out a space where both languages can be celebrated for their own worth. Language is a living, growing thing that doesn’t know the boundaries we draw for it. I hope someday we stop trying to confine it. =

COMMUNITY. and simplify the concept even more. This plays a large role in my bilingual self-identity, where I am offered three cultures, without the ability to feel even one; I am offered two languages to think and feel in, and I create my own combination of the two. What used to feel like a tough battle in my identity formation, is now an opportunity to embrace this salad bowl philosophy I live by, rather than attempt to isolate each and every word or thought to characterise its roots.

(ARABIC)

illing out a study abroad application to attend a college in Ireland stopped me in my tracks; I was unable to write a suitable answer for three days. A simple question for many, (it was only two words after all) yet I needed the advice of four other people to choose an answer. “Native Language” with a blank space just small enough to fit one word. A subheading for this question stated: “If your native language is not English, please provide evidence of your proficiency in the English Language by submitting your results for accepted tests such as IELTS or TOEFL.” This is what got me thinking, neither of my choices were false nor true – I wouldn’t be lying or giving a complete representation in either case. This is simply a product of being bilingual; despite my Arabic being fairly weaker than my English it is still my native language, my first words were Mama and Baba and not Mom and Dad, I call my grandmother Teta and not Grandma. Living in a non-Arab country for the first time truly made me realise how emotional and wholesome the Arabic language is; we have a word or phrase to thank or appreciate pretty much anything a person does. I can say ‘na’eeman’ to congratulate and bless you for taking a shower, ‘ya’teek el afyeh’ to appreciate your long day at work, and even ‘to’obrini’ to show how much I love you (this one literally translates to bury me, as in I would rather you bury me than spend a day without you – emotional I tell you). It is a struggle with my

Words by Laila Nasr

English-speaking friends; I cannot fully express myself when, for instance, I need to bless them for showering - in a completely non-sarcastic way!

It would be unfair and unscientific to pose the question of which of the languages between Arabic and English governs this particular aspect of my world or this part of my thoughts, as they do not work independently; it is not a switch that I turn on and off as I please. This only makes it difficult to disprove or validate the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, stemming from their theory of linguistic relativity, that states that language shapes one’s perception and view of the world around them. I learnt about this theory in three different fields of the Arts and Humanities; first in a high school English Literature class, then in a university level Anthropology course, and most recently in an introductory Psychology module.

This only goes on to suggest that language is an integral part of one’s identity and exFeelings are a major aspect of the Arabic periences, whether it is about your interlanguage and the word choices for senti- pretation of a literary piece, how it funcments are endless; the more creative and tions in a society, or understanding human colourful your expressions are, the closer behaviour. There is no doubt that the amalyou get to one’s heart. How else are we gamation of Arabic and English has contribPalestinians meant to express our intense uted to modelling my world view, however to pinpoint their defined emotions towards our coland distinct effects is onisers? In this regard, the ‘Olive trees’ merely a futile effort. Arabic language is one of the few, if not only, tangisounds generic, ble connections I have to but ‘shajar el my Palestinian roots that zaytoon’ offer a The look of astonishment on people’s faces I can hold on to; protest picturesque scene upon discovering that chants, songs, and poems in English just don’t seem of my Teta back in I am in fact Palestinian to capture the love I hold Jerusalem, pressing and speak Arabic offor this distant place. Deher harvest to ten conjures up two responses; “but your spite it being a foreign land make the most English is perfect!” or to me, a Fairouz song can incredible olive my personal trigger; work wonders: ‘olive trees’ sounds generic, but ‘shajar oil you could ever “how exotic!” (but let’s el zaytoon’ offer a picturtaste. not even begin to delve into this now). Could it esque scene of my Teta back in Jerusalem, pressing her harvest be that bilingualism often has the preconto make the most incredible olive oil you ceived notion that one of those languages must be weaker than the other? Does your could ever taste. mother tongue need to prevail for one to be ‘qualified’ for this label? Growing up a Arabic has become a deeply personal fac- bilingual and gradually getting stronger in et of my Palestinian origins, no matter how both languages, albeit at different speeds, fragmented the term “culture” is to me. has only accentuated my passion and symI’ve been told countless of times that I am biosis of the two, and it would be a lie to a third-culture kid, TCK for short – yes, it refute this, no matter what my university even has an abbreviation to try to reduce application form states. =

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LAnguage between Borders

Attempts to disentangle nationhood and language, and the venn diagrams of identity that develop across borders often create artificial dichotomies of belonging. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in Ukraine, where the post-Soviet nation’s clashes with Russia have resulted in attempts to purge Russian influence and reassert Ukrainian nationalism through three significant language laws.

Words by Ciara Butterfield

his year has seen the passing of three historic language laws in Ukraine, the most controversial of which, passed last month, will see Ukrainian become the sole language of instruction in all schools from the fifth grade onwards. Until now, there have been entire language schools for Ukraine’s minority Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, Moldovan, and Slovak populations, and, of course, the large Russian minority in the country. The other laws passed have introduced constructive regulations on the use of Ukrainian in local government and in the media; at least 75 percent of national TV broadcasts are now required to be in Ukrainian, as Russian is currently the dominant language in all forms of Ukrainian media. Not thirty years have passed since the fall of the USSR, and many former Soviet countries are still recovering from the effects of communism while trying to es-

tablish themselves as independent states outside of the shadow and ever-present influence of Russia. Most of all among these is Ukraine, whose very name means “border” in Russian (u- “at” + krai “edge”, for the language-curious among you). The ties between the two countries go deep, and eastern Ukraine is at the centre of the conflict, not just militarily, but linguistically. You may wonder, as I did when first researching this topic, what the area’s indigenous language is. It would seem to be the obvious place to start; surely this could all be cleared up if we knew “who got there first”. But anyone with any knowledge of European history knows that, prior to the last century, the continent has mostly resembled a messy mosaic. Surprise, surprise: Russian and Ukrainian speakers have lived together in (what is now) eastern Ukraine for centuries. Both languages are indigenous to the area. The topic is also not as simple as a general resistance in the country to multiculturalism. The Russian Empire, for all its faults, was a multicultural one from the time of

Ivan IV “the Terrible” in the 16th century. Ukraine has been under not only Russian rule since then, but also Polish, Hungarian, and German rule. The country’s current policy towards other ethnic minorities (Crimean Tatars, Gagauzy, Poles, and Bulgarians, for example) is effective and democratic. The issue is with Russians and the Russian language in particular. In a country that arguably suffered more under Stalin than Russia itself did, it is not surprising that many of its people are wary of anything to do with the formidable superpower. The Ukrainian language was historically always seen as inferior to Russian. In the 19th century, it was argued that it, along with Belarusian, was only a dialect of Russian, and it was listed as such in the Russian Empire Census as recently as 1897 (again for the language-curious, it was called “Malorusski”, Little Russian, compared to “Velikorusski”, Great Russian). Even a handful of Russian politicians in the 20th century insisted on its status as a Russian dialect only. Of course, more problematic than this view of the language was how it came to be

POLITICS. treated over the centuries. From 1804 until the 1917 Revolution, it was banned outright (think the Penal Laws in our own history). Laws regarding its prohibition were relaxed at various periods throughout the 20th century, most notably under Lenin, who understood that a certain level of “give” will ensure a greater ability to “take”, but this leniency disappeared again under Stalin. Under Khrushchev, parents were given the “choice” to send their children either to Ukrainian- or Russian-speaking schools, but with advanced education all conducted through Russian and therefore a successful career requiring it, there was really no choice at all. Had the USSR not dissolved in 1991, Ukrainian would likely have suffered a similar fate to Irish in Ireland. It is understandable, therefore, where nationalist Ukrainians are coming from. There was outrage when a language law was passed by former president Viktor Yanukovych in 2012 that granted Russian status as an official language alongside Ukrainian in certain regions. To give the Russian language status in Ukraine would naturally come as a threat to nationalist Ukrainians trying to maintain the country’s newly established sovereignty and independence from Russia. After decades of atrocities under the Soviet regime, it should not be surprising that any hint of the rekindling of ties with Russia would concern people. The worry among some at the time (the law was since repealed in 2014 the day after Yanukovych was ousted from power following the Euromaidan protests) was that giving Russian official status within Ukraine would divide the country in two and drive Russophones into Russia’s waiting arms. But surely repressing their language is more likely to do this? Extreme ‘Ukrainizatsiya’ (Ukrainisation) would only serve to isolate already embittered people in regions such as Donbass. How will those Russian-speaking citizens feel included in their country if all of their media is switched to a language they neither speak nor understand? That is what will drive them closer to Russia. According to Ukrainian sociologist Iryna Bekeshkina: “In politics, the use of language is a signal: ‘with us or against

us.’” But it should not be assumed that Ukrainian Russophones are automatically ideologically aligned with Russia. Many are Ukrainian patriots who just want to be able to continue to speak the language they have grown up in. Ukrainian can and should be promoted without Russian being repressed. Yanukovych, who has been in exile in Russia since his ousting in 2014 and is wanted in Ukraine for high treason, did, for all his faults, make commendable efforts to master Ukrainian when he was elected in 2010, and the leader of the ultra-nationalist Pravy Sektor (Right Sector), Dmytro Yarosh, announced his candidacy for president both in Ukrainian and Russian, despite his previous assertions that he would never speak Russian. A majority of Ukrainians use both languages in their daily life and have no trouble doing so. For 25 years of Ukrainian independence, language has rarely been an issue, except when the government has tried to control it.

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According to Ukrainian sociologist Iryna Bekeshkina: ‘In politics, the use of language is a signal: “with us or against us.”

On a logistical note, some would argue that limiting or banning the use of Russian will negatively affect Ukraine’s economy, as it will deter Russian businesses from entering the Ukrainian market. Russian is one of the most spoken languages in the world, the lingua franca for all of the former USSR, and the language of science and industry in the highly-developed eastern part of Ukraine. Of course, rational arguments like this are ineffective, as the debate is not one of the mind, but of the heart. Issues of language hit close to the core of most people’s sense of identity, a very personal and sensitive thing. The emotional nature of the issue can be easily seen in

the attitude of Ukrainians who want Russophones to feel the pain they felt for so long by way of retribution. Of course, to insist on such a payback would be extremely unhelpful and only lead to the continuation of a cycle where each group can justify their anger and associated actions by pointing to a certain injustice done against them 10, 20, or 50 years earlier. Regardless of any argument for or against Ukrainisation, now is not the time to start a culture war. It is a needless line to toe when every citizen in the country, Russian- or Ukrainian-speaking, really just wants stability and economic recovery. The separatist movement will not grow because Russian is given an official status in a few regions; it will, however, if, in focussing excessively on the language question, the government fails to provide the stability and economic recovery that the people want and need. If this happens, separatists will feel that they have a leg to stand on, that West is not the way, and that Ukraine would be better off sticking with Russia, like they have been saying all along. Poroshenko and his party must look to real life examples of what happens when a group of people is ignored and silenced. Trump supporters “came out of nowhere” in an ever-liberalising America last year because no one acknowledged their concerns or even their presence (and there was no language barrier to blame in that case). If the Ukrainian language is forced upon Ukrainian Russophones, Poroshenko should not be surprised when large parts of Eastern and Southern Ukraine are hoping to be annexed. Finally, one thing that Ukrainian nationalists must remember is that Ukraine’s desire for integration into the EU will come to a sharp halt if Ukrainisation is forcefully imposed upon ethnic Russians and Russophones in the country. They will have to learn how to build their nation in a democratic manner that is in keeping with EU ethnic and language policies. Multiculturalism and the acceptance of it is an integral part of every EU member state. At least, I should say, it should be, as racism and xenophobia only continue to grow across the continent. Ukraine would do well to avoid such a sad fate in its young life. To simply promote knowledge of Ukrainian to the country’s Russophones as a skill to add to their repertoire rather than as a replacement of their native tongue would go far in bridging the gap between Ukrainian and Russian speakers and making the latter feel welcome in their own home. =

Graphic Insert by Amanda Harvey

The Identity Politics of Fascism

Words by Maia Matthieu & Alden Matthieu Graphic by Amanda Harvey & Sorcha Kelly

What can be said for the alt-right, Nazis, white supremacists and the identity politics of fascism?

unctionally, at the root of any language is a consensus on what words mean. While there is semantic wiggle room and words can be redefined over time, the

he term ‘alt-right’ was popularised by Nazi-saluting Trump supporter Richard Spencer, whose stated aim is to “make racism cool again,” (Harkinson) in this case by rebranding fascism, racism and white supremacy with a hip new label -- it’s fresh; it’s alternative; it’s not unthinkably bigoted, it’s hashtag alt-right. Spencer describes the movement he has played a major role in as “identity politics for white people,” and “a safe space for Europeans” (Haider), co-opting the language of social justice circles so loathed by the more mainstream right wing of American politics. Too many people have chanted “Heil Trump” at the president’s frequent rallies to dismiss Nazi connotations, and there are certainly parallels between Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ brand and Hitler’s agenda for a re-ascendant Germa-

power of language is in agreement. But as embarrassing truths are branded ‘fake news’ and outright lies can live as ‘alternative facts,’ the semantic landscape is becoming disputed territory. The rise of the so-called ‘alt-right’ movement, a reactionary coalition of far-right, populist, racist white nationalists who reject mainstream conservatism, and the

anti-fascist (or ‘antifa’) struggle against it is fundamentally about the drift and perversion of meaning, wherein the truth of facts are as much of a battleground as any political bill or protest. Many have scorned the term ‘alt-right’ as a palatable euphemism: call them ‘Nazis’ because that’s what they are. However, ‘Nazi’ is a heavy label loaded with history, and not entirely apt in this situation. Is there a better one?

NAZI ny. Fascism, scapegoating and glorifying whiteness underscores both models, and neo-Nazis comprise a vocal portion of the ‘alt-right.’ Patrik Hermansson, a Swedish investigative journalist who went undercover to ‘alt-right’ meetings with important members and was shocked by how strongly aligned with Nazi goals these groups were. Hermansson attended board meetings for AltRight Corporation, a partnership between Spencer and two white nationalist Swedish media firms (Lester Feder), where he spoke with board member Jason Reza Jorjani. Jorjani revealed his “final solution” for minorities: “It’s gonna end with the expulsion of the majority of the migrants, including [Muslim] citizens .... It’s gonna end with concentration camps and expulsions and war at the cost of a few hundred million people” (Al-Sibai). Given this, the accuracy of using the term ‘Nazi’ is indisputable.

Mike Godwin (who coined ‘Godwin’s Law’) has suspended his own Law for the Charlottesville Rioters (Media Mole). In this case the problem isn’t applicability, it is historical context. Jelani Cobb observes, “I think that Nazi is the only unqualified evil.... And so when we say “Nazi,” we summon the idea of the United States’ moral victories, and military ones. We are not personally implicated... in the evils of Nazism. We are able to denounce it with a clear conscience.” (Chotiner). Deniable culpability and the moral high ground are pleasant fictions here, as is decrying the actions of the ‘alt-right’ as ‘un-American;’ indeed, the ‘alt-right’ is distinctively American in its amalgamation of ideologies. “They are the American Radical Right, they are every bit the terrorist organizations they claim they want to protect us from” (Williams).

POLITICS. “Many have scorned the term ‘alt-right’ as a palatable euphemism: call them ‘Nazis’ because that’s what they are. However, ‘Nazi’ is a heavy label loaded with history, and not entirely apt in this situation. Is there a better one?”

Klansmen/Neo-Confederates

long with co-opting Pepe the Frog and the Nazi swastika, one of the favoured symbols of the ‘alt-right’ is the Confederate flag, and this has garnered controversy in its own right. Originally a symbol of the “States’ Rights (to own slaves)” side of the American Civil War, the Confederate flag is a home-grown symbol of the ugliest sides of white America with the weight of domestic history as powerful as anything lifted from the Third Reich. While the evocation of Hitler carries Jorjani’s threats of concentration camps as implicit, the Confederate flag evokes the days of human chattel, the Ku Klux Klan’s lynchings and the division of American-against-American in the bloodiest war in US history. “The one good thing that has come out of this is that it has demolished the arguments about the Confederacy being about ‘heritage not hate.’ If that’s the case, then why Nazi and skinhead movements? Why do these movements interna-

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With a diversity of groups joining in an agenda of overt racism, white nationalism and white supremacy, mob violence and misogyny, “any shorthand descriptor at all risks failing to adequately yoke the individuals to the consequences of their stated beliefs and values”.

tionally fly the Confederate flag if there is no connection?” (Chotiner). With a diversity of groups joining in an agenda of overt racism, white nationalism and white supremacy, mob violence and misogyny, “any shorthand descriptor at all

risks failing to adequately yoke the individuals to the consequences of their stated beliefs and values” (O’Connor). The movement itself embraces ‘alt-right,’ an epithet that sounds focus-grouped to be edgy and daring, despite their regressive politics. ‘Racist’ fits, but it describes only a fraction of who they are and what they do. “While everyone in this set of groups is racist in at least one of these senses, many are not racist in others. Not many of the attendees at the Washington gathering favored the term “white supremacist.” [...] “White nationalist” is closer to the mark; most people in this part of the alt-right think whites either ought to have a nation or constitute one already”(Caldwell). Similarly, the movement is not merely ‘fascist,’ nor ‘neo-Confederate,’ nor ‘Klansmen,’ nor any of the other specific components that feed into the movement; it combines and repackages them into something new, something brandable, something exportable.

‘America First’, then the world?

he European side of this hate doesn’t merely contribute ugly symbols and a mythic homeland for the so-called Master Race. The ‘alt-right’ has traction on this side of the Atlantic in the form of nationalist populism and the return of fascism to acceptable political arenas. Perhaps most shockingly, September 2017 marked the first time that Germany elected a farright party to the Reichstag in seventy years -- since the fall of Hitler -- at a time at which Chancellor Merkel is attempting to lead a continent dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis and a growing number of nationalist separatist movements.

board, addressed his delighted anti-immigrant, anti-Islamic, anti-establishment supporters, crowing, “America First is coming to Deutschland” (Schwartz), explicitly evoking Trump.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) received around 13% of the vote, making them the third largest party elected, with at least 60 representatives taking seats. Among their ideologies, AfD are explicitly Islamophobic and believe in fundamentally “challenging Germany’s culture of atonement over World War II and the massacre of six million Jews and others in the Holocaust” (Local.de).

For all that the ‘alt-right’ is a distinctively American movement, you can see its shadow growing in Europe. Nigel Farage, still smug from the role that UKIP played in bringing about Brexit, was seen at Trump’s side many times, and the same sort of cyber-terrorism that plagued the Clinton campaign was unleashed on France’s Macron when he stood against far-right Marine LePen last year. “The “alt-right” movement... is a reactionary coalition of white supremacists, neo-monarchists, radical misogynists, and outright fascists” (O’Connor) and the movement is going global in a way that defies the nationally-bound epithets we might typically have used to describe it. Perhaps, then, to use the ‘alt-right’s en-

AfD were the only German party to delight in the election of Donald Trump, and were hopeful for what it might represent for their own chances in the future. In a meeting following the American election, Dirk Driesang, a member of AfD’s federal

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For all that the ‘alt-right’ is a distinctively American movement, you can see its shadow growing in Europe.

donym frees us from navel-gazing and creates the opportunity for more direct action. Using ‘alt-right’ may be ceding to them, but words are signifiers embedded with and within culture. In the early Thirties, ‘Nazi’ signified a member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, but due to their actions and changing perspective, ‘Nazi’ became The Worst Pejorative. With the rise of propaganda and brainwashing techniques online as a principal element of modern sabotage and warfare, one tactic would be to do the same with ‘alt-right,’ repeatedly linking the epithet with the same negative associations that brought down ‘Nazi’. Without diluting the accuracy of the term, it could come to have the same effect. As Mark Twain allegedly said, “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.” =

CODING THE LAW: SOLVe for lex Is the ambiguity of language a necessary evil in attempts to secure justice, or, in a digital age, should we turn to the predictability of code to ensure our fundamental rights? Words by Róisín A. Costello

ow do you measure a right? Could you reduce reasonableness to a formula? Can you measure justice on a quantitative scale? And, even if you could answer those questions - would you trust a computer to do so? My own laptop tends, when least expected, to shift abruptly from a mess of word documents and browser tabs, to a black screen where glowing code flies out of a trembling cursor as it tries to reboot. I have the same peripheral dread of this unintelligible jumble of numbers my computer runs on, that the average member of the public has for law. But, one way or another, neither are systems you can really opt out of. In that respect, code and law share certain similarities. They are both, to a visitor’s eyes, written in a different language and, worse, they seem to delight in compounding their otherness. Law, in particular, expresses itself in language that indulges complication as being the route to clarity. I recently had the disquieting experience of reading the phrase “an eroitically flavoured classification (e.g. women)” in a popular legal text. Why “women” was insufficient as a classification is unclear. While stumbling across snippets as simultaneously clinical and laughably creepy as this may add a certain element of joy to a day of PhD research, they also highlight how removed the language of law can be.

Even our grammar can mislead us. Practicing law no longer requires fluent Latin, but even the English language can manifest a latent ambiguity, in which a stray word can generate a string of rights. The inclusion of, “in particular,” in Article 40.3.2 of the Irish Constitution, generated a series of cases, beginning in the 1960s, in which the Supreme Court found certain ‘unenumerated rights’ to be protected, though nowhere expressed, in the Constitution’s text. The Internet compounded these difficulties, challenging lawmakers to regulate a system that few could articulate, and whose architecture ran on numbers, rather than words. Early discourse claimed the Internet was beyond the reach of law. John Parry Barlow, a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and a veritable Thomas Jefferson of the Internet age, declared in his “Declaration of Independence for Cyber-space” that governments had no sovereignty online. The claim was not just that government would not regulate cyberspace, but that it could not. The Internet was, and remains, challenging for lawyers and regulators. The reality is that most of its architects were academics. Unconcerned with controlling users’ behavior, they believed in “rough consensus and running code” and assumed most problems with the Internet could be solved later, by people interested in solving them. By the early noughties, governments were regulating the Internet, through legislation

such as the Communications Decency Act, passed in the U.S. in 1996. But precision, as Aristotle said, is relative to the task. How do you impose law on a digital architecture designed by computer scientists and engineers, that bypasses traditional geographic and legal boundaries, and has no central authority? Maybe the Internet was beyond government control. At Harvard, Lawrence Lessig, an academic and lawyer, said maybe we just had to change the way we understood the language of the Internet. Lessig argued computer code regulated conduct on the Internet in a manner similar to the way law regulates our everyday interactions. Far from the chaos envisioned by Barlow and company, behaviour on the Internet could be regulated. The argument has been carried on by some, evolving into an idea that law might impose itself on the digital environment by abandoning the malleable language of traditional law, and becoming a species of code-law. Jeffrey Ritter, founding chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Cyberspace Law, and a Fellow at Kellogg College Oxford, has proposed a new ‘quantum law’ in which legal controls are imposed through information systems which are programmed to recognise and enforce legal standards. The idea is that law might become code. The language of law is full of ‘penumbral spaces’ into which progress and partisanship can be smuggled under the guise of

POLITICS. interpretation, and despite law’s claims of objectivity, it is sometimes unclear about its own aims. Code purports to offer a solution to the latent ambiguity of language, by offering a bright line medium of expression. However, while code provides the operational limitations and command structures of the Internet, if we are going to think of law as code, then are coders lawmakers? How deep within the Internet’s operating systems, and the web’s structural protocols, does the code need to be to constitute a law? And who has the authority to make these changes? These are, in some senses, practical problems, though the Internet’s diffuse authority will complicate their answers. More pressingly,, if law is codified then does code become a judge? In such a system, do we risk making law more certain, or less? At present, the closest we have come to this debate is the use of algorithms which are, in essence, strings of programmed commands – precursors to law as code. Yet algorithms are already controversial. They take no account of personal or exigent circumstances; unlike a judge the quality of their judgments affords no insight into the vagaries of motivation or regret. Certainly, sentencing could take account of such factors, but this kind of rule based decision making purchases objectivity at a high price. It risks sanctifying equality of application at the price of the conditions of natural justice on which the integrity of law depends. The right to respond to an allegation, to be put on notice that you are accused of an offence, to know how a decision is made, the requirement that justice be administered in public- these are all intrinsic aspects of the legal system, and the hallmark of the Rule of Law. Algorithms already fall foul of their requirements; would a law in the form of code be any different? Law itches for uniformity. Or maybe lawyers do. It is a problematic character trait in either case. It spurs a search for a single paradigm through which to understand the challenges posed by a digital environment, challenges that are as varied as their real world counterparts. Code may offer a language for understanding the Internet, and for its regulation, but it is not a perfect solution. Code may be an effective regulatory tool, however, that doesn’t necessarily make it an effective legal one. If we kill the rooster to frighten the monkey, as the Chinese proverb advises, we need to be sure we target the right fowl. If the problem with language is that it is (as the famous legal philosopher Alf Ross once remarked in a different context) a harlot at everyone’s disposal, code stands at the

other extreme, it has none of the organic accommodation for justice offered by the more flexible medium. Code offers no appeal or institutional review, and stands to exercise judicial power in a manner that risks unconstitutionality. Beyond that, without oversight by a class of lawyers doubly qualified as experts in civil liberties and computer science, code might subvert individual rights unintentionally, or for commercial or popular gain. An algorithm used in the United States by police departments as part of a “predictive policing” policy in California disproportionately flagged black and Hispanic neighbourhoods as more at risk of violence. Existing officer deployment patterns coded for in the algorithm recommended higher than usual numbers of officers to be deployed to these areas, though not necessarily based on a higher instance of crime, but rather, on existing deployment numbers based on officer perceptions of risk in the neighbourhoods. What happens when we move beyond policy algorithms and a confirmation bias is coded into law? A judge can delineate correlation from causation; code speaks only in probabilities as fact.

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Code purports to offer a solution to the latent ambiguity of language, by offering a bright line medium of expression.

The harm done by making code the language of law goes deeper. While a member of the public could obtain and, perhaps with some difficulty, understand the precise laws applicable to their own case, code, by its very nature, lacks a similar transparency and accessibility for a still greater proportion of the community. The law is already remote from the experience of most citizens. Public interest lawyers repeatedly emphasise the challenge of advocating on behalf of marginalised communities for whom the first challenge in seeking to enforce their rights is the cultural gap between their lived experience and their legal reality. It is hard enough to understand the language of law with a legal degree, more difficult still if you are poorly educated, economically disadvantaged, or socially under-served. How much of a greater burden will be placed on making access to justice, due process, the constitutional imperative that justice be administered publicly in the courts, if we write law in a language that to most people is more of a cypher? From the 15th to the 17th century the court

of the Star Chamber sat in the Royal Palace of Westminster, ostensibly to ensure that even the most powerful could be brought to heel by the law. Initially held in high regard for its ability to dispense speedy and equitable judgments, the court’s name gradually became synonymous with the exercise of arbitrary and oppressive power, as it was increasingly used, notably by Henry VII and VIII, though with even greater effect by the Stuarts, to punish political enemies and create laws to capture the legal conduct of critics. Today, though the Chamber is long gone, it gives its name to legal and administrative bodies that exercise their powers in a similarly arbitrary, secretive, and oppressive way. The Star Chamber is an almost perfect example of the worst of both language and code. Like code, the Chamber was intended to promote equal application of the law. The problem is that a law of criminal libel may prevent an Earl from treasonous scribblings, but it may also make criminals of booksellers. Another similarity to be drawn between code and the Chamber, is that it also became something of a black box; its proceedings were not open to the public, who knew nothing of its decisions until they fell foul of them. Certainly the Star Chamber was able to create laws in this manner because of the judicial remit language permits, but to replace language as a result would be to misunderstand its importance. The language of law is flawed but it is so, in some part, due to necessity. Existing legal categories and concepts are often decades - sometimes centuries - old, and are designed for different societies, technologies, and challenges, than the ones they find themselves faced with in the 21st century. The result is that judges must sometimes extend the traditional meaning of concepts or words to accommodate a new concept within an old rule. The legal maxim ubi jus ibi remedium requires that for every right there must be a remedy. The Internet challenges that principle, but in striving to fulfill it, the malleability of traditional language is not only desirable, but necessary, and it is not clear that it can be accommodated within code without a disproportionate cost. The alien cuneiform blinking on a dark screen hasn’t overwhelmed my laptop in a while, though I now spend most days trying to determine what the strange medium’s implications will be for the law. It is unnerving to see your own thoughts rendered unintelligible as white text on a black screen, when you specialise in making sense of black text on a white one. Proximal alienations are sometimes the most jarring. As between the competing sovereigns of code and language - solve for lex. =

The AI EFFECT

In 1956, Herbert Simon declared that “machines will be capable, within 20 years, of doing any work a man can do”. Why was his predicton so far off? It may be down to how we define human intelligence, and by contrast, how we define artificial intelligence as something necessarily lesser despite its increasing complexity.

ntelligence, both artificial and organic, is a tricky beast to pin down. Attempts to replicate intelligence have largely resulted in a better understanding of what artificial intelligence is not, rather than what it is, an effect this article seeks to explain. It has been long established that knowledge and intelligence are vastly different things; knowledge being the acquired information and understanding of a subject, whereas intelligence, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is “the ability to acquire knowledge and skills”. In general, intelligence has been the more greatly appreciated attribute, the words ‘in general’ being of key importance here. This is because knowledge is inherently static and unchanging, useful in highly specific circumstances. A child taught through rote learning may have learnt off by heart the knowledge that 2 + 2 = 4, but be bamboozled by the first appearance of 3 + 3. In contrast, intelligence extracts general information from specific cases, allowing the user to apply their understanding to situations they may never have seen before.

Words by Ciaran McGarry

cipline, and armed with a clear definition of intelligence we can set about our unenviable task, but how will we know when we have succeeded? The obvious solution is to agree on a test which requires “the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills” to be performed. When artificial intelligence began as a research field in Dartmouth College in 1956, the researchers quickly jumped into performing ‘intelligent’ tasks previously inconceivable for a computer to perform (bearing in mind that the first digital computer had been created less than 10 years earlier). Computers were winning at games of checkers, solving word problems, proving logical theorems, and speaking English. The founders of AI were profoundly optimistic for the future, stating “machines will be capable, within 20 years, of doing any work a man can do” (presumably holding the work a woman can do in higher regard).

This prediction, it will hopefully not surprise you, did not come to fruition. There are many reasons why, We consider but chief among them, The transferable nature ourselves both the hindsight tells us, is of intelligence makes it bar and the pinnacle that those pushing the a hugely desirable tool progress of AI did not of intelligence, a fully understand what for computer science. A typical computer pro- self-awarded throne it was the ‘I’ stood gram is a list of instrucwe are keen to for. It was known that tions and a predefined defend. It is possible the goal of AI was to knowledge base which produce a computer solve some specific goal. that the human ego capable of the same If you want another is trying to preserve level of thought and problem solved, anothsome special role problem-solving as er program is required. in the universe for the human mind, but Often multiple programs itself by refusing that is rather like lookare written to solve the ing for a twin without to recognise the ever having seen the same problem, to allow for performance on dif- value that artificial first sibling. The tasks ferent environments intelligence presents. they had set themand languages. An ‘intelselves, it turned out, ligent’ program howevwere not indicative of er, would theoretically be able to transfer intelligence, only of computation. This was skills extracted from the solution of one the first redefinition of what would mark a problem to the solving of another, greatly truly intelligent computer, paving the way reducing the amount of time, energy, and for the emergence of the AI Effect, which money required to develop new solutions. we will come to later. In any case, a new test was now needed to illustrate the powClearly recreating biological intelligence in er and ingenuity of the digital mind. the form of artificial intelligence would be a huge boon to the computer science dis- From its origin in ~500AD, chess has been

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lauded as a mark of intelligence, requiring a strong analytical mind and imagination. World chess champion Alexander Alekhine once said that “chess is not only knowledge and logic”. An ideal challenge then for a burgeoning field desperate for some substantial proof of concept. The battle began badly on the artificial side, with the prediction of a world champion by 1967 falling flat (“Hofstadter’s Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law” holds true here). The famously brash chess community began taunting their remarkably good-looking programmer counterparts (oops, my bias is showing), with David Levy, writer of over 40 books on chess and computers, declaring that no chess computer would be able to beat him within 10 years in 1968. However, the skill of the computer players progressed at an astonishing rate, gaining more than 20x the ELO points per year in comparison with the top human players. Events came to a climax in 1997 when Deep Blue (the artist previously known as Deep Thought for all you Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy nerds) beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov with 2 wins, 3 draws, and 1 defeat. The quest for artificial intelligence had ended happily ever after

STEM. So it was with chess computing, as it was with checkers, word problems, and English before that. You may see a pattern forming. This seemingly endless chasing of the green light has become known as ‘The AI Effect’, the acknowledgement that as soon as a problem can be solved by a computer, it is no longer deemed an ‘intelligent’ problem. Douglas Hofstadter expressed the AI effect concisely by stating “AI is whatever hasn’t been done yet”. Now it is time to question why. Why, when we have had what seemed like an accurate description of intelligence from the beginning of this article, does it continually shrink away from our touch? Why is a computational victory over a world chess champion ridiculed as brute force and unintelligent, while a biological victor is hailed as a very smart fellow indeed. The answer is that a computer lacks the qualities of a good magician; namely mystery, and ego. As already explained, we have a more than decent understanding of the inner workings of a computer. While new innovations may excite and astound every once in awhile, they are more often small steps than great leaps, and we incorporate these new developments into our understanding of computing, thereby trivialising them. in a logical contest famed for its requirements of both creativity and imagination... or not. As we’ve already seen, advancements in artificial intelligence often tell us what intelligence isn’t, rather than what it is. Computers are at their heart emphatically simple devices. A series of switches either on (1) or off (0), repeated so many times as to make something very complex, but the core idea remains a simple one, and it is difficult to bestow the crown of intelligence onto a glorified light-switch. Furthermore, we build computers, design them, and through this understand them (or at least have the capacity to). Each time an advanced piece of software is developed to do something very tricky indeed, the complexity can be reduced through iterative understanding of the process until outcries of ‘That’s just computation!’ arrive.

This is not the case with the human mind. We are not builders iteratively planning and growing from a base platform. In the brain we have inherited a powerful biological machine, had our awareness of it thrust upon us late in its development, and so it makes sense that it would house a greater sense of mystery and awe than that which we fully understand. Keeping with the magician analogy, computers pull their rabbits out of glass hats, while biological brains are masters of smoke and mirrors. However, our imaginations running wild at the mad and wonderful things that could be going on behind the curtain cannot entirely account for the disparity between how we perceive biological and mechanical intelligence. To balance the difference we must take into account the possibility that our ego is influencing our judgment.

It is worth noting that throughout its history, artificial intelligence has been compared to that of human intelligence. Rarely are computers compared to lab rats, crows, or dolphins, when the question of intelligence comes calling. Rarely is the fact that computers played chess with fewer errors than their opponents brought up in their favour, or the fact that we are so unreliable brought up against ours. We consider ourselves both the bar and the pinnacle of intelligence, a self-awarded throne we are keen to defend. It is possible that the human ego is trying to preserve some special role in the universe for itself by refusing to recognise the value that artificial intelligence presents. There are some modern developments in artificial intelligence that may circumvent these disruptors to AI acknowledgement, one being Artificial Neural Networks. These statistical models are inspired by, and modeled on, biological neural networks. Systems that learn in a fashion closer to ourselves. For example, in image recognition, a system might learn to detect images of different fruit by analysing images labelled ‘banana’, ‘apple’, ‘orange’, etc. in a process known as ‘training’. The greater the number of images fed, the better the Neural Network is ‘trained’ in the patterns of fruit, and the more accurately it can judge fresh, unlabelled input. Due to the Artificial Neural Networks being modeled on our own biological neural networks, which we only faintly understand, the sense of mystery required to maintain a sense of intelligence is retained. What’s more, the open-book nature of computer programs allows us to observe how these systems go about solving problems and use these insights to better understand the working of our own minds, such is the closeness of the simulation to reality. Moving into the future, it will be intriguing to discover whether society embraces Artificial Neural Networks as a form of intelligence, or whether the AI Effect causes the ever-nomadic goalposts of artificial intelligence to move once more. Though the element of mystery has been retained in recent advances, the human ego factor yet remains. As the age of mass information attacks our sense of self like no other, with a daily bombardment of manufactured personalities for our real selves to replicate, and traditional gender roles undergoing great change, to give but a few examples, our most advanced AI systems may have arrived at the human identity’s most fragile moments. Only time will tell if this will be to the benefit or detriment of AI’s continual quest for recognition. =

The bigger picture: Predicting the weather Every day, meteorologists all over the world analyse a multitude of mathematical models, collating and condensing their data into the easily understood forecasts that affect every facet of our everday existence. Meteorologist Siobhán Ryan discusses how forecasts get from the Met Éireann offices to the RTÉ newsroom.

Words by Siobhán Ryan

s a broadcast meteorologist, I work between Met Éireann HQ in Glasnevin and RTÉ Donnybrook. My work in HQ involves days, nights and weekends, with my main concern being severe weather, both on land and at sea, and the identification of situations that may endanger life and property. On a typical TV day however I’m based in RTÉ; here my working day generally begins around midday and I finish up around 10pm at night. I’m responsible for 7 weather bulletins, all in and around 2 minutes long. These include the World and European forecast, as well as 5 Irish weather bulletins, including the six-one and nine o’clock weather, which typically bring in viewership numbers of 600,000 and sometimes in excess of a million. So what are the steps involved in the delivery of a live weather forecast? First off, as soon as I arrive into RTÉ my priority is to analyse the weather. The role still involves

mine areas of high and low pressure as well as the positions of fronts; the boundary between two different air masses, where we see a clash in weather conditions. As well as these ground-based weather observations we also receive marine reports. The Irish Marine Network includes a number of weather buoys moored all around Ireland, recording the same weather measurements to those on land.

some traditional chart analysis in which quality observations are key. Every hour on the hour, 365 days a year, all across the In tandem with these weather observaGlobe, observers record the weather in tions I look at satellite and radar imagery, unison to create a global snapshot of the which I often share on my weather bulcurrent weather. Surface weather obser- letins. The visible satellite images are no vations include wind speed, different from taking phowind direction, pressure, tographs during daylight, the world is cloud amount, cloud classifibut obviously from way bigger than us above the Earth. They are cation and visibility amongst a whole host of others and and so too is intuitive enough to underare the fundamentals of any the narrative stand. The infra-red satfuture forecast. They are codof the weather. ellites are however a little ed using a universal numerito interpret, partly It is a story trickier cal code, so that no matter because they are taken in without the dark and rely on temwhere you work in the world as a forecaster or what lan- borders and its perature emitted from the guage you speak, the weathbeginnings may cloud. Light shades, for iner report is understandable be far away stance, represent clouds to you. with low temperatures from the sky tops, normally found high These weather observations directly above up in the atmosphere. are portrayed on maps by the us. Conversely clouds lower station circle. At a simplistic down to the surface of level, chart analysis involves joining up lines the Earth appear darker, as they are usually of equal pressure. This allows us to deter- warmer.

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STEM. After that we have RADAR. It gives us an impression of the current precipitation falling across Ireland. Currently there are operational radars in Dublin and Shannon Airport, as well as Belfast. These signals overlap to display a composite image of the current rainfall, or lack thereof as the case may be. Electromagnetic pulses are sent out into the atmosphere and reflect backwards once the signal hits a rain drop. The next phase is to establish the forecast using this ‘now-time data’ as well as forecast model data. Models have their inherent strengths and weaknesses. As a forecaster, my job is to know which model is performing the best based on the current weather. Knowledge and experience are crucial ingredients in a successful weather forecast. I have access to a database of world weather, including global and high-resolution or local models. All these together allow me to study the likely movement and development of the various weather systems over the coming days. The various weather models give guidance, but ultimately it’s up to the forecaster to correct and refine the forecast and keep it on track. ‘Weather Models’ are extremely complicated computer programs which simulate the predicted state of our 3D atmosphere here on earth. In fact the biggest and most sophisticated supercomputers in the world are required to work out the highly sensitive and complex ‘equations of motion’ which govern our atmosphere. Decades of research have been involved in building such weather models. The maths behind them is serious stuff and impossible to simplify in just a few sentences. However, as a starting point what is required is a snapshot of the current weather, with as much detail as possible. This ground-truth data includes weather observations all around the globe, as mentioned both on the land and sea, as well as satellite information, which help fill in the missing data points. Observations are made 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in order to make this possible. These are called the initial conditions, which are data assimilated and inputted into a computer model, which in turn churns out the possible turn of events, out to as far out as 10 days, depending on which particular weather model you are looking at. There are many different 3D weather models used across the globe. Each one sensitive to its own defined area, with different models having their own inherent strengths and weaknesses depending on the given weather scenario. The atmosphere is highly sensitive such that any small errors amplify considerably with

time, and to add to this, there is inbuilt the fundamental theory of chaos, which limits even the best forecast. ‘The Butterfly Effect’ essentially, for which scientist Edward Norton Lorenz suggested that the flap of a butterfly’s wings might ultimately cause a tornado.

tially the weather is just like any other story and needs telling.

Creating the forecast is a complex process and one that demands constant tweaking, that’s why forecasters work right around the clock. Essentially my job as a science communicator, is to deliver an up-to-date In any case the forecaster will know which forecast, with as much accuracy as possimodel to follow depending on a given sce- ble. So it helps to be decisive, objective and nario, truth be told sometimes the apps or analytical. But it also helps to be a clear weather models do not perform well, and communicator with a keen eye, as we also so old fashioned chart analysis and per- compile our very own set of fresh graphics sistence are the best tools available. The from scratch on a daily basis. As well as this, main weather models used in Met Éireann the forecasts are live and delivered without include ECMWF, HIRLAM, HARMONIE, UK the use of autocue. Plus I let the weather and GFS. If one was forecasting in a dif- dictate the sequence, so there isn’t necesferent part of the world, then one would sarily a set order to my charts. That said, use other weather models, I nearly always spend all specific to that particular of the second half of my People broadcast focusing in on region and its surrounds. want to know the weather for the next Obviously global models the impact a 24 hours using the Irish exist, but they are much coarser and can struggle severe event weather map. It’s a wonto pinpoint the detail that will have on derfully creative process a high resolution local area and one for which we have them and what complete free reign. I try model can perform with to expect next. to ‘feng shui’ my charts ease. Like anything at all times, so the main These weather models critical, it weather story pops. Every are, for all intents and purclick is a weather decision helps when it and a lot of thought and poses, the apps which we comes from the consideration goes into are all familiar with on our authoritative the process. phones. However, where the app weather is porvoice. trayed in a hyper-pictorial Essentially the I usually arrive into studio local format, i.e. a sunny 15 minutes before I go live weather is just to air. It’s a closed studio, symbol, in contrast the like any other which means I’m comformat we study in Met Éireann is far more comstory and needs pletely alone in the room prehensive. For instance, telling. when communicating the we look at a multitude of forecast, with full responweather parameters for sibility for setting up the all the different levels in the atmosphere, camera and microphone. However, I do such as dew-point, instability, freezing lev- communicate with the presentation conel, pressure, vorticity, geopotential height troller in RTÉ to make sure everything is - the list goes on. correct and in order. I have exactly 2 mins to talk all things weather, and it’s critical I This simplification of the weather into hy- finish in exact time for scheduling reasons. I per-pictorial format might seem like a good don’t use autocue as I’ve no real need for it, thing, which it can be, but the world is big- I simply tell the weather story the best way ger than us and so too is the narrative of I know how. At the end of the broadcast the weather. It is a story without borders I might decide a certain chart didn’t work, and its beginnings may be far away from or I had too many charts in my stack. Once the sky directly above us. For this reason I’ve signed off, I remove my microphone it helps to understand the bigger picture and return to my work in the weather ofand the whys behind it, especially in times fice in preparation for my next forecast, of severe weather, which of course is the which I’m always trying to improve upon. main concern of any provider. All eyes are on the weather bulletin when it comes You’d think with the advent of weather to heightened storms, snow events and apps, there would be fewer people watchflooding. This is when people who don’t ing. If anything however, viewership numnormally watch the weather tune back in. bers are higher than ever before. I believe A heavy rain symbol simply does not cut it. these weather apps and online sources People want to know the impact a severe create an appetite for all things weather, event will have on them and what to expect and in the end of the day people want to next. Like anything critical, it helps when it hear the bad (or sometimes good) news comes from the authoritative voice. Essen- from the expert voice. =

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From Philosophy

Words by Dr. Aviva Cohen

To App design Dr. Aviva Cohen, founder of the app Neuro Hero, was driven by her husband’s sudden stroke to search for alternative speech therapy methods. And so began her journey from her own academic discipline, philosophy, to app development.

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ur ability to interact with our family, friends and community in a meaningful way is essential to our sense of well-being and general health. When this ability is reduced by conditions such as stroke, brain injury or dementia, the impact can be immense.” (Seeman:, 1996) The loss of communication captured in this quote was experienced by the founder and Sensei of the Trinity Shotokan Karate club, Steve O’Connor. After 35 years of practicing karate in the Trinity sports hall, training 3 times a day, Steve suffered a devastating stroke. This motivated his partner, Aviva Cohen, to search for ways to improve his life. That quest led her into a world of cutting edge medicine, app development, augmented reality, and haptic innovation. On the morning of 5 June 2006, Steve and Aviva practiced karate together as they had always done. They were in the back garden; their five year old daughter was counting for them in Japanese (more or less), and their baby girl was laughing at the spectacle. By that evening, a stroke had stolen

away Steve’s cognition, his movement, and ter that, the family shared in the isolation his speech. After six months in hospitals Steve had been experiencing. Aviva realand rehab centres, Steve came home. He ised that social isolation is a common probwas less able than their baby, who was now lem for people living with communication almost one and a half. In addition to nu- difficulties, and their families. She started merous challenges, Steve was diagnosed searching for solutions. The resources she with severe expressive aphasia. His condi- found were either limited and expensive, tion attracted some attenor required support from tion as he had the dubious Like so many a therapist or a training honour of being one of the families, his course. most severe cases his medfound it ical team had treated. From the beginning, Aviva difficult to had been asking questions, access therapy, sitting in on every speech About a year after Steve’s stroke, Aviva became aware so Aviva started and language therapy sesthat he felt excluded when to work sion, reading every training friends and family came manual and paper that she with speech could lay her hands on. She over. Despite his commuand language was determined to come nication deficits, he made it very clear that he would therapists to up with ways to help Steve no longer allow visitors to create speech progress at home and to their home. This became and language share this with other famiobvious when one of Stelies. therapy apps. ve’s friends travelled from Belgium to visit. After a Steve’s doctors were pesbrief hello, Steve stood up, took his friend simistic about any prospect of recovery, by the hand, and backed him out the front which motivated Aviva to work harder to door repeating, “Bye, bye,” as he went. Af- find experimental treatments and emerg-

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STEM. ing therapies. Over the years, she found numerous therapies, some more successful than others. For example, stem cell therapy enabled Steve to move his right arm, which had been paralysed for three years; hyperbaric oxygen therapy dramatically improved his cognition; and an experimental drug gave Steve the power to walk for miles, something the doctors had thought impossible. Aviva decided to share her findings and published the Research & Hope website. The site presents clear, accessible information on clinically tested therapies for stroke rehabilitation, most not routinely discussed by doctors. This marked the beginning of Aviva’s journey as a social entrepreneur. Steve’s cognitive and physical improvement was unprecedented, but his speech didn’t return. Like so many families, his found it difficult to access therapy, so Aviva started to work with speech and language therapists to create speech and language therapy apps. Together, they developed Talk Around It apps so that people with communication difficulties can improve at home. The apps include evidence-based exercises that help people to “find” their words again. They can work alone, and there are opportunities to work with friends and family who can help to customise the app and test and monitor progress.

al awards, including Mexico’s Gifted Citizen in 2015 and India’s mBillionth the following year. Over 50,000 people have now downloaded Neuro Hero apps, and this number continues to grow.

In addition to providing therapy, the apps In 2017, Aviva became an ASSISTID/Marie enhance the potential for social compan- Curie postdoctoral research fellow and ionship. They help family and friends to ask now works both in the School of Education in Queens University Belfast and in key questions and proSMARTlab within vide opportunities for interaction. In addition, Her fellowship the department of Engineering in Aviva developed One Skill focuses on delivering University Colapps to help everyone solutions to the lege Dublin. Her learn how to communichallenges faced by fellowship focuscate more easily. Each ageing carers who es on delivering video is less than three solutions to the minutes long and shows have loved ones with challenges faced how a conversation can intellectual disabilities by ageing carers go wrong and how to and cognitive who have loved have more productive challenges. ones with intelconversations. lectual disabilities and cognitive The company Aviva challenges. She founded, Neuro Hero Ltd., is both a social enterprise and a lim- is developing a Cloud-based app to faited company and has received awards in cilitate the continuity of care as a person both sectors. Its first achievement was win- with complex needs moves away from the ning a place on NDRC’s prestigious Launch- family home. This will be accompanied by a Pad elevator program in 2011, where Neu- training course to help ageing carers negoro Hero has been supported and hosted tiate issues such as housing, financial secuever since. In May 2012, Neuro Hero re- rity, and wellbeing for themselves and the ceived the Arthur Guinness Fund award, people for whom they care.

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followed by an Impact award from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, among others. The funding and personal training Aviva received allowed her company to develop 19 apps in 6 languages. This led to internation-

that many elderly parents in poor health continue to care for a son or daughter with complex needs. One reason for this is a fear that it will be impossible to visit once their loved one moves into residential care. Aviva’s design integrates emerging 3D communication technologies with bespoke wearables in order to support virtual “visits”. When development is completed, a mother will be able to walk across a virtual room and share a realistic hug with her child. Aviva’s attitude is simple: everything you have learned empowers you to find solutions. In her words: “I was a lecturer in philosophy, a communications consultant, and a martial arts instructor. I drew on what I knew: I was guided by the great philosophers who write about authenticity and ethics. I used the communications skills I taught in areas such as time management. Over 20 years of practicing karate have given me the strength to pick myself up time and again. When you come across something new you have to let go of your pride, start at the beginning, and study until you understand. If your motivation is strong enough, you can find everything you need to make the changes that will bring your vision to life.” =

Aviva is also venturing into the world of cutting-edge augmented technologies and developing wearable haptics garments. This research was inspired by the reality

An image of neural pathways in the brain taken using diffusion tensor imaging. Source: Thomas Schultz, Wikimedia Commons

CAN LANGUAGE change THe brain?

Neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt to changes by rewiring Words by Peter Cox its neural pathways, has been gaining ground as a research area since the late 20th century. Recently, studies have begun to explore the relationship language has with the phenomenon. Words by Peter Cox

“B

inge drinking changes your brain activity,” or “Could your favourite stories permanently change your brain?”: these are the headlines that try to shock you into clicking and reading their article (ahem). However, this sensationalising dilutes just how amazing the brain is. No one has the time to understand everything in minute detail, but there is a difference between understanding a little and misunderstanding basic truths. Our brains do change; that’s how the brain works. Inputs change it; otherwise, how would we learn? There are amazing stories that illustrate how much the brain can reorganise itself, such as that of the civil servant and father of two who, at the age of 44, went to doctors due to a weakness in his left leg only to be told that he had had a 50 to 75 percent reduction in his brain. He

researched patients that had had surgery to combat epilepsy during which the part connecting the hemispheres, the corpus callosum, was cut. Using these patients, Sperry located areas associated with certain functions. However, “associated” is the key word; it is not as clear cut as is bedid have a lower than average IQ of 75, but lieved. A hemispherectomy is a modern for all intents and purposes, he was living procedure where an entire hemisphere a normal life. Or the woman who reached is removed to cure conditions such as the age of 24 without anyone realising drop seizures. People who have had this that she had no cerebelprocedure can go on lum, a part of the brain that to live normally without makes up 10 percent of the that there is an entire hemisphere. mass, but has 50 percent an interaction This wouldn’t be possiof the neurons. This ability between linguistic ble if the brain could not to reorganise is called brain adapt. skills and plasticity, but it may not end there. There is even the physical The hemispheres are evidence that the language development of then divided again into we speak may alter the way the brain appears other areas of apparent that inputs are processed to be undeniable. function, such as those and, in turn, how our brains seen to be associated change. with auditory or visual

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The common view is that of a brain divided so that each hemisphere controls certain functions. If you are creative or analytical, one hemisphere will be more active than the other. This is based on the Nobel Prize-winning work of Roger Sperry. He

processing. But a recent study by Markus Van Ackeren and his team showed that people who were blind from an early age could process intelligible auditory information in the occipital lobe, the area associated with vision. The implications of this

STEM. discovery are still unknown. What is known is that visual information is also used in understanding language, as it has been proven to be easier for people to understand someone they are looking at. So whether this is a type of hot-wiring of an area already used for language, or a new type of use entirely, is not certain. What is clear, however, is that the brain is exceptionally complex and subtle. A right/left or cerebellum/frontal lobe departmentalisation of functions is at least oversimplified or may, in certain circumstances, be downright incorrect. One of the most persistent beliefs about learning is that there is a critical age of development for learning a language. But if the brain is constantly developing, how could this be true? Children do appear to learn languages more readily than adults. This is a result of two different types of learning processes that are easier to activate at different points of a person’s life. Young people learn in a bottom-up process: that is, the brain builds up information from its surroundings without the conscious attention of the child. This is the proposed critical period because people are more receptive to their surroundings at this early age. In fact, the age at which brains start to filter out those sounds that it deems not useful is younger than you might think. From 8 to 11 months, the attention that a toddler pays to sounds phonetically similar to their native language is higher than that which it pays to non-native ones. It is even suggested that learning music at a young age helps with learning a language because it strengthens the top-down process at a point when the bottom-up process is dominant, allowing for the distinguishing of what is desired to be learned as opposed to soaking things up passively. By this process, the older brain has laid down many neuronal pathways that have formed from learning what is important for survival and development. An adult brain, therefore, has been carefully built to serve its owner, and any new information has to be assessed, because compromising the existing learning may be dangerous. Therefore, an older person needs to learn intentionally, to pay attention to new information. This top-down process becomes more prominent in the older brain. In this process, when a person starts paying attention to something which may need to be learned, a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine is released. Acetylcholine, an excitatory neurotransmitter, has been shown to help improve attentiveness, allowing for easier learning in animals. This ena-

bles the brain to learn what it wants and not random scraps of information. It is important to point out, however, that these processes are not mutually exclusive. One type of processing will be more prominent than another at a certain point of life, but neither will ever be absent. This is why a “critical point” of development is a misnomer and a “sensitive point” is more suited. Learning changes but never stops.

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the monolinguals, suggesting that learning a second language increases the connectivity of the brain, although this is yet to be proven. Language could also change how our brains perceive. In Greek, there are two words for blue: “ghalazio” and “ble”. Greek speakers have been shown to differentiate between shades of blue more quickly than English speakers. The Guugu Yimithirr from Australia have no words for relative space. Instead, they have words only for north, south, east and west, and they have an exceptionally keen sense of direction in unknown terrain. There is even evidence that the percentage of women that participate in the workplace and the political system is inversely related to the amount of gender markers in the language of their country, suggesting that the use of female and male words reinforces old social views on sex roles.

In Greek, there are two words for blue: ‘ghalazio’ and ‘ble’. Greek speakers have been shown to differentiate between shades of blue more quickly than English Even our personalities may not be safe. speakers.” In the sixties, Susan Ervin-Tripp conduct-

So, all this having been said, how does language affect the brain? First, a disclaimer: studies looking at the following topics have two issues. Firstly, it is difficult to get enough people for the results to be scientifically sound. A way around this is to look at general trends of populations and make connections. The second problem with this, however, is that there are a lot of other uncontrollable factors that make it difficult to assign cause and effect, so usually, you end up with a small sample size or too many factors that may influence the results. As such, these studies show indications as opposed to actual proof. A small but interesting study by Johan Mårtensson from Sweden looked at armed forces recruits who were embarking on a three-month intensive language course and used medical and cognitive science students as a control group. Both groups were given MRIs before and after the three months, and the results showed that areas of the recruits’ brains developed, whereas the students’ didn’t. What’s more, the amount of development seen in the recruits changed depending on the amount of work they had put into the course. Some of the most convincing evidence for language’s effects on the brain comes from studies of bilinguals. For instance, bilinguals tend to be diagnosed with dementia four and a half years later on average than people that speak one language. In addition to this, in a recent study of 608 people who had suffered strokes, twice the number of bilinguals recovered fully as compared to

ed a study on Japanese-English bilinguals. In the test, the participants were asked to describe an image. When describing the image in Japanese, the participants assigned more emotion to the description, like a woman contemplating her husband’s death. In English, they would be more emotionally reserved: the same woman was sewing. More recent studies have shown similar results. Bilingual children also do better on tests that require them to understand something from someone else’s point of view, again suggesting that the speaking of a different language allows a person to think in different perspectives. The brain is a wonderfully complex thing; to simplify it down to parts with specific functions is to undersell its complexity. It can change and develop in ways we are only beginning to understand. Language can be seen, in many ways, as a tool for the brain’s expression. Yet preliminary research suggests that language could also be a tool for changing our perceptions. The results of studies on how language affects the brain are difficult to quantify, but that there is an interaction between linguistic skills and the physical development of the brain appears to be undeniable. However, as technology improves our ability to understand, the brain will improve with it. With a greater understanding of the brain comes a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. =

VIRAL AND online content related to THE theme OF THis ISSUE.

REVIVING AN ANCIENT fILIPINO LANGUAGE

Kristian Kabuay, a San Fransisco-based artist from the Philipinnes, is reviving the ancient Filipino script of Baybayin to engage a modern audience in the deep roots of the islands’ culture, and make a statement about Filipino identity. Previously working as a grafitti aritst, Kabuay now does a mixture of live art performances and mixed media pieces to explore this unique calligraphic style. Check out AJ+’s video interview with the artist below. Website: https://kabuay.com AJ+ video: https://www.facebook.com/ ajplusenglish/videos/1070183303123176/

echo chambers: an insight into twitter discourse

As reported by Quartz, a study entitled “Emotion shapes the diffusion of moralized content in social networks” has shown that using morally outraged language spreads opinion faster on social media platforms, but only among users with similar political leanings (suprised?). Led by psychologist William Brady, NYU, the study looked at three politically divided issues in the US (gun control, same-sex marriage and climate change) and analysed 563,312 tweets. The results found that Twitter shares were largely confined to ideological spheres, with the visualisation above representing the in-group versus out-group sharing (Blue being liberal and red being conservative). Quartz article: https://qz.com/1024117/ Journal article: http://www.pnas.org/content/114/28/7313.abstract

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L I V E S T R E A M

preserving LANGUAGES for the future

In an article titled “We Can’t Stem the Tide of Language Death” Laura McPherson, assistant linguistics professor at Dartmouth, says the only thing we can do for minority languages threatened by globalisation is documenting them for future generations. A array of online resources for doing so have amassed over the past number of years, some government-funded and some volunteer-based: Native Languages and First Voices focus on documenting US and Canadian indigenous languages (respectively), while the Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity focuses on doing the same for Australia’s indigenous population. These online platforms have allowed indigenous people to preserve the culture specific to their own area of origin within these countries. A similar initiative was picked up by NPR; run by a “self-taught” mapmaker Aaron Carapella, it is a map of North America and Canada pre-European colonisation, depicting the original placenames given by over 600 tribes over the geographical area. NPR Article: https://n.pr/1lKd0AP Websites: www.nativelanguages.org www.firstvoices.com www.tribalnationsmaps.com

LANGUAGE, CONCEPTS AND EMOTIONs

In the second episode of their Season 3 “Concept Album”, creators of the podcast Invisibilia, Hanna Rosin, Alix Spiegel and Lulu Miller, talk to anthropologist Renato Rosaldo about discovering a new concept encapsulated in the word “Liget”, deep in the Filipino rainforests. A great exploration of how language is shaped by unique cultural reference points. Podcast Episode: http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510307/invisibilia

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