“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive”
Phuc Tran, 2012
Originally published on TEDx Talks
Hashtags
#ways of knowing, #personal narrative, #identity, #audio, #family, #conditional, #immigration, #assimilation, #mental health, #community, #storytelling, #grammar
Frame:
JS: This TedTalk is both an example of good storytelling and a faulty argument that is worth engaging with. Recounting both imagination and revision of his thinking, this short story is rich with moments for reflection and discussion. Yet when the speaker zooms out to make a broader argument about culture, it is worth taking some time to deconstruct the claims he makes
This interactive video features several pause points with close-shot questions for discussion. They may be helpful to review before listening and can be found in the guide below.
Text Version
Close Shots: Listen and pause to respond to key moments in the TedTalk:
| Time (mm:ss) | Questions |
| 1:43 |
|
| 5:01 |
|
| 6:20 |
|
| 9:20 |
|
| 10:49 |
|
| 14: 45 |
|
Text Version
Wide Shots:
- “If I were…I would…” – Fill in the blanks and repeat as many times as you like!
- Where do “shoulds” come from?
- What has grammar meant to you? Tell a story about how you’ve learned it, how you know it, and/or how you use it.
- How does it affect you to think about what is possible?
Mid Shots
- See “Against the Grain” for a discussion activity that critically engages the arguments that emerge from the personal narrative.
Possible Transitions
ET: I would pair Phuc Tran’s TED Talk with Marget Thors’s “Gun Bubbles” to build on the concept of how language creates space for possibilities. Another interesting pairing would include Yiyun Li’s “To Speak Is to Blunder” to discuss how migration and new language acquisition impact family and belonging.
DU: “Puerto Rican Obituary” and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” could also be productive comparisons to raise questions about representation, language, and identity.
See:
"Asters and Goldenrod"
“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive”
“Place Name: Oracabessa”
“Vão/Vòng A Conversation with Katrina Dodson"
Against the Grain: Listening for Controversy (exploration)
Critical Learning Reflection (exploration)
Indigenous Perspectives of Western Science (exploration)
Insufficient Definitions (exploration)
The Point of Education? (exploration)
Poetry and Science: Epistemology through Language (exploration)
a nonfiction genre where the author and narrator are one
See:
"Asters and Goldenrod"
"Connecting the Dots"
“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive”
“Gun Bubbles”
“How to Tame a Wild Tongue”
"Saving a Language You're Learning to Speak"
“Skin Feeling”
"To Speak is to Blunder"
Critical Learning Reflection (exploration)
Poetry and Science: Epistemology through Language (exploration)
See:
"Asters and Goldenrod"
"Connecting the Dots"
“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive”
“How to Tame a Wild Tongue”
“Saving a Language You’re Learning to Speak”
“Puerto Rican Obituary”
“The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”
“Vão/Vòng A Conversation with Katrina Dodson"
recorded text delivered orally rather than in writing
See:
"Asters and Goldenrod"
“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive”
“Place Name: Oracabessa”
"Puerto Rican Obituary"
“Saving a Language You’re Learning to Speak”
“Three Ways to Speak English”
Dialogue Over Time: A New Boogaloo: “How Beautiful We Really Are” (exploration)
Historical Contexts (exploration)
Indigenous Perspectives of Western Science (exploration)
Music Trails (exploration)
Reading the “Fine Print” (exploration)
examines or uses the conditional mood in significant or interesting ways.
See:
“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive,”
“Gun Bubbles,”
Emotion in Language (exploration)
See:
"Asters and Goldenrod"
“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive”
“How to Tame a Wild Tongue”
“Saving a Language You’re Learning to Speak”
“Skin Feeling”
Dialogue Over Time: A New Boogaloo: “How Beautiful We Really Are” (exploration)
Building an Opinion (exploration)
Self Reflection, Collective Change (exploration)
emphasizes narrative traits and modes for structure and meaning
See:
"Asters and Goldenrod"
“Grammar, Identity, and the Dark Side of the Subjunctive”
“Saving a Language You’re Learning to Speak”
Collage: Found, Donated, Repeated with Difference (exploration)
