Segment Three A (Essay):
In the
Olavian culture, children learn language simply through observation. There is
no “Olavian 101” or taught classroom. Children spend most of their childhood
alternating days or weeks spent almost entirely with their mother or father.
Children may have a week dedicated to learning how to basket weave with their mother,
or a month following their father while learning how to hunt. During this time,
children pick up on important language and phrases that they will need in order
to carry out their skills. Children will also learn important traditional
stories during this time as they follow their parents and learn important
skills. Because the Olafs only speak one consistent language, that is all the
children learn. There are no other languages spoken in Frozenland, so during
childhood the kids do not pick up other languages.
The language reflects the culture because the sounds are very light and delicate like the snowy environment that they live in. Words are simple and wispy and long, complex thoughts can be communicated very simply with short but descriptive sentences.
Because there are so many more females than males in the Olavian world, there are many more words to describe female circumstances. There are words that specifically describe female emotions and female ideas or necessities, words that do not even exist in a male format. Olafs do not eat a large variety of food, and do not have many different techniques of food preparation. Because of this, the Olafs do not have many words for foods and cooking. The words they have are very simple, such as words to tell what the food is, to describe what it looks or tastes like, and how you would go about eating it.
The main area of cultural emphasis in Olavian culture is snow and snowfall, because snow is what their life is made out of, it holds a great importance to the Olafs. Olafs have dozens upon dozens of words for snow and snowfall. These words will describe the type of snow, the texture of the snow, the quality of the snow, how slow or fast it is falling from the sky, if it is light or if it heavy, and so on. Examples of rough or aggressive snow would be “looteyhoo” and “frago”. These words describe heavy or dense snow, like a mass of snow that has collected on the top of a roof or peak of a mountain that may fall off and become dangerous.
Many of the metaphorical concepts in Olavian relate to the snow and snowfall. When there is a predicament involving heavy snowfall from the sky, mothers will usually tell their children “Looteyhoo will crush ‘youtehoo” simply meaning that if you play around the heavy snow, you will get hurt-badly! Another that is used in relation to snowfall is “the slush begins us”. This is said by expecting mothers and fathers before they go to literally create their children. Because children in Frozenland are created, not birthed, mothers and fathers will plan for months before starting the journey out into the mountains to find a very strong and beautiful snow type called “slush”. The slush is the only type of snow strong enough to hold the shape of the Olaf people and support life. This metaphor is very sacred in Frozenland and is only to be said as the mother and father deport to create a new life together. Metaphorical phrases that do not involve snow or snowfall would be one such as “Time is wisdom” This simply means that because the Olafs can live to up to 200 years of age, they acquire much wisdom and experience in their time. This metaphor is said to children at a very young age so that they always remember to treat their elders with the utmost respect that they not only deserve, but have earned after living for so long. On a poor hunting day, Olavian men will say “the prey runs faster than the day”. This phrase simply means that the men were not quick enough to catch the prey that they were hunting for that day, and ran out of daylight hours. Olafs only acquire their food through hunting, along with eating a few of the things they can find growing from trees and bushes in their area, so hunting is a very large source of their intake. Lastly, a phrase near and dear to the Olafs is “you’re worth melting for”. Olafs will say this during commitment (marriage) ceremonies. It is the human equivalent to “I do”. It holds strong symbolic importance and can translate to “id die for you”. All of these help to show what is important to the Olavian people. They show the importance of love, life, and being aware of oneself.
The history of the Olaf language does not date back many years, because of this, few changes have been made. Most things have stayed the same, but have expanded. Culturally the language has changed because the men to women ratio has only recently become unbalanced, causing the vocabulary of things relating to women to grow and expand every day.
Because the Olafs do not have electronics or modern technology, the language is not shortened or broken down for time sake. The language has one standard size and is used the way it is taught at almost all times.
Nonverbal communication is favored in Frozenland. Olafs are far from fragile, and are actually quite malleable and easy to pull apart and piece together, because of this unique trait, Olafs will often remove body parts as a form of nonverbal communication. Olafs will often literally “lend a hand” when they want to be helpful. They also will remove a hand when they are ashamed or have done something wrong. Olafs will also remove their heads and raise them to the sky as a religious sign of offering. These types of nonverbal communication all show vulnerability, which is something the Olavian people believe is a necessity in life. Vulnerability shows that Olafs cannot be alone and require the help and presence of others to thrive. This is encouraged among the Olafs because they are a people that are always in groups, while individuality is important mentally, physically the Olafs are attached at the hip.
Because the Olafs have no electronics or modern technology, pop culture does not impact their world in a very large way. While teenage Olafs may be more prone to acting out or doing silly things, they tend to still use their language the way the adults and elders do. Because there are no schools or any meeting places specifically for teens, Olafs do not really have an area where they can develop or use a type of slang.
The main areas of socialization in Olavian culture are hunting, gathering and working, religious moments, and celebrations. All 5 of these instances hold some type of importance to the Olavian people. Hunting, which can also be described as prey grab, food, life support, and mission, is incredibly important to the Olafs because hunting is the main source of food retrieval. Each of the words can relate to hunting and all help to establish and maintain the importance of the act of hunting. It is a connection between the Olafs and life itself, it is their mission to hunt and feed their people, and the act itself is grabbing what they prey on. Another example is gathering and working. Gathering is only done 3 times a year, it is when all of the mothers and children go out deep into the woods and collect all the berries and edible goods from the trees and bushes, words that relate to this are berries, picking, goods, fruits, trimester, and flowers. All of these words relate to the sights that are seen while gathering, and the time it occurs, once every four months. Gathering is essential to the Olafs because what is brought back from gathering is placed into a village pantry and is used only when the males do not bring back enough food from a hunt. Working is done daily, this is when the mothers and children basket weave, clean, construct buildings and so on. Working can also be described with words like basket weave, build, construct, and recreate. These are all of the ways the women and children work. If a women is building then she is working, and so on with the other words in relation. Religious moments will include words like Elsa, queen, lord, worship, praise, song, and dance. All of these relate to actions taken when the Olafs see their queen and lord, Elsa. This then relates to celebration, which always occurs when the Olafs see Queen Elsa. Celebration will always involve both song and dance, as well as colors, music, and stories. These words are always connected with celebration and go hand in hand with one another.
As discussed before the unbalanced male and female ratio greatly impacts the language and culture. Though there is no class system, and no way to be wealthy or poor, the culture does heavily reflect the language in the sense that women have many more words and phrases than men do. There are many more words and phrases that can describe female predicaments then there are for males. There are words to describe female emotions and specific thoughts, and also words to describe female roles. While males are generally “hunters”, woman can be “gathers”, “workers”, “basket weavers”, “constructors”, “cleaners”, and “builders”. There are more categories for women than there are for men.
While the Olavian culture is still very young in comparison to other cultures, the Olafs are very independent and witty, making for a simple, yet enjoyable lifestyle. The Olafs hold a dependence on only each other, which makes for a great strength in numbers and helps them become closer as a unit. The Olavian people and culture is one with few rules, but many traditions and values that keep it strong and easy to follow and understand. Olafs are selfless, helpful, strong, and dependable people who understand the value of each other, and the world surrounding them.
The language reflects the culture because the sounds are very light and delicate like the snowy environment that they live in. Words are simple and wispy and long, complex thoughts can be communicated very simply with short but descriptive sentences.
Because there are so many more females than males in the Olavian world, there are many more words to describe female circumstances. There are words that specifically describe female emotions and female ideas or necessities, words that do not even exist in a male format. Olafs do not eat a large variety of food, and do not have many different techniques of food preparation. Because of this, the Olafs do not have many words for foods and cooking. The words they have are very simple, such as words to tell what the food is, to describe what it looks or tastes like, and how you would go about eating it.
The main area of cultural emphasis in Olavian culture is snow and snowfall, because snow is what their life is made out of, it holds a great importance to the Olafs. Olafs have dozens upon dozens of words for snow and snowfall. These words will describe the type of snow, the texture of the snow, the quality of the snow, how slow or fast it is falling from the sky, if it is light or if it heavy, and so on. Examples of rough or aggressive snow would be “looteyhoo” and “frago”. These words describe heavy or dense snow, like a mass of snow that has collected on the top of a roof or peak of a mountain that may fall off and become dangerous.
Many of the metaphorical concepts in Olavian relate to the snow and snowfall. When there is a predicament involving heavy snowfall from the sky, mothers will usually tell their children “Looteyhoo will crush ‘youtehoo” simply meaning that if you play around the heavy snow, you will get hurt-badly! Another that is used in relation to snowfall is “the slush begins us”. This is said by expecting mothers and fathers before they go to literally create their children. Because children in Frozenland are created, not birthed, mothers and fathers will plan for months before starting the journey out into the mountains to find a very strong and beautiful snow type called “slush”. The slush is the only type of snow strong enough to hold the shape of the Olaf people and support life. This metaphor is very sacred in Frozenland and is only to be said as the mother and father deport to create a new life together. Metaphorical phrases that do not involve snow or snowfall would be one such as “Time is wisdom” This simply means that because the Olafs can live to up to 200 years of age, they acquire much wisdom and experience in their time. This metaphor is said to children at a very young age so that they always remember to treat their elders with the utmost respect that they not only deserve, but have earned after living for so long. On a poor hunting day, Olavian men will say “the prey runs faster than the day”. This phrase simply means that the men were not quick enough to catch the prey that they were hunting for that day, and ran out of daylight hours. Olafs only acquire their food through hunting, along with eating a few of the things they can find growing from trees and bushes in their area, so hunting is a very large source of their intake. Lastly, a phrase near and dear to the Olafs is “you’re worth melting for”. Olafs will say this during commitment (marriage) ceremonies. It is the human equivalent to “I do”. It holds strong symbolic importance and can translate to “id die for you”. All of these help to show what is important to the Olavian people. They show the importance of love, life, and being aware of oneself.
The history of the Olaf language does not date back many years, because of this, few changes have been made. Most things have stayed the same, but have expanded. Culturally the language has changed because the men to women ratio has only recently become unbalanced, causing the vocabulary of things relating to women to grow and expand every day.
Because the Olafs do not have electronics or modern technology, the language is not shortened or broken down for time sake. The language has one standard size and is used the way it is taught at almost all times.
Nonverbal communication is favored in Frozenland. Olafs are far from fragile, and are actually quite malleable and easy to pull apart and piece together, because of this unique trait, Olafs will often remove body parts as a form of nonverbal communication. Olafs will often literally “lend a hand” when they want to be helpful. They also will remove a hand when they are ashamed or have done something wrong. Olafs will also remove their heads and raise them to the sky as a religious sign of offering. These types of nonverbal communication all show vulnerability, which is something the Olavian people believe is a necessity in life. Vulnerability shows that Olafs cannot be alone and require the help and presence of others to thrive. This is encouraged among the Olafs because they are a people that are always in groups, while individuality is important mentally, physically the Olafs are attached at the hip.
Because the Olafs have no electronics or modern technology, pop culture does not impact their world in a very large way. While teenage Olafs may be more prone to acting out or doing silly things, they tend to still use their language the way the adults and elders do. Because there are no schools or any meeting places specifically for teens, Olafs do not really have an area where they can develop or use a type of slang.
The main areas of socialization in Olavian culture are hunting, gathering and working, religious moments, and celebrations. All 5 of these instances hold some type of importance to the Olavian people. Hunting, which can also be described as prey grab, food, life support, and mission, is incredibly important to the Olafs because hunting is the main source of food retrieval. Each of the words can relate to hunting and all help to establish and maintain the importance of the act of hunting. It is a connection between the Olafs and life itself, it is their mission to hunt and feed their people, and the act itself is grabbing what they prey on. Another example is gathering and working. Gathering is only done 3 times a year, it is when all of the mothers and children go out deep into the woods and collect all the berries and edible goods from the trees and bushes, words that relate to this are berries, picking, goods, fruits, trimester, and flowers. All of these words relate to the sights that are seen while gathering, and the time it occurs, once every four months. Gathering is essential to the Olafs because what is brought back from gathering is placed into a village pantry and is used only when the males do not bring back enough food from a hunt. Working is done daily, this is when the mothers and children basket weave, clean, construct buildings and so on. Working can also be described with words like basket weave, build, construct, and recreate. These are all of the ways the women and children work. If a women is building then she is working, and so on with the other words in relation. Religious moments will include words like Elsa, queen, lord, worship, praise, song, and dance. All of these relate to actions taken when the Olafs see their queen and lord, Elsa. This then relates to celebration, which always occurs when the Olafs see Queen Elsa. Celebration will always involve both song and dance, as well as colors, music, and stories. These words are always connected with celebration and go hand in hand with one another.
As discussed before the unbalanced male and female ratio greatly impacts the language and culture. Though there is no class system, and no way to be wealthy or poor, the culture does heavily reflect the language in the sense that women have many more words and phrases than men do. There are many more words and phrases that can describe female predicaments then there are for males. There are words to describe female emotions and specific thoughts, and also words to describe female roles. While males are generally “hunters”, woman can be “gathers”, “workers”, “basket weavers”, “constructors”, “cleaners”, and “builders”. There are more categories for women than there are for men.
While the Olavian culture is still very young in comparison to other cultures, the Olafs are very independent and witty, making for a simple, yet enjoyable lifestyle. The Olafs hold a dependence on only each other, which makes for a great strength in numbers and helps them become closer as a unit. The Olavian people and culture is one with few rules, but many traditions and values that keep it strong and easy to follow and understand. Olafs are selfless, helpful, strong, and dependable people who understand the value of each other, and the world surrounding them.
