Describe Yourself in 5 Words

In one of my college applications, I was asked to describe myself in 5 words. This question took me about 2 hours to answer because there are so many words to choose from, but there seems to never be one word that captures who you really are. Your personality is made up of so many components while every word was created to describe one specific thing/idea. It's so difficult to find a word that's broad enough to cover multiple aspects of yourself but specific enough to make your traits stand out. And with this question, you always wonder, "is my word 'big' enough? Is this word too common? Do I sound cocky by using this word?" This challenge is mentally grueling because you never know where to start. What if you can't think of a word that doesn't describe exactly what you want? What if the word you use can mislead the admissions person to thinking you're something that you're not? So let me ask you this: what five words best describe you?

Just in case you were wondering, these were my five words:
Sarcastic, Meticulous, Easygoing, Peaceful, and Diligent.

Sports Chants

When I go to a sporting event, the best part about it usually isn't the actual game, it's the chants that the fans do. Nothing unites a group of fans like sports chants. Whether it's the classic "LET'S GO *insert team's name*!!", something simple like "J-E-T-S,JETS, JETS, JETS, JETS!!", or something clever like "He's big, he's quick, he's got a 12 inch ___, MONDRAGON!!", sports chants rally up the fighting spirits within the fans and create a much more competitive atmosphere. Sports chants show how powerful a few words can be. Sometimes, the chants make no sense at all; they're just random noises synchronized in tune. Nevertheless, when something is yelled loud enough by a group of people, it gets athletes motivated. It can inspire an underdog to upset the powerhouse or it can completely alter the momentum of a game. As a fan, there's no greater exhilaration than being a part of a loud fan group. As a player, there's no greater adrenaline rush than hearing your fans cheer for you in harmony.

95,000 people singing "You'll Never Walk Alone"

Best tradition in all of sports

Lam

I ran out of topics to discuss about and since I did the etymology of my last name last week, it's only appropriate that I talk about my first name. First off, my name is not pronounced "lamb," it's actually sounds like "plum" without the "p." I thought my name had a really B.A. meaning but it turns out it only means "forest." I don't really know what the reason is behind why I was named Lam. Was I born in a forest? Is Lam a famous forest that I don't know about? What do I have to do with a forest? So many people know my name and joke about it but no one knows the meaning behind it. Even though I don't understand the reasoning behind my name, it's my identity. It's different, and everyone knows me by it. Each of our names, no matter how common or memorable, is how people know and remember us. Our name, even if it's shared by others, sets us apart. My name just happens to be very different, and that's why I love it.

Maybe I'll talk about my middle name next blog...

My Last Name

I've lived in America for over 10 years and I've only met a handful of people who can pronounce my last name, Nguyen. The American pronunciation is "win", while the actual pronunciation is completely different (I don't know how to sound it out via word). It's estimated that about 40% of Vietnamese people have this last name, making Nguyen the most common surname among Vietnamese people. I was curious as to what my last name actually means, so I did a little research on it. It turns out that Nguyen is the name of a royal dynasty- the Nguyen Dynasty, which was the last ruling family of Vietnam. During its rule, this Dynasty awarded many people with the last name Nguyen. Also, many criminals during the time changed their last names to Nguyen in order to avoid prosecution. For these reasons, Nguyen became an extremely popular surname. The etymology of Nguyen is vague. The name is derived from a similar Chinese surname, and the name is believed to mean "original" or "first," but it's unclear whether this is actually true or not. If my surname does mean that, I can only imagine how it came to be. Was Nguyen the first surname in Southeast Asia? Who knows. But even if I don't know what my last name means, it still connects me to millions of people worldwide, and that's pretty sweet.

Cheese

If you've ever listened to me talk, you would know that I use some very odd terms, and I use them often. My English is unlike anyone else's English because I have the tendency to change the meaning of words. I personalize my words, using them in the completely wrong context, and yet it still makes sense. For example, one of my favorite words is "cheese." When you think of cheese, you probably think of this. But when I say cheese, I use it to mean "BS." Let me show you what I mean.
If someone says a lie to me, and I know that they're lying, I would say, "That's some cheese."
If something doesn't go as I planned it, I would say, "This is some cheese."
If someone is writing whatever he can think of just to fill up a blog post, that person would be "cheesing."
"Cheese" can pretty much be used in any context I want to use it in. It can be a noun, a verb, whatever. I have many words like this, and they are primarily used in order to replace words that I don't like to say or thoughts that have no words to describe. My friends find my terms humorous, but I'm being dead serious when I use them. I don't know how I come up with them; I guess I just have a naturally ability to cheese up words and phrases and have them make logical sense.

The Evolution of Language and Why Modern English is Incomprehensible

Language evolves. We can only imagine where it originated from, but we do know that it takes many forms and it has changed significantly over time (just like the evolution of life!). Way back in the old days, the primary language used by the rich and "intelligent" guys was Latin. Although Latin wasn't the first language created, it was one of the first that was somewhat universally shared. Latin's dominance began roughly around 75 BC, and it remained at the zenith until about 900 AD. Its demise led to the creation of its descendants- the Romantic Languages. The Romantic Languages came from Europe, and they gradually made their way throughout the world. These languages have influenced many societies and are still commonly used today.

The death of Latin gave way for other languages to step up and take the role as the universal language. Since Latin was too hard to comprehend, it was replaced by the even more complex and confusing language of English, derived from the Germanic language. Since its takeover, traditional English has evolved greatly as well. When English made its way to the Americas, it became almost an entirely new language. The Americans made all of these rules and exceptions for "proper" grammatical structure, making the language the huge organized mess that it is today.

Nowadays, American English is complete chaos. The proper way of grammatical structure and speech still exists, but nobody knows anything about it. Instead of following the rules, people just make up slang, which will also evolve over time. Generation after generation of slang will create a subspecies of the American English language, one that is only understandable by certain people. For example, the ghetto community of America have devised such an intricate system of slang that even I cannot comprehend. Technically, we're still speaking the same language, but the language has evolved so much that it is only coherent to a select few.

As with most things, evolution in language is unavoidable. Language changes to better fit the intellect of the people speaking it. Back then, people were smart, so they spoke a language that was organized and formulaic. Everyone understood one another, and communication was easy. Now, because there are still smart people and a new population of "unsmart" people, language has been divided into two. Those of intellect like me and you have our own language that allows us to speak like normal and civilized human beings. Those not of intellect have made adaptations to their language to better suit their intellectual capabilities, thus creating a language that is constantly changing and never comprehensible. 

Language will never stop evolving, but at this rate, we're soon to be better off not speaking at all. Other countries like those in Asia and Europe have it all figured out. Their systems of language follow patterns, making communication much easier. But for some reason, American English just can't get it quite right.

The Minion Language

We all know about the minions from Despicable Me. Although they are not the main characters of the movie, they serve as the driving force of humor. They communicate through what seems like a potpourri of random sounds. Their "words" have no real effect on the plot of the story, but is there meaning behind their nonsensical language?

It is rumored that the film's directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, have created the minion's language all by themselves. The directors, however, denied these rumors. Coffin said, "I have (the minions) speak Indian, French, English, Spanish, and Italian. I mix up all these ridiculously sounding words just because they sound good, not because they necessarily mean something." Coffin has the minions speak nonsense because it's hilarious, not because there is an encrypted message in the words. To further deny the rumors, Renaud admitted that many of the minions' words are actually foreign names of food from other countries.

Amidst the directors' statements, some die-hard minion fans who have a lot of free time deciphered a few of the minions' words. These sounds that the minions make are used often throughout the movie to refer to specific things. Here is a list of a few of these words:

 

Without the minions, the Despicable Me series will not be as successful as it has been. The minions are vital to the stories- not only do they provide a significant amount of humor, but they also help depict the evil villain Gru as the good guy. Most viewers will only see the minion language as nonsense, but what if the language actually made sense? What if the random sounds had meaning to them? What if understanding what they are saying can completely change our viewing experience? Perhaps what they are saying can convey a secret message, and being able to understand this message will make us view the movie from different perspectives. Who knows, maybe they are only saying random names of exotic food. But maybe, just maybe, the minions are trying to tell us something. They could be discussing politics, or they could be foreshadowing what might occur later on in the movie.

Several other movies with "make-believe" characters actually hired linguists to devise an entire language system for their characters. For example, Avatar has the Na'vi language and Star Trek has Klingon. As an avid minion fan, I truly hope that one day, the minions will have an entire language for themselves. Whether that language already exists, no one (except for the makers of the movie) may ever know. As for now, we just have to take the minions' "nonsense" for what it is and enjoy it as purely comedic gibberish.

Is it just nonsense???......

Or is there actually meaning???.....