Tongues and Tongues: The 40th TOPIK: an unhappy update

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The 40th TOPIK: an unhappy update

The scores are in for the 40th TOPIK.

I got 110.

Level 1.

Better than I thought I'd done.

Worse than I wanted to do.

Way worse than the practice tests suggested I'd do.

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The What and the Why

This blog explores language-related themes and topics from a common-sense, science-friendly (but not always explicitly scientific), descriptivist perspective. (What is language, how does it work, and how do we work it?) I'm not interested in a prescriptivist approach to language, one that deals in thou shalt nots or worships arbitrary standards of linguistic "purity." Language belongs to us all, not just to the self-appointed experts, the prigs, and the taste-makers. Language is far richer and languages far more admirable than the finger waggers know.

The Who

I love words, Language (as a symbolic system and a universal human faculty), and languages. I've studied plenty of languages, some dutifully, some less so: Russian, German, Latin, Ancient Greek, Old English, Finnish, Sanskrit, and Korean. I have two degrees in linguistics: a Bachelor's (1988) and a Master's (1997). I was a nonfiction book editor for 11 years, and currently I edit fiction. I've been a volunteer tutor of English language learners and GED students. I write (mostly) kids books for hire, and sometimes I work on my own fiction writing.

I believe that Language is the ultimate expression of the innate human genius and that languages are our most miraculous and useful cultural inventions.