I took this photo of Sydney Owenson's plaque on Kildare Street in Dublin a few years ago.
On the topic of phonology or phonetics, the study of the way humans combine sounds to create linguistic patterns, I give you a brief excerpt from my book: Innovations in Rhetoric in the Writing of Sydney Swenson (Lady Morgan, 1781-1859) and below that, a poem I wrote entitled, Cognizance. Enjoy!
Steven Pinker discusses the impact of phonology and semantics as individuals experience sensory connections in their formation of new concepts:
The phonemes and syllables in a word contact their counterparts in memory piecemeal, more and more of them finding a match as the milliseconds tick by. As soon as all the pieces match some entry, the irregular form linked to the entry is fetched and shunted to the vocal tract. While the lookup is in progress, the inhibitory signal sent to the rule box gets stronger and stronger, and when all goes well, the rule is braked to a halt. [1]
At this point, the individual synapses in the brain connect the familiar sound with a specific memory.
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Cognizance (Alliterative Antics)
Jung's is collective
containing collaborative
but chaotic compositions
carefully calculated
to create clear cut
caricatures of cranial
cacophonies in crazy
and occasionally corny
creatures who care
about causes and effects.
But mine is coincidental,
caught between
casual and coiffure
occasionally quaint,
consistent and tranquil
cautious, concerned
a creatively concocted
course of action,
convoking acquaintances
to collaborate and affect.
© Jeanne I. Lakatos
(My reading of this poem is on Pod-omatic at the bottom of this page.)
