Grasping haptic: Marshall McLuhan on haptic

握 Nice comment from Ken Johnstone, McLuhan Studies at University of Toronto, on McLuhan's read on the meaning of the Greek concept of haptic: "The haptic sense meant much more "mind" since it meant grasping, getting something whole. Grasping means that in some sense I become what I know in its concrete reality and so get it whole. It is this complete act of knowing, that then allows me to analyze my percept intellectually as well as affirm its reality in judgement. And it is this complete act of knowing that realizes my own centre."

I think most of us "Hapticians" would heartily agree with McLuhan's "felt sense" of haptic engagement, that it creates an integrated, concrete experience of not just the sound or word being attended to but also of the mind-body attending to it. In future posts I will explore more of the "sound-acquisition-readiness" that HICP/EHIEP should enhance if done consistently. In fact, it may well be that the greatest benefit of haptic awareness, as McLuhan contends, will be increasing realization or reaffirmation of one's own center and identity in both the L1 and L2. Again,  the "Medium had the message!" 握

What we can learn from (at least) one model of Hypnosis

Credit: The Milton Erickson
Foundation

One of the most important influences on my understanding of how language works, especially the use of voice in therapeutic change and clinical process, was Milton Erickson, considered by many to be the founder of modern hypnotherapy. To quote from the website, "In Ericksonian hypnosis, language is used to direct the attention inwards on a search for meaning or to verify what is being said." Whereas many therapies make extensive use of the visual field with movement or "gadgets,"

Erickson was a paraplegic, who was also apparently somewhat dyslexic, color blind and tone deaf-- and had only one tool to work with: his voice! A book of his collected therapeutic stories, My Voice will go with You, remains a favorite. Note the focus of Erickson's work: (a) direct attention inward . . . and (b) verify what was said. In effect, it is focusing with extraordinary attention on the felt (auditory, kinaesthetic and resonant) sense of a word, phrase or experience.

As earlier posts have explored, the interplay between external visual stimuli and "internal" haptic and auditory is critical to effective anchoring, especially in moderating the effects of both internal and external visual distraction and (often) persistent mispronunciations tied to orthography. In pronunciation teaching (and especially HICP), systematic control of both instructor and student voice quality and expressiveness is key to sound learning. But, as Erickson might have suggested, I need not bother trying to convince you of that . . . you feel (and speak) that way already . . .