I have an English name and a Chinese name. My English name is Karen, which was given to me by my aunt when I was little. However, on my passport, my name is a direct translation of my Chinese name: Szu Chun (now with the new phonetic system: shi jun). I work at an International school in Taiwan and this is my 7th year of working with elementary students. For this exercise, I picked a bag that I carry when running errands, travelling around the neighborhoods and meeting up with friends. The bag itself is light and easy to carry. As you can see, there are not a lot of items in my bag, as I like to travel light.
The items in my bag are a rose gold wallet with an elephant decoration, an iphone, iphone ear pods (with wire), two receipts from convenience stores, paid internet bill, a lipstick, COVID vaccination passport and a spray hand sanitizer.
Most of the items in my bag have text on them. The two most important items in my bag are my wallet and the iphone. I got my wallet in Thailand in 2018, when travelling internationally was easy and without restrictions. In the wallet, there are credit cards, ID, cash and receipts I haven’t cleared out yet. My phone has multiple purposes, one of which was documenting information or inspiration I found on the internet. I tend to screen shot ideas from Pinterest or articles on Facebook and browse them later in the day. In addition, with the COVID pandemic, the Taiwan government has strict rules for visiting shops and facilities where individuals need to scan QR codes which provide contact information to the venues they are visiting. It serves the purpose of contact tracing. Since COVID, I have started to carry hand sanitizer in my bag and wash my hands constantly. On the other hand, the receipts, the internet bill and the vaccination cards are items I haven’t cleared out from my bag yet. By examining my bag, I realized that I rely highly on my phone when I travel, but not for its traditional purpose. I use it for the other functions (such as google map and easy access to information) that makes mobile phone irreplaceable.
The meaning of the text is constantly changing, from ancient Greek (creation) to modern society (written authority). The form of text changed from creation of objects (craftsmanship), orality, to written words, a form we are familiar now in modern era. Yet things have begun to shift from written to imagery and oral. For instance, the hand sanitizer in my bag is imported from the U.S and it has written words displayed on the bottle which shows the ingredients and FDA approval. The text is displayed in two languages since it is imported to Taiwan. I’d imagine in the next decade, products will have less written text on them, instead, replaced by QR codes which consumers can scan for the content of the products. The same concept can apply to the vaccination card. For now, the card is printed in dual languages, yet I anticipate in the near future, the vaccination record might merge with the ID care, where one scan can identity if a person is vaccinated or not. As Postman mentioned, “language is a technology in the sense that it is a practical art—an invention to facilitate communication”. When using my phone, I find myself using audio typing more than actual typing. Sometimes I even send record messages on communication App because I find it easier to talk and connect with people. Voice message can show tones and emotions whilst written messages can be misinterpreted and cause misunderstanding or miscommunication.
In addition, there is some trace of “technology” in my bag aside from smart phone and ear pods. The design of the lipstick and spray bottle have been engineered and improved from old fashioned squeeze bottle to easy spray. If an archeologist discovered my bag in the future, they would interpret my bag as owned by someone who resided in the city where dual languages is common and in an era where a pandemic hit, changing the way people lived. Items such as paper will be obsolete as well.
References
Brown, E. (2018). Ellie Brown Photography and Artworks Ellie Brown Photography and Artworks. Retrieved July 12, 2019, from Ellie Brown Photography and Artworks website:http://www.elliebrown.com/