what was it all about?

I have learned a lot from this course about language that I had never thought of or noticed before. For me, the most interesting idea that we learned about was how language helps define a person's identity. I notice it so much more now, that the way people speak and the words they use really do have a huge influence on how they are percieved. Just by having a short conversation with someone, you can find out so much about them by studying their language, like where they are from, or whether they are a prescriptivist or are more laid back. I hope that by completing this final project, it will give another opportunity to see how much language can influence a situation in the real world (rather than just talking about it in class). I think that by taking this class I have learned to better understand what people are saying, not only because I pay closer attention to their words, but also because I notice how and why they say things, so I can sort of read between the lines a little better than before.