Nous avons été prof de français. Sommés de nous offusquer des fautes dorthographe, nous avons été pris pour les curés de la langue. Nous avons écrit pour dédramatiser, pour réfléchir ensemble et puis aussi parce quon a toujours pensé que lAcadémie Française avait un vrai potentiel comique.
«Les deux belges qui veulent simplifier la langue française»: tout est faux dans cette phrase. Pas «simplifier» mais bien faire preuve desprit critique, se demander si tout se vaut dans notre orthographe. Pas deux belges, mais bien deux curieux qui veulent transmettre le travail des linguistes de toute la francophonie, pas même la «langue française», seulement son orthographe. Car lorthographe, cest pas la langue, cest juste le code graphique qui permet de la retranscrire. Passion pour les uns, chemin de croix pour les autres, elle est sacrée pour tous. Et pourtant, il ne sagit peut-être que dun énorme malentendu. Arnaud Hoedt et Jérôme Piron sont linguistes de formation. Ils ont vécu 25 ans sans se connaître, mais c’était moins bien. Ils ont ensuite enseigné pendant 15 ans dans la même école. Quand Arnaud participe à la rédaction des programmes de français en Belgique, Jérôme se spécialise en médiation culturelle. En 2016, ils écrivent et mettent en scène le spectacle « La Convivialité », au Théâtre National de Bruxelles. Ce spectacle conférence qui traite de la question du rapport dogmatique à l’orthographe tourne depuis 3 ans dans toute la francophonie. Dans la foulée, ils publient l’ouvrage « La faute de l’orthographe », aux éditions Textuel. Ils se définissent comme suit: « Linguistes dilet(t)antes. Pédagogues en (robe de) chambre. Tentent de corriger le participe passé. Écrivent des trucs. Vrais-Faux Comédiens. Bouffeurs d’Académicien ».
A la question « est-ce que ça se dit? «, Arnaud et Jérôme répondent invariablement « oui, tu viens de le faire ». This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Avez-vous déjà eu, une soudaine envie de changer de vie? Vous êtes-vous déjà demandé, si vous étiez sur le bon chemin, si votre existence faisait sens, si vous étiez heureux? Une pluie de questions existentielles, qu’on laisse trop souvent sans réponse…
Joffrey Persia fait partie de ceux qui ont décidé d’y répondre. « Etre honnête avec soi-même », c’est le mantra qu’il a choisi d’adopter. Après une courte carrière dans l’ingénierie, il décide de se retirer du monde et vit quelques mois au sein d’un monastère Bouddhiste au Népal dans le but de se retrouver. Aujourd’hui, il travaille en freelance informatique une partie de l’année et consacre le reste de son temps à la photographie de reportage, une passion qu’il cultive durant ses voyages. Joffrey s’efforce de capturer la beauté de la nature et des personnes qu’il croise au gré de ses aventures. Former mechanical design engineer
Free-lance photographer This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Judy Thompson, B.A., TESL Certification, professor, author and speaker is an expert in spoken English. A student herself of French and German, Judy knows firsthand the frustrations of learning to speak a new language. Judy lived and taught in South Korea and it was there that she had the first of many revelations about spoken English and how it should be taught.

Newcomers are embarrassed about their accents and grammar mistakes and native speakers are unaware that the way they speak makes it extremely difficult for non-native speakers to understand them.

Judy leads language classes for both native and non-native speakers to foster understanding and effective communication in our diverse community.

A long time resident of Caledon, Ontario, Judy has four children and lives with her husband Richard on a beautiful ten-acre hobby farm. She is an environmental activist who enjoys hiking and skiing. In her spare time, she raises champion hunter show ponies.

Bilingualism makes you more cultural aware and able to communicate easier with other cultures, foreigners. Gaston has a fantastic way in explaining this to you.

As a journalist and writer Gaston has a lot of linguistic experience. But in terms of experience, he says, there’s nothing like staying abroad. In Peru and Ecuador, speaking Spanish was the best and often the only way to communicate with people who lived completely different lives. “By learning another language, you make your world bigger, more diverse and less scary.” More about the delights and surprising effects of bilingualism in his talk.

The evolution of languages is an ongoing process, and huge changes can be expected in decades to come. “Young people want to distinguish themselves from the generation before them, and changing the language is a great way to do that, especially as it annoys older people no end.” Among adults, women tend to be leading in language change. So when it comes to language, adult men are mostly followers? “Yes, we are. And often grumpy ones at that.”

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Karina Chapa speaks to the power of bilingualism and its ability to revolutionize education. In America, over 5 million students speak a language other than English at home, but regardless of the diversity of languages, only 20% of people are bilingual. Karina sheds light on the history of bilingualism in the United States and how we can move forward in today’s educational system.

Karina’s talk also looks into the neural science behind bilingualism and its positive effects on cognitive flexibility, creativity and problem solving skills. Karina Chapa is a courageous bilingual advocate who proudly serves more than 160,000 bilingual students in deep South Texas. She is an Ex-A-Tec originally from Monterrey, Mexico. She is currently the Language Proficiency, Biliteracy and Cultural Diversity Director. She is also the Legislative Chair for the Texas Association for Bilingual Education and the Parliamentarian for RGV-TABE. She has dedicated 18 years of her professional career to empowering bilingual education students, teachers, and administrators in the deep South Texas border. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

A vision-driven change agent with a career-long record of community outreach, leadership development, marketing, and communications success for leading organizations. Mr. Darryll Stinson seeks to use rejection as a powerful tool with which we can discover our true and complete identity based on a variety of healthy and holistic influences. Darryll’s theory is that by understanding who we are and what we are uniquely gifted and created to do, we can more healthily process the sting of rejection and turn the initial pain into strength to become a better version of ourselves. A vision-driven change agent with a career-long record of community outreach, leadership development, marketing, and communications success for leading organizations. Mr. Darryll Stinson seeks to use rejection as a powerful tool with which we can discover our true and complete identity based on a variety of healthy and holistic influences. Darryll’s theory is that by understanding who we are and what we are uniquely gifted and created to do, we can more healthily process the sting of rejection and turn the initial pain into strength to become a better version of ourselves. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

In Carolines unique style, she talks about 3 key choices people can make to change their life.

Caroline Myss is a five-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

Marine scientist and ocean advocate Wallace «J.» Nichols explores the neuroscience of our brains on nature, and posits that our love of the natural world holds the key to preserving it.

This TEDxSantaCruz talk is one of 22 surrounding our theme of «Activate» at the third full-day TEDxSantaCruz event held March 8, 2014 at the Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz, CA. www.tedxsantacruz.org/

Dr. Wallace «J.» Nichols is a scientist, ocean advocate, community organizer, author, and dad. He takes a slow, collaborative approach with leaders in businesses, government, non-profits, and academia to inspire a deeper connection with nature. Sometimes through adventures, or simply by walking and talking. Other times through writing, images, and art. Science and knowledge can also stoke our fires. But he knows that what really moves people is feeling part of and touching something bigger than ourselves. J. is a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences and co-founder of OceanRevolution.org, an international network of young ocean advocates, SEEtheWILD.org, a conservation travel network, GrupoTortuguero.org, an international sea turtle conservation network, and LiVBLUE.org, a global campaign to reconnect us to our water planet. He has authored and co-authored more than 50 scientific papers and reports and his work has been broadcast on NPR, BBC, PBS, National Geographic and Animal Planet and featured in Time, Newsweek, GQ, Outside Magazine, Fast Company, Scientific American, and New Scientist, among others. J. lives with his partner Dana, two daughters and some cats, dogs and chickens on Californias SLOWCOAST, a rural stretch of coastal mountains where organic strawberries rule, mountain lions roam and their motto is «In Slow We Trust.» Lately he is working on Blue Mind, merging the fields of neuropsychology and aquatic exploration to foster a deeper appreciation of the emotional and cognitive benefits of healthy waterways and oceans. wallacejnichols.org/

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Salma Hindy, award-winning Toronto-based engineer-turned-stand-up comedian, explores how people-pleasing has a larger impact in our lives than we think, and how you can learn from it. Using humour and personal anecdotes, she shares her journey of achieving her true potential as an artist by balancing input from others with personal goals and why this complexity can help you grow. Salma takes a comedic stance on topics ranging from politics to her experiences growing up with immigrant parents and she explores people pleasing in everyday life. Salma Hindy is a notable and award-winning Toronto-based engineer-turned-stand-up comedian featured on the CBC, Globe and Mail, CityNews and in various magazines and podcasts. Salma speaks on her own experiences with people pleasing and how she got around it as an artist with numerous expectations from family, friends, and audience members. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx