{"id":79,"date":"2022-01-25T16:27:14","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T16:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/?p=79"},"modified":"2022-01-25T16:27:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T16:27:15","slug":"blog-post-1-what-is-the-true-definition-of-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/2022\/01\/25\/blog-post-1-what-is-the-true-definition-of-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Post 1: What is the True Definition of \u201cWild\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With there being discussion on the&nbsp;<em>true<\/em>&nbsp;definition of the word \u201cwild,\u201d a number of official dictionaries present not just one singular definition of the term, but multiple. According to both the Cambridge and Merriam-Webster dictionaries, describing a subject as \u201cwild\u201d may signify its uncontrolled, extreme nature. Stemming from this interpretation, one may describe extreme weather conditions, a lively party, or possibly outlying financial statistics as wild. On the other hand, both dictionaries provide an alternate definition that describes a wild subject as beings, most commonly plants or animals, living in a state of nature without domestication. Therefore, one may also describe a rainforest\u2019s inhabitants and grasses as wild. Moreover, \u201cwild\u201d is also used to describe an unconventional act that deviates from the idea of something commonly accepted, or the \u201cnorm\u201d. In sum, then, the word \u201cwild\u201d may be used in various contexts to describe a subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My own perception of the word \u201cwild\u201d is similar to this polysemy. I believe the adjective may be used in various settings while meaning different things. On the other hand, I most frequently refer to something as wild when it diverts from a common expectation or norm. For instance, I would expect an \u201ceveryday\u201d car in a parking lot to stay still in a parking lot. In contrast to this expectation, a car doing doughnuts in a parking lot would seem \u201cwild\u201d to me. In similar contexts, my use of the word \u201cwild\u201d is synonymous with the words \u201cfree\u201d and \u201cunrestricted\u201d. My common use of the word \u201cwild\u201d in this type of context can make me forget its alternate meanings. In reflection, I also realize that various languages other than English define \u201cwild\u201d in different ways. I find it interesting that, opposed to this polysemous view, the word \u201cwild\u201d translated to Vietnamese, or\u00a0<em>hoang dai<\/em>, solely reflects the definition of which wild things are related to nature and a lack of human interference. This contrast between languages proves that the meaning of \u201cwild\u201d is open to interpretation rather than being one simple definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vivian Nguyen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With there being discussion on the&nbsp;true&nbsp;definition of the word \u201cwild,\u201d a number of official dictionaries present not just one singular definition of the term, but multiple. According to both the Cambridge and Merriam-Webster dictionaries, describing a subject as \u201cwild\u201d may &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/2022\/01\/25\/blog-post-1-what-is-the-true-definition-of-wild\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-welcome"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions\/80"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/wild-things\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}