« language | Main | Language »
September 18, 2005
The Human Essence
What is and isn’t language and why make a distinction?
Language is understanding phonology, meaning (semantics), lexicon, body language (even sign language), expressions, and syntax in a way that the congregation of people who speak a certain language can understand. Language is tracking and understanding sub-consciously the changes over time. It is the ability to manipulate words to create sentences that flow and can create meaning and study by other language-users. It is the ability to use context to react to a phrase or sentence in order to get something done. Complexity develops communication but is not necessarily a requirement, as we see with toddlers. We must be able to understand our thoughts. The key to language is realizing that we think, to know that we can develop language and manipulate it. That is what separates us from the animals.
Making a distinction between what is and what is not language is important because we can learn other languages and adapt to cultures if we understand that something is a language. If something is not a language, there is little reason for the common man to bother learning it if it cannot be used to gain and prosper.
Why Not Say “I Learned a New Sentence?”
We cannot say “I learned a new sentence today” because it is rare to reuse another person’s sentence. We hear and create meaning from “new sentences” but almost every sentence we hear is arranged in a way that we have never heard before. It is our understanding of our language that allows us to say that we learned a new word because with that new word we can create unique sentences that others will understand. Words are the building blocks of language; therefore learning a new word makes language more complex and we can create more meaning for the ones that hear us. It is of more value to learn (and know we learned) a new word.
-jessica Yeich
Posted by lcisyeich at September 18, 2005 03:40 PM
Comments
I liked how you described how learning a new word is more useful, especially in the last sentence - that sums it up really well. Knowing that we have the ability to use a new word succesfully is really what counts and you just can't really do that with a full sentence.
Posted by: Jessica F at September 19, 2005 04:55 PM