It is my personal belief that language is not here to "save" us. If it was to be the great moral reformer of sorts, then it would only communicate ideas that were good and would help mankind. However, we still know words like "hate," "evil," "bad," etc. If language was the most powerful component that mankind has in this world, then how is it that it has not evolved past negative and potentially harmful language?
Why do racist, sexist, and otherwise offensive langauge still exist, if language should be our outlet into a more positively progressive society? Additionally, why does mankind not make an effort to be able to communicate with all other people, regardless of their native language? Even the most cultured of people speak at most 3 or 4 languages, with exception of the rare individual that may study up to 8 or so languages. However, the mast majority of Americans speak only English, with no attempt to study any other language past what is required of them in high school.
Finally, I think that the term language is much too broad to try to name it a moral reformer. Language consists of many components that have nothing to do with actual interpersonal communication. People must be able to first think, then think in a language, and finally learn how to manipulate that language into speech, reading, and writing. First though, you have to get people to learn to communicate with one another universally, which I don't think will happen in even our grandchildren's lifetimes.
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Very interesting. You have a good point that evil language does exist. It is also interesting to point out the fact that people do know so many languages, yet we still have so many language boundaries that conflict with our everyday lives, espicially in America.
ReplyDeleteI share your skepticism about the ultimate power of language, but what is the alternative?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in the aspect that language was not created to “save” man kind. It was created because we needed a way to get our thoughts, ideas, beliefs, emotions, and plans across to each other. Language is not evil, mankind is the one who makes the words for the emotions or actions that we feel or do. Language is a form of communication, and as we have seen in class EVERYTHING desires to communicate in some form or another. Language is simply a creation of man, it is not our redemption. If anything, it makes us more flawed because we do use language negatively. Mr. Garrison, perhaps mankind’s redemption comes in the form of religion. We are the only species that participate in the act of worshipping a God, whoever he or she may be.
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ReplyDeletein response to the preceeding comment-
ReplyDeleteIf we didn't have language, would there be a way for us to turn from whatever keeps us from redemption? How would we communicate with a god? how would he or she communicate with us if we didnt have an understanding of some sort of communication? Religion at a basic definition is a set of ideas. Those ideas are developed and expressed and passed on through language. Therefore, in a sense, language does reform us since we use it to communicate with a higher being.
Kristina--you have made a good argument! I agree with you 100%. I think that language is a useful and intricate TOOL, but not the sole savior to humankind. Language allows us to express our ideas, but it doesn't put the thought there in the first place. We do not use language to communicate with our higher being, I feel that we would be able to do that even w/o language. I also like your idea about us being able to communicate universally with all people; if this were possible, then language would have a lot more power.
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