Hmm I think I am happy...Hmm Creo que me siento feliz..These are thoughts that goes through our minds all the time because of the presence of .various languages.Ever wondered what life was like before the introduction of language? How was thinking even possible?
Language turns he brain on. It expands it in every way possible so it can work to the best of its abilities. Elizabeth Spelke; an American cognitive psychologist argues that language creates a link in the brain that allows us to have complex thoughts and to understand spatial concepts. I strongly agree with this assessment and I think it is accurate to a very large extent because it is through language each one of us is able to communicate not just with people but also with our environment. Language doesn't necessarily have to be spoken words.It can also be the vast amount of body languages we have and these all starts from the brain. Language plays a major role in the way we express our emotions, our way life of life, and most importantly the way we see the world as a whole.So it basically creates a really large network which the leads to the complex thoughts we humans have.And like Spelke mentioned it enables us to understand spatial concepts which starts from a very young age. These spatial concepts helps us build our relationship with objects, pay more attention to directions and also express our ideas clearly. These eventually leads to the origination of complex thoughts which are also shaped by the experiences we go through daily.
Ann Senghas an associate professor of psychology at Barnard College recently did a study based on a new language invented by deaf Nicaraguan children. Anyone born deaf in Nicaragua is usually isolated and not given the chance to interact with the society or even get the opportunity to experience how it feels to be human. I watched a documentary about the new Nicaraguan deaf language and the people there we isolated to the point that even their family members( children inclusive) left them alone due to their inability to communicate using any form of language. The isolation starts as soon as they are born and the fact that there are no doors open to them in order for them to learn a language of any sort, not even sign language! greatly affects the way their brain functions as the neurons in the brain deigned to process thoughts, learn a new word each day and communicate with people goes to waste..they all just die of and this is referred to as neural pruning.
Eventually these kids were allowed to mingle with the rest of the society but at this time it was a little but too late for them to learn any of the 6,300 languages we have on earth due o this they came up with their own brand new language and they are now able to communicate effectively and have complex thoughts. The adults in the documentary i watched weren't able to pick up a new language like the children did.Therefore in the case of Ann Senghas and the deaf kids, children have more complex thoughts than adults do because of the high level of adaptation and thought processing they have.I also agree with the fact that the more complex the words we use, the more complex our thoughts will be.
In conclusion, language is able to change the way we think because it is the only way in which we can effectively deal with what goes on in our minds and our surroundings. A tribe in Australia do not use words such as up, down,left or right. Instead they use North, South, West and East.If for example I ever visit them, my level of thinking will be so slow because i will obviously respond faster if someone tells me "a girl is sitting in front of the house" compared to "a girl is sitting east of the house".So yes Language influences our thoughts to a very large extent.
I slightly disagree with your opinion that language creates these relationships that helps us shape our daily experiences. I like that language definitely contributes into creating these networks and experiences, however, I think as humans we have the capability of using not only our language to think complexly but also our own, personal actions. They always say “actions speak louder than words” and people learn better from being shown something which is another important form of language. Our actions are what define us, we choose and think how to show these actions, sort of like how Professor Ann Senghas described how the Nicaraguan kids thought to show each other their own special version of sign language. We learn from each other’s actions and each other’s mistakes which then greatly contributes to our complex thinking, with this we learn what is wrong and what is right, what we like and what we don’t like, etc. Whether it be from witnessing real life things, learning from our actions and how they develop our complex thoughts. With these new actions programmed into our brain, we learn to walk, we learn to speak, we learn to drive, we then write papers, develop good study habits (or not), we think of our future and then we basically think of how to live our life through our past actions and the actions of others and especially the everyday world around us.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree that language creates the relationships that we form in our everyday lives. A lot of relationships can be formed through many different ways that don't involve speaking a certain language. We can communicate through music and art we don't need language to say what and how we feel. We have always been told from a young age that our "actions speak louder than our words." This concept was drilled into us by peers and mentors because sometimes language doesn't always get through to people. We learn through the things we do whether it be a good or bad thing we learn from it and we make connections in our brains that help us. Language can only take us so far but what happens to language when no one is there to hear you say what you need to say? It's time for us to make people listen through our actions. We learn from the actions of other people. History is full of the actions that other people made and its up to us to learn from those actions.
ReplyDeleteI disagree language isn't the only communication skill that creates the relationships that help us daily. Communication goes so far beyond just language. Yes, language plays a major role but it isn't the only way to communicate. Meaning you can still communicate without using language. You can still develop complex thinking through other sources of communication. We rely on actions just as much as we rely on language. For example, the kids were able to create a new language of their own without using "language". They learned from being around each other and using their actions. Language may play a major role but it isn't the only massive way to communicate. In history early communication didn't even use language. They used smoke signals, drawings, music, etc. You're still able to develop and create relationships without relying strongly on language.
ReplyDeleteOverall this blog is great and I agree with several of the points you have stated within. Such as language expanding our thoughts in various ways, and it can make our thoughts much more complex. However, one thing I seem to disagree with is that language is the main source of communication. Although it does play a major role in our relationships, sometimes people say things that they do not necessarily mean, in other words, language can be very deceiving. You can figure these type of things out by other sources of communication such as body language. Body language is just one of many ways we can communicate as a human species, we are a complex group of individuals that uses several sources of communication that no other animals could possibly fathom.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with your theory that language creates the relationships that we have in our world today. Many people form languages with people throughout the world without language and they use gestures to communicate. I also disagree that language enables our ability to think because we think about things from the time we're born and we have no concept of language when we're this young. Deaf people for example can think and process information and (other than sign language) they have no concept of language and I also disagree with the physiologist Elizabelth Spelke that language creates a link in the brain for complex thinking (however this is important) it's not the only way to have critical thinking skills. I also disagree that language can't be fully understood by a young age although I do believe that it can be learned at any age if you are committed to learning a language(s). As Jazmyn C said in a separate blog post that we rely on actions just as much as language I mean whoever said actions speak louder than words was spot on because, for instance, if someone says they love you but they treat you like shit you can clearly tell that they don't mean that. In other words can't be the only form of communication because it can be very misleading and unyielding.
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