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| 1.1 |
INTRODUCTION |
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| Contemporary archeology and anthropology tell us that at least seventy thousand years ago, our ancestors drew images on the walls of caves in Europe and outback Australia. | ||
| These were not random scrawls, but detailed images designed to convery meaning-of animals, hunting for food and rituals. While primative, the images with meaning represent the fundamental components of any written language- (a) a means of representation of ideas and (b) associated images with meaning. | ||
| While no written evidence exists of the same period, it is almost certain that our ancient ancestors had also developed some sort of method of standardising sound as a means of conveying messages and meaning- an oral or sound language. | ||
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1.1.1 |
The fundamental importance of language | |
| So fundamental is the existence of written and oral forms of language to the development of humanity that almost every scholar considers the invention of language as one of, if not the most important invention in history. | ||
| The existence of language is a primary distinction between the human species and all other higher order life on planet Earth. While many higher order lifeforms exhibit language components such as whale song, dolphin chatter and some primates, no other species has yet been shown to possess even the most rudimentary languages compared to the most ancient of human species. | ||
| Language has been our way of communicating common ideas, of learning, of remembering, of discovering and thinking. Every great civilization on Earth has had at its core, some kind of language or languages. | ||
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1.1.2 |
The relationship between thinking and language | |
| Language is totally entwined to the way a human thinks. The transmission of ideas arerestricted or enhanced by the medium of language. If you only speak and read French, your thoughts and ideas are stored and processed using the French language, using French words to learn and retain ideas. If you only speak and read English, your thoughts and ideas will be in English. | ||
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1.1.3 |
Structure of language assists or restricts the rate of idea transmission | |
| Not only does language restrict or open our choices of how to describe various ideas, the actual medium of language also affects the rate of idea transmission. | ||
| For example, if I speak using English then the normally accepted rate of word speech recognition is around 2 to 4 words per second. Providing each word represents an idea, that means around 2 to 4 ideas per second. | ||
| In terms of the written word, the general rate of word comprehension is around 360 to 400 words (ideas) per minute for speed reading. | ||
| In contrast, medical research has established that the human brain is capable of firing neuron impulses associated with cognitive function at a rate of at least 1/1000th of a second. | ||
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1.1.4 |
Structure of language and barriers to learning | |
| Not only does language impact on the way we think and how fast we can process information, but it very structure can assist or restrict in ease of learning. | ||
| The English language, for example, provides a rich cultural history and variety of word-ideas. However, the flexibility of sound, word association and the lack of consistency with the meaning of ideas makes it a particularly hard language to master at adulthood. | ||
| Individuals with a proficient understanding of non-English languages may still find after years of trying that their English ability is still less than that of a person born into naturally speaking English. | ||
| Rather than this reflecting on the non-English speaking culture, it reflects on the structural deficiencies of English as a natural learning language. | ||
| 1.1.5 | Improvements to language and impact on learning | |
| By considering just these few points, if a particular language was available that made the process of learning and transmission of ideas very simple then many people could be helped. | ||
| This is what we discuss in the following sections of Language. | ||
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