The Day Language Came Into My Life

Since the dawn of the cave man, men have shown the desire to write or draw on walls. We are a race of people who demand and process information. Our words are images of ourselves and a projection of our inner thoughts and visions. We all differ in how we comprehend and present this information. "Language is seen as one of the key cornerstones that have set humans apart from other animals"(Gray, R 2007. Para. 4). Think of how frustrating it is to communicate your needs and wants with someone who may speak another language when you simply want directions, something to eat or to say hello. Imagine a child who wants to express his/herself emotionally but lacks the skill or vocabulary to do so. Imagine a dog who wants to go outside to use the bathroom; moreover, the owner or interpreter who fails to understand.

Have you ever wondered how we speak? How about why our communication is considered a language and other animal’s communication is not considered language? A wide range of beliefs exist on what defines language. Thus, by exploring the definition of language and lexicon, evaluating language’s key features, the four levels of language structure and processing, and the role of language in Cognitive Psychology, an understanding of what language is becomes clear. Let us begin by defining language and a term named lexicon.

In the words of George Orwell, “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” Language has been spoken for over 350,000 years. It has expanded tremendously, but its power has never changed. The use of language shapes peoples' perceptions and the depth of interactions because it can demean, avoid, portray emphasis, persuade, and conceal from simple phrases such as “I feel like” and “just”.

thoughts we need to feel the intensity of the trigger otherwise we are not able to describe and be

power of language-the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple

One should also not to forget about the fact that language itself reflects the values, the struggles, the sensibility, the joys and the sorrows of this great people. Also, it offers insights even into the most intimate feelings

    Toni Morrison makes a good point when, in her acceptance speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, she says, “Narrative . . . is . . . one of the principal ways in which we absorb knowledge” (7).  The words we use and the way in which we use them is how we, as humans, communicate to each other our thoughts, feelings, and actions and therefore our knowledge of the world and its peoples.  Knowledge is power.  In this way, our language, too, is powerful.

Many people have different ways and forms of expressing themselves through language specifically. The reason we do this is because it is the only way we can say how we truly feel. In some cases, for example, someone might automatically think a person is rude or disrespectful if you greet them and their body language isn’t all that great. Another thing people might struggle with is learning the common language we know today as English. Language is a very powerful source in which many us communicate and examples in the book along with observations I have made tell me that the language of the body and communication are very important in our everyday lives.

Language is a cognitive function that most of us take for granted. It starts from early on, some say at conception, and it develops in complexity as we get older. It is an essential part of communication and without it its development would be greatly hindered. This natural process requires complex structures and reasoning, the bringing together of sounds and words to develop concrete ideas and thoughts. In this paper we will discuss the components of language and how it relates to cognitive processes.

Steven Pinker finds that language comes naturally in human capacity. In “The Language Instinct,” he argues that even if thoughts may lead to form of speech, language and thoughts are not the same thing. He explains that thoughts do not necessarily depend on words, as one would not always be able to find specific words that exactly represent what one thinks. Countless amounts of thoughts can be created from a single mind, which would seem to be more complicated than a complete sentence, but Pinker is not focusing on the limitlessness of the mind, but the specific aspect of imagery without confusion. A sentence can provide a sense of time, action, and meaning generated from the source of thoughts. However, Pinker mentions how “sometimes a whole

An impression is superior to any idea. Hume claimed that, "The liveliest thought is still inferior to the dullest sensation,"(Hume, 10). Sensation is the only real attribute of the mind and it serves as focal point for all ideas and extensions of thought. Impressions have the ability to stand independently; they do not depend on any other elements to make them seem more real. They can always be relied upon; there is no chance of making a mistake when regarding them. Impressions are original in their state of being and never act as a counterfeit. They are dazzling and sound. Impressions are derived from inward and outward sentiments. Outward impressions are caused by external perceptions. These consist of the sounds of a thunderstorm, the sensation of rain on the skin and seeing the electricity in lightening. It includes all the perception that the senses experience first hand. Inward impressions make up all of the internal perceptions. This includes feelings and emotions that are evoked by external extensions. The emotions: loyalty, compassion, misery, depression and romance are all categorized as inward impressions. Seeing a shooting star and feeling lucky as a result of the sighting is an example of an outward impression causing an inward impression. The two impressions define one another. Ideas are the weak perceptions of the mind. They are the reflections of the sensations experienced from impressions. Ideas

In sum, Taylor (Ibid) argues that human beings are self-interpreting animals that sense the things essentially through the imports emotions that would be articulated by his or her language and vocabularies. Taylor (Ibid,

People can think without language because thinking is not just conducted by language. There are limits in language, but thoughts are limitless. Language can be described as medium of which thoughts are directed but to a particular extent, which is decided by the person and not by the language.

Language is an important aspect of people’s daily lives. People use language to communicate with others, and in order for the communication process to run well, they need to understand what the other person is saying and this process of understanding the words is called thinking. This paper explores the relationship between language and thought, about how language shapes thought, in particular, whether language affects thought in another way besides the exact meaning of the words. The authors looked at several views on the relation between language and thought and examined their arguments. They concluded that it is true that language influenced the thought and it has effect on abstract inferences.

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” – Benjamin Lee Whorf