Say a few words…

I need to say a few words about words. It’s because these things are what have enabled us to become what we are. They are the very things that have allowed us to thrive as a species and to do what we do today.

Today’s children have vocabularies that are vastly greater than those of children less than a century ago. Why is that? It’s because many of the words are names of things that simply didn’t exist then. This includes verbs as well because people today are doing many things that could not be done that long ago.

For instance, paragliding is a thing I love to do. Fifty years ago the word did not exist because neither did the thing. This is true of so many things, objects and activities. It’s especially true of media and popular culture if you consider the number of music genres, dance styles and so on.

To study the intricacies of a language other than the one you grew up with, is fascinating indeed. To do so reveals the differences in the way humans from different cultural backgrounds view and think about things.

You see, we humans have had this human-centric idea that we are the reason for the universe existing. As we learn more, I guess we come to better understand our place in the universe. It’s only a few centuries since we had to accept that our planet is not the centre of the universe or even of the solar system in which it’s located.

Why have we considered our kind to be superior to other living creatures, especially when we know that we share so many common features with other mammals (in particular)? Is it because we have opposing thumbs?

The reason is that we think. Or at least, we think that we think.

Do animals think? We think not. Why? Because we don’t see evidence of it.

What is thought, after all? It is simply covert speech. If we didn’t use words, we wouldn’t be able to think.

Our knowledge of brains is still just scratching the surface, but we do know enough about the brain structures that subtend emotion to know that these same structures exist within other animals and probably operate similarly.

Likewise we know about the brain structures where language and cognitive activity take place.

Animals also have these structures, but they are less well developed, because so is their specificity of communication.

The absence of a language, or thinking, or speaking words, does not mean the absence of information processing. Animals can be observed to demonstrate intent, planning, strategy, feeling, attachment and memories of all kinds. Yet without having an obvious language they still communicate via sounds.

As human language has developed, it has enabled us to become more complex and sophisticated. Descartes’ proof of his own existence lies in his statement ‘I think. Therefore I am’. We have become able to think and to think about thinking. This is only possible through development of the language that enables it.

As we get better at using language, we become more powerful. A person in a particular job or career has acquired a vocabulary that enables them to understand and communicate specifically with others about their field. This helps them solve problems in that field in a better way than if they didn’t have those concepts (words, tools).

Psychologically, it is the same. If we have the vocabulary to state more precisely what is going on for us, then we become better able to understand and communicate it.

Self-awareness or self-consciousness can be a blessing or a curse. It’s especially a curse when it leads us to doubt ourselves or to confuse us. It’s why, when we are having these problems we might seek the help of a competent psychologist (or a trusted friend who’s a good listener).

The psychologist can help educe the true meaning of what is going on inside and thus resolve internal conflicts.