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Pursuing language development
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Pursuing language development
What do I think of pursuing language development?
'Language is an instrument of collective thought.' Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, Henry Holt and Company, Page 108
Language is used to alter ideas and thoughts of man in order to administer communication. A simple illustration: mealtimes. Breakfast, lunch and dinner - 3 square meals a day - each man must consume food during these mealtimes to survive (with the exception of Muslims who need to fast once a month in a calendar year). To express his want for food, he speaks words, sometimes a few like 'Roti prata for breakfast. Yummy!' or other times in two or three sentences, 'Hmm! What should I have for dinner tonight? Shall we eat out?' Language is also needed for asking and giving directions, a less universal need than that of eating. The technique used must have clear understanding of the 'rules which guide the hearer as to the intentions of the speaker'. (Ibid, page 109) Sometimes, spoken language may not be enough to facilitate communication. So written forms of languages printed on paper to become maps, street directories and food menus; or digitized to become television and digital video discs are used.
The language is not necessarily English. It can be Mandarin, Malay, Tail, Russian, Tagalog, Spanish or French. "They are expressions of agreement between members of a human group and only those 'in the know' can understand them." (Ibid, page 109) Whether spoken and written, the 'order of the words agreed upon by men', (Ibid, page 109)the exact sounds and written forms must be used. This rule helps to bind the human company, showing the way to progress. For instance, if the hungry man wants to eat chicken rice, he turns to the waiter and says, 'Can I have 1 Hainanese Chicken Rice and a glass of Fresh Orange Juice,' In Bahasa Indonesia, this is translated as 'Bisa saya minta satu porsi nasi Ayam Hainan dan satu gelas Jus Oren Murni?' Note that the placement of nouns like Hainanese Chicken Rice and Orange Juice and adjective like Fresh or Murni is exact and pre-arranged to make meaning to the message. If spoken clearly and correctly, the waiter registers the message, promptly takes the order and delivers the food at the table, to the joy of his customer.
Note that in this example, getting the words right is not enough, 'their order is equally important' (Ibid, page 109) and I add, essential for progress. In other words, language is effectively used when one is able to use speech (placing an order for food) and its written forms (food menu and taking down the order for food) to express his feelings and thoughts with full understanding of their meaning.
Thanks also to language, man is able to pen down his thoughts, accumulate contents on pieces of paper and bind them into books as education materials for history, geography, science, literature, music and many more subjects which define the mechanics of civilized societies. 'Language, we may say, grows with human thoughts.' (Ibid, page 109)
However, growth without development does not contribute to advancement. Advancement is arrived with arrested development not postponed development. And without advancement, according to the definition of civilization ('a stage if development in human society that is socially, politically, culturally and technologically advanced'), a state of human society remains barbaric or less than civilized. We can conclusively say therefore that if language is the key instrument of collective thought, which transforms human environment into civilized societies, it is imperative to give attention to development of language because: 1. development refers to the progression of achievements upon knowledge and skills which are good, and 2. one of the attributes of development is that it exposes the mental processes that take place in the physical being. Like a baby speaks a new word, the sounds he produces from physically moving his jaws to let out air from his vocal chords, are the results of culmination of his sense of hearing and the movements required for vocalising words.
What are your top 3 reasons for pursuing language development?
See if you manage to reach progression today with a few simple exercises: 1 Do you give a big morning smile to the first person you see in the morning? (Y/N) 2. And do you get a big morning respond from the same person? (Y/N) 3. Do you look forward to saying hello to someone each day? (Y/N) Give language a chance to develop in our lives. Say yes to all 3 and practise it each day, you will see your own language more useful for you.
Say good morning to a stranger today!
About the author:
I am tri-lingual and a mother of 6 year old tri-lingual daughter. My new blog site is www.chidhoodspeech.com I want to share my experience on growing up speaking at least 3 languages and raising a child who is tri-lingual. My email address is 1hkcook@gmail.com I am new blogger, your comments are most welcome.I am Montessori and speech trained teacher.
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