Vincent3

The language of life
By Rachel Vincent

Life is full of triumphs and disappointments, yet it offers a world of opportunity. One of the greatest achievements of the human race is the creation of language. Language opens people up to many aspects within us and others. It is hard to imagine life without it.

We may acknowledge a language as something clear and sensible, but in reality, all languages are really made up of squeals, grunts, and guttural sounds, but this is common for any language. It may also seem that our language is dirty because it is common, but it is also clean because it is pure. A language, of any kind, is a sufficient and uninhibited part of our dealings with violence, business, and each other.

Violence is a continuous problem in all our lives, especially in today’s world. The likelihood that the public use of certain words will lead to violence is not sufficient grounds to strip them of their protection under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, if we continue to act blindly and ignore how effective words can be then we are placing ourselves in a world filled with chaos and confusion.

The vocabulary of pleasure depends on the imagery of pain. If our view of reality is shaped by the words and phrases we use, then violence is locked deep within our minds, frozen in the clichés and expressions of everyday life. Day after day, arguments arise between friends, family, and strangers. If we fail to think rationally about the situation, the once verbal action could turn into physical assault. People’s thoughts come out in their expression of conversation, and behind all that, it is said, lies some truth.

Language is truly a window into the world. If the words and expressions we use truly affect the way we think, is it impossible to believe that we can never successfully stamp out violence?

The stress-filled environment in which many of us work each day causes us to become emotional within our thoughts and these pour out in our words. The world of business is a veritable jungle of cutthroat competition. The emotions that run through us are not always expressed in the manner that we prefer.

The sound and meaning of words work their dual magic upon us in ways that the ear and mind alone cannot always analyze. All the same, language allows us to communicate with other companies across the nation. Language is important worldwide.

All that we have learned about each other and ourselves has been expressed through language. Nothing is more fought with connection and taboo than language. Language is what passes back and forth in the air between speakers. It also displays variation that is related to the speaker’s status.

The use of words allows us to relate to one another. People learn each other’s dreams and thoughts through language. There are many different meanings behind the words, which we converse with, and at times this causes people to become tongue-tied.

Without a language to produce words and meanings of intellect, we would all be unable to comprehend our conversations with each other. Wherever one finally locates language, and however it is conceived, it remains exclusive, changing continuously with every generation.

The English language needs to come closer to the so-called “common” language of today. This does not necessitate the elimination of words, or the invention of new ones, but lessens our concern for inconsequential words. To know and understand a language should be thought of in a “do or die” fashion. Language is universal and a gift that we should share with everyone.

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(I would like to acknowledge the books Crazy English by Richard Lederer, and The State of the Language edited by Christopher Ricks and Leonard Micheals, which were instrumental in preparation of this article.)

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