Wednesday, August 22, 2007

linguistic limitations...


(With due credits to my Little T for being my ubiquitous inspiration. Love you baby!)

It is said that humans in the Stone Age faced difficulties expressing themselves because their ability to communicate was limited by the absence of languages!
And then they gave up their Bohemian life to settle down. Simple inventions simplified life so that more time to think and develop the languages that we know today. Well…some languages did have a short lived shelf life…but the others survived and prospered.

Then the languages adapted themselves to the surroundings and dialects developed. Some dialects found a script and some didn’t. And even today, there are languages that do have a written form! Strange! So people who speak that language will never have to face the problem of illiteracy. That sounds good and bright…doesn’t it?

And now I come to the trillion dollar question. Yes…the trillion dollar question (coming to think of it, that’s a LOT of money!). Have languages really enabled us to overcome our problems of communicating? The answer, as I see it, is an all encompassing NO! It hasn’t definitely added to the handicap…but it hasn’t been of much help either. Though, ironically enough, I am using one of those very languages to write this piece. But that is not what I am talking about. Giving words to emotions and thoughts is not what I am referring to. What I mean to say is…languages flatten our thoughts and emotions to a large extent.

Ok, let me explain. Now…there is this little princess whom I love a lot. When I do tell her that I love her, I can say…maybe…”I love you”…or…”I love you a lot”…or (getting in a little more variation within the limitations of language)…”I really love you”. But that’s more or less it! I mean, I can’t really express the intensity of what I feel for her. And the language doesn’t even go deep enough. HOW MUCH is a factor that a language conveniently ignores. I will not be surprised if even now I am unable to express the intensity of what I am writing. In spite of being a copywriter…I can’t really overcome the flaws which exist in a language’s foundation, isn’t it?

It would have such a utopian world if telepathy was a regular phenomenon. We would have saved so much time…not trying to explain the inexplicable. Things would just have been understood! Like two minds communicating between themselves without the presence of any language to forma hindrance. Only wish…wish it would have been like that. Life would have been even simpler.

But then again…I guess a little complication adds that extra spice to life, isn’t it? So though…there are certain problems that a language gives rise to…but then there are nice and sweet things like poetry which would have been non existent without languages. What do you say?

Anyway, it is late and I am hungry. So I will leave you with this little food for thought while go and grab a bite to eat!

Adios.

2 comments:

myconoclast said...

hey :) guess you're right...i mean something invented to assist communication and help us express oursleves has more rules and regulations than anything else!!! and the lack of a better alternative leaves us with no other option...but then again, like you said...saying what one wants to say withing the limitations of a language is half the fun...after all, nothing can surmount the ineffable quality of human emotions :)

Shom's portfolio said...

naaz...i am SO GLAD u agree to what i said! again...i can't really express how glad i am!!