Role of Language in Different Areas of Knowledge - Essay Example

Does Language Play Equal Roles in Different Areas of Knowledge? The quest for knowledge has been a part of the human experience since the beginning of civilisation. With the acquisition of knowledge, the expression of the knowledge acquired by different groups of people was done in different languages. That gives us one reason why words such as alchemy found their way into the English language and why many of the inventions and innovations created today are shared across the world with the same name. However, the connection between knowledge and language goes far deeper than that and it can be shown with relevant examples and evidence that the role of language is equally important in all areas of knowledge. It is essentially common sense usage to say that language is a method of verbal or written communication between two parties. It would be beyond the scope of this project to consider communications between animals or between animals and humans to be a part of language itself but communications between humans who speak the same language is certainly under discussion here. Moreover, it would be impossible to discuss the peculiarities of one or more languages with regard to how the speakers of that language acquire knowledge but it is possible to discuss both in general terms. Therefore, as recommended by Chomsky (1997), while dealing with language in the context of knowledge, it is important to consider language as an internalised mechanism for obtaining knowledge. In and of itself, the definition of language given by the American Linguist Leonard Bloomfield is quite acceptable to Chomsky (1997, Pg. 7) since Bloomfield defines language as, “the totality of utterances than can be made in a speech community”. Chomsky is less appreciative of the definition of language given by Quine who calls language, “a complex of present dispositions to verbal behaviour (Chomsky, 1997, Pg. 12)”. The simpler definition becomes more relevant when we consider how complex the definition of knowledge can be. When it comes to knowledge, Chomsky divides knowledge into two branches with regard to the importance of language in each. The fist branch is called “knowledge-how” and the second branch is “knowledge-that”. ‘Knowledge how’ has to do with the way things work and way processes known to us take place in the world around us. ‘Knowledge that’ connects deeply with events that take place around us and both these branches of knowledge combine to give us the ability to take part in as active members of a society. As discussed by Chomsky (1997) language is fundamental to both forms of knowledge since without language, ideas would not find their expression in either branch. The know how about the world and the environment around us requires expression in language which is also needed in the expression of events that take place within our society (Iwańska and Shapiro, 2000). In this manner, both the sciences and the arts require language since without language the expression of either would be difficult if not impossible altogether. Khisty (2008) is in complete agreement with Chomsky (1997) and debunks the argument that pure sciences like mathematics do not require expertise in language. He bemoans the fact that: “The belief that mathematics transcends discourse factors has been pervasive and even has affected bilingual education policies in that mathematics often is promoted as one of the first subjects that can be taught in the students weaker language although other areas continue to be taught in the students native language (Khisty, 2008, Pg. 1)”. This is because mathematics itself has been seen as a language with a specific form of vocabulary, syntax and grammar. However, mathematics requires an understanding of some language which can give the person the, “ability to interpret and translate into mathematical symbols (Khisty, 2008, Pg. 1)” any given problems requiring the application of math skills. Thus the need for language in mathematics becomes obvious when we know that there is an application process with regard to math being used in real world situations. For example, a simple mathematical expression may be written as 1+1=2 which plainly means that ‘one plus one is equal to two’. However, by giving its meaning we have effectively translated a mathematical expression into English whereas in French, Spanish or Japanese, the expression might be said differently (Sowa, 2000). Considering an individual who has had no previous experience with any mathematical symbols which are known to us, 1+1=2 might have no meaning whatsoever since s/he may see them as runes or signs which signify something totally different (Korzybski, 1951). For example, such a person might interpret the mathematical expression as ‘left Christianity left is greater than a river course’ or any other expression which they could possibly apply to those symbols. In essence, the importance of language for all areas of knowledge becomes highlighted with these examples because without language, no symbol could be given a meaning. This is as true for mathematics as it is for abstract art where symbols are assigned meanings even when they have been left without meaning by the artist (Chomsky, 1997). The same idea has been shown to be true in practical terms by the study conducted by Kisty (2008). By looking at the education and mathematical instruction provided to bilingual students, the study examined the role of language in teaching mathematics to middle school children. The study found that the instruction of mathematics depended on language more than the mathematical symbols which were used in class. In fact, in terms of language use, Kisty (2008, Pg. 1) reports that, “little mathematics was actually spoken”. This is because the instruction of mathematics was done in the language the children were most familiar with since it made the learning process easy for them in a verbally active classroom. Therefore, even while learning and working with mathematical symbols, the importance of language itself can not be denied. The importance of language is also highlighted when it comes to subjects such as history where differences in language can mean a total lack of knowledge about an entire civilization. The primary example of this is the discovery of the Rosetta Stone which is an Egyptian that had three different languages displaying the same text. With the knowledge we had of one language we were able to understand others on the stone and the knowledge gained from the information on those languages, volumes were written about Egyptian history that had previously been lost, misunderstood or discarded. The stone itself and the history associated with the stone have become a part of our popular culture so much so that the term ‘Rosetta Stone’ can be applied to anything which is essential to understanding a puzzle or a difficult problem (Budge, 1989). The importance of language with regard to history can also be highlighted with the viewpoints taken by different people about different events or of different personalities. For example, the same person may be seen as a villain by one group of people while s/he may be a hero for another (Budge, 1989). Those who rebelled against the Roman Empire on its outskirts might have been recorded as traitors and rebels by the Romans themselves yet for the people of those regions such individuals might have been saviours and freedom fighters. To know who such individuals were and to fully understand what happened in historical terms, the knowledge of old languages and old scripts become vitally important for historians. Without that knowledge, only one or just a few sources of information remain valid for the historian since others contain undecipherable data (Budge, 1989). Once that data has been converted into useable information through the application of language skills, a historian would have several different sources and versions of events to describe what really happened to whom in the total story of civilisation. This brings us back to the initial point concerning language and knowledge which I feel that are two sides of the same coin. The coin itself is composed of metal that is the human experience based on the knowledge we have complied throughout the centuries. That knowledge can only be shared and experienced with the languages that we have to convey ideas and notions. Without either side of the coin, the story of our existence could never be seen as complete. While the nature of the role of language in terms of seeking or sharing knowledge in different fields might change, its importance remains the same. Word Count: 1,511 Works Cited Budge, E. 1989, The Rosetta Stone, Dover Publications. Chomsky, N. 1997, ‘Language and Problems of Knowledge’, Teorema, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 5-33. Iwańska, L. and Shapiro, S. 2000, Natural Language Processing and Knowledge Representation: Language for Knowledge and Knowledge for Language, The MIT Press. Khisty, L. 2008, ‘A Naturalistic Look at Language Factors in Mathematics Teaching in Bilingual Classrooms’, Third National Research Symposium on Limited English Proficient Student Issues, [Online] Available at: http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/symposia/third/khisty.htm Korzybski, A. 1951, The Role of Language in the Perceptual Process. The Ronald Press Company. Sowa, J. 2000, Knowledge Representation: Logical, Philosophical, and Computational Foundations, Cole. Read More