Language is incredible - here is why!

Intro

How do we learn languages? What, in our bodies, makes us capable of doing something so incredible? Is there a language organ? Is there something in our genes? How are languages similar? How are they different? What is good grammar? What is the future of languages?

These and so many other questions are discussed in my latest #edbookreview: "The Language Instinct", by Steven Pinker. A book that, given author's most authentic #curiosity, navigates through linguistic, biology, psychology, technology and even philosophy, while making it easy for us to follow.

It is also full of anecdotes and history, and I absolutely love the clarity about the ongoing discussions around several topics instead of definitive truths, a growth mindset that remains open to adapt as more research brings insights that can truly change established paradigms.

Let's go through some key learnings that you can quickly incorporate in your life.

The difference between Language and Dialect

As a Brazilian, I have not been used to the concept of a dialect. While the Portuguese language is spoken slightly differently in each region or even state in Brazil, it is still officially the same language, understood by all despite accents and a few different words.

Reality here in Europe is quite different. In Switzerland, for example, there are four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. And that is only the beginning!

Once you start living here, you find out that the country is very rich in dialects, with substantial differences in a radius of as little as 150 kilometers. But what are dialects?

The way I was thought is the following: dialects are undocumented, their rules are transmitted from generation to generation orally and usually they don't have a formal written form. All that said, I will keep this quote from Max Weinreich as my reference:

A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.

Digest that.

Language is Always Changing

While the book is written in English and makes several references to that language, it brings a lot of insights and research connected with other languages. In that context, one of the concerns highlighted is the dying of languages. Yes, some are disappearing.

This is absolutely sad: it goes along with significant losses of culture and knowledge, and big chunks of our history. This is also a fact: it already happened in the past and will continue happening in the future.

More than 500 languages are officially confirmed as extinct. Some research suggests that out of more than 7,000 documented languages and dialects, 90% of them will be extinct in the next 40 to 50 years. Even if you want to double that - it means our grandchildren will live in a much less language-diverse world.

Going back to my example about Switzerland, Romansch could become one of such extinct languages, if the current trends continue. Language extinction is closer to me than I ever thought it would be!

But that's not all. For the languages remaining, they also undergo a humongous amount of change. Let me invite you to explore old English. This is an example from the book:

"Faeder ure thu the eart on heofonum, si thin nama gehalgod. Tobecume thin rice. Gewurthe in villa on eorthan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedaeghwamlican hlaf syle us to daeg. And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfath urum gyltedum. And ne gelaed thu us on contnungen ae alys us of yfele. Sothlice."

What does it mean? Here you go:

"Our Father, who is in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your kingdom come into being. May your will be followed on earth, just as it is in heaven. Give us this day our food for the day. And forgive our offenses, just as we forgive those who have offended us. And do not bring us to the test. But free us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen."

It changed that much in less than 1,000 years! As the world is moving ever so fast, it is to be expected that the same will happen with language. English, in particular, as it is used across the globe, will probably see most significant changes faster than others.

Next time you think it is absurd that people try to change language to make it more inclusive, think again. Language will change and adapt to the world. Better be open and accept that, than to suffer trying to stick with the past.

Language Development

The conclusion I have got from the book is, we don't fully know yet where exactly language lives. We DO know however a lot of things:

• there is enough evidence that we have a language instinct, something ready to be used. It's part of what makes us human beings.
• to support the previous point: children with no clue of grammar are capable of respecting basic grammar rules with no lessons and beyond repetition.
• there is evidence that we learn our first language faster - and better - than any subsequent one. (not an excuse to learn more languages though!)
• because of previous two points, early years make a significant difference to language development.
• human languages are much more similar than they are different; then each language seems to trigger different "modules" when we are learning them.
• to support the previous point: there is a foundational grammar that supports every language. The research presented by the author coming from diverse languages explaining it is very interesting, and it gives great insights on the challenges for machines to be truly capable to naturally process any language
• there are gene-related mutations that may cause language development deficiencies; I must therefore believe that there are mutations that favor excellence in it.
• at the same time, there is enough evidence that we don't use language for our mental processing; we use something the author calls Mentalese. Therefore, we are not limited by it in order to think, create and develop.

I could list another 50 points, that is how rich the book is. Nevertheless, those should be enough to help you re-thinking language development.

How Behavior Works

That's a gem from the book. I have met people who would claim we do what we do because we are part of a family, a race, a country. We inherit it and we can't escape from it. A lot of racism is based out of this assumption.

I have also met people who believe we do what we do due to the environment surrounding us. We can't escape being criminals if we grow up in criminal environments. That's also a way to segregate people.

Then there are people who believe our behavior comes from a combination of the two. That's a better hypothesis, still something is missing there. What are we missing?

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, then let's try:

There is a bit of everything in there. The most interesting insight here is the developmental aspect to it, as a clear indication for a path to grow and change. Behavior is many things but static.

Observations

Words matter to me. Languages as well. If they also matter to you, and you are interested to learn more about it, this is a great pick for you.

• Easy of reading: 3 stars. Early chapters are written in a more accessible language, but the last chapters become more theoretical and harder to consume. It makes actually sense, as the author is developing and getting deep into the topic yet be prepared to re-read a few paragraphs to truly grasp the concepts behind them.
• Learning something new: 5 stars. This is a non-stop machine of providing insights! The amount of research, data, reflections, is simply fantastic. I focused the summary on a few topics, but I could easily extend it for many more pages. One example: the author's considerations around (bad) research practices. Really worth the read.
• Interesting and Engaging: 4 stars. There were better and less better chapters, especially again towards the end. It felt for me like the book should have been wrapped up earlier, and there would be a different book to be written after. From the author's notes, it seems that this is exactly what he did, extending a couple chapters into entirely new books.

This is also the kind of book that would deserve an interview. I would love to ask the author:

• What about children developing in bi-lingual or even tri-lingual environments?
• What are his views regarding the latest natural language processing through machine learning?
• How is language extinction linked to diversity and inclusion?

Your turn now... would you have questions to the author? Or to me? Share in the comments!

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