I originally wrote this article on 17th September 2011. Back then, I believed that the main purpose of language was communication. Now, ten years later, after ten years of teaching and exploring languages, my vision has changed a lot. In fact, I disagree with what I wrote back then.
So, I had to update this article. The first part is the original. After that, you can read the addendum.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, language is:
“a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings”.
There is no doubt that the most common use of the language is communicative. We need the language whether to have an intimate conversation with our friends or give a speech in front of hundreds of people, but the main purpose is to transmit an idea, a thought. To communicate.
But is it the only one? Certainly not. We use the language for other purposes too.
Imagine you are in a bar in, let’s say in Tokyo, and you spend an evening talking to your friends. You’re not ‘communicating’. You’re rarely communicating. You’re not presenting them with any information that changes their belief systems. You’re simply engaged in a kind of social play. You’re establishing social relations and creating warm interactions or determining your relationship with someone or whatever. This is the social function. I agree that this could be considered a derivative of communication, but communicate and socialize are not always the same thing.
In the same way, you’re not communicating when you are having an argument with someone. You’re not listening to what the other person has to say. You’re arguing. You’re just expressing your opinions or your emotions. There is not an exchange of information there, so there is not communication neither.
Finally, the language has a cognitive function, which means that humans, we use the language to transfer our thoughts in and out of our mind. Have you ever realized that when you think, you do it in a particular language? In my case, I do it in Spanish, but it happened to me that sometimes, I do it in English as well. It is very common when we are living in a country where our mother language is not spoken, we end up thinking in the new language. So, we use language in our inner speeches, and we are not communicating at all.
Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Update 8th of April 2021
The purpose of language:
Beyond communication
Why did language come about? Was it to solely communicate with other humans?
There are many theories, but one common thread seems to be the idea or need of expressing individuality (i.e. putting the baby down theory), the need for self-expression, and intentional communication.
Baron-Cohen suggests that the Theory of Mind precedes language. The Theory of Mind is about an individual human’s degree of capacity for empathy and understanding of others, that is, the understanding that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives different from one’s own.
This means that before language, there was an acknowledgement that the other views the world differently.
Therefore, the purpose of language is two-fold; it’s communication, of course, but it is also self-expression. Language is all about subjectivity and nuance, not about “objective truths” and “neutral language”.
A language is a tool the individual uses to convey reality through their eyes so that the other person can see the world through our eyes and vice versa.
“We don’t see the things as they are; we see them as we are”
– Anaïs Nin.
The purpose of language is to express identity (through our accent, choice of vocabulary, our mother tongue’s influence…) and subjectivity (through our personal imagery and sensory descriptions), as much as it is to communicate a message. However, it’s not only about communicating the message in the most objective way possible, but also about what the message means to me, how I see the message, my intention when sharing the message, etc…
See? We created the language to be able to communicate and connect with the other because we realised that someone’s experience of the world, someone’s reality is not someone else’s experience of the word, someone else’s reality. I think that behind the creation of language was the thought of: “I want you to see the world through my eyes, and I want to see the world through yours so that we can get a better understanding of each other and the world”.
Thought-provoking post again, thanks for that 🙂
I would consider arguing to be communicating though, as you’re still expressing how you feel, getting across your emotions. When you stop and listen to someone else and there’s a real effort to appreciate and understand each other through language, I would consider that more of a dialogue. The Greek origin of that word — dia logos — literally means flow of meaning, or exchange of meaning (I always remember that from a podcast series called Living Dialogues).
Thanks for the comment, Niall! 🙂
I agree with you in that arguing can involve communication, but for that, I think, both parts should be willing to listen what the other has to say or express.
Dialogue entails communication for me as well. Not so sure about argument and dialogue, though, furthermore, sometimes even in the context of a conversation, both parts seem to have parallel conversations, is that communication then?
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I feel that you need to write more on this topic, it won’t be a taboo topic but generally people are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers
Hi, this is a great post! Thanks..
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hey. didn’t even thinking language have so many things behind it.thanks for the information.
Wow this, really touched me! I am currently researching, the meaning of language as for many years I struggled accepting my bilingualism Spanish and English. Which created Spanglish. I have a sensor that instills this programming because my mother language is Spanish, which I enjoy speaking to communicate it feels like home and comfortable. English has been my motivator and my trainer in life, what I mean is I learn through English concepts and ideas. These ideas than bring the willingness to express myself through my own language which is Spanglish. Like a taste of both worlds 🫰🌎
Mil Gracias Maria!