Language
The human being is unique by his capacity to create a language, whereas all other living beings also communicate, but in a limited manner. The human being has the mechanism within to create a language, with the help of which he can communicate. Thus, language is the central point of difference between the human being and the other living beings. His communication is not limited to the basic needs, whereas he can communicate his thoughts, dreams, and experiences and so on. The human being is a social being and cannot live in isolation. When he decides to live in a group, the group comprises of his society. Living as a member of a society demands that he interacts with others. The interaction would comprise of sharing thoughts, ideas and needs. It’s only when the members support one another and communicate with each other, the society would thrive. Man has been blessed with an intellect. His intellect does not find fulfilment when he lives his life according to its dictates. Instead he is always eager to share his thoughts and ideas with the people around him. Thus communication also enables him to find agreement, acceptance and harmony within the group.
Thus, communication is extremely essential for the human being to live his life as an individual. It is to fulfil this essential requirement that the human being created language. Dr Montessori considered language as an instrument [means] of collective thought. She recognised that development of language as an important human function contributes towards the development of the intellect and eventually development of an integrated human personality. The human being is allotted a long sensitive period during the formative years towards the acquisition of language. He is also gifted with various powers and potentialities. There are also supporting factors like the tendencies and the periodical sensitivities.
However, the child needs support from the adult community in favour of actualising the potentialities and create a language which would remain with him throughout his life. It is the language which has been created during the formative years, which can be looked upon as a human function and thus, this human function becomes a permanent characteristic of his personality. This human function which has been created also enables him to adapt to his society and further supports him in his cosmic task. Further, through this human function the child can also further enhance his intellectual capacities and also learns many languages. It would also enable him to appreciate all the items of human culture. Thus, language acquired as a human function becomes the basis for the appreciation of the environment. In this manner a civilisation gets established.
Language is unique to human beings. It is defined as a system of arbitrary sounds by means of which members of a society or group communicate and interact with one another. They are indeed expressions of agreement between the members of a particular group. Thus, different groups have different sets of sounds to convey a thought. It is interesting to know that one has to resort to the use of language to define it. According to biologists all the other living beings also have a system of communication which is only limited to their lives at that moment. In contrast, man has unlimited capacity for communication. His intelligence has also enabled him to create many means of communication. From among them language is the most effective and significant means of communication. With the help of language, he is able to give a more finite and accurate expression to his thoughts. Thus, language serves as the most abstract and powerful instrument in human progress. It also serves as a kind of wall that encompasses a given human group and separates this group from all others. It is this capacity of language that enabled various groups to create various languages. However, when man came to exist on the face of earth there was no language around. Out of a need to communicate a language got created. The language that was created must have been very primitive in its quality. As he started belonging to a group and his needs increased, the language started growing. In this manner, many languages came into existence. However, there is sufficient proof to realise that certain languages which were spoken with great ease and comfort have become obsolete. At a particular period these languages served towards human progress. Gradually as man evolved and so also there was lot of progress in the field of science and technology, languages started evolving and developing. Conclusively, the creation, development and the utilisation of language is clear proof for the development of the human intellect.
"It is certain that man must possess and transmit
hereditarily the completely new faculty of developing
a language which is in relation to the intelligence and
the necessity of transmitting thought for the purpose of
social co-operation".
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