The concept of language perplexes me. How is language learned? As a language student, the answer might be obvious: through commercially-produced visual and auditory activities, as well as the occasional handout. However, as a language student, I also possess a language base; I knew English before I began my study of French, or any other language for that matter. How did I learn English? I remember owning Hooked on Phonics. Only recently have I actually thrown it away, and to this day I feel it is a scam—a waste of money. Looking back, this is really difficult for me to comprehend. How did I go from nothing, to where I am now? (In regards to language, that is.) As an infant, you know nothing of words, and comprehensible speech. How does one acquire language, how does one teach language?
I suppose I am going in circles there, so I am going to consider this a honeypot of questions for future entries or what have you on the subject. That said, I would like to toss something else in: translation. Mme Hembel shed some light on who determines the association of words in which language with words of another, but not how and on what those associations are based.
Future reading, not necessarily language-oriented, but for sake of rememberance:
- The Language Police
- The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker