Language

Language is one of the most defining characteristics of humans. There is no other species on earth that has such a developed communication form as us humans. We have the ability to speak our language orally but also write our language. The written form of language is exclusive to us humans. There is no other species on the planet that can write their language.

There are almost a million words in the English language to date, but only twenty-six letters make up all of those words. But what are words? In essence, they are just groupings of certain letters in a certain order that bring meaning to us. Language is useless without some way to conveying it. Math is worthless without numbers. Words are the visualizations of thoughts.

Language can be considered the greatest evolution ever or the worst. It has enabled us to share our emotions, express our thoughts and explain our ideas. It allows us to record our history, foresee our future and understand our being. Humans are on top of the food chain because of language. When we think about it, humans are one of the most defenseless creatures on the planet. So what allows us to grace the top of the food chain? Our strength is weak compared to other species; we have no attack mechanism such as sharp teeth or a poison. It is our use and development of language that puts us on top. It allows us to coordinate attacks, record previous attempts, write directions, and map out the world. It allows us to share our knowledge with each other. When we look at other species, the individuals of the species do not share information. They act as individuals and act in the best interest of themselves. Some species do work in packs such as lions and wolves, but they do not communicate like humans. When humans came onto this earth, for the first time it was not individuals acting in a group, it was a group acting as an individual. For the first time in the history of the world a species could communicate effectively with each other at a complex level. At first it was simple things like where food and water might be but it soon evolved into sharing thoughts and ideas. Language can be seen as a survival tool because without it, humans certainly would not have survived. The human race is the most evolved species because of our communication. One man can not possibly know everything, but collectively as a species we can know many things. Humans have the ability to specialize and share. This has become one of the most enabling things in evolving. No longer was it just one individual working to better the species, it is several individuals who bring their knowledge together to better the race.

But language can also be considered to be a destroyer. The same ability that has allowed us to evolve is the also the same thing that threatens to destroy our race. Our ability to think and share our ideas has led to disagreement. Disagreements have led to war, which have led to millions and millions of lives lost. Lives lost over how each of us thinks differently and how we each shared that and the fact that we thought that our personal ideas were better than others. In essence the characteristic that separates us from the animals have driven us to become animals. It has taken us to the mindset of a simple animal. The mindset of we see something we want and we take it or we see something we don’t like and we try to get rid of the threat. Wars have been fought over who’s god was better, who is the superior race, who’s history is more prestigious. The route of all wars comes down to a disagreement of ideas. Our country’s own independence was fought over whether or not we should be ruled by a king or by elected president. Two ideas, and a war ensued. The sad fact is that we may be evolved in that we can share our thoughts, but the way we handle our disagreements is still the primitive. We simply try to destroy the opposition.