After nearly a whole semester reading about the different forms of media today, we often forget the true value of the foundation that made it all possible: language. The main way people express themselves is through verbal communication and verbal communication would not be possible without a common system of sounds and meanings. We do not consciously think about the language we speak because it comes as naturally as breathing. Therefore, the importance of language gets lost on us until we have to directly confront it.
An example of when confrontation leads to consciousness is when we cannot understand the language used around us. It makes us realize the shortcomings of the language we personally use and opens our minds to the various forms of communication out there. We come to this revelation because we are forced to find new ways of expressing the simple things we would have used language to do. This usually occurs when we struggle as we try to learn a new language. It makes us realize difficulty involved with communication and how much we take it for granted. Luckily for us, English is spoken nearly everywhere you wish to travel and thus, we never have to experience the extent to which language dictates our lives.
In my Cultural Anthropology class, we recently read a novel about a Hmong family who immigrated to America and had an incredibly difficult time trying to assimilate into the new world around them. Aside from all the expected culture shocks that the family went through, language was at the center of it all. It laid the foundation for the family’s future because it determined whether or not someone could get a job, understand street signs, watch television, or even get from one place to another.
As the saying goes, we need to have something taken away in order to fully appreciate its value. Language embodies the meaning behind this saying so well because as much as we believe we are capable of now, a shift in what symbols and sound represent will completely throw us off.
