The world is defined through language. Knowledge and language have a strong connection that helps in interpreting the thoughts, culture, meaning, and essence of the information to be put across. There are currently 7117 languages spoken all over the world. Without scriptures, documents, write-ups; How do we elucidate the world? If we give it a thought, we will understand that this notion is right. Language is the essence of everything around the globe. It provides meaning and understanding to all the events and happenings around us.
The major difference between humans and any other living being will be the power of communication through language. Language can be anything like sign language, hieroglyphics, or any other for that matter all these holds immense treasure in the beauty of expression and communication.
Let’s see a streamline of languages from the time the earth has formed.
Knowledge framework TOK
Scope of language
Language can speak a great deal on the culture, social, and even as a psychological attribute of a system. Language has got the ability to stir in wars, misinterpretations, and even remarks which create a dent in society. It also gives value to different perceptions and viewpoints of people and how it can influence us in a greater magnitude.
Language has even an effect on everything we see around. A certain tone of speaking or writing immediately explains to us how we are to construe those ideas. We respond in particular patterns against a definitive way of expression of language. It is essential for us to share our ideas and putting them up for discussion.
Knowledge and Language are indeed mainstream ideas. Language lays the foundation for knowledge. The knowledge is transpired and transmitted through many ways such as body language, written transcripts, and verbally spoken.
A child may know the world around itself through understood alphabets picked up, naturally by observing people around.
To know things, we need a medium and language is that central point that bridges that gap.
Conveying ideologies to the masses and getting them to believe it was possible to a great extent through such rampant speeches. Adolf Hitler is hated by the masses but there has always been a certain kind of charisma in the way he controlled people at large with his words. His orator ship had a different fan base back in the time. By this, we can understand that through the power of language, there was the rise of the world’s infamous leader.
Polyglots are people who speak and have knowledge of different languages. This knowledge helps them to know better about the cultural diversity of a particular place and hence getting a piece of in-depth first-hand knowledge on them and their environment. Lýdia Machová is a polyglot and has got away with languages.
Here she tries to resonate with her fellow polyglots on the means and methods they used to study and understand different languages. It is interesting to find ways each polyglot has found for themselves to study languages. Even when it seems like a tedious task, their love for the language has made them find umpteen number of ways to learn them.
Knowledge framework TOK
Perspective
Do languages die? And the knowledge associated with it too? Definitely yes. A language is basically associated with a particular knowledge base. When the language becomes endangered or on the verge of extinction, the cultural diversity accompanied by the language also is affected by the slow death.
Speakers of the less dominated language switch over to other languages which in turn affect the canceling out of the heritage they are coming from. So, when little to no speakers are left for a particular language, the language becomes dormant or even extinct altogether. This eventually leads to a lack of initiation of perspectives and hence viewpoints conveyed start becoming a biased version of themselves.
Take a look at this super cool Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky who gives us an impactful insight on how language has an upper hand on how we think and act. This TED talk is a must-watch as she unwinds the topic in a very smooth and intricate manner and her level of observation is something that has to be appreciated and understood in-depth.
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Methods and tools
How frustrating it is when we can’t convey what we have to say in the same tone and sense to another person in our organization and we feel literally defeated. In such cases, we have to involve a system called “strategic communication”. Strategic communication is required to be present in a professional capacity in order to bring the best out of the professional leadership.
Keisha Brewer is a strategic communication specialist and the CEO of a public relations agency. She puts down pointers for effective communication for men and women in their workplace. She explains the matter of discussion in precision and hands us the thought that knowledge on how to use appropriate construction of words and way of putting it forth will help in intelligent crossovers in the workplace.
Knowledge Framework TOK
Ethics
We all know how the mainstream and social media works; they manipulate us through placing words and contemplating them in a manner which we intend to be a biased version which that particular media promotes. A small change in wordings can promote a huge difference on how we perceive the idea of that news byte.
Knowledge and Language
To conclude, we could say that knowledge and language are indebted to each other. One has to be evidently prevalent to communicate about the other. Knowledge about language gives the arena to explore cultural intricacies and helps us to exemplify the requirement of communication under various circumstances. Defining language to a precise point is impossible. Language upholds the dignity and respect of certain groups of people who practice and preach in that language. Effective communication helps in clearing out ambiguity and helps in retaining the sanctity of that scenario. Without language, we will remain as a group with no upliftment.
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