The Birth Of Language Is The Dawn Of Humanity Essay

Suzanne K. Langer states that (16) “The birth of language is the dawn of humanity” in her writing of Langer, S. K. (2015). Language and Thought. In Exploring Language (14th ed., pp. 118-122). Northeastern University, U.S.A.: Gary Goshgarian. I agree with her statement whole heartedly for many reasons in which I will explain throughout this writing. Without language and thought we cannot separate ourselves from the most anthropoid of beast, or perhaps even the most primitive of beast. Language allows us to think and not just act and fulfill needs, it allows us to pursue more meaningful things beyond hunting and gathering. Language gives us more power than we can imagine. If you have ever been to a foreign country and been unable to speak the

Susanne K Langer says (4) “The young would romp and make love, the old would sleep, the middle aged would do the routine work almost unconsciously and eat a great deal. But that would be the life of a social, super intelligent, purely sign-using animal” Langer, S. K. (2015). Language and Thought. In Exploring Language (14th ed., pp. 118-122). Northeastern University, U.S.A.: Gary Goshgarian. Without language we do not get past the point of living for survival, we do not get the enjoyment from life, we only live as a pure need for survival. Language is needed to separate us humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. Symbols are the stepping stones to language, symbols allow us to think and speak about things that are not immediately present to us. Without symbols giving us language, we are only able to think and react to something that is presently at hand. When Susanne K. Langer states that (16) “The birth of language is the dawn of humanity.” She is really just referring to the presently known form of humans. Without language humans would still exist, we would not be top of the food chain anymore, or top of the animal kingdom, but we would still be an intelligent sign using form of our current selves. Symbols and the furtherance of language have brought about doors to deeper thought, for without language ideas are ineffable. Language is the simplest thing that most humans take for granted, however it brings about the most complicated and diverse thoughts that couldn’t otherwise be expressed. In this way I completely and whole heartedly agree with Langer’s statement that (16) “The birth of language is the dawn of humanity” for without language we would not be the exceptional form of humanity we are