Language as it seems

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Recommended: The role of language in culture

The general requirement class of the University of California Merced, Core, helps envelop students to think beyond their given scopes, to push towards critical analysis of not everything but anything. The various themes each week that are highlighted in lectures, and tested in discussion, are all essentially inter-related to one another. To me, what intrigues me the most is how language, a simple, yet staple form of communication, can tie and embed itself into life, this curriculum, and society altogether. It is because of language, that humans have risen over time to become the dominant species of planet Earth because of advanced communication. It is because of language that the unknown can be explained, how two entities can be related, and how it can even become a forerunner to a stable separate dialect of its own. Language can convince one’s idea to another, by utilizing experience and knowledge of the said topic. Overall, language is essentially the gateway to explanation, relation, and even origination.
The question to first address is how many kinds of language are out there? From a standard point of view, language is a “System of conventional spoken or written symbols used by people in a shared culture to communicate with each other” (Merriam-Webster 1) which suggests the existence of thousands of different languages. However, from a different point of view, what if language was considered not just a spoken dialect of culture but as a dialect of specific style or specialty or even credibility? Then the number would be too great to count, as millions of humans all have their own unique language to use, practice, and showcase to the world. David Kaminksy, a prominent musician, is a great example of this specific style of ...

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...he Science of the Universe. New York:
Cambridge UP, 2000. 515-33. Print.
Kaminsky, David. "Music and Meaning." Core Lecture Series. Lakireddy Auditorium, Merced. 15 Oct. 2013. Lecture.
Kim, Arnold D. "The Language of Mathematics." Core Lecture Series. Lakireddy Auditorium, Merced. 30 Sept. 2013. Lecture.
King, Jerry P. The Art of Mathematics. 1992. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2006. Print.
Kunzig, Robert. “A Sunshade For Planet Earth.” Scientific American 299.5 (2008): 46-55. Military &
Government Collection. Web. 20 July 2012.
"Language." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
Mooney, Chris. “The Truth About Fracking.” Scientific American 305.5 (2011): 80-85. Military &
Government Collection. Web. 20 July 2012.
Sprivey, Michael J. "Cognitive Science and the Continuity of Mind." Core Lecture Series. Lakireddy Auditorium, Merced. 8 Oct. 2013. Lecture.

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