Does language play roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge?
Does language play roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge?
Language is the one of the principal ways in which we humans communicate. Humans, unlike other animals, aren’t born speaking the human symbolic language, we learn it. Language is one of the four ways of knowing and is crucial for us. The main purpose of this essay is: to analyze in depth each area of knowledge (e.g. Maths, History, Music, Science and Arts) and conclude in the end if language is really more infuential and important in some areas of knowledge than in others.
Maths is an area of knowledge where language is crucial. Experts argue if maths was created or it already existed. One side states that maths was In my opinion the mathematical notation is just a way of allowing maths to be something international and understood by all people.
Language in which we communicate by speaking can vary from country to country. They are all linked however by one factor: the words and phrases we use to communicate contain a meaning. For instance, the word chocolate is a sound which symbolizes the physical food itself, the word chocolate itself is a word that carries the concept of chocolate. Language includes not only words and verbal communication but also any kind of symbol which contains a meaning. A good and clear example of this is the symbol of a heart, it is an international recognized symbol meaning love. Now that language has been explained in depth we shall start investigating areas of knowledge and if language is more vital in one than in another.
Firstly, let’s explore maths which is a significant area of knowledge in which language is essential. Could maths exist without language? Mathematics has something called specific language. This means that they utilize a specific terminology such as “square root” and “irrational number” which is exclusive to mathematics. Even though this specific language is limited to maths, it can still be consider a special type of language. The great majority of maths is connected with language and relies on it in order to reach mutual comprehension between two or more people. There is an extensive dilemma that debates the beginning of mathematics. Was it created? Was it discovered? This is a controversial topic but one thing we are sure is that one day, someone or more the one person decided to organize maths by creating a specific mathematical terminology in order to make it global which means it could be taught and the calculations would work every time. The great majority of mathematics is constituted by numbers and technical symbology and rely on them to make it recognized in the whole world. In any part of the world people can understand 2+2=4. Having this area of knowledge and all its concepts fixed in our mind makes it hard to understand otherwise. If someone said 2+2=5 you would consider it to be wrong because of the symbols 2+2 are known to add up to 4. On the other hand, maths has been used for thousands of years and in ancient times, they didn’t utilize figures to represent quantities. Furthermore, there is a factor beyond comprehension which is the fact that some people are born with the ability to perform better in maths than others. This is an intrapersonal skill which cannot be learned and has nothing to do with language. By taking into consideration all the arguments above we can conclude that in order to flow perfectly and without misinterpretations, mathematics needs language. However it can be practiced without it to a certain extent.
