TOK Ways of Knowing Language A L M

TOK Ways of Knowing: Language “ A L M O S T A L L E D U C A T I O N I S L A N G U A G E E D U C A T I O N. ” N E I L P O S T M A N

What is the nature of language? �� Language is rule-governed �� Language is intended �� Language is creative and open-ended �� Language is so much a part of human activity that it is easily taken for granted. �� The issues related to language and knowledge call for conscious scrutiny in order to recognize its influence on thought and behavior.

What else about language? �Language can be thought of as a symbol system, engaged in representing the world, capturing and communicating thought and experience. �� Language also can be seen as existing in itself, as something to be played with and transformed and shaped in its own right and something that can transform and shape thought and action.

Symbolic representation �Much of the power of language is rooted in its symbolic nature, the use of sounds to stand for things or ideas with which they have no necessary connection, within a grammatical system that enables symbols to be combined to connect ideas. �How language creates meaning eludes full understanding, though different theories suggest different ways: through the ways or symbols refer to things and ideas, through the way they stir associations with ideas, or through they way they create the stimulus and response of language behavior.

Symbolic representation continued �Some visual images may stand for very specific ideas and seem, to those familiar with them, quite clear and selfevident: the image of a man or a woman on a public restroom. �Even in such cases where the sign uses a picture, though, we are already removed from a self-evident or necessary connection between the picture and what it refers to. �The meaning comes from the connection we have learned between that image and a particular cultural practice of indicating toilets and separating the sexes in toiled usage. �The relationship is a matter of convention- of agreed, accepted convention.

Symbolic representation continued �When the sign is not pictorial the connection becomes even more obviously a learned one. �There is no necessary link between the tree of our sense perception and the word “tree, ” and more then between it and the word “arbre” in French, or any other sound we might generate. �No matter how the words came into the language, though, the conventional meaning is the usage we start to learn as babies when we babble our first sounds.

Symbolic representation continued �The capacity for symbolism to group and clarify our experiences, with its impact on thought and culture, is a topic to which we will return after considering all four ways of knowing, for it profoundly affects what and how we know. �Much of what is involved in human relationships, projects, and endeavors requites written and verbal language. �But are there circumstances when words aren’t enough, when gestures or other kinds of expression are necessary to get something done? �With a partner, try these exercises to consider this question.

Language is rule-governed �When learning a foreign language, one of the main things you have to learn is grammar. �� Grammar gives the rules for how to combine words in the correct order. �� Grammar helps to determine the meaning of a sentence. �� Jill hit Jack. We know Jill is the hitter and Jack is the hittee by the way the sentence is structured. �� In English there is a rule which says that the noun before the verb is the subject and the one after the verb is the object.

Language is rule-governed (language) �� The other main element in language – vocabulary – is also governed by arbitrary rules. �� For the native English speaker, it feels as if there is a natural, almost magical, connection between the word ―dog and the animal it stands for. �� It is the word our culture has settled on. It could just as well have been quan (Chinese), koira (Finnish), or kutta (Hindi). �� For communication to work, there needs to be general agreements within the culture.

Language is intended. �� Although language is a form of communication, not all communication is language. �� You can yawn because you are bored and want your �teacher to know or �� You can yawn as a reflex but not want to communicate boredom. �� Information is communicated, but it is not considered ―language

Language is creative and open-ended ��The rules of grammar and vocabulary allow us to make an almost infinite number of grammatically correct sentences. �� We are able to create and understand sentences that have never been written or said before. �� Languages are not static entities, but change and develop over time. People invent new words or we borrow words from other languages all the time. English is notorious for this phenomena. Technology adds new words, as well. �� � We have borrowed algebra (Arabic), kindergarten (German), and tchatchke (Yiddish), to name a few.

An exercise in language �Find a partner �Complete the exercises on the sheet

TOK Question for consideration �In what ways does written language differ from spoken language in its relationship to knowledge? �� Is it reasonable to argue for the preservation of established forms of language, for example, as concerns grammar, spelling, syntax, etc.