Linguistic : A journey towards unknown

Good afternoon My dear Friends, 

I have a question for you. Could you tell me, What are common among all Languages? Scripts? Many tribal languages don't have scripts like "Todas" of Nilgiries, "Sourastra " in Tamilnadu. Sound? Then how a mute person communicates!

What are common among all languages are, the embedded essence of Emotions, Feelings and Expressions. Lets say, I am in deep love with a girl. I will say "I Love you"; in Kannada I say "Naanu Ninnanu Preethisuthene";  in Tamil I say "Nan unnai kadhalaikiran"; in Odia I say "Mu tumaku Bhala pae", In Bangali "aame tomake bhalobasi"

 If you observer very closely then you can find the restlessness of the heart that resounds, that reverberates so loudly inside. It means the same in all languages...

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen !

Today we will understand what Language is? Why study of Language is important for the development of human race? Some research on Language and it’s origin.

Language, is not just about social interaction; Language, is not just about symbol or fancy; Language, is not just about speeches; Language, is used to understand something that is unique to every human being . It is about expression, emotions and feelings. Speech is just a minimum subset of Language. We can communicate using our hand gesture that is body language or sign language. When two Eskimos i.e. People stays in north polar region, meet they rub their noses against each other as a sign of love and respect, some of us fold our hands, some do so by removing their cap from their head. All it means is the same. Here it comes to the first purpose of language. It makes many individual to think together.  Secondly Language create vocabularies of many distinct nature. Can you tell what it is called falling ice in cold countries? Snow fall ! But in Eskimo's language, it has many words. They say "Aput" for the snow in the ground, "Quna" for falling snow and many more. It makes it evident that Language is the source of Knowledge, to understand the verities of happening across the globe, to understand more and more concept that is prevalent around us. So more someone is adept and keen in Language, the more powerful is one's knowledge base. Thirdly, Language is a branch of cognitive psychology. It enhance the cognitive ability of the human race. Lets take an example. When a child is born it uses aaa , ooo, eee and all they are vowels. That doesn't require the lips to connect. Slowly as it grows it understands and express consonants like pappa, mamma, kaka etc. It forms complicated words and sentences. The complexity of pronunciation can directly link with development of mind and brain. People with mental disability find it difficult to speak properly. 

Friends, the scientific study of the Language started not too early but just before 200 years. When Sir William John who learnt Sanskrit came to conclusion that Sanskrit, Greek and Latin were originally from a common language called Proto-IndoEuropean or PIE Language. Many consider Sanskrit as the mother of all Language though this proposition still does not hold a concrete ground.The Languages were spoken before written and they lost forever. Then how people came to this conclusion ? 
Lets see this comparative study:

Pitru: Sanskrit

Pater: Latin

Father: English

Mrutyu: Sanskrit

Mortis : Latin

Murder : English

These words are pronounced similarly.But still If we look closely in these three languages the pronunciation are different. Why is it so? This is address by Laryngeal theory. You may be knowing about larynx and pharynx situated inferior to (below) the mouth and nasal cavity. pharynx is used for swallowing foods and larynx is the vocal cord. Based on the word Larynx the theory is called Laryngeal theory. It says, pronunciation and scripts will be different across the different geographical location. 

Do you know the meaning of "Juggernaut"? It means an unstoppable & destructive force. It is a word loaned from the cart festival of the Load Jagannath from Puri Odisha. Jagannath is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. When British people saw, many people were dying below the cart and which was not stopping or moving back, They got surprised and they came up with the word. But they faced difficulty in pronouncing the word Jagannath. So they pronounce it as Juggernaut. 


Today I shared about what Language is? 3 reason to study language, 1. Bring many people think together, 2. To gain more knowledge, 3. to enhance the cognitive ability. Then the history of Language and about Laryngeal theory of how pronunciation differs geographically.

Friends All these various aspect of language made the study of language to be more scientific and systematic. As word concerns everyone, if I say good words you will be my friend if I say bad words, you can slap my face and leave. The reason is not because of you, nor I, but because the Word is the capsule of feelings and emotion, Word is the bowl of expressions, Word is the sword of your cognitive ability. You are recognized through your word. 

Linguistic, a study of Language, is a journey towards the unknown; unfolding & unraveling many concepts , many facts and many mysteries.

Over to you, Toastmaster...

This was one of my speech[CC7] in Toastmaster International under the guidance of our beloved Chinmaya Nayak Bhai

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