Word games

Lenguaje is a game.  A word game.  This game es purely a competición to get your point across.  Each persona has their own game; some are better than otros.  Meaning, some people are better at communicating a common meaning than others, and can convert their thoughts to words more efficiently.  Every language has a different word game; different languages contain words that express more thoughts than others. Diferentes lenguajes contienen palabras que expresan pensamientos más que otros.  So, in this battle of terminology, why can’t we manipulate numerous languages at once in order to accomplish the most efficient use of conveying our thoughts? Bien, podemos, pero no muchas personas entendería una mezcla de lenguajes.

Do we have to think in a specific language? I spent 6 months abroad en España listening to only español for all 24 hours of the day. Now, interestingly enough, my subconscious occasionally switches lenguajes while I am dreaming, without me knowing.  I try to think about why this occurs.  It could be because some words in Spanish mean much more than their counterparts in English.  My subconscious analyzes my thoughts and converts them to whichever word game expresses my thoughts more accurately. Thus, a person who knows a million languages would have the most efficient word game, meaning he could express his thoughts more accurately and efficiently, but, like I said, nadie lo entendería.

So how do we aquire lenguaje?  Is language inherited or learned?  Pues, some would argue that kids are born with a language and others would say they must learn it from their parents or a school.  However, I am hesitant to believe any claims so fast.  In order to find the answer of this mystery, I have thought of a simple test.  What would happen if you locked a baby in a room and for their whole life only communicated to them through musica?  What would their language develop to be?  It is certain that they would have thoughts, but how would they express them?  Would they use tones and vibrations to convey their thoughts?  No podemos saber esto. 

La Reflexion

I think I was able to communicate meaningfully in my Spanish dialect.  Someone who knows Spanish would be able to understand my thought process in this blog much more than someone who didn’t know Spanish.  For example, when I said “lo entendería.” This form of conjugation is intended to express a hypothetical feeling of the verb.  Translated to English it would mean, “ Would be able to understand hypothetically.”  I think that this phrase in Spanish is more accurate to my thought than in English.  This process was liberating because I felt that I had more, and in certain situations, better choices of language to convey my thoughts more appropriately.  I think that Anzaldua accomplished the same task in her experience with code switching.  She was able to express her thoughts more accurately by essentially doubling her vocabulary.  In conclusion, people that know more than one language are able to convey their thoughts more efficiently by having access to more words that correspond to their thoughts more accurately.