Philosophy Of Language

Wittgenstein & Language

Wittgenstein & Language

Language is defined as "a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar, or the system of communication used by the people of a particular country or profession".

All languages are made up sounds and letters which form words, sentences and phrases. The development of a language can best be illustrated by the advancement of a child as it learns a language. A baby begins by using sounds to communicate. It learns these sounds from others and experiments with new sounds to judge the reaction of others (a baby learns very quickly that it will attract attention by screaming!). The next step in its progression is to learn words, which it does by copying others. It is only once the child goes to school that it begins to understand the connection between letters, words and sounds. All through this development the Child's understanding and use of language advances, giving it access to an ever wider world.

Once the child begins to read, another whole new area is opened up, giving it access to information, opinions and ideas. Later in school, the child will start to develop its own sense of language. With friends it will create a jargon that only people in its group will be capable of understanding properly. A teacher trying to adapt to this language will soon give up. The older the child gets the more it will be able to interpret the language and use a broader vocabulary giving access to an ever wider world.

By attending school and further education, the individual starts to develop a specialised language, depending on which subject it studies. This new experience reflects in the language of the child. Depending on which subjects are studied, it will use specific techniques, languages and expressions. Some surveys claim that a manual worker may have an average vocabulary of approximately 800 words and uses basic grammatical structures and expressions. In contrast, the surveys say that a university graduate may have an average vocabulary of 2,000-2,500 words and will use more complex grammatical structures and a more complicated language.

The boundaries of the child's world expand, as it grows up, because of its capability to understand and use language. Even as an adult, the boundaries can still be expanded, through learning a foreign languages or studying a subject in detail (e.g. medicine or politics.) and adding further to knowledge and vocabulary. Conversely, a person who is disabled and cannot hear or speak will not be able to develop its world as quickly or as broadly as someone who has these senses. However, it might be argued that their experiences in learning with this disability, develop their world in ways which non disabled people do not experience. Similarly, the aging process, accidents or illnesses can often lead to an adult losing the power of speech or hearing which will also lead to an established world being reduced or restricted in some way.

Wittgenstein wrote that "it is the structure of language that ...