Language as a Tool
It is said that going back to school is a journey to a new world of enrichment. It is a garden where the classroom grows one's thoughts and dreams. It is a school building where one constructs new plans for the future. And it is a tower of learning where one can climb as high as one wishes. Thus, this is the path that I will take today to prepare for the rest of my tomorrows.Humans differentiate themselves from other animals through the concept of spoken language. It is true that primates will use sign language as a tool, but it is yet to be determined whether or not this is part of a thinking process. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate a thing, person or situation. The more one knows about something, the more one is able to study and appraise it. If an object is very simple and has an easy-to-understand function, a child with little language ability would be able to think critically about it. However, one has to have written or spoken language to give meaning to something more complex. The more advanced one's vocabulary, therefore, the more capacity a person has for critical thinking. Knowing different languages helps, as well, since the person will be even more capable of understanding others and expr
By understanding the structure of different languages, it is possible to have a greater knowledge of the people of that culture and the way that they view the world around them. The Sapir-Whorf linguistic relativity hypothesis proposes that the grammar of a particular language spoken affects the way one thinks about reality. For example, when comparing the grammar of American English with that of Yucatec Maya, an indigenous language spoken in southeastern Mexico, it is possible to identify distinctive patterns of thinking related to the differences between the two languages. Although all languages have similarities, they have different as well. Too often, people make decisions based on emotion and lack of information. Connecting the two is an element of logical persuasion. The object of critical thinking is to analyze and evaluate what is being said to determine if is rational and is something that one agrees with. For example, a person who appears to be repeating a similar idea in different words but never makes a firm conclusion, may be following the rhetorical structure and logical patterns of another language. That is the act of negative persuasion or emotional decision making not critical thinking. , "wet, frozen, from sky, white," for snow) or become frustrated trying to recall what the word is. People see, hear and experience as they do since the language habits of their community predispose certain choices of interpretation. Otherwise, someone is not being persuaded. Or, watch a child who is trying to make him or herself understood without knowing the correct word and see the high degree of frustration.
Common topics in this essay:
Yucatec Maya,
,
critical thinking,
particular language,
language spoken,
spoken language,
language habits,
analyze evaluate,
|
Acceptance Essays
