\nLanguages \u200b\u200bare constellations of words shared by all those speakers who are immersed in a specific linguistic environment.\u00a0Despite their surprising variety – there are about 7000 -, linguistics tries to analyze them and determine their structure.<\/span><\/p>\n

This relatively recent discipline, which has many schools and approaches, has also investigated the different functions of language.\u00a0But what exactly are languages \u200b\u200bfor?<\/span><\/p>\n

It is undeniable that since humanity existed, they have served us to communicate, express our emotions, remember our stories and develop our cultures.\u00a0In addition, languages \u200b\u200bhelp us preserve memory, embellish reality and are agglutinating forms of thought and meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Languages, mirror of reality<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Traditionally, it has been understood that languages \u200b\u200bare tools for naming the world, that is, they exist as a mirror of reality.\u00a0However, from Romanticism and the exaltation of the particular, language becomes an expression of thought and is related to culture.\u00a0Furthermore, from postmodernism, language is analyzed taking into account its ideological value (in terms of relations of power, dominance or resistance).<\/span><\/p>\n

On the one hand, linguistic relativism argues that thanks to language we can better understand societies.\u00a0This theory has its distant origin in Romanticism.\u00a0One of its predecessors, Wilhelm von Humboldt, argued that the spirit of the nation flourishes in language.\u00a0According to this school, languages \u200b\u200bhelp us, in their diversity,\u00a0<\/span>to understand the idiosyncrasies of peoples<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

For this reason, we have words in Spanish such as\u00a0<\/span>snack<\/span><\/em>\u00a0,\u00a0<\/span>paella<\/span><\/em>\u00a0, after\u00a0<\/span>dinner<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>late night<\/span><\/em>\u00a0, which say so much about our customs and which are difficult to translate into other languages.\u00a0Interestingly, the expression\u00a0<\/span>embarrassment of others<\/span><\/em>\u00a0seems to refer to a very Spanish feeling.\u00a0In English it translates as\u00a0<\/span>Spanish shame<\/span><\/em>\u00a0(Spanish shame).<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand,\u00a0<\/span>Ludwig Wittgenstein<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, one of the most relevant modern philosophers, comes to the conclusion that language serves us, above all, to express our thoughts.\u00a0We well know that expressing our ideas makes us put them in order and even prepares us for different activities.\u00a0Many students repeat the lesson out loud to learn it, and some people simulate difficult conversations to train themselves on possible responses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Words heal sorrows<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In addition, words can heal almost all sorrows if we express them out loud as a confession, especially from a Freudian couch, and thanks to language a psychologist could\u00a0<\/span>detect if a person suffers from depression<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

Language disorders also help us diagnose developmental problems in children.\u00a0In adults, aphasias can indicate tumors, cardiovascular accidents or cerebral infarcts in\u00a0<\/span>very specific areas of the left hemisphere<\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

Words, according to the postulates of\u00a0<\/span>John L. Austin<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>How to do things with words<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0, do things.\u00a0When two people marry, we consider them married when a councilor or priest says “I declare you husband and wife.”\u00a0This is the case even if the act has not been signed and the marriage has not been entered in the registry.\u00a0It is those words that change our reality.<\/span><\/p>\n

The idealistic school<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Languages \u200b\u200bare also synonymous with creation, at least that is how\u00a0<\/span>Karl Vossler<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Leo Spitzer<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, exponents of the idealistic school, consider it.\u00a0The Spanish poet\u00a0<\/span>D\u00e1maso Alonso<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, who follows in his footsteps, comes to defend that “everyone who speaks is an artist.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially when languages \u200b\u200bare artistic expression, they also appeal to the feelings of the population.\u00a0Thus,\u00a0<\/span>Gabriel Celaya<\/span><\/a>\u00a0dreamed\u00a0that language is, in his poetic expression, “a weapon loaded with the future” and “an instrument to change the world.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the Portuguese revolution began with two songs, which served as a signal for the revolutionary movement to take to the streets.\u00a0One of them,\u00a0<\/span>Gr\u00e2ndola, Villa Morena<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0de\u00a0<\/span>Jos\u00e9 Alfonso<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, had been banned by the dictatorship for its message and became a symbol of democracy in the Portuguese country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Observed under the magnifying glass of the linguist, languages \u200b\u200bform abstract systems of rules that we acquire and handle with different communicative functions, but in addition, their vocabularies are\u00a0<\/span>palimpsests that illustrate invasions of other peoples<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, the development of thought and the historical changes of meaning.\u00a0The study of the history of languages \u200b\u200bis the study of the societies where they are spoken.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forensic linguistics<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In addition, languages \u200b\u200bhelp us create a unique identity – in fact, one of the characteristics that distinguishes us from the rest of the billions of human beings is the voice.\u00a0Also the way we express ourselves when we speak or write is absolutely unique.\u00a0These traits, which are analyzed by forensic linguists, serve as evidence to incriminate or defend a person in a trial.<\/span><\/p>\n

Linguist Sheila Queralt examines the resolution of many police cases thanks to her analyzes in the book\u00a0<\/span>Trapped by the language: 50 cases resolved by Forensic Linguistics<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span><\/p>\n

To cite one example, the kidnapping and murder of\u00a0<\/span>Anabel Segura<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in 1993 was solved thanks to the study of the kidnappers’ voice messages.\u00a0Not only because in the tapes the word\u00a0<\/span>bolo<\/span><\/em>\u00a0was heard\u00a0, which is used only in Toledo as a synonym for fool.\u00a0This caused the search to be restricted.\u00a0Also because their voices were made public and this made it possible for a person to identify one of the kidnappers, whom he had just seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Languages \u200b\u200bare a requirement for knowledge<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Our languages \u200b\u200bare complex tools made up of words and their combinatorics, they represent generations of wisdom and put at our disposal an unrivaled wealth of resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

Words come to life when we say them and they have a multitude of functions.\u00a0Wittgenstein also said that the study of language is the only way to access knowledge.\u00a0It is possible that there is nothing in our thinking that cannot be named in some way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Patricia \u00c1lvarez S\u00e1nchez is Professor of Translation and Interpreting at the University of Malaga<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Languages \u200b\u200bare constellations of words shared by all those speakers who are immersed in a specific linguistic environment.\u00a0Despite their surprising variety – there are about 7000 -, linguistics tries to analyze them and determine their structure. This relatively recent discipline, which has many schools and approaches, has also investigated the different functions of language.\u00a0But what […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[12126],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-60714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-languages"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n