The merits and demerits of language

 

In the clump The Sixth Courtyard of Peking University

 

 

Now, we are used to using language to express feelings and thoughts.

 

1、 The invention and use of language

 

Imagine: In ancient times, how did primitive people live before they invented and used language?

Suppose that a primitive man picked an apple from a tree and wanted to ask his companion whether to eat it, but he had no language to use and express. What would he do then? It may be such a scene:

First, he took a bite and tasted the taste of the apple, sweet or sour. Then, with a happy expression, he handed the apple to his partner and waited for his partner to take it.

 

Later, the primitive man began to use nouns and verbs, even adverbs, when he handed the apple to his companion. While holding the apple, he said "Apple, delicious!" At this time, when the partner heard the pronunciation of the apple noun, he could actually see the apple in the other's hand. He took it, took a bite, and tasted the taste of the apple.

 

Later, the language became more developed. When people saw their companions, they said "I have a lot of apples in my house, which are delicious, do you want to.

 

The invention and use of language greatly facilitate the communication between people. Finally, people can complete the communication only by using language symbols, which is very convenient! This is the greatest contribution of language. However, correspondingly, the use of language also brings a big problem When I said, "I have a lot of apples at home", I couldn't see a real apple in front of me! Language, as a "tool" for communication between two people, is horizontal between two people, between people and apples, between people and real apples, and also blocks the true feelings when facing real apples.

 

Now, the more opportunities to use language, the less opportunities people have to deal directly with real Apple. People are more and more living in the world of language symbols, and more and more far away from the true feelings brought to us by the real world such as Apple.

 

Language is a double-edged sword. This is the merit and demerit of language.

 

 

II Language inaccessible

 

After all, language, as a symbol, gave primitive people a means to express their inner feelings and thoughts.

The use of language symbols also made primitive people evolve into civilized people.

 

Civilized people rely more and more on language expression. They read books and newspapers all day long, think logically, and communicate with each other. They live in a symbolic world woven by language and characters.

 

Although language can express some thoughts and feelings, it has generality, uncertainty, non specificity and non uniqueness. Language makes us farther and farther away from the real world.

For example, if you hold an apple in your hand, it is a specific, unique, real and unique apple; and The term "apple" is not a unique, real, specific and unique object, but a generalized "general name" of apples. For example, ask you: do you like eating "apples"?

 

The generality of language will trigger The "white horse is not a horse" debate. "White horse" is a specific and unique horse, and the term "horse" is an abstract and generalized horse. There is no simple equal sign between the two. Because once the equal sign is drawn, the individual differences of each specific horse will be ignored and a lot of specific information will be lost. This is the loss of information caused by the generality of language, which will make people lose more vivid and rich direct experience of specific things.

I can't help it. We are used to following "Symbol" has dealt with it, so it has lost more direct experience of dealing with real objects!

 

Therefore, the Arabs have a saying: things can not be said, once said, it is wrong.

In Zen, the tradition of what is Zen? It can't be said. You can only experience and comprehend. When you say it, it is no longer Zen.

 

 

III The correspondence between language and real things is uncertain

 

The correspondence between language and material objects often leads to some confusion. For example, Shandong people call a vegetable "Kidney bean" is called "lentil" by Beijingers. When people in Shandong hear the word "lentil", they will feel a different vegetable.

 

The confusion of correspondence between language and material objects will further cause the expression of puns.

For example, a pair of lovers living in two places, one said to the other: the distance between us is too far. There are many meanings: one The space distance is too far; two The emotional distance has become far; three We are not suitable. Let's break up.

Cantonese "Jiangmen" is pronounced as "anus". Someone said to you, "Welcome, do you like our Jiangmen?" (homophone pun)

Again, Such puns as "spring leaves the silk to be dried, and the wax torch turns to ashes and tears to dry" can also form metaphors and symbols.

Also: Professor, "Calling animals"; Master, "Big Corpse", etc.

 

Language, to some extent, can be fraudulent and deceptive. For example, a man told a girl "Do you know how much I love you?" The girl would say, "True, false?"

When the police interrogate the thief, the thief can cheat the police by lying.

In ancient wars "East to west".

When the girl was provoked to blush, she lowered her head and said shyly "I hate it!"

 

If we like to drink Tsingtao Beer, go to the supermarket. We go along the shelves to find Tsingtao Beer bottles and labels on the bottles. See the sticker The bottle labeled "Tsingtao Beer" was bought home. When buying, look at the bottle and label. When drinking, drink the liquid instead of the bottle and label. This will also lead to the separation and decoupling between language and physical objects, and even buy "fake" bottles with "Qingdao Beer" on the label and other liquids inside.

 

What's more, language itself can become a "Toys", people can "play word games", "eat and sleep and play Doudou", etc.

 

 

IV Language and emotional expression

 

For expressing emotions, language is half expression and half repression.

 

When a child sees his mother, he can jump into her arms directly; Once you have the language, call your mother, and then, throw yourself into her arms; When I talk about my mother to others when I grow up, I use the following words: Mother. When using the word "mother", on the one hand, it expresses itself, on the other hand, it is often difficult to show the true feelings of children when they call "mother".

 

In addition, when we are criticized by leaders and feel angry because of grievances, suppose we have the following three alternative answers:

1、 Kick the leader directly. That's a real antidote!

2、 Shout angrily to the leader: "You pissed me off, I wish I could kick you to death!" After saying that, instead of kicking, I turned around and slammed the door;

3、 Instead of kicking or yelling, he kept silent, bowed his head and turned and left.

 

In a civilized society, if you use the first method, you will violate the law and will be punished. If you use the third method, you will not be punished or offend the leader, but you will feel too suffocated and depressed. In a civilized society, the better way is the second way. Use language to express feelings "You pissed me off. I wish I could kick you to death." However, there was no real kick. Only words were used to express my anger. At this time, this sentence, using language to express feelings, whether suppressed or expressed anger? To be exact, it should be said that half is expression and half is depression.

 

This can also be regarded as the merit and demerit of language.

 

 

V Language and Subconscious

 

In the age without language, primitive people lived in the real world, intuitively feeling the outside world and inner feelings. These inner feeling characteristics formed by genetic evolution and born at birth constitute the deepest subconsciousness of modern humans, which Jung called "Collective unconsciousness" has the universal characteristics of crossing individuals, cultures, languages and times.

 

After the individual is born, the baby will also live in the inner world of intuitive experience like the primitive people before learning the language.

After these primitive people and individuals were born, in the process of postnatal psychological development, the direct inner experience of infants in the pre language stage also formed the deep inner experience of modern people after adulthood "Unspeakable individual subconscious experience and intuition".

 

In the process of infant development, when the infant begins to learn to use the language used by others to communicate with the infant, the infant's heart will incorporate these words to form its adult "Subconscious with other's words", the subconscious is the internalized "other's words" (Lacan)

 

When adopting the method of analysis and reduction to study the subconscious, we should pay attention to distinguish:

1、 Subconscious, yes "Other's Discourse" on the "Language Level"? still

2、 Personal life experience and emotional experience before language? still

3、 A certain type that has been acquired by genetic evolution before birth (primitive human or fetal period) "Collective unconsciousness"? still

4、 What is the organic whole of the former three?

 

 

 

two thousand and seventeen year ten month five No   Beijing