4 ms·
It's not just a tool, it's a mechanism to express thought. Different cultures, different people, different ways to put in other people's mind what's inside your
by caio1982 12y ago
It's not just a tool, it's a mechanism to express thought. Different cultures, different people, different ways to put in other people's mind what's inside yours. Also, remember Chomsky, languages usually have an army and navy, so it's not as simple as "natural selection".
- unhammer 12y agoActually, the quote is from "an audience member at one of Max Weinreich's lectures" (well, logically that could be Chomsky, but most likely not ;)) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_language_is_a_dialect_with_an_army_and_navy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_language_is_a_dialect_with_a...
- caio1982 12y agoIndeed, thanks!
- pandaman 12y agoIt's exactly as simple as natural selection. Because a language is not just expressing thought - it's driving it as well. Actually, it's exactly as the whole evolution in the animal world: languages are inheritable (parents teach their language to the children at the very least), mutable and there is a selection process among them, involving armies and navies among many other things.