Language learning presents opportunities for understanding the world and oneself. Language is the medium through which we gain knowledge and which we use to understand and make sense of the world we live in. While there is much to gain by using language to read informative texts, it is also a window into our inner selves for it is through language that we can articulate our thoughts and opinions and come in contact with what we think and feel.
Broader philosophical questions around language and articulation Does thought exist before articulation, or is it through articulation that one realizes one’s thoughts? Eli Alshanetsky in the article ‘Thoughts into words’ talks of ‘the paradox of articulation: are you excavating existing ideas, or do your thoughts come into being as you think?’1 For many it may be that their thoughts form as they think about something and attempt to articulate it: we better understand what we feel or think by sharing our ideas with others or by putting them down on paper. Their contours and shapes become clearer—and we become explorers setting sail on the vast ocean of consciousness.
Another question is whether thought exists independently of its articulation? If thought is a process in language, then this further highlights the importance of language in understanding oneself and how one conceives of oneself. The example of certain Canadian Inuit tribes is worth mentioning here. Languages like Nunavik or Inuktitut have multiple terms for ice that describe its specific characteristics. While the type of words and their range may be a matter of debate, it is agreed that these languages have ‘a far superior ability to distinguish between different types of ice than other languages’.2 This shows that language also shapes and empowers us to think about the world we live in. In a different context, we can also go back to the French mathematician and philosopher, Rene Descartes, and his famous quote ‘Cogito ergo sum’ (‘I think therefore I am’). Thinking can therefore be said to be central to this process of learning about oneself.
The role of language in education
We would all agree, with Krishnamurti, that the purpose of education is to help the learner to learn about not just the outer world which one inhabits but also the inner world of one’s feelings and thoughts. Language learning appears to be crucial to this process. In the classroom it can be noticed that confidence in articulation also leads to better self-esteem and this confidence carries forward into other areas. The opposite can also be observed—a lack of command over the language leads to self-doubt and withdrawal from situations in which the student is encouraged to participate. Learners who are able to speak their mind clearly feel a certain sense of empowerment and engage with things around them with enthusiasm.
This line of thinking of course has its limitations; it is not a matter of simple correlation in which clearer articulation means higher awareness of oneself. Highly articulate people are not necessarily more self-aware. But I think language learning and articulation do play an important role in allowing learners to become active and engaged participants in the process of education and also explore the inner world. There is a line in a song called Don’t Go Away by a popular British rock band Oasis that laments, ‘…Damn my education, I can’t find the words to say, with all the things caught in my mind…’.
One of the challenges of language learning is that we often struggle to find the right words to say what we want to say, and to learn to say what we say responsibly. As Eli Alshantesky mentions in another place in the aforementioned article, ‘We need to chisel away at imprecise formulations, while guarding against words that blur what we think’. This I think is what language teachers should encourage learners to do in their classrooms. They need to find the language and the words that will effectively communicate their thoughts and opinions for a particular purpose, much like a sculptor who works on his material.
Another dimension to language
Krishnamurti often points to the fact that ‘the word is not the thing’. We must also learn to observe without the word or the need to label oneself and one’s emotions. This may sound paradoxical: on the one hand we are trying to encourage articulation to help learners get in touch with what they think and feel; and on the other hand, we are pointing to observation without hurrying to label or name i.e. to go beyond the word. When we look at something and say ‘It is a beautiful sunset’ does that limit us? Do we stop looking when we name? Another powerful statement which summarises this significance of direct observation in learning about oneself is made by Tom Yonashiro in his article ‘The Power of Articulation’3—The paradox of language, then, is that it is both necessary and insufficient. It is the tool we use to navigate and make sense of the world, but it is also the barrier that separates us from direct, unmediated experience of reality’. This then also becomes an important part of our exploration.
Voicing one’s thoughts: encouraging articulation and participation
Despite its limitations, as teachers we would agree that encouraging learners to articulate and share their thoughts is an important part of their education. Language is important for us to communicate; for us to be able to think and be able to share. It allows us to discover who we are. Even as it allows us to consider a situation and take a position, it enables us to become more aware of our position. We may all have experienced that nagging feeling when we wanted to say something but could not; or a time when we felt strongly about something but could not describe or say more about it until we wrote it down or thought further about how to say it. A good education should indeed enable us to overcome the despair of the songwriter who could not ‘find the words to say…all the things caught in the mind’. Clearly, learning a language well opens windows into learning about the world and oneself, and educators need to be concerned about doing justice to this essential aspect of education.
Endnotes
1. Eli Alshanetsky – Thoughts into words https://aeon.co/essays/what-comes first-ideas-or-words-the-paradox-of-articulation
2. The Canadian Encyclopedia – Inuktitut Words for Snow and Ice https:// thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuktitut-words-for-snow-and ice#:~:text=Here are some other words for snow, changes and was refrozen by cold weather
3. Tom Yonashiro, The Power of Articulation https://tyonashiro.medium.com/ the-poer-of-articulation-dc9381a46452