Originally Posted By: Ellis
Rede wrote
Language is nothing more than the result of an attempt to encode thoughts and feelings into communicable terms.

Language is so much more than that. It is possible to communicate without language - but it is in the aquisition of words, (spoken, signed or written) that our human-ness is defined.

- Yes, perhaps we do communicate without language, but language, specifically, is the topic, is it not?

- True, the degree of language capability of humans is unique on this planet, but how is that relevant to its function?

- In what way is language "so much more than that"?

If, in fact, we are to discuss language beyond the written and spoken forms, as in 'body-language', then I could clarify my sentence by restating it:-

'All written, verbal and non-verbal forms of language are the result of conscious and subconscious attempts to encode thoughts and feelings into communicable terms.'

There's nothing in that sentence that wasn't covered in the earlier version, but any rational modification would be welcome.

"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once" - John Wheeler