Language and Survival

So, after finally figuring out that I am supposed to thread this onto blackboard, I think I am ready to finish this thing.

I appreciated the message of Hayakawa’s essay; language, in terms of speaking and writing, is essential to human cooperation and survival. However, the manner in which this message was presented was, I thought, lacking in continuity. If you are going to entangle animals, human growth throughout the ages, and Mr. T.C. Mits, it would be nice to have complete bridges between the subjects.

Anyway, my power went out this past weekend which meant that I was without television. When I am bored, I usually watch TV. Since I didn’t have my TV, I started to do this puzzle that I still haven’t finished. So, I was working away on the puzzle when I noticed how quiet it was. I didn’t really like it. I enjoy “swimming in words,” and I became extremely dull without them. Hayakawa seems to think that the “Niagara of Words” is a bad thing because humans do not think about language enough. I have to disagree with him about that; people who are not exposed to a lot of language do not develop properly and usually have trouble in communicating with others. I understand that language is important, but I don’t believe that I should think about that importance every time I speak. If I need to ask my mother what we are having for dinner, I will probably say, “Hey Mom! What are we having for dinner?” If I thought about what I was saying, it would probably sound the same. Language is important and I realize that it does affect us from day to day. Basically, I think that Hayakawa could have stressed the importance of language without insinuating that we are all exactly like Mr. Mits.