The Impact of the “Six Languages” in Today’s Society
The Impact of the “Six Languages” in Today’s Society
What is language? Is it speaking in different ways or is it doing math equations? Is it both? How many languages are there and where did they come from? What exactly does “language” mean in the twenty-first century? Robert K. Logan, a renowned physicist and media ecologist as well as the author of “The Sixth Language”, claims he has the answers. In his work, Logan claims that six languages form an evolutionary chain of languages: speech, writing, math, science, computing and the internet (Logan 2000). Over the years there has been much debate as to what language really is. The American Heritage dictionary defines language as being the “Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols” whereas the Random House Dictionary defines language as “a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition”. The “six languages” as discussed in Robert K. Logan’s, “The Sixth Language: Learning a Living in the Internet Age”, are unrealistic, irrelevant in today`s society, and simply a way of explaining how the world works.
Who decides what language is? Once claims are made, how do we know which ones are right? Is language solely something that is spoken? In order to understand these questions more fully, twenty people were surveyed. The survey, “SCI199 Language Survey 2009”, was distributed to both males and females from ages ranging from thirteen to seventy-five who were from a variety of different cultures and locations including India, China, Pakistan, Canada, and the United States (for survey results see Appendix). Research shows that the answers to these questions are very subjective. Results showed a wide variety in answers which proved the concept of there only being six languages unrealistic. Robert Logan describes languages
What is language? Is it speaking in different ways or is it doing math equations? Is it both? How many languages are there and where did they come from? What exactly does “language” mean in the twenty-first century? Robert K. Logan, a renowned physicist and media ecologist as well as the author of “The Sixth Language”, claims he has the answers. In his work, Logan claims that six languages form an evolutionary chain of languages: speech, writing, math, science, computing and the internet (Logan 2000). Over the years there has been much debate as to what language really is. The American Heritage dictionary defines language as being the “Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols” whereas the Random House Dictionary defines language as “a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition”. The “six languages” as discussed in Robert K. Logan’s, “The Sixth Language: Learning a Living in the Internet Age”, are unrealistic, irrelevant in today`s society, and simply a way of explaining how the world works.
Who decides what language is? Once claims are made, how do we know which ones are right? Is language solely something that is spoken? In order to understand these questions more fully, twenty people were surveyed. The survey, “SCI199 Language Survey 2009”, was distributed to both males and females from ages ranging from thirteen to seventy-five who were from a variety of different cultures and locations including India, China, Pakistan, Canada, and the United States (for survey results see Appendix). Research shows that the answers to these questions are very subjective. Results showed a wide variety in answers which proved the concept of there only being six languages unrealistic. Robert Logan describes languages