Lesson March 16th 2012

- The power of language (CC p. 35)

The story of the Tower of Babel

"And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." (Genesis 11:5-6)

1. What does the image, and the story, suggest about the benefits of everyone speaking the same language? What are the drawbacks?

2. What does the story suggest about the social functions of language?

Reflect om these other mythological stories on the origins of language:

Mesoamerica:

The Aztecs told the story of CoxCox (a man) and Xochiquetzal (a woman) survived the horrors of the earth by floating on a bark. Then, after they had their first children on land, they found out these were unable to speak. Such feature changed when a dove landed upon their heads, granting each one with a different language.

Brasil:

The Ticuna people form the Upper Amazon tell the story that everyone was  one united in a single tribe, all speaking the same language, until two hummingbird eggs were eaten (the legend doesn't say whom). After this event, the tribe split into different groups and dispersed across the globe.

Africa:

The Bantu people from East Africa tell the story of a severe famine that struck the first people of the world (who spoke the same language at the beginning). This drove everyone to madness, causing them to wander in all sorts of directions, mumbling strange words not know by men before. 

Animal vs Human communication

- How does animal communication differ from human language?

Look at what happened in Colombia last year. What does this tell you about animal communication and internal mental processes?