*Notes on language and communication*

Do you know what I think?

I think it was the waiting. That’s what must’ve done it. The how long it took for things to arrive by mail, or the only so much you can say by telegram. It was inefficient.

Communication is a social necessity. It was easy when it was just finding a sound for water or food, but became more difficult as abstract ideas were attempted to be expressed. How did we decide on a sound for happy? Why is there a distinction between joyous and glad?

It was in the waiting when an overzealous attempt at generalizing abstract thought became a practice. We couldn’t stand around hoping that a dialogue would end up at an absolute agreement, rather we generalized ideas into individual designations in an attempt to speed up the process of communication. In this hasty tête-à-tête the bewitchment of language occurs. Saying red how I imagine blood to be, and you hear the red of fire hydrants and trucks. So much of the information is lost in the receiving.

Early in human history letters were the main method of long distance communication. So much could be said if you had the time to write and read. The problem with this was that it took so long before a letter was received. Weeks to months, sometimes, years before a letter would arrive meant that the posture of the correspondent had probably changed.

(to be continued… a little later)

Language was created because of a need, but evolved because of idle time.