Language – Part 1

Over most of the course of the evolution of life on earth up to the current state of our species in modern times, our ancestors were just like other animals. They were completely unaware of complex relationships in the world around them. In other words, they had no conscious awareness of complex relationships that exist in space and time. At any given point in time, they were only aware of what was in front of them, at their current point in space, at their current point in time; they were only aware of what was right here, right now.

It is language that enabled our species to develop awareness of relationships that exist in nature, relationships that exist in space and time. The stages in the increasing complexity of these relationships are known as dimensions.

Language is the tool by which mankind understands the dimensions of time and space. The capability of language, the purpose of language, the function of language, is to enable humans to be aware of and to understand nature. And what is nature? According to modern physicists, nature is considered in terms of 2 notions, time and space. However, time and space are not considered by physicists to exist in a distinct and isolated form from each other at all, but to exist only in the unified form known of space-time. The primary function of language is to enable the mind to relate changes in time with changes in space, changes in space-time. For example, it is only through awareness of the periodic presence and then absence of the light of the sun (change in space) that is it possible to be aware of the concept of the day (change in time).

Language enables members of our species to internalize, to represent, to manipulate, and to communicate our awareness of relationships that exist in nature, relationships that exist in space-time. The grammar of language reflects the awareness of and representation of awareness of space-time of the speakers of the language. The grammar of each language constitutes a model of the organization of the understanding of nature of the culture of the speakers, and their organization of space and time.