Submitted by Majrelende in AskRaddle (edited )

I know all languages were created once, but this thought reminds me of parents naming children— an act of authority— and the naming of places and things by “authorities” and “owners” and other such acts as opposed to dialects and names and grammars naturally arising out of the processes of evolution. But the other half of me says this is irrational, that all languages were once created by people, and I am unsure which to trust. What are your thoughts?

6

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

kore wrote (edited )

I'm somewhat obsessed with this question.

I sometimes think about it in terms of words acquiring their meanings by their associations. The meaning is built up over time, always changing, and slightly different for everyone.

In addition to that any attempt to attach a fixed name to something fails because I believe there is no fixed principle. In addition, people can reject certain names for things, or claim that everything other than one thing is not really what the name describes. e.g. "I'm not one of those" or "This is the true meaning of x"

There's power in reclaiming/inventing language (many oppressed groups have done it with slurs), but I like the bottom up approach rather than the top down. For example, I hear stories of families all the time where children invent words for things.

I think regarding "official names" there is definitely a power there that needs to be questioned, but language play is great :)

3

shanoxilt wrote

You should cross-post this to /r/glossopoeia.

2