A Mirror of Mind

I'm already in love with my Linguistics class.

Just a few chapters in and I'm amazed at what I am reading. It's an incredible feeling when you read over a sentence or two that expresses a thought that you've never encountered before, and not only to read over that sentence, but to understand it, to have a sense of 'yes!that is so right!'

In just the introduction to our book we've learned how language is universal. This might be too obvious and not that exciting you say, but when you think about it, it's incredible. There is very little that we can say is universal to all peoples and all cultures. One, first and foremost, is the gospel, glory and love of God. But secondly I think, is language. We might not understand someone else's language. We might struggle to listen and guess when a sentence ends and a new one begins. Yet the beauty of this is that though we might not all know each other's specific's in vocabulary, grammar and syntax, at the root of it is a language: a means for communication. This means for communication is (though not always necessary - read Ps 19) crucial for the first universal we talked about. All over the world there are people 'talking' about 'the love of God.' These two universals come together in an incredible way, and I'm so excited about it.

There was an excerpt in our chapter from Noam Chomsky. He calls language "a mirror of mind." It is in a person's language and communication that we can know who he is. His speaking, his thoughts, his understandings are a mirror into who he is. Chomsky says a man can "...effortlessly make use of an intricate structure of specific rules and guiding principles to convey his thoughts and feelings to others, arousing in them novel ideas and subtle perceptions and judgments."
As a person speaks, the onlooker (or hearer, I suppose) can come to better understand who this person is. And coming to better understand this person and loving them, is a huge part of this love, glory and gospel of God. And so Noam Chomsky says, "Thus, language is a mirror of mind in a deep and significant sense." Hugely deep, and hugely significant.

Throughout all my time in China, there are two memories that are forefront in my mind. One is singing 'Just As I Am' at church one morning in Urumqi. I stood surrounded by my fellow travelers singing the hymn in English. Surrounding us, though, was a beautiful choir of fellow believers singing in Chinese. Though the specifics of our languages were different, the heart of our song and language and communication was the same. It is one of the most beautiful moments I have ever been a part of, and I'm grateful. Psalm 86 says, "All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name." Let it be so.