Language and Technology

Understanding the quirks of foreign languages is a true art as I am discovering as I study the Spanish language.  It is not just a matter of obtaining a vocabulary but of understanding how the verbs change and how extremely important it is to enunciate all the vowels in a word since it can completely alter the meaning of the word.  While Spanish is supposed to be an easy language to learn it still takes a lot of concentrated effort to retain the vocabulary and all of the rules of grammar which I found out simply by trying to study as the house was invaded by family.

I am actually enjoying learning this new language despite all the challenges of missing time and not studying nearly as much as I ought to be.  I am delighted every time I recognize a Latin word and I can travel down the language route to discover other language roots.  Despite not learning the spoken language as quickly as I would like I am still discovering so many other things through the study.  For instance how words like Jugo are being doubled up with a company brand name like Jugo Juice (basically saying juice juice).  In Denmark formal nouns have been eliminated to a large extent but Spanish still retains the formal and informal just as French.

As a language is revealed the people are also revealed, and that is a very fun experience.  I listen to the CD we received and still find it hard to recognize the words if I am not following along with the book and then even though I recognize the words I forget the meaning.  Oh yes, it’s going to take a while to master the language but meanwhile I am learning a lot simply about language in general.

Seguing into something else by way of language, how can a government analyse an individual through a SIM card?  How can they say that a person is guilty of treason by tracking what that person has researched on line?  If I were Jessica Fletcher of yore and searching for various ways to kill a person, or make a bomb (yes I dare to use the word on a blog) how could they discern however many hits that might be to mean that Jessica was a terrorist?  And then, willy nilly, make a drone hit?  This is what I am understanding may be happening in America today. How can a supposedly righteous democratic nation kill someone because a SIM card has identified that individual as a threat to America?  How many international laws does this action break?   Who made America the decider of what is right for them and what the rules are for everybody else?

Didn’t the founding fathers advocate the Freedom of Speech?  Didn’t they advocate trial by jury?  Aren’t you innocent until proven guilty?  Has technology taken over and usurped the power of speech?  In other words, has the power of language disappeared?

Are we on the verge of The Terminator’s world?