So for years now I have been developing my own language. It started out as a joke because I am not a very strong speller (now i just use google and firefox) so I would just spell things phonetically and take out silent letters in words. As I developed this language (which i call plinglish) I tried adding grammar and pronunciation though not always with great success.

Recently, I have picked up my language again and am trying to figure out what really makes a real language tick. From a little web research it seems that language, thoughts and culture are very tightly interrelated. There are some people that believe that language controls the way you express yourself. So you are able to express yourself only by way of how well your language allows you to expresses yourself. For example, if you language did not have any personal pronouns or ways of expressing possession then you could never understand ownership.

The second view is that your thoughts can always be expressed in the language and that language is just a systematic label tool for humans. This is a very simplistic view. The third view is a mixture of the first two which most experts of the linguistics field hold to. That language influences thought and thoughts influences language. The debate is more of how much does each effect each other.

It seems that this interaction is an ongoing process being handed down from one generation to another, like a cycle. The language itself begins to describe a little to the learner the culture, albeit out of context culture, though connotations, word usage and grammar structure. So that language becomes a guide on how we think. Our minds will naturally think in certain patterns just as water naturally flows in a certain way due to topography. However, our creative thoughts always allows us the opportunity to challenge our way of thinking and recreate our language. This is done through effecting our culture around us. Those who share our same tongue. This effecting of culture if strong enough over time will become codified in our language adding to the expression that we naturally have. This process can be seen starkly with technology. As our culture has shifted into a technology type of culture we don’t think the same way as generations before. We prefer “googling” to going to the library to grab information. We express ourselves in ways of multitasking and speed. Our mindset is much more global; much more multicultural.

Now if i can just am able to capture that process for my language…