‘The limits of language are the limits of my world’ Ludwig Wittgenstein

This quotation from the eminent philosopher brings to mind the notion that the Inuit or Eskimo, those natives of the arctic circle, have many different words for snow. Although this idea is not clear cut – it in fact depends on how you define the Inuit, their languages, the inflections, compounds in the language, etc. – it is an interesting idea. Living in a place where snowfall occurs so frequently, one can only suppose it becomes necessary and useful to categorise what we have a generic word for. A native of the desert does not require this snow vocabulary because it is of little use or relevance to them. This idea brings Wittgenstein’s words into focus. We could equally flip this sentence so to read ‘The limits of my world are the limits of my language’.

Though of course, we can keep on learning language and keep on expanding our world. Each language gives us another way of thinking about things or gives us a window into the thinking of the speakers of those languages.

I remember learning the Spanish word ganas, which has no satisfactory equivalent translation in English. Used in various different ways as part of a phrase it could mean ‘to look forward to’, ‘feel like’ and so on. The word though has an essence that we can’t satisfactorily express in English – at least it seems to me. As English speakers, we don’t have a precise access to the meaning of this word. But despite not having the word, do we have its sentiment in our lives? Does access to this bit of language then unlock a feeling for us? (In fact I remember my colleagues and I bringing ganas into our English vocabulary.)

So in light of these thoughts it is interesting to think about how our teaching is affecting the minds of our students beyond the ability to communicate. Perhaps when learning another language, to some extent we are learning another way of thinking, expanding the limit of our world. Or is language only a way to communicate? Charlemagne, a Carolinigian king of medieval France is reported to have said that to possess a second language was to possess a second soul. Does this have a connection to what Wittgenstein is saying?

I’m told that in English we have remarkably few words to describe tastes and flavours. I’m also regularly told how awful English food is, bringing once again to mind the Inuit, natives of the desert and words for snow.

2 June 2009