I love words. The sounds of them, the way they fit together to describe something or impart an idea. I love them sung, spoken, written, played with, laughed at, cried with....to me they are a large part of what makes us human.
I have always thought of language as a learned tool for communication. We "teach" our kids to talk. We learn grammar. There are accepted or "proper" ways of speaking, formal speeches, informal conversations, and so on. It wasn't until my oldest child was in college and discovered his passion for linguistics that I was introduced to the concept that language is something we are "programmed" to do. Now I know I do not understand even a small portion of the things that Chris has described in his discussions of language, but I am beginning to see that what I thought was a subject that had to be taught, may actually be a gift in our design.
Our eight week old grandson has discovered his voice. How does that discovery of making sound evolve into spoken language? That is my son's expertise. My wonder is in the voice itself-that innate desire to be heard.
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