DAVID CRYSTAL SPEAKS ENGLISH BUT WRITES ABOUT THE 5000 TO 6000 LANGUAGES THAT ARE STILL PRACTICED

Language, and especially the spoken language, is one of the most complex things that we as humans do. It can involve dozens of muscles and many parts of the brain, all at the same time. And with this it requires perfect coordination. Crystal says that 40% of the world’s present-day languages have never been written down, but are passed on from person to person. He also says that each year dozens of these languages are lost because the last scholar or speaker dies without imparting it to a follower.

There are also other forms of language such as sign language for the deaf and finger language for the deaf/blind, like that practiced by the great Helen Keller.

Spelling and the written languages, we know in our own English, came about in many cases because of some  strange accidents. The written word became prominent only about a thousand years or so ago. And through the decades spelling of words were borrowed from other languages (such as Greek, Latin, French, German, Italian, Chinese etc.) so that today we often see strange letters that don’t appear to fit into the final sounds. Here is an example: “debt” is spelled with an extra “b” because it comes from the Latin word “debitum”. Is it any wonder that anyone trying to learn English has an unbelievably tough time.

In his landmark book “How Language Works” Professor David Crystal explains not only how language works and evolved but how we speak, and the muscles and brain parts that we have to coordinate, to make it perfect. It is no wonder that in our early years we take so long to become good at it.

Then there is the writing down of all of these words and thoughts as well. That is a whole other skill. And no wonder our handwriting is often indecipherable, as we also have to put the words together in full and complete thoughts. Bravo to all the great writers that we know and love. And thanks to Professor Crystal.