In pages 1-57 of How Language Works, Crystal covers a number of topics including non-verbal language, the physical mechanisms by which spoken language is produced, and how speech is heard and perceived. Much of the information about transmitting sounds and the biological structures that contribute to speech was familiar from my Physics and Biology classes, respectively. Thus, I found the sections about all the different types of language most interesting. As Crystal shows, "language" is extremely diverse, from body language, spoken language, sign language, all the way to simple vocal noises. I agree with his statement that, “Probably the most remarkable property of language is the way it enables us to talk about virtually anything we want (8). Past or present, fact, speculation, or nonsense, language makes it possible to express it all. This is far from true, however, when learning a new language. Not knowing the words or the sentence constructions to express what one wants can be one of the biggest frustrations when speaking a language one is not fluent in. I found it extremely interesting when Crystal mentioned that, "...some 40% of human languages (over 2,000 in all) have never been written down (17). This is hard to comprehend because, other than English, all of my language learning has been done through a combination of reading, writing, and speaking.
I am happy to be starting regular meetings with my language partner this week, as I anticipate he will be a great resource. Also, a new audio program called Speak Hindi With Confidence just arrived so I was able to try that today. I found it useful and think it will improve my listening and speaking skills and help introduce some new vocabulary. I will have to work on finding sources for reading and writing. It is difficult to find material that is at a level simple enough for me to understand. I would like to learn at least 20 new vocabulary words a week; I should be able to speak them and write them in the devanagari script. I am currently working primarily on verbs so that I can form meaningful sentences.
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