Language: Beyond Communication, a Tool for Thinking

Language, often seen as a tool for communication, has a deeper significance according to Noam Chomsky, one of the greatest living linguists. He argues that language evolved not primarily for the benefit of survival through communication, but rather because of a unique brain trait, which allows us to think and hence to use language internally to do so. This internal use of language includes activities such as child-rearing, social cohesion, gossip, and perhaps even proto-religion. It also likely has a connection to symbolic painting, like magical drawings on cave walls, suggesting a much broader role than merely facilitating survival.

Evolution and Human Society

The evolution of language is closely tied to what defines a human society. Chomsky's work and the general understanding in human evolution suggest that language did not evolve primarily with tool-making and collaborative hunting. These activities are not very efficient with language. Instead, language is one of the key characteristics that distinguishes humans from other species.

All human societies use language, which is a defining feature of what it means to be human. Evidence of language use is crucial in identifying a species as human. For example, if a group of beings is observed around a campfire cooking their food and conversing, they are likely human. Conversely, a species that does not communicate using language or does not control fire and cook their food is not considered human. Language and cooked food are both mutually reinforcing: language allows us to communicate effectively, and cooked food enables us to grow bigger brains by using less time on food procurement.

The Structure of Language: A Journey Through Generations

The concept of language extends beyond human communication to the realm of technology. Programming languages, for instance, are structured systems for conveying specific information to computers. Similar to natural languages, programming languages have a syntax and grammar that must be followed. They are used to instruct computers on what tasks to perform.

The most fundamental form of language is machine language, which is a series of zeroes and ones representing instructions for the computer to follow. However, entering such instructions manually would be incredibly cumbersome and time-consuming. Thus, the evolution of programming languages has introduced more user-friendly structures.

First Generation: Machine Language

Programs of the first generation were created by manually entering zeroes and ones using switches. This method was not sustainable due to its complexity and inefficiency. This approach was the first step, but it lacked the readability and ease of use that would become essential.

Second Generation: Assembly Language

Assembly language introduced more human-readable mnemonics for basic machine language instructions. An assembler program translates these readable instructions into machine code. For example, the simple add and return instruction in modern machine language:

1000 1101 0000 0100 0011 0111
1100 0011

can be translated to:

lea eax[rdirsi1]
ret

Third Generation: High-Level Languages

The third generation of programming languages brought in structures that resemble math and English. These languages are superior for human readability and precision. A C program, for instance, initializes a function and performs an addition operation:

int pepeint a int b
{
 return a  b
}

A C compiler then translates this code into assembly language, which is then compiled into machine code.

Fourth and Fifth Generations: Specialized and Constraint-Based Languages

The fourth generation of languages, designed for specific tasks like SQL for querying data and HTML for webpage design, further simplify programming. Fifth-generation languages, like those used in artificial intelligence, focus on expressing constraints and allowing the computer to deduce the solution. These languages are highly specialized and often used in fields like user interface design, AI in games, and business processes.

Conclusion

The journey through language, from human communication to programming, showcases the depth and versatility of this fundamental concept. From our early cave-dwelling ancestors to today’s advanced computing, language has evolved and adapted to serve a myriad of purposes. Understanding its evolution and structure provides valuable insights into both human and technological development.