dr_zoidberg

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by words? What sort of communication techniques do you think we would resort to or develop or invent if, suddenly, we found ourselves without words?

I love words, but sometimes I am pressured to speak when I do not wish to. The book outlines ten reasons that humans would speak, and most of them are ones that I do not take part in. I do To express Emotion, To Establish Relationships, To Affect or Manipulate Others Emotions, and To Communicate Facts or Ideas. The other ones I do not regularly do. The second one, To Drown Out a Silence, is something I almost never do. I love the sound of silence. It makes me realize what I have, and what could be taken away from me in an instant. The other ones are ones that I may do occasionally, but not as often as the first ones I named. In reality, I love language and all that it can do for humanity. I dont like how there are so many languages, because it makes talking to other people that need to be talked to difficult without a translator. I have lost count of the times I openly cursed my Spanish book during High School. Not because I didnt want to learn the language, but at the idea that there are so many languages to learn out there. I would love to learn Italian, French, German, and Spanish, but it would be so much work.
Everyone has been in the situation of talking to a girl that you are interested in, and finding nothing to say. You will ramble on about stupid things, and how good the weather has been. The good females will give you a chance, knowing you are nervous, but many will take this as a sign of weakness and want nothing to do with you. Men and women alike fear this, and refuse to talk to those they are interested in sometimes, because they are so fearful of rejection. Case in point: me. When we find ourselves without words, usually we will not talk, because we are afraid of being seen as an idiot. I dont use words to impress, I use them to communicate. I enjoy the solitude I leave myself, as it gives me time to reflect on my life, and how I could change it. I love the time I spend alone. In fact, I havent even seen another human being as I write this for at least five hours. The fact that I can spend time alone is what keeps me going in life. I love how people constantly surround themselves with admirers, family members, and friends, all in an attempt to be occupied at all times. I can occupy myself, so I dont really need dozens of friends. I have one good friend that I hardly spend time with, and I love the time we spend together, but I dont constantly crave the company.
As for other types of situations that we might find ourselves in, a shocking event usually leaves us at a loss of words. A death in the family will leave some people in isolation for days at a time until they feel ready to talk to people again. Also, because humans are hard-wired to seek pleasure and avoid pain, any type of painful activity will leave the receiver usually speechless. And if they arent speechless, they are babbling incoherently.
In conclusion, I think that language is a great thing for societies, in that it allows the members of that society to communicate with each other. The languages of a different society may not translate well at first, but once translations are made available, and members of both societies become fluent in each others languages, the societies will form a larger one. This is what I feel has happened to the planet. Even though we humans are diverse and speak different languages, essentially we are after the same thing.