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== Language ==

== Language ==

Linguistics, which means the study of language, is a fascinating aspect of World history.  A language is essential to the progress and survival of a society; the better the language, the most successful the society is likely to become.  Peoples who only had primitive languages were easily conquered by groups that had more powerful languages.  Language expresses and communicates ideas, and facilitates trade that brings wealth to a civilization.  Observe for yourself how difficult it is, if not impossible, to think about and remember an idea without a term to express it.  What term would one use, for example, to describe someone who promotes a belief system that encourages terrorism, yet does not engage in terrorism himself?  The lack of a good term for that person makes it difficult to criticism him.  Similarly, a person who is constantly spewing profanity is unlikely to be thinking anything better.  People are a product of the language they use, and a society is dependent on the intelligence of its language.

Linguistics, which means the study of language, is a fascinating aspect of World history.  A language is essential to the progress and survival of a society - the better the language, the more successful the society is able to become.  Peoples who had only primitive languages were easily conquered by groups with more powerful languages.  Language expresses and communicates ideas, and facilitates the trade that brings wealth to a civilization.  Observe for yourself how difficult it is, if not impossible, to think about and remember an idea without a term to express it.  What term would one use, for example, to describe someone who promotes a belief system that encourages terrorism, yet does not engage in terrorism himself?  The lack of a good term for that person makes it difficult to criticize him.  Similarly, a person who is constantly spewing profanity is unlikely to be thinking anything better.  People are a product of the language they use, and a society is dependent on the intelligence and quality of its language.

For example, the term "homeschooling" did not exist until about about 1980 (check your own dictionary and it should state when a word was first used).  Once the term was created, the homeschooling movement was able to grow far faster than when the term did not exist.  Without the term, how could one tell others how good it is?   

For example, the term "homeschooling" did not exist until about about 1980 (check your own dictionary and it should state when a word was first used).  Once the term was created, the homeschooling movement was able to grow far faster than when the term did not exist.  Without the term, how could one tell others how good it is?   

The term "politically correct" is another example of how language influences thinking.  Without the existence of the term, which did not arise until 1983, the concept it represents is very hard to express and remember.  It is much more difficult to criticize “political correctness” when there is a lack of a good term to use.

The term "politically correct" is another example of how language influences thinking.  Without the existence of the term, which did not arise until 1983, the concept it represents was very hard to express and remember.  It is much more difficult to practice or criticize “political correctness” when there is a lack of a good term to denote this concept.

All languages develop based on common and basic aspects of life, such as language needed to describe food, animals, daily activities and commerce or trade (like the word "coin").  But much more is needed in language in order to express ideas about what is not seen, such as religious concepts.  Christianity could not develop and spread without a language capable of communicating its concepts.  Had Christ come into this world in 2000 or 1000 B.C., was there have been a language powerful enough to express His ideas?  Maybe not.  Ancient Hebrew lacked vowels, and the non-Hebrew languages were primitive.   

All languages develop based on common and basic aspects of life, such as language needed to describe food, animals, daily activities and commerce or trade (like the word "coin").  But much more is needed in language in order to express ideas about what is not seen, such as religious concepts.  Christianity could not develop and spread without a language capable of communicating its concepts.  Had Christ come into this world in 2000 or 1000 B.C., would there have been a language powerful enough to express His ideas?  Probably not.  Ancient Hebrew lacked vowels, and non-Hebrew languages were relatively primitive.   

An example of a concept that Jesus needed to express was the "Holy Spirit." Few languages can convey the full meaning of this concept.  The Greek words "pneuma" (wind or breath) and "paraclete" (advocate or one who consoles) are what the Gospel of John uses, and those words capture the driving force of the Holy Spirit.  The English word "spirit" seems to lack the full meaning of the Greek.  Most languages in the world have smaller vocabularies than English, and thus have even greater difficulty capturing the essence of what we call the "Holy Spirit."

An example of a concept that Jesus needed to express was the "Holy Spirit".  Few languages can convey the full meaning of this concept.  The Greek words "pneuma" (wind or breath) and "paraclete" (advocate or one who consoles) are what the Gospel of John uses, and those words capture the guiding, driving force of the Holy Spirit.  The English word "spirit" fails to convey the full meaning of the Greek.  Most languages in the world have smaller vocabularies than English, and thus have even greater difficulty capturing the essence of what we call the "Holy Spirit" and other key concepts of Christianity.

Another example is the last utterance on the cross by Jesus, typically translated as "it is finished."<ref>John 19:30 (King James Version).</ref>  But in the last century it was discovered that the actual Greek term was by John had this meaning in commerce in the 1st century: "paid in full."  So now some translate these final words by Christ "it is accomplished."  But even that may not fully capture the concept of redemption of the sin that existed.  Check your Bible to see how it translates John 19:30.

Another example is the last utterance on the cross by Jesus, typically translated as "it is finished."<ref>John 19:30 (King James Version).</ref>  But in the last century it was discovered that the actual Greek term was by John had this meaning in commerce in the 1st century: "paid in full."  So now some translate these final words by Christ "it is accomplished."  But even that may not fully capture the concept of redemption of the sin that existed in Greek.  Check your Bible to see how it translates John 19:30.

   

   

Recall that the language of Mesopotamia was cuneiform, based on wedge-like characters.  Can you imagine it conveying the concept of "Holy Spirit" or "sin" or "redemption" or "faith"?  It was an inadequate language, far too primitive for the needs of Christianity.

Recall that the language of Mesopotamia was cuneiform, based on wedge-like characters.  Can you imagine such primitive writing conveying the concept of "Holy Spirit" or "sin" or "redemption" or "faith"?  It was an inadequate language, far too primitive for the needs of the powerful concepts of Christianity.

But in the 1000s B.C., and perhaps earlier, a marvelous new form of language developed among the traders on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where Lebanon is today.  The Phoenicians lived there and established towns such as Byblos, a religious center after which the Bible is named because the town exported papyrus.  The Phoenicians had ports and sea-traders would pick up exports such as fine linen, cedar, pine wood, dyed cloth, wine, glass, salt, dried fish, and embroideries.  The Phoenicians traded with the Hebrews, who used the cedars of Lebanon to build Solomon's temple.  Colonies of the Phoenicians included Tyre, Sidon and, along the coast of Northern Africa, Carthage.  Carthage later became powerful enough to compete with Rome.  The Assyrian empire, which was the world's first real empire, invaded the Phoenicians in the 500s B.C., causing them to collapse.

But in the 1000s B.C., and perhaps earlier, a marvelous new form of language developed among the traders on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where Lebanon is today.  The Phoenicians lived there and established towns such as Byblos, a religious center after which the Bible is named because the town exported papyrus.  The Phoenicians had ports and sea-traders would pick up exports such as fine linen, cedar, pine wood, dyed cloth, wine, glass, salt, dried fish, and embroideries.  The Phoenicians traded with the Hebrews, who used the cedars of Lebanon to build Solomon's temple.  Colonies of the Phoenicians included Tyre, Sidon and, along the coast of Northern Africa, Carthage.  Carthage later became powerful enough to compete with Rome.  The Assyrian empire, which was the world's first real empire, invaded the Phoenicians in the 500s B.C., causing them to collapse.

The new language developed by the Phoenicians to facilitate their trading was based on a new alphabet of 22 letters.  All Western alphabets, such as English and French and Italian and Greek and Latin, were developed using this Phoenician alphabet.  This Phoenician alphabet was one of the greatest advances in the history of mankind, perhaps greater than the invention of the wheel, because now language could begin to describe powerful concepts and abstract ideas.  This laid the foundation for the accomplishments of Ancient Greece, which in turn laid the foundation for the teaching and spread of Christianity.

The new language developed by the Phoenicians to facilitate their trading was based on an alphabet of 22 letters.  All Western alphabets, such as English and French and Italian and Greek and Latin, were developed using this Phoenician alphabet.  This Phoenician alphabet was one of the greatest advances in the history of mankind, perhaps greater than the invention of the wheel, because now language could begin to describe powerful concepts and abstract ideas.  This laid the foundation for the accomplishments of Ancient Greece, which in turn laid the foundation for the teaching and spread of Christianity.

'''Mystery:  What was the level of literacy in ancient civilizations?  What percentage of people could read and write?  Was literacy higher or lower than literacy today?'''

'''Mystery:  What was the level of literacy in ancient civilizations?  What percentage of people could read and write?  Was literacy higher or lower than literacy today?'''