"You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto,
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto.”
"Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off" by George and Ira Gershwin
Every aspect of language is governed by choices. These choices, which might be made in a millisecond, affect everything from the articulation of an individual sound all the way to the stringing together of hundreds of sounds to form a phrase.
Granted, many of these choices are made unconsciously or have already been made for us before we even learn language.
Starting at the most obscure level, it can be argued that the language we learn as a mother tongue is decided by the whims of fate. While we are predisposed as humans to learn language, no one is predisposed to learn a specific language, like Italian or Xhosa. Hence, the place and tradition into which one is dropped by the proverbial stork represents, inadvertently, the culmination of choices stemming from the beginning of human history. Pretty trippy, if you ask me.
Equally fascinating is the fact that every region and subregion of the planet represents thousands of years' worth of linguistic traditions and innovations. Between the inventory of several hundred sounds every human is capable of producing at birth and the different grammatical configurations, every language selects a subset of what is possible, i.e., the choices “made for us.” Linguists lament: Why couldn’t English be pro-drop?!
In the critical acquisition period we learn to recognize and distinguish the specific sounds of our native language(s), and acquire a specific dialect, usually tied to our region. Furthermore, as a product of socialization and acculturation, we develop certain markers of our identity — many of them linguistic — as we find our place within various sectors of society.
This is why our deliberate choices are so crucial within language production.
The most basic unit of language is that of the phone or phoneme. This is the smallest unit of sound one can pronounce and perceive, such as the sound represented by the letters <ng> in the word ‘morning.’ So, a choice between the “-ing” sound and the “-in” sound (i.e., “morning” vs. “mornin’”) makes a difference in how my speech and identity are perceived. Pay special attention to the variation between these two sounds, as we all use both, often choosing unconsciously between them per the specifics of the scenario.
The next unit is that of the morpheme — the smallest unit of meaning — such as the sound represented by the letters <ing>, which signify the present progressive aspect of English. Interestingly, English is currently undergoing a shift: the past participle form, e.g., “I have swum,” is being replaced by the past tense form, e.g., “I have swam.” Since both are now possible utterances for expressing the past, it is likely the use of the first form will increasingly serve as a marker of a higher register of speech and be perceived as snobby, even though it is correct in "standard English."
The next level of linguistic complexity is that of the morpheme combinations that constitute words and phrases. To cut to the chase, one perceives very quickly the crucial distinctions between “I don’t have any” and “I ain’t got none” and sees how choosing between different grammatical structures, even within the same language, is crucial to defining identity and making a specific point in a particular way.
Prussian philosopher and philologist Wilhelm von Humboldt asserted brilliantly that language makes “infinite use of finite means,” which is to say that, per a relatively small set of sounds and means of combining them, we are able to produce an infinite number of linguistic entities. Furthermore, per the brilliance of the human brain, we can, according to Noam Chomsky, comprehend any utterance — provided it stems from "universal grammar."
So, in our daily use of language, we ought to conceive of the choices with which we are faced, whether between specific units of sounds, units of meaning or entire phrases — not as limitations or points of distinction, but rather as infinite potential.
For how enthralling the phenomenon of human language is, we should not take such an ability for granted, as we are the species most and best equipped for communicating through speech.
So, keep speaking, and remember: decisions, decisions!
Jordan MacKenzie is a second-year UF linguistics master’s student. His column appears on Wednesdays.
