Animals, similarly to humans, use various non-verbal signals to communicate. However, what separates Homo Sapiens from other living beings, is the ability to use both verbal communication, as well as the written language, which together offer the complexity and beauty unobtainable by other species.
Primitivity and complexity
Animals are controlled by instincts, which is why they communicate their desired message in
a simple way to achieve full effectiveness. The ideal example of this are snakes, which get into the defensive position similar to the letter S allowing for both quick attacks, as well as for potential escape. A possible aggressor is able to translate the snakes’ body language to simple emotions like fear, territoriality or readiness to do battle. This primitivity, however, has inherit limitations, which human language negates. Humans are able to give their messages context, express their thoughts or show noble sentiments. Instead of simply signalling “leave”, we can use more refined language to explain to others what exactly caused us to feel in particular way, as well as instruct them as to what they can do to help us.
Critical thinking is the journey’s beginning
The described occurrence is only the beginning to a great journey across the interhuman communication, in which professional translators and language enthusiasts partake in. Despite this, however, to notice and start to contemplate the beauty encased in our language, it is not necessary to be a part of an elite linguistic social circle. All it takes is to look at the fauna surrounding us and to start asking a couple of critical questions. When seeing a dog waggling its tail from happiness, think back to pleasant memories you have lived through and ask the question which starts our analysis: “What would human life look like without language, which allows us to describe, in detail, our feeling to friends and family?”.
The road leading to knowledge
As social beings, we possess a congenital thirst for knowledge, especially that related to our own nature. Therefore, similar contemplations can reveal to other interested people the fact that through interactions with enthusiasts, professional translators, as well as literary classics, they themselves will become able to better understand and appreciate the nature of human language. Whereas individuals desiring further development will be able to delve deeper into more complicated communication nuances, including those present in other cultures.
Career or an interesting evening?
Despite the many who have followed this path to the very end, become recognised authors or renowned translators, not everyone contemplating on inter-human communication is obligated to choose a similar career. Sometimes all it takes is to just stop for a moment and dedicate a few minutes of your life to contemplate about the beauty of human language. Furthermore, the first step on this path could be to notice simple signals used in communication inside the animal kingdom.
(translation M. S.)
