Have you ever wondered about the English dictionary and why we call this book of words, a dictionary rather than a Nirzockiwa? Although the origin of language is unknown to linguists, there are many controversial theories. In Mario Pei’s essay, Theories of Language Beginning, he discusses the development of language. On the other hand, Bill Bryson writes in his essay, Where Words Come From, how words originate. Both essays elaborate on language and its mysteries, displaying various stylistic similarities and differences. Pei, in the eyes of an average reader is much more comprehensible. Mario Pei's essay on language is written in a way that an average person could understand. He does not use scholarly vocabulary, instead, he uses simple language to explain his points. Later in his essay, Pei approaches several theories in a
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While using a lot of examples in his essay might seem excessive, it allows the reader to better understand what he is trying to prove. Pei also compares the human language with the language of animals. He wondered why our language develops over time changing constantly while the language of animals has stayed relatively the same. Pei writes, "The ancient Greek comic poets indicated a sheep's cry by Greek letters having the value of 'beh' ; in modern Greek, those letters have changed their value to 'vee'"(787). He is saying that over thousands of years, the sheep language has stayed the same but the way the Greek language represents it has changed. Pei writes, "Language is an expression of human activity, and as human activity is forever changing, language changes with it"(788). Pei means that if humans evolve, the language will change cohesively. He also explains the language crossroads; language crossroads are where most of the changes in language develop into
While using a lot of examples in his essay might seem excessive, it allows the reader to better understand what he is trying to prove. Pei also compares the human language with the language of animals. He wondered why our language develops over time changing constantly while the language of animals has stayed relatively the same. Pei writes, "The ancient Greek comic poets indicated a sheep's cry by Greek letters having the value of 'beh' ; in modern Greek, those letters have changed their value to 'vee'"(787). He is saying that over thousands of years, the sheep language has stayed the same but the way the Greek language represents it has changed. Pei writes, "Language is an expression of human activity, and as human activity is forever changing, language changes with it"(788). Pei means that if humans evolve, the language will change cohesively. He also explains the language crossroads; language crossroads are where most of the changes in language develop into