‘Nothing else but those 26 letters, used in an infinite number of
combinations, employing typically ten or fewer of them in
words, are the basis of everything that was ever written in
English.’
The first thing that strikes one about language is the uncritical
and excessive love and admiration which people have for their
mother tongue. Then, there is the ease with which nativespeakers are able to communicate in their language, while
foreigners struggle. Finally, it is the sheer number of languages
and dialects in use.
Native speakers see only the beauty and eloquence of their
language and remain totally oblivious to its inadequacies,
difficulties and complexities.
Consider, for instance, a debate between a Sindhi and a Punjabi
or a Bengali and an Urdu-speaker, regarding which is the better
language.
Or between a Japanese and a Chinese, or an
Englishman and a Frenchman, or a Russian and a German. The
debate will be intense, passionate and heated, but always
inconclusive.
Language may be mankind’s greatest invention and alphabets
the most astonishing single device. Consider this: the trillions
of pages of books, reports and literature in English that educate,
inform and entertain billions of people, propagate and promote
concepts, theories and ideas, are composed with nothing more
than 26 letters, which are the building blocks of the English
language in its totality.
Nothing else but those 26 letters, used in an infinite number of
combinations, employing typically ten or fewer of them in words,
are the basis of everything that was ever written in English.
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