Quote:
|
Originally Posted by virtualmeet
from the cambridge dictionaries :
Language : A system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar, or the system of communication used by the people of a particular country or profession. I can't see anything in this definition that contradict saying that mathematics is a language...
|
Going to the dictionary to define what YOU mean in your argument is usually a good thing, commendable, and avoids confusion.
Going to the dictionary to (re-) define what someone else means in their argument is fraught with peril.
The definition you presented is a good one and it is "correct" as far as it goes. But the fallacy lies in presenting a broad,
general definition and concluding that all "things" that fall within that definition are "equal". Not so.
Let us take the word "language" as an example. French is a language. The word for 'shit' in French is 'merde' -- pronounced in a particular way. Where did that sound or pronunciation come from? Did the nature of feces itself
<<determine>> the word that the French would choose or how to pronounce it? Of course not. Has 'merde' always been pronounced the same through the centuries? We have reason to believe it has not. The sounds for each and every word in French (and English) are arbitrary. Indeed, even the way the words are used is arbitrary, custom, tradition, changing.
Algebra is a language. There is no word for 'shit' in algebra. What the HELL?!?!
Why not? It's a 'language' isn't it? We can translate French into English ('shit') so why can't we translate French into Algebra?
Algebra is a language. Where are its verbs? One might say 'add', 'subtract', etc. Perhaps variables are pronouns and numbers are nouns. But you can only take this comparison just so far and it breaks down in the specifics. Algebra is NOT a language like French is a language. The point here is that we are now NOT using 'language' in its broadest sense, but are using 'language' in very narrow, specific senses.
And how about 'add', 'subtract', and the other operators. Are they arbitrary? Have these processes changed over the centuries with custom and tradition? No. Not in the same sense as the pronunciation, spelling and common usage for 'shit' or 'merde'. Don't go there.
Is the way addition performed arbitrary in the same way that the spelling for 'merde' is essentially arbitrary? No. Did the nature of addition itself
<<determine>> the operator symbolized by '+'? Absolutely. Has the way we 'add' evolved over the generations? No. Adding doesn't evolve, but spoken languages do.
These are just a few of dozens of differences we could point out between Algebra and French. And they are a different KIND of difference than you find between English and French. You cannot go to Paris and find someone in the bookstore who 'speaks Algebra' and carry on a conversation about your children and pets in Algebra, no matter how good you are at factoring quadratic equations.
English and French = language
1
Algebra = language
2
language
1 is NOT = language
2
Does this answer your question?
