Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: What is society?
Position‹2 of 6›: Society is a shared culture
Argument‹2 of 2: A society shares a language

Societies are organized around a common parlance like language that allows communication and social ties. Without language there is no society. Is language really constituting society or is society constituting a language?

The argument

Language is the critical component for the forming and storing of ideas. It is the foundation for the exchange of ideas and the social bonds that form the web of society. Without a shared language, society cannot form. We use our language and dialect as a critical identifier to demonstrate what society we are a part of. Our language is synonymous with our society.

Context

Communication is the foundation upon which all social ties are erected. Without a shared language, there can be no communication. Without communication, there can be no social ties. And without social ties, there can be no society.

Premises

[P1]Language is the foundation for forming and exchanging ideas and for the social bonds that weave a society together, so without a shared language a society cannot form. [P2] People use their language and dialect as a key marker of which society they belong to, making language effectively synonymous with society. [C] A society shares a language, which is central to it being a shared culture.

Counter-arguments

If language is synonymous with society, and without a shared language, a society cannot exist, then would that mean that those that cannot communicate within the shared language are not participating in that society? If someone goes deaf and can only communicate in sign language, would that mean that they are no longer able to participate in the same society as those that speak in a shared auditory language? Suggesting that language is a precondition for the emergence of a society puts the cart before the horse. A shared language is the product of a society, not the precursor to a society. Man cannot devise language alone. Therefore, in order for a shared language to be established, there must be some integration, cooperation and the formation of social ties. This means that for a shared language to emerge, there must have already been a society established.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] People can share ideas and form social ties without a shared language. [Rejecting P2] A language grows from a soceity.

Framing

A society is made up of social interactions and the exchange of ideas. Underpinning all of this is a shared language. Therefore, society grows from a shared language.