English — a heritage worth preserving

Abstract

The way we use English matters. That is the proposition this article seeks to show. Language and thought are intertwined, and although we can think without language — animals do that — we need language to structure our thoughts and to communicate them to others. We need language to ask questions, to give orders, to make statements, and to express our emotions. Now although it may be possible to do all these things without language, our communication quickly becomes imprecise and vague. Anyone who has visited a country where no English is spoken will soon discover that fact if he cannot himself speak the local tongue.

Citation

Baker, E. (1978), "English — a heritage worth preserving", Education + Training, Vol. 20 No. 8, pp. 228-230. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb016570