If a language dies, does knowledge die with it?

TOK Concepts

Values: Values are means for individuals to perceive the world around them. These are often shaped by culture.

Culture: Culture is the identity of a community based on unique ideas, beliefs, and values.

Explanation: The way people make sense of knowledge and communicate it to others.

Objectivity: When knowledge is objective, it means it exists without the influence of personal beliefs and opinions.

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Knowledge: Knowledge is any information perceived and processed by a community of knowers. Knowledge can exist in many forms, but is generally interchangeable with information.

Claim 1: The cultural identity of a community of knowers is deep-rooted in language hence when language is lost, the values held by the community are lost as well

Claim 2: Certain knowledge is objective and can be explained without the use of language thus language isn't always needed to convey knowledege.

Object 1: Article about Amadeo García García ae30391c73435d5bcc1cb924188a30a12212a2dd

FInal Object: Article about Amadeo García García

Object 3: A Text-book Of Latin Exercises: Intended As A Drill Book For Beginners, And As An Introduction To Caesar's Commentaries On The Gallic War 31sKUz7-TCL._SX313_BO1,204,203,200_

Reasoning I chose to use the article as my object because it has more clear links to culture and the link between culture and language. While it is somewhat difficult to analyze, I feel like it provides a great application of the TOK concepts and addresses the knowledge question better than the book, because the book implies that knowledge from that language still exists.

Pros:

Cons:

  • Provides detailed insights into the meanings of words of a dead language: helps us understand the scope of language and how integral it can be to learning and knowing.
  • Concrete object: has a clear significance in time and space
  • Learning the latin language is needed to understand Caeser’s commentaries about the Gaelic War, which directly addresses how language is needed to understand some knowledge.
  • Doesn’t address culture and values as much as it addresses perception and understanding: cultural implications aren’t necessarily easy to analyse.
  • Not a contemporary object- not as relevant to answering the KQ in the modern world.
  • Difficult to analyse as it is in a different language.

Pros:

Cons:

  • Modern example: he is still alive today, so this is a recent example and helps explain the KQ from a contemporary perspective.
  • Lots of emphasis on culture and the impact of language on culture, which addresses the chosen TOK concepts.
  • Shows the implications of the death of a language very clearly; explains Garcías experiences in depth.
  • The article itself doesn’t answer the KQ, the existence of the man does.

Using his story as an object is very abstract, and not as concrete.

Language: Language is the principle method if human communication. Language enables humans to express their thoughts and ideas, and affects how they interact with each other

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