Critical Thinking And Language

Critical Thinking and Language

The Gulf of Mexico is the Jacuzzi of the south. The water temperature never falls below 70 degrees, which always bring the invitation to relax in its wake even on the worst of days. The serenity of the sunset leaves a canvas of colors reflected upon the earthly green water.

Language plays a very important role in the critical thinking process. It is the medium between our thoughts and expressions. Without the power of language we would lose the ability to properly think and express our thoughts to others. The more astute our language is the stronger our thinking is. In order to convey our thoughts clearly one must have ample knowledge in the language spoken as well as precise articulation and sentence structure. When language diversity is present, one must exercise caution when relaying a thought or expression, in order to not be taken out of context. Kirby and Goodpaster (1999) wrote:

Without context we have no reference points to direct our thinking. Without context we have no ground upon which to build our thinking. Without context we cannot think clearly.

Our expressions of our thoughts or opinions set the tone of what is being said. Thus, adding context. It is very easy to misinterpret the context in which someone is presenting an idea. Language diversity enhances the chance of misinterpretation. For example, many languages have words that are the same, but have different meaning depending on the context they are used in. If this was unaware to the person being spoken to, they may take what is said out of context. This would give a false impression of the underlying meaning of what was being said.

Language can either empower or limit the expression of our thoughts. Expression of one’s thoughts is directly proportionate to the level of knowledge of their language. The more educated one is in the use of their language, the easier they are able to effectively convey their thoughts. Conversely, the less educated are more likely to use grammatical errors or use the wrong words to describe their thoughts. This can change the meaning all together, or at least, cause misinterpretation of what they are trying to convey. In addition, there are times with language can not describe our thoughts and feelings. This is not due to the knowledge, or the lack of, but solely the limitation that language ensues.

Persuasion is the process of guiding people to or convincing them of the adoption