Carl Sandburgs View of Language Essay -- Poem Poet Essays

Carl Sandburgs View of LanguageCarl Sandburgs poem Languages is a poem about how languages can change over time. On the surface level, it compares the evolution of language to the formation of a river. At the alike time, however, it makes a statement on why languages are difficult to label and mark. The lines dividing languages flaw very easily.LanguagesThere are no handles upon a languageWhereby men take hold of itAnd mark it with signs for its remembrance.It is a river, this language,Once in a kelvin yearsBreaking a new courseChanging its way to the ocean.It is mountain effluviaMoving to valleysAnd from nation to nationCrossing borders and mixing.Languages die like rivers. haggle wrapped round your tongue todayAnd broken to shape of thoughtBetween your teeth and lips speakingNow and todayShall be faded hieroglyphics ex thousand years from now.Sing-and singing-rememberYour song dies and changesAnd is not here tomorrowAny more than the windBlowing ten thousand years agoThe firs t lead lines of the poem talk about how man has no firm grip on language. It is clearly not a physical thing to be grasped, and it cannot be marked as such. There is an attachment between men and language, but it is not clear. This may be a statement on the many contrary languages humans speak. It may not be clear when a language has completely changed into something different, or when it is merely a different dialect. It is hard to tell where the boundaries are, which is why it is described as having no handles for men to take hold of and mark it with signs for its remembrance. These difficulties arise because exactly what makes a language is difficult to determine. Sometimes it can be... ...guage dies.In its entirety, this poem describes how a language can evolve or die, and how things said in this language can change or die with it. Boundaries between languages may not be clear. Like rivers they can travel close together, or merge completely. All languages, however, act as rivers. They start at a opening and travel. They then travel, merge, or fade away. Upon closer examination, the poem also says why languages are difficult to label. The reason is that they change with time. The English language of today is not the same English language spoken hundreds of years ago. As all languages evolve similarly, this applies to all languages. Subtle changes in gestures, writing, or spoken language in conclusion add up. After a long enough period of time it is as though an entirely new language has formed, but kept the same name as the previous language.