As we move forward with this blog together in the weeks to come, I figured it would be beneficial to take the time in this first blog post to not only discuss my first topic, but also to use that topic to help lay out my plans for the future of this blog. As you may know from reading my introductory post I am fascinated with constructed languages. That is any language not grown naturally but created deliberately by an individual or group. So, for my blog I plan to focus on linguistics overall, with an emphasis on constructed language when the material permits, and for our post today that is the case.  
I recently read a fascinating, albeit short, article on constructed language and its practical use in our world. While, of course, I particularly love constructed languages when they pertain to fantasy and sci-fi literature, in this case I will be sticking to non fictitious instances of constructed language. The article talked about the concept of constructed languages that were designed specifically to be logical and easily applied, one in particular. This was in the context of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that one's language changes how one perceives and thinks about reality. So that if a completely practical and logical language where devised anyone who spoke it would therefore see the word in a much more logical way and therefore act in an appropriately logical manner. While the study latter found this to not necessarily be the case with the future dismissal of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, It brought to my mind the peculiar concept of constructed language as a tool for bettering the human race. Allow me to elaborate.   

(Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, the two co-creators of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)

Many dignified, scholars, linguist, sociologist, and other scientific professionals believe that a one world language would be greatly beneficial to global society. While it is very unlikely that we as a human race will be speaking one language in the next few hundred years, it is definitely an idea to ponder. But what if instead of letting a one world language develop naturally through the inevitable blending of all languages, what if we devised a constructed language for the human race. If we were to do this we would want to devise a language that is in all manners of speaking, perfect. Linguist could design a language that has the most logical structure and grammar to make it easier to learn and to communicate. This language would obviously have to be phased in over a few generations but if a theoretically perfect language was applied and adopted as a global method of communication it could revolutionize the human race, and possibly move us toward our next step of evolution. 

Such a theoretically perfect and logical language could also be applied to our electronics and computer system, allowing for our computers to use our language as code, creating a literal one world language. Imagine every microchip, telephone, supercomputer, man, woman, and child on the entire planet all speaking the same language. It would be a monuments feet in human evolution. However, it is very unlikely any such "perfectly logical language" could be devised, and even more unlikely that it could ever be implemented as a worldwide language. However it is a fascinating theory to think about. 

Introductions Are In Order

Hello all! I'll start off by introducing myself so everyone knows a little bit more about where I come from. My name is Erik Wilson, I'm 18 years old and I'm currently in my 4th semester attending GCC. Attending GCC for what you ask? Well that’s a very good question, and I'm not sure I know the answer myself. But before we get into that, lets start somewhere a little less complex, how about why I'm taking a linguistics class. 

While I don't plan to go into language as any sort of job or carrier, I do want to learn more about the subject. I have always been fascinated by other languages, and how they are structured different from our own.  I'm particularly interested in constructed and synthetic languages, that is, languages that someone built or designed as opposed to ones that developed naturally. Now if your wondering what kind of languages those are, prepare yourself for the completely nerdy response. The languages that I've been interested are have been languages such as Elvish, Navi, Dothraki, and Klingon. All of these are made up languages for books, TV shows, and movies of a geeky nature. I have always been a big geek and loved sci-fi and fantasy. That combined with my love of language quickly lead me to be interested in these fake languages.  

(A sample of Sindarin. The elvish language created by J.R.R. Tolkien)

A Little bit more information about myself, being such a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy I am a very avid gamer. But despite the stereotype this brings to mind I'm actually very active. I love to go hiking, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, camping and pretty much anything outdoors. I have also been teaching myself parkour these past few months.  

Now to the subject of my carrier. I have always loved building things, tinkering in the garage and such. And in the last year or so I've combined my knack for building things with my love for sci-fi and fantasy to start my own business, Polygon Props, as a prop maker. What this means is that I build prop replicas of various  thing from video games and movies, (although it's mostly space guns) 

(A suit of armor I made from the video game Halo, worn by yours truly)

So I build suits of armor and weapons for people from their favorite games and TV shows. while it's still small right now, I would eventually like to turn this hobby into a full time carrier, and maybe even make props for big name movies one day. So that’s a little about me. I hope it gave you some insight into the person behind the blog. and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you over the next few months.