God and Language

I have been reading the e-book version of Barbara Curtis' "Mommy, teach me to read" on my iphone (thank goodness for e-libraries and smartphones which make reading on the go so much easier for busy mums).

Like me, she sees the amazing love of God as she brought up 12 children of her own and taught many others as a preschool teacher.

Some excerpts from the book -

"God gave us the gift of language
Lord knows we need it. Animals have instincts that compel them toward the behavior appropriate to their species: how to hide from enemies, build nests, protect, feed, and care for their young, finally to teach them to run or to fly.

Compare human infants with animal babies. Humans take almost a year to walk independently; horses walk and run within minutes of birth. In the animal kingdom, the young are helpless for only the briefest period, and their own development is governed by instinct. All their instinctual behaviors would be released even if they were kept in a solitary condition.

Not so with humans. We don't have many instincts. We have potentials - given to us by God - that can only be released if certain requirements are met within our environment. Unlike animals, human infants are completely dependent on their parents for many years. Most of their training is accomplished through language. The few documented cases of children who grew up apart from other humans, as well as studies of children raised in isolated or solitary conditions, describe individuals with limited human characteristics.

God must have had something in mind when he created us this way.

Comfort, Communication, and the Creator
..Through his gift of language, God provided a basis for his best gift of all - relationship. He designed us to be deeply involved in each other's lives, and language is the medium of interdependence. The warm communication between parent and baby sets the stage for the development of language. In the absence of serious deficiences, the beginning of language takes place in the context of love.

This loving context is critical to the child's later ability to communicate and trust. The assurance of mother love is essential to the optimum development of language in the child.

It begins with the baby's first cry. Even in his first wail, a baby expresses his individuality. ... Through having his needs met - hunger filled or comfort restored - the baby experiences communication as something that brings closeness and contentment."