Conceptual Language and Learning

Translation

Translation is one of the most fundamental component for learning. Normally when we learn something we translate it to our already "familiar language". This "familiar language" (hereinafter referred as "conceptual language") doesn't have to be a spoken human language it is ש much broader language that is unique to each and everyone of us.

Most of us familiar with direct translation for instance when we try to learn foreign language, we usually translate words to our own mother tongue language. Translating words from one spoken language to another is just one simple form of translation, consciously or unconsciously we always translate information. We translate our reality, thoughts, ideas and sensual information to our own conceptual language. using translation technique for learning and creative thinking is very powerful technique. Here are few examples: Descartes revolutionized math by translating the plane to coordinate system, Kurt Godel with his incompleteness theorem revolutionized the concept of truth by translating symbolic logic to natural numbers, Allen Turing revolutionized computation by translating computability problem to abstract machines. When we learn something new we normally translate the information into something that we already familiar with. One thing may be missing with this "learning by translation" argument, the learner has to start from something... He/she must have initial language so that they can translate what they learn into this language. This language does not have to be a spoken human language it may be very well a conceptual language that doesn't involve any words.

The conceptual language

How do we pick our conceptual language? This question is extremely difficult to answer. We may think that we pick conceptual language through sensual experiences, but we don't really know. We do know that brain development is affected by sensual stimulation at early age and beyond, however it is extremely difficult to understand how the brain make connections that really form the unique conceptual language of each person.
Both human spoken language and conceptual language are dynamic they are constantly changing and evolving with time. Our own unique conceptual language has profound impact on us and just like any other language it can be evolved when we think about it and aware to how we use it. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz believed that "languages are the best mirror of the human mind, and that a precise analysis of the signification of words would tell us more than anything else about the operations of the understanding”, however our minds differ and our understanding depends upon personal point of view. Furthermore, mere spoken words are meaningless, the built in language that give them meaning is our own unique conceptual language.

Clearly we can find significant amount of similarities between two or more unique conceptual languages, but there will always be differences between two conceptual languages. The unique language is not bounded to spoken words it involve a wide aspects of inner and outer self communication means involving emotions, shapes, colors, informal ideas and many many more. Studying using conceptual language communication tools and means can be much more efficient. more efficient.

Conceptual learning

According to Albert Einstein "The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking".

This conceptual language not only mirrors our everyday thinking it interacts with those everyday thinking in the most intimate possible way. We may further enhance our creativity by broadly using the conceptual language for inner communication that goes beyond our spoken language. Further mixing emotions, sounds, music, rhythm and shapes can be useful when we are trying to learn something new or master new skill. New acquired patterns or skills enhance our conceptual language and form new inner and outer communication channels.