The Role of Language and Reason in History

History can be defined as a systematic and written account of events in a particular the ones that affect a nation, an institution and are often connected philosophical explanations regarding their causes, true story distinguished from romance, annals relating to facts and events recorded for each year in strict chronological orders. In addition to that it can also be biography which is a record of life of individuals ranging from memoir or simply history derived from personal experience, observation and memory (Hegel, 1953). Reason is the means by which rational beings propose and consider explanations that concern cause and effects, true and false as well as what is good from bad. It's a consideration that serves to explain or justify some events.

Language refers either specifically to the human capacity to acquire and use complex systems of communication or even to specific instances of such systems of complex communication. The scientific study of languages in the many form of its senses is called linguistics. Language is governed by grammatical rules that combine particular signs carrying particular meanings. Language can be based on auditive and visuals forms for instance natural languages like the sign languages, written language, and other artificially constructed systems of communications like the computer programming.

In discussing the roles of language and reason in history its evident that no country can exist without a history just a an individual without memory therefore history serve not only in telling us about the past but it also offers much needed help when it comes to understanding the present as well as in prediction of what might happen in the future. Language and reason is a foundation by which history is built on in terms of facts as well as the evidences that play a critical role when historians are creating historical records. Historical evidences can either be from primary or a secondary source which language is very useful as it's is used in the writing as well as presentation of such history to people. In addition to that reason plays a significant role in history as it is from certain reasoning that historians create historical records of specific events in certain ways. Any element of bad reasoning can result to false recording of history resulting to a bias (Jackaman, 2003).

Language is used in communication of thoughts, facts and ides but it's also be used to alerter ideas as its affects persons thoughts, emotions, and the ways on perceiving the world around them. Therefore considering the fact that language differ from one group to another then history can therefore be altered over generations as different individuals reason in different ways having an effect on history.

Both language and reason are the main reasons why history exists however it also means that the validity of history heavily relies on the reasoning as well as the language. Thus history received in textbooks today is not all that happened in the past but simply represents or show what people remember and noted down hence without the ability to reason and language there could no way of knowing about the past (Owen, 2002).

Languages play an important role in history as they are ways of knowing hence they had effects on our ancestors as well meaning that history employs both elements. In addition to that since language controls individual's thoughts for instance if one considers things that can be said in one language and not in another hence since these two affects us now there are high changes that it had major role to play in history as well. Another role that language play in history is the existence of diversified translations of similar elements of language i.e. different words acquiring different meanings in different languages causing significant differences as regards to definitions e.g. the split between catholic and orthodox churches as a result difference interpretations of the bible due to effects of language and reasoning (Formigari, 2004).

Moreover language and reasoning plays a critical role in history especially when one considers the massive impacts it had in the past. Without language there could have been no tool to distinguish human from other animals that is the ability to tell stories. Such distinguishion led to debates or contracts that caused wars that shaped the modern world. In addition to that without the roles played by reasoning there couldn't have existed the decision that humans made including reason for going to war and reasons to colonize other parts of the worlds as a means of future investment, thus helping shape the history we have now.

Before the modernization that is prior to human learning to read and write the form of language used to pass down the history was through the spoken language inform of tales and stories which played massive role in passing the message across from one generation to another and from one person to another. The concept of censoring, altering and deleting of some undesirable or sensitive content from materials serve a big role in the history that is created. For instance it promotes passage of information that is only acceptable either by the society or group of individuals like the powerful leaders who may be affected by the passage of the raw information and this is evident in the current processes like eradication of evidences like through photo shopping, killing of journalist who accidentally access sensitive information, censorship of inappropriate contents and heavy protection of certain types of information (Crowly, 1996).

Finally the use certain language and reasoning for purposes of propaganda serve to making interpretation of history unclear. For instance use of foreign imported languages were in the past extensively used to enhance the goals of propaganda of war and hence were only understood perfectly by specific group of individuals who change their meanings within their own minds thus meaning that what people said don't necessarily mean what it seems or equally same dint even have enough vocabulary to express what is in their minds. All these therefore proofs that language and reason play a great role when it come to history.