Language: a definition to help analyze video games

From Gary Waters / Getty Images
"Time changes all things; there is no reason why language should escape this universal law" - Ferdinand de Saussure
Before I set up a theoretical framework using a pattern language it is important to get some definitions right. Let's have a look at language first, which I will dive into in this post. Then at patterns second and finally at the combination of the two.

It shouldn't be too hard for most of us to come up with a definition of a language... Right? It is a system with rules (grammar) that is used to convey information through words (vocabulary). However, this definition is not wholly conclusive nor inclusive for that matter. What about sign language? It seems the definition of a language needs to be broadened in order to include this form as well. So, sign language is the same as a spoken language except that you use signs instead of words and there we are: we have a fully inclusive definition of language... Right? Not really, because what about the derivative of spoken language? We shouldn't forget about the written word, be it in Arabic, Sanskrit, or Braille for instance.

In each of these (written) languages, symbols or signs represent a specific meaning. The relation between the symbol and the meaning is arbitrary and not set in stone. In other words, the relation is susceptible to change and not fixed. You could also say that language is made up, however that would overly simplify the complexity of language and ignore its emergent qualities.

Ferdinand de Saussure was the first to point out this non-intrinsic feature of language and pointed out that the relation of a word like "tree" with the object that it represents is rather an agreement (in the English language) than a universal rule.
The Arbitrary Nature of Language
The meaning of a word can change and shift as well as the way a word is written or pronounced. Language in that sense is a quagmire: "an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread" (definition from thefreedictionary.com). Even trees are not safe in the quagmire and over the centuries 'treo' or 'treow' from Old English became the modern day version. This is still a conservative example in the sense that with little imagination you can still see how the modern day tree is rooted (pun intentional) in its ancestor. 

Attempts to maintain and conserve a language to its supposed original form, often for sentimental reasons, are usually not very successful nor effective on the long run. An example of such linguistic conservatism or prescriptivism can be found in The French Academy who has been fighting to maintain the French language to a certain state. For instance, with the rise of computer technology they adopted the word "ordinateur" to refer to a computer.

After a while, alternatives to "ordinateur" became common such as "PC". This development is out of the sphere of control of the Academy. Secondly, and most important of all, this particular example is striking because the root of the word for "compute" is Latinate and more closely related to French than to English. The French Academy and its efforts are bound to be swallowed by the quagmire over time as the language that they seek to preserve is ever-changing.

Ordinateur or computer?
So where does that bring us to the definition of a language? Is it simply a system of rules that allows its users to convey information or is more than that? I hope by now you have let go of your possible preconceptions that a language is a fixed system of rules plain and simple and understand that it is fluid and ever-changing.

The difference in understanding is important and informs a prescriptive or a descriptive approach. Prescriptive is an approach where you set absolute rules and don't allow for deviance. Descriptive is an approach where you describe what you see which allows for changes as you learn more about that which you are studying. I think this applies to a language, but also many other things. Including video games. There are emergent patterns that can be found in video games and taking these patterns together you can form a pattern language.

Now I still owe you a definition of patterns and pattern language. I will get to that in the following post. The key points of this post are:
  • words, signs and symbols make up a language
  • languages are arbitrary by nature
  • languages and video games can be approached in a prescriptive or descriptive way

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