Most anthropologists consider human language to be one of the most essential mechanisms behind the evolution of primitive human ancestors into Homo Sapiens (Wenke & Olzewski 2007), as well as behind the development of early human cooperative societies.
By definition, therefore, wherever language differences exist between individuals who wish to communicate, their ability to bridge the language gap will determine whether or not they will be successful. Society is becoming ever-more ethnically diverse; consequently, language barriers arise more often and in more contexts than ever before.
Diverse language skills enable individuals to communicate complex thoughts, because the alternative without multilingual abilities is to reduce most communications to rudimentary gestures and hand signals that are just not effective for communicating complex ideas (Wenke & Olzewski 2007).
Critical Thinking in Persuasion:
In human beings, cognitive development occurs in stages with fundamental differences in the specific intellectual concepts one is capable of understanding at various chronological ages (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005). For example, the concrete operational stage only develops in late childhood. In fact, some of the most complex reasoning abilities related to anticipating consequences of choices develop fully only after the transition from adolescence to adulthood is complete (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005).
Without critical thinking skills, it would impossible ever to consider the logical merits and flaws of any position (including one's own) or to conduct an intellectual comparison of any conflicting points-of-view.
Conclusion:
Language is one of the fundamental distinctions between modern human societies and those of primitive early precursors to Homo Sapiens. Language is also a necessary component of communicating complex thoughts and persuasive arguments. Since our society is increasing in ethnic diversity, the ability to communicate effectively in more than one language is becoming correspondingly more important, especially at work.
References
Copi, Irving M. (1998) Introduction to Logic. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Gerrig, Richard, J., Zimbardo, Phillip, G. (2005)
Psychology and Life 18th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Wenke, Robert J., Olzewski, Deborah I. (2007) Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind's First Three Million Years. New York: Oxford University Press.
