I am currently reading an Arabic translation of this book . Offers an interesting new perspective on the origin of language as a part of the sounds of nature.
I am currently reading an Arabic translation of this book . Offers an interesting new perspective on the origin of language as a part of the sounds of nature.
أن الحضارة التكنولوجية تقلص من التنويع العضوي الحي للأرض،ان اللغة نفسها تتقلص ،و فيما هناك غناء طيور أقل نتيجة لتدمير الغابات و الأراضي الخصبة و الممطرة،فأن الكلام البشري يفقد أكثر من قوته الساحرة،و ذلك أننا عندما لا نعود نسمع الاصوات في الطبيعة فأن كلامنا نفسه لا يمكن أن يتغذي منها،و مثل الحديث الذي يرشه ماء النهر يتم إخراسه بالمزيد من السدود ،فان لغاتنا نفسها تصبح أكثر فقرا و أقل وزنا ،و تزداد خواء من عناصرها الأرضية الطبيعية.
I really struggled getting through this and am glad I finished it, but it was eye-opening and mind-altering. Be prepared for dense philosophy! The Spell of the Sensuous is about how the development of the alphabet contributed to the severing of our relationship with nature; non-representational written language moved our vivid “reading” of/relationship with the world around us to a more solipsistic reading of/relationship with ourselves.
"Late one evening I stepped out of my little hut in the rice paddies of eastern Bali and found myself falling through space. Over my head, the black sky was rippling with stars..." I've been captivated by this book from the first sentence.