The Language Project is a code comprising 13 symbols, each representing a distinct basic property. The symbols function like building blocks. Combinations of these blocks form representations of thoughts and concepts. The idea is that every phenomenon can be described using one or more characteristics from only six categories: direction or position, proportion, state of existence, state of mobility, state of activity, and the physical state. Within these limitations, the challenge is to find unconventional ways of expression and phrasing in order to avoid ambiguity and cover the basic functionalities of natural languages. This is an experiment, and its aim is to explore how complex meanings can be encoded in a systematic and minimalistic way to fit the needs of communication. Eventually this can provide insights on the nature of language, thinking, and perception.
| < | moving towards, coming to, into the direction of, here, facing, approach, before, untill, for |
| > | away from, going away from, forth, distance, remoteness, after, from |
| : | next to, at, with, proximity |
| _ | small, low, down, inferior |
| ^ | big, high, up, superior |
| ( | alive, animate, conscious, biological, organic, manipulating |
| ) | non-alive, inanimate, not conscious, non-biological, inorganic, manipulable |
| } | mobile, movable, changing, not fixed |
| { | immobile, still, static, fixed |
| + | active, acting, on, engaged, busy, energy |
| - | non-active, passive, off, at rest, inert |
| ! | tangible, in a physical state, material, substantial, concrete, solid |
| ? | non-tangible, in a non-physical state, immaterial, abstract, imaginary, diffuse, elusive, gaseous |
Usually concepts and ideas are expressed in natural languages. To explore how concepts could be transferred into the code, the code was introduced to the Chat GPT 4 language model. The AI was able to apply the code and combine properties to create expressions for specific ideas. It came up with examples and suggestions for terms like '({!' for tree, '(}+?' for language, '^{!' for mountain,'+}!' for water, '^+}' for growth, or ':+(!' for friendship.
"The sun rises. A monkey sits on a tree. The tree is next to a river. Birds fly up in the sky." It put it this way: "^+! >^ (+} -{ : ^({ ^({ : ^+}! (+} < ^?", and came up with the following reasoning:
| ^+! >^ | "The sun (a superior, active, tangible entity) rises (movement from a lower to a higher point)." |
| (+} -{ : ^({ | "A monkey (an active, living, agile creature) sits (a passive, static state) on a tree (a large, living, static object)." |
| ^({ : ^+}! | "A tree (a large, living, static object) is next to a large river (an active, flowing, tangible, and large body of water)." |
| (+} < ^? | "Birds (living, active, and mobile creatures) fly (movement) up into the sky (a high, intangible space)." |
The grammatical frameworks and ways of expression provided by language subtly guide how we process information about reality and consequently influence our behaviour. The Language Project, with its systematic approach using basic symbols to represent complex ideas, prompts us to reconsider: What is the inherent meaning of a concept we use to articulate a thought or an idea? How is this meaning formulated in our minds, and what attributes do our minds assign to the things and events we observe and their relationship? Also, how is this meaning shaped by cultural biases, and how do these cultural biases diverge from scientific knowledge we have been gaining? By rendering expressions from natural languages into the systematic code of The Language Project, we might gain insights into how language structures our understanding of reality. This may raise new questions about the development of meaning and perception.