According to Martin Heidegger in his essay on language, language "speaks" and comes from itself; it has its own voice. His sense of language is closely tied to his ideas on 'being,' as he feels that we live in the now, and everything is already existing and has existed. The same can be said of language; "we are always speaking, even when we do not utter a single word aloud, but merely listen or read, and even when we are not particularly listening or speaking but are attending to some work or taking a rest" (p. 1118). The most important thing to remember is that it is language that speaks, and not the man; this leaves the burden and ability to communicate out of the hands of man, who instead just follows along and responds to what language has to say. To that end, Heidegger believes that "language speaks man," and man would be unable to exist without language (p. 1120). This sentence is closely related to ideas forwarded by philosophers and authors including Jean-Peal Sartre, Jacques Derrida, and Julia Kristeva: their works can be viewed as responses or agreements to Heidegger's assertion.
In Sartre's work Being and Nothingness, the author shows his influences by expanding on Heidegger's ideas of language allowing man to exist; in essence, man is nothing but a being in constant search of completion. However, unlike Heidegger, Sartre's outlook is much more existential - instead of being able to look for the fundamental sense of Being, Sartre thinks that it is impossible to truly reach a state of completion or happiness. When Sartre, for example, reads the sentence "language speaks man," Sartre believes it refers to the notion of existence preceding essence; what you do defines who you are (p. 1119). Sartre sees language as part of existence, and our language and actions make up our essence, or the basics of our existential being. There is a difference between speaking and language - men can speak 'impurely,' meaning that they are not following along with what language is attempting to convey. Poetry is one of the most important modes of language for Heidegger; "What is spoken purely is the poem. For the moment, we must let this statement stand as a bare assertion" (pp. 1124-25). In poetry, intention and the connection between "what we think and what we are told by language" is demonstrated most clearly, and in this case must be given the utmost consideration.
In the case of Derrida, the phrase "language speaks man" goes along well with his notion of deconstruction - breaking down things and ideas into its component parts. Derrida's overall goal is to determine the nature of meaning, as well as the relationship between the "Other" and the "Same" through the 'voice'. Derrida believes the 'voice,' which is presumably how 'language' is expressed, is a presence that relates directly to consciousness to generate meaning. In order to deconstruct these notions, he follows Heidegger's belief that we are inherently designed by the environment and values around us, and that we follow a particularly patriarchal and masculinist perspective in Western culture. Because our culture holds these values, we do as well through their expression (Derrida, p. 1680). Julia Kristeva's work continues along the same likes as Derrida, expanding Heidegger's notion of "language speaks man" into psychoanalytic conclusions regarding the nature of man. This concept ties in with her idea of the semiotic, which uses language in terms of speech patterns and pauses, rather than the actual words being meant, to reveal the instincts and essence of the person in question. In short, it is not what is being said, but how it is being said that is most important; since that intonation is still part of language, it is inevitably part of what determines who we are. Kristeva thinks that the way we use language is what "speaks man" (Kristeva, p. 2067).
The concept of language for Heidegger, just like with these theorists, is tied closely in with the constant present of being; we are always using language and expressing through it, as both world and things create each other and cause their existence. Language, in essence, comes first in the transaction; "Man speaks in that he responds to language" (p. 1132). The question then becomes what we respond to instead of what we create. Language brings along difference, dividing world and things and creating intimacy in the process. The relationship between man and language then becomes much more complex; man has the choice to not speak what is being told through language, or sometimes finds their mode of communication inadequate. Poetry is conceived as the basest, more pure form of language and expression, as purity comes through the bond of intention and prose.
Works Cited
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism 2nd Ed. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: WW Norton, 2010. Print.
