Problematic Communication and Theories of Language in One Hundred Years of Solitude

Abstract

The genetic endowment that most readily distinguishes human species is faculty of language, and in many ways use of is at centre of human experience, facilitating interpersonal relations, mediating thought, and communicating thoughts and emotions. Yet despite centrality of to essence of human experience, its nature is somewhat opaque and - judging by Plato's Cratylus, biblical Tower of Babel, and much 20th century philosophy - a source of enduring fascination. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, Garcia Marquez explores a number of theoretical aspects of language, and in so doing, develops a surprising tension between interpersonal function of as a communicative tool, and its cognitive function as a mediating tool of thought. Although thought is ever present, Garcia Marquez recognizes that there is something miraculous yet delicate in successful communication, and that problems of communication are far more common than we assume. Three recurring types of interaction problem are illustrated throughout novel: inability to communicate, lack of will to communicate, and miscommunication. These serve various purposes in novel, but all contribute to a fundamental theme of personal isolation.The most well-known of ancient tales of problematic communication is Tower of Babel myth, in which construction of great tower is abandoned when divides human in order to thwart builders' efforts. As such, it is not only a tale of problematic communication and interpersonal division, but also an early attempt to explain phenomena, in this case diversity. Allusions to Babel in One Hundred Years of Solitude are part of broader context of biblical references, but they also develop specific themes related to and relation between miscommunication and solitude. An assumption at heart of Babel myth is that there was an original from which all others are descended. Such a view has persisted through time, and various arguments, generally reflecting some ethnic or sectarian bias, have been put forward in identifying this presumably innate language. For instance, in attempting to prove his hypothesis, King James IV of Scotland (1473-1513) replicated earlier experiments of having a pair children raised together in isolation. The reported result was unequivocal: children did develop fluent Hebrew (Fromkin, Blair, & Collins, 1999, p. 49). Others which were claimed to be this original are Phrygian, German, Aramaic, and Chinese (p. 49).In Garcia Marquez' s writing, it is Latin that is presented, tongue in cheek, as original, innate language. In A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Father Gonzaga greets title character, an angel, in Latin, but immediately suspects some type of hoax when angel fails to respond, evidently not understanding the of God (219). In fact, angel speaks in an dialect with a strong sailor's voice (218). The inference, quite in keeping with much Latin American Catholicism, is that poor and disenfranchised are closer to heaven than those at top of political and socio-economic hierarchy. The humour in this passage arises from combination of Father Gonzaga's conviction, and our immediate sense that although his argument is valid, he fails to recognize fundamentally unsound premise (Latin spoken in heaven) on which it is constructed. Garcia Marquez' s target here is both dogma and snobbery surrounding Latin, and acceptability of flawed logic in theological debates.In One Hundred Years of Solitude, Garcia Marquez returns to this idea. As Jose Arcadio Buendia descends into madness, convinced that world was stuck on Monday, he is reduced to an animal state, tied to a tree in courtyard, frothing at mouth and shouting like a man possessed in some high-sounding and fluent but completely incomprehensible language (81). …