As/Is







11.26.2003


the formal response

Tom

My quarrel, such as it is, with "Language is a pheromone" lies in the use of the term "pheromone". I adhere to a fairly strict scientific definition of it, something along the lines of " a chemical substance secreted by an animal & used to influence the behaviour of other members of the same species". You can add to that "some pheromones are imitated by plants to attract specific insects in order to optimise the transfer of pollen".

Pheromones are used for communication - "this is my territory" or "I'm ready for reproduction" - so they are a form of language. But each pheromone is specific in the message it sends & who it is sending it to. & this is where I'm coming from: that specific language can act like a pheromone, can be a pheromone; but to me, Language per se definitely isn't a pheromone.

Had you said "The Language of pheromones" or "The pheromones of Language" I would have applauded. Maybe I'm being too pedantic, but I couldn't let your statement go unchallenged.

Mark