For this write-up I am extrapolating from the
definition of language well-written by
rafial: "A system of
symbols developed to
communicate ideas between
intelligent entities." Notice the enormous span of this definition. Absolutely
anything can be made
symbolic. If I'm playing
bridge, my partner and I can define two
farts to mean "play spades". A
metadefinition can be applied to any
entity so that it
symbolizes something else. A
bar-code is just a series of black and white lines, but if you understand
binary then you can understand it represents a
number.
Metadefinitions are independent of
definitions. For example, you and I could make an agreement that the words "yes" and "no" will henceforth have swapped meanings. So
yes means no and
no means yes. It's all arbitrary. In the realm of
oral natural languages like
English, a particular sound pattern is representative of a particular idea, to be associated inside a
brain by learning. Obviously language is native to the realm of the mind. Without a mind to
ascribe meaning, the
Library of Congress is merely a big pile of paper and ink molecules. So language is pure
abstraction, not tied to any
physical entity.
This is exactly what thought is, and perhaps consciousness itself. When you look around a room, you see blues and grays, flats and curves, hards and softs; the moment something enters your thoughts, it is labeled; it is impossible to do otherwise (you can't think of something without thinking about it and making associations). You are looking at language. The mind works by association and language is merely association. When I look at a glass of water, much more than "glass of water" enters my mind. I question whether I'm thirsty or not; I wonder if someone will spill it; I get the urge to take a piss. This is difficult to grasp, but here is a simple equation: language = symbolism = thought. Which brings me to the point:
You are language. By you, I mean the voice in your head that right now is reading these words off the screen. Look away for a moment and words will continue to flow through your mind. You can't help it. Where are the spaces between thoughts? At this level, you are not in control of your own mind. This is probably the first thing you learned if you've ever tried meditation.
Don't think of an elephant! I just planted a word virus in you. You can't get the word 'elephant' out of your thoughts because you are your thoughts and thinking "ok now, stop thinking 'elephant'" is a paradox. So if you are your thoughts and thoughts are language, then you are language. As such, you are a being capable of the singular talent of metaprogramming, a phrase coined by John C. Lilly in Programming and Metaprogramming the Human Biocomputer.
See also: language is a virus and language is a virus from outer space.
Terence McKenna thinks that language will soon evolve into visible language. Maybe as soon as December 21, 2012.