I think of language as a conceptual grid in the mind through which humans interpret the world and their experiences therein.

Yes!!! Depending on one's experiences in life and disposition, one's mind attributes different meanings to same concepts. This differential attribution to same facts and reality makes me believe that language is a mental image that one uses for attributing meaning.

I treat language not as a mental image stored for meanings but an abstract description of the features of the mental image which are most relevant to the context the mind is processing in a given moment.

   Dear Salam,

Good morning

   Yes, the language expresses our thoughts and ideas according to what we see and hear from the surrounding and which they are analyze by our brains.

Kind regards

Raid

If so, Dear Rafal Rzepka, why some times the ((misunderstanding)) happens?

My great greeting and regards for you

Dear Kirk MacGregor, why sometimes the ((misunderstanding)) happens? 

Best regards

Good morning Raid M. Al-Ani .

why sometimes the ((misunderstanding)) happens?

Regards

Dear Khurram Aziz, Your answer brilliant and important answer leads us to another question:

why sometimes the ((misunderstanding)) happens?

Regards

Hi,

Language is a store of our ideas, thoughts and concepts

Bright Morning Dr, Arwa

If the language is a like what you say, How can these ideas be reconciled with meanings?

Regards.

Dear Salam,

   Because the humans differ in their thinking and analyzing what they see or hear and this difference depends on their culture and educational level . so as I believe due to the explanation above, misunderstanding will happen.

Best regards

Raid 

Hi all,

There are a number of interesting points here. It would be nice to get ideas from someone working within the fields of brain image research, neural information processing, memory research or other related areas. I cannot help with this, but I can offer my own speculative views on what researchers have said so far.

To Rafal: I agree entirely that language is an expression of the mental image rather than the mental image itself. The mental image is likely to be something based more on intuitive understanding-which of course can stem from previous rationalizations- rather than something entirely rational and choate. What is interesting is what is lost or gained when these images are expressed verbally. As Kirk says language provides us with a means of interpreting these images in a way that is felt to be accessible to others. For this reason, despite the existence of idiolects, language is likely to be less personalized, less tied to an individuals intimacies and particularities than the mental image. 

To Arwa, I don't think that ideas and concepts are stored in the mind as language. However, the way we talk and write about ideas and concepts creates new mental images which will affect what is stored in the mind. It will also affect memory and recall as ideas expressed in vivid language are likely to leave more of an impact on long term memory and to be easier to access. However, a trade-off will come if this greater vividness leads to simplification or distortion.

Language.Where do you stand on linguistic relativity? Is there such a thing as non-linguistic thought? Is your mind wired for thought, language, both, neither?  

Mental Image. Does your notion of 'image' entail storing and processing of visual information as the organizing principle for semantic representation? What about blended multimodal cues?  Is the notion of 'image' to be abstracted closer to a non-committal 'model'?. 

Stored. Are you exclusively referring to 'mental storage'? What about actual in-the-world linguistic artefacts (voice recordings and texts)? Does 'mental image for language' coincide with 'mental image for linguistic artefacts'? Is language itslef -or its model- stored in the individual human mind or is it that only indices for linguistic behaviors -or their models- are?

Meaning. Is meaning a function of personal signification? Or is it constitutionally defined by communication objectives? Is meaning a linguistic construct? Is it a high-cognition protocol? Is it an affective filter?