"Is alright a word?"Alright, Faldage, if you insist, we'll resume our discussion about words...
First out we will explain words without using any words...
0mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!Alright, those of you who are one with the Universe now know the true meaning of all words, but for those of you who are at odds with the Universe let us together use Wordwind's twirling dogs as a koan for understanding words...
Yes, Wordwind, the dog trainer's circling finger is, in fact, a "word", albeit a simple one. A more intricate "word" would be indicated if the dog trainer reversed the finger circling direction from clockwise to counter-clockwise and the dog followed suit.
This is not likely but not because dogs are dumb. This is because dogs at this point in time don't have a proper language to stimulate their behavior. You really want to see some twirling? Go see the Twirling Dervish Sect of Muslims. Man, they can really whirl. But don't put down the circus dogs, the Twirling Dervish are simply lucky. They are lucky to have the push of a great parcel of words accumalated through vast time to set them to spin.
But ultimately, the only difference between the dogs and the dervish is the complexity of the stimulus and of the response.
Now Wordwind, let's say for example that you are a woman and that you have given birth to a cro-magnon baby. (Yes I know that most human babies born today are probably cro-magnon, but what I'm talking about is that you give birth today to a cro-magnon baby of 100,000 years back.}
Anyway, your baby would very likely grow up to be articulate and smart, and might even make the debate team at school. On the other hand if you were a wench in the cro-magnon culture and had a modern baby back then, he would likely grow up stumbling around the dark woodlands while articulating at best, let's say for example , maybe about one hundred and twenty-two basic words.
So what, you might say, that is a lot more words than the neighboring Neandertals, and they seem to be happy and content while making do with barely fourteen gestures, words, and expressive grunts. Words? Who needs them?
Sure thing, little momma, met any neandertals lately?
And so now, praise the Lord, say amen, at long last, here is my point...
The human brain stores information by association. The formulation of words reinforces the association and thereby enhances recall. The ability to build pyramids and send Alice to the moon is a product of words.
Not ideas, not bulldozers, not free-enterprise, but words. The words we speak and sign are not from us, they are us, in other words, Words R Us, and without words we likely wouldn't be extant. -----------------> On the other hand it might be our inability to understand the nature of our words that causes us to become extinct 
