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Makale Özeti:
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If we are to say that mathematics deals only with numbers, then the assumption that having mathematics without language will undoubtedly be correct. To some extent this assumption is true but the main point that needs attention at this stage is how would it be ever possible to talk about mathematics without language.
Language is the means of communicating, expressing, and interpreting information and ideas. The modern era demands literacy. Not only learners, i.e., the students, but even those at the workplace should be able to translate between representations, within mathematics, between mathematics and other areas as well; to communicate findings orally and in writing. The connections between mathematics and other disciplines are quite obvious. Mathematics gives people the power and utility to express, understand and solve problems in diverse settings (NCTM, 1985).
According to Libby Krussel (1996) since mathematics has words and symbols which is an extension of existing language and since it has its own syntax and grammar, it is possible to say that math is a language.
As it is quite rightfully claimed that math is a language, then it may as well be asserted that math is learned just as a language is. Children learn using telegraphic language implying that they start off with one or two word utterances, and then they pass on to formulaic speech which is the usage of short structures. The same process applies to learning mathematical concepts as well, like in learning addition first and then multiplication. Otherwise, the latter will not signify much to the learner.
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