Someone who wants to get to know the customs of a country frequently receives the advice to learn the language of that country. Why? Because the differences that distinguish the people of one country from those of another are reflected in the language. For example, the people of the islands of the Pacific do not have a term for war in their language. Similarly, some native tribes in the rain forests of the Amazon use up to 100 different terms for the color green.

The reflection of a culture in its language also applies to the area of computers. A closer look reveals that a modern telecommunications system, like the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), is nothing more than a network of computers. Depending on the application, a language has to be developed for such a communications network. That language is the signaling system, which allows intersystem communication by defining a fixed protocol. The study of the signaling system provides insight into the internal workings of a communication system.