Characteristics of human language
Human language is characterized by several key features that distinguish it
from other forms of communication. These characteristics collectively
contribute to the richness, flexibility, and complexity of human communication.
Some of the fundamental features of human language include:
- Arbitrariness:
- The relationship between linguistic symbols (words)
and their meanings is arbitrary. There is no inherent connection between
the sounds of a word and its meaning. Different languages may use
entirely different sounds to represent the same concept.
- Productivity (Generativity):
- Humans can create and understand an infinite number
of novel sentences. This ability to generate new combinations of words and
create entirely new expressions allows for the conveyance of an extensive
range of ideas, including those never encountered before.
- Discreteness:
- Language is made up of discrete units, such as
individual sounds (phonemes), words, and grammatical structures. These
discrete units can be combined in various ways to create meaningful
communication.
- Duality of Patterning:
- Language exhibits a dual structure, with small,
meaningless units (phonemes) combining to form meaningful units
(morphemes, words). This hierarchical structure allows for the creation
of complex messages from a finite set of basic elements.
- Semanticity:
- Language conveys meaning. Words and combinations of
words have specific meanings that can refer to objects, actions,
concepts, and more. The relationship between linguistic symbols and their
referents is based on shared conventions within a linguistic community.
- Cultural Transmission:
- Language is learned and passed down through
cultural transmission. Individuals acquire language by exposure to the
language spoken in their environment. Language is a product of culture,
and its rules and conventions are transmitted from one generation to the
next.
- Displacement:
- Humans can use language to refer to things not
present in the immediate environment, including past and future events.
This ability to talk about things beyond the here and now enables
communication about abstract concepts and experiences.
- Prevarication (Deception):
- Humans can use language to convey false or
hypothetical information. This ability to deceive or provide information
about non-real situations is unique to human language.
- Reflexivity:
- Language can be used to talk about language itself.
Humans can reflect on and discuss linguistic structures, rules, and the
nature of communication.
- Cultural and Social Context:
- Language is deeply embedded in social and cultural
contexts. It reflects and shapes the values, beliefs, and norms of a
particular linguistic community. The use of language is also influenced
by social factors such as power dynamics, politeness, and social roles.
These characteristics collectively contribute to the versatility and
adaptability of human language, allowing for the expression of a wide array of
thoughts, emotions, and ideas in diverse social and cultural settings.
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Next => Source : https://www.britannica.com/topic/language
A number of considerations (marked in italics below) enter into a proper
understanding of language as a subject:
Every physiologically and mentally typical person acquires in childhood the
ability to make use, as both sender and receiver, of a system of communication
that comprises a circumscribed set of symbols (e.g., sounds, gestures, or
written or typed characters). In spoken language, this symbol set consists of
noises resulting from movements of certain organs within the throat and mouth.
In signed languages, these symbols may be hand or body movements, gestures, or
facial expressions. By means of these symbols, people are able to impart information,
to express feelings and emotions, to influence the activities of others, and to
comport themselves with varying degrees of friendliness or hostility toward
persons who make use of substantially the same set of symbols.
Different systems of communication constitute different languages; the
degree of difference needed to establish a different language cannot be stated
exactly. No two people speak exactly alike; hence, one is able to recognize the
voices of friends over the telephone and to keep distinct a number of unseen
speakers in a radio broadcast. Yet, clearly, no one would say that they speak
different languages. Generally, systems of communication are recognized as
different languages if they cannot be understood without specific learning by both
parties, though the precise limits of mutual intelligibility are hard to draw
and belong on a scale rather than on either side of a definite dividing line.
Substantially different systems of communication that may impede but do not
prevent mutual comprehension are called dialects of a language. In order to
describe in detail the actual different language patterns of individuals, the
term idiolect, meaning the habits of expression of a single person, has been
coined.
Typically, people acquire a single language initially—their first language,
or native tongue, the language used by those with whom, or by whom, they are
brought up from infancy. Subsequent “second” languages are learned to different
degrees of competence under various conditions. Complete mastery of two
languages is designated as bilingualism; in many cases—such as upbringing by
parents using different languages at home or being raised within a multilingual
community—children grow up as bilinguals. In traditionally monolingual
cultures, the learning, to any extent, of a second or other language is an
activity superimposed on the prior mastery of one’s first language and is a
different process intellectually.
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