Scribd
Upload
5K views

Features of Language

Language is a uniquely human form of communication that is arbitrary, systematic, and learned socially rather than instinctively. It differs from animal communication in these essential ways. Language uses conventional symbols organized into complex systems to allow for infinite creativity and expression. The core features of language that set it apart are its arbitrariness, social nature, symbolic representation of ideas, and systematic structure composed of multiple interrelated subsystems.

Uploaded by

Asad Mehmood
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
5K views

Features of Language

Language is a uniquely human form of communication that is arbitrary, systematic, and learned socially rather than instinctively. It differs from animal communication in these essential ways. Language uses conventional symbols organized into complex systems to allow for infinite creativity and expression. The core features of language that set it apart are its arbitrariness, social nature, symbolic representation of ideas, and systematic structure composed of multiple interrelated subsystems.

Uploaded by

Asad Mehmood
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Features of language:

Language is, today, an inseparable part of human society. Human civilization has been possible only through
language. It is through language only that humanity has come out of the stone age and has developed science,
art and technology in a big way. Language is a means of communication, it is arbitrary, it is a system of
systems. We know that Speech is primary while writing is secondary.

Language is human so it differs from animal communication in several ways. Language can have scores of
characteristics but the following are the most important ones: language is arbitrary, productive, creative,
systematic, vocalic, social, non-instinctive and conventional. These characteristics of language set human
language apart from animal communication. Some of these features may be part of animal communication; yet
they do not form part of it in total.

Language is Arbitrary: Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no inherent relation between the
words of a language and their meanings or the ideas conveyed by them. There is no reason why a female adult
human being be called a woman in English, aurat in Urdu, Zen in Persian and Femine in French. The choice of
a word selected to mean a particular thing or idea is purely arbitrary but once a word is selected for a particular
referent, it comes to stay as such. It may be noted that had language not been arbitrary, there would have been
only one language in the world.
Language is Social: Language is a set of conventional communicative signals used by humans for
communication in a community. Language in this sense is a possession of a social group, comprising an
indispensable set of rules which permits its members to relate to each other, to interact with each other, to co-
operate with each other; it is a social institution. Language exists in society; it is a means of nourishing and
developing culture and establishing human relations.
Language is Symbolic: Language consists of various sound symbols and their graphological counterparts
that are employed to denote some objects, occurrences or meaning. These symbols are arbitrarily chosen and
conventionally accepted and employed. Words in a language are not mere signs or figures, but symbols of
meaning. The intelligibility of a language depends on a correct interpretation of these symbols.
Language is Systematic: Although language is symbolic, yet its symbols are arranged in a particular system.
All languages have their system of arrangements. Every language is a system of systems. All languages have
phonological and grammatical systems, and within a system there are several sub-systems. For example, within
the grammatical system we have morphological and syntactic systems, and within these two sub-systems we
have systems such as those of plural, of mood, of aspect, of tense, etc.
Language is Vocal: Language is primarily made up of vocal sounds only produced by a physiological
articulatory mechanism in the human body. In the beginning, it appeared as vocal sounds only. Writing came
much later, as an intelligent attempt to represent vocal sounds. Writing is only the graphic representation of the
sounds of the language. So the linguists say that speech is primary.
Language is Non-instinctive, Conventional: No language was created in a day out of a mutually agreed
upon formula by a group of humans. Language is the outcome of evolution and convention. Each generation
transmits this convention on to the next. Like all human institutions languages also change and die, grow and
expand. Every language then is a convention in a community. It is non-instinctive because it is acquired by
human beings. No body gets a language in heritage; he acquires it because he an innate ability.
Language is Productive and Creative: Language has creativity and productivity. The structural elements
of human language can be combined to produce new utterances, which neither the speaker nor his hearers may
ever have made or heard before any, listener, yet which both sides understand without difficulty. Language
changes according to the needs of society.
Finally, language has other characteristics such as Dualityreferring to the two systems of sound and
meaning,Displacement which means the ability to talk across time and space, Humanness which means that
animals cannot acquire it, Universality which refers to the equilibrium across humanity on linguistic
grounds, Competence andPerformance which means that language is innate and produced is society and
furthermore, language is culturally transmitted. It is learnt by an individual from his elders, and is transmitted
from one generation to another. Thus using J. Firth’s term, language is a ‘polysystametic’. It is also open to be
studied from multifaceted angles.
Advertisements

You might also like