Scribd
Upload
9 views

Definition of language

Language is a fundamental aspect of human society, enabling communication and the development of civilization. It possesses distinct characteristics such as being arbitrary, social, symbolic, systematic, vocal, non-instinctive, and productive, which differentiate it from animal communication. Language is dynamic and evolves with societal changes, encompassing various levels including phonological, lexical, syntactical, and sociolinguistic aspects.

Uploaded by

chahrahammouche
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
9 views

Definition of language

Language is a fundamental aspect of human society, enabling communication and the development of civilization. It possesses distinct characteristics such as being arbitrary, social, symbolic, systematic, vocal, non-instinctive, and productive, which differentiate it from animal communication. Language is dynamic and evolves with societal changes, encompassing various levels including phonological, lexical, syntactical, and sociolinguistic aspects.

Uploaded by

chahrahammouche
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

2.

Language

Definition and 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 bepart of animal communication; yet
they do not form part of it in total.

Language, the means through which humans communicate, is much more than
spoken or written words.

Five distinct characteristics comprise its true definition.

Language is a system, is dynamic, has dialect, is sociolect and idiolect. Within a


language's system are varying linguistic levels. The phonological level is the most
basic. It relates differences in sounds to differences in meanings.
Next, the lexical level comprises morphemes, or whole words with attached
definitions.
On the syntactical level, words are specifically arranged in sentences to convey a
thought. At this level, definitions of individual words cannot be considered
separately from the sentence, lest misinterpretation is bound.
The sociolinguistic level of the language system is shaped by social factors such as
age, gender and social class. It is best understood when considering the subtle, yet
distinct differences in the way men and women relay the same message.
Language is always changing; it is dynamic. Words that the "screen-technology"
demographic uses to communicate are quite different from those of the "baby
boomers". So much so that certain words and phrases are lost in the past. The
literature of Shakespeare exemplifies this.
The third characteristic, dialect, describes the regional differences of language.
Southern American English is very distinct from Northern American English, as is
English spoken in other countries such as Australia and London. These differences
are as much auditory as they are definitive.

Sociolect is directly related to the speaker's social class. A king and queen may use
different phrases and intonation than a pauper, for instance, and the hip-hop
generation's language is easily distinguished from those of the "valley".
Lastly, idiolect is the most specific characteristic of language. It refers to the
speech habits of an individual. From this view, even twins who have lived together
all their lives will use language differently. It includes voice quality, pitch,
intonation, word choice and many other factors.
Language is the collection of all efforts human use to communicate. Whether
spoken, written, or insinuated by movement and gesture, the five characteristics of
language remain relevant and important to human communication.
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.

You might also like