Definitions of language

1.2.1 If we take linguistics to be the scientific study of language, our next question then is "What is language?" This may at first sound like a naive and simple question. Yet to this extremely familiar; everyday phenomenon, it is difficult to give a satisfactory definition. Some people probably will say "language is a tool for human communication". Far from a definition. this only tells us what language does, or what it is used for, i.e. its function. Alternatively, one might say "language is a set of rules." Then this tells nothing about its functions, and there are actually other systems that are also rule-governed. Modern linguists have proposed various definitions of language, some of them are quoted below: "Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols." (Sapir, 1921) Language is "the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other by means of habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols." (Hall. 1968) "From now on I will consider language to be a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements." (Chomsky, 1957) Each of these definitions has its own special emphasis, and is not totally free from limitations, However, there are some important characteristics of human language linguists have agreed on; these are embraced in the following generally accepted definition: Language is a system of arbitrary, vocal symbols used for human communication. Short as it is, this definition has captured the main features of language. First of all, language is a system, i.e., elements of language are combined according to rules. This explains why "iblk" is not a possible sound combination in English. and also why "Been he wounded has" is not a grammatically acceptable sentence in English. Second, language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no intrinsic connection between a linguistic symbol and what the symbol stands for, for instance, between the word "pen" and the thing we write with. The fact that different languages have different words for the same object is a good illustration of the arbitrary nature of language. This also explains the symbolic nature of language: words are lust symbols; they are associated with objects, actions, ideas, etc. by convention, This conventional nature of language is well illustrated by a famous quotation from Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet": "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Third. language is vocal because the primary medium for all languages is sound. All evidence points to the fact that writing systems came into being much later than the spoken forms and that they are only attempts to capture sounds and meaning on paper. The fact that children acquire spoken language before they can read or write also indicates {hat language is primarily vocal. The term "human" in the definition is meant to specify that language is human-specific, i.e., it is very different from the communication systems other forms of life possess, such as bird songs and bee dances, 1.2.2 Design features Design features refer to the defining properties of human language that distinguish it from any animal system of communication. By comparing language With animal communication systems, we can have a better understanding of the nature of language. A frame- Work was proposed by the American linguist Charles Hockett. He specified twelve design features, five of Which Will be discussed here. 1) Arbitrariness As mentioned earlier, language is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different languages. On the other hand, we should be aware that while language is arbitrary by nature, it is not entire arbitrary; certain words are motivated. The best examples are the onomatopoeic words, such as rumble, crash, cackle, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. For example while "photo" and "copy" are both arbitrary, the compound word "photocopy" is not entirely arbitrary. But, non-arbitrary words make up only a small percentage of the vocabulary of a language. The arbitrary nature of language is a sign of sophistication and it makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions. 2) Productivity Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences they have never heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Much of what we say and hear we are saying or hearing for the first time. Productivity is unique to human language. Most animal communication systems appear to be highly restricted with respect to the number of different signals that their users can send and receive. For example, gibbon calls are not productive, for gibbons draw all their calls from a limited repertoire, which is rapidly exhausted, making any novelty impossible. And bee dancing is used only to indicate food sources, which is the only kind of message that can be sent through the dancing. 3) Duality Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures, or two levels. At the lower or the basic level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning, which are found at the higher level of the system. For example, the grouping of the three sounds /k/, /a:/, and /p/ can mean either a kind of fish (carp), or a public place for rest and amusement (park). Then the units at the higher level can be arranged and rearranged into an infinite number of sentences. This duality of structure or double articulation of language enables its users to talk about anything within their knowledge. No animal communication system has duality or even comes near to possessing it. 4) Displacement Language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in far-away places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This is what "displacement" means. This property provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time and place. In contrast, no animal communication system possesses this feature. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation, i.e., in contact of food, in presence of danger, or in pain. Once the danger or pain is gone, calls stop. 5) Cultural transmission While human capacity for language has a genetic basis, i. e., we were all born with the ability to acquire language, the details of any language system are not genetically transmitted, but instead have to be taught and learned. An English speaker and a Chinese speaker are both able to use a language, but they are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. It is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. In contrast, animal call systems are genetically transmitted, i.e., animals are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species.