Chapter 5
Language
Chapter Questions






How does human language differ from forms of
communication in other animals?
How do children acquire language?
What are some characteristics of human
languages, and how are languages structured?
What are the relationships between language,
thought, and culture?
How do people communicate without using words?
How do languages change?
What We Will Learn
Origin of Human Language
 Characteristics of Language
 Acquiring Language
 Language and Culture
 Nonverbal Communication
 Language Change

Origin of Human Language
 No
language = no culture.
• Emergence of language?
 Recreates
complex thoughts
and experiences in words.
 Distinct from any other animal
communication system.
 C.
Hockett- 2 steps
• Blending
• Duality of Patterning
Major Languages of the World
Language
Primary
Country
Number of
Speakers
Mandarin
China
874,000,000
Hindi
India
366,000,000
English
UK/USA
341,000,000
Spanish
Spain/South
America
322,000,000
Bengali
Bangladesh
207,000,000
Portuguese
Portugal/Brazil
176,000,000
Major Languages of the
World
Language
Primary Country
Number of
Speakers
Russian
Russia
167,000,000
Japanese
Japan
125,000,000
German
Germany
100,000,000
Korean
Korea
78,000,000
French
France
77,000,000
Wu
China
77,000,000
Characteristics of a
Language

Conventionality


meaning sequence of sounds & object,
action or idea.
Productive
new combination of sounds & words,
openness, flexibility.
 vocabulary that can expand with cultural
changes.


Displacement

Abstract thought use.
Acquiring Language
Biological capability of language
acquisition
 Innate language?

Victor
 Genie

Human vs. Ape language capacity
 Universal Grammar

Universal Grammar
 Basic
principles, conditions, and
rules underlie all languages.
 Children apply unconscious
universal grammar to the sounds
they hear.
 All languages share fundamental
similarities.
The Structure of Language

Phonology


Phonemes
Morphology

Morphemes
Syntax
 Semantics


lexicon
Language & Culture
Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis
 Language influences perception.
 Language establishes mental categories
that affect the ways people conceptualize
the real world.
Sociolinguistics
Languages & Dialects
 AAVE &BEV
 Code Switching
Historical linguistics
 Focused
on discovering the
history of languages.
 Vocabularies are constantly
changing.
 Sociolinguists are interested in
the social factors that affect
changes in languages.
Nonverbal Communication

Most messages are sent and received
without words:
Facial expressions
 Gestures
 Eye contact
 Touching
 Posture

Non-verbal Communication
Haptics
 Chronemics

Monochronic Time
 Polychronic Time

Proxemics
 Kinesics

Nonverbal communication
 Almost
2/3s of communication.
 Messages sent by clothing, jewelry, tattoos,
piercings, and body modifications.