NAME: MOTUNRAYO ELIZABETH
MATRIC NUMBER: 23/12977
COURSE TITLE: COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH
COURSE CODE: GST 111
LEVEL: 100 LEVEL
10 CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE
WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
Language is a way of communicating. It uses gestures, symbols, and/or
sounds to convey meaning. Communicating with language is unique to
humans and it plays an essential part in how we interact, transmit
knowledge, and share ideas.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE
1.
Language evolves: Language constantly evolves and is dynamic.
New words, phrases, and even grammatical structures are created all
the time, while older ones fall out of use or change their meaning.
2.
Language has meaning: Language is semantic. This means it
conveys meaning – whether that’s about social interactions, concepts,
or the physical world.
3.
Language is acquired not instinctive: Though we are born with the
ability to learn and acquire language, language itself is not innate or
biologically determined. Infants acquire language through exposure
and this develops as they begin to explore and experiment with it.
4. Language is systematic: Though language is symbolic, it is systematic
in nature. This means each language has its own set of rules,
conventions, and patterns that govern how all of the elements work
together to communicate meaning.
5. Language is social: Language is inherently a societal behaviour. It’s a
phenomenon that allows humans to become a community and
develop culture. It is a way of setting up relations and creating a
society.
6. Language is an arbitrary social construct: Because there are so many
different languages in the world, it’s clear to see that there is no
inherent relationship between the words used and the concepts they
describe. If language wasn’t arbitrary, we’d only have one all around
the world.
7. Language is symbolic: No matter the language, it will use sounds,
words, and gestures to communicate and represent meaning. The
symbols (e.g., letters) are arbitrary, just like language itself and they
don’t have a connection to the meaning.
8. Language is cultural: Whenever you learn about another country, one
of the biggest aspects of its culture is the language or languages
spoken there.
9. Language has high variation: Two people might speak the same
language but they won’t necessarily use it in the same way. Ask a
classroom full of English speakers to write a story with a very specific
stimulus and they won’t use the same language to tell it. In other
words, the same meaning can be conveyed in many different ways.
There might be differences in lexicon, morphology, pronunciation (in
spoken language), and syntax.
10. Language is human: Language is considered to be a trait that’s
unique to humans for many reasons. Firstly, human language is much
more sophisticated and complex compared to the rudimentary ways
in which animals communicate. It allows for the expression of abstract
concepts and can be used creatively and flexibly.