LESSON 1: The Nature of Language
AH 111 (Purposive Communication)
Language can be defined as the tool used in
the communication process.
It is through language that we are able to
express our thoughts, share our feelings, and
communicate our views and perspectives about
things.
We make decisions every day, or have decisions
made about us by other people, based on the
language we use. We frequently evaluate a
person’s education, socioeconomic level,
background,
honesty,
friendliness,
and
numerous other qualities by how that person
speaks.
Language is integrally intertwined with our
notions of who we are on both the personal and
the broader, societal levels. When we use
language, we communicate our individual
thoughts, as well as the cultural beliefs and
practices of the communities of which we are a
part: our families, social groups, and other
associations.
However, language can also be the source of
misunderstanding sometimes.
That is because there is no one-to-one
correspondence
between
words
and
meanings, and even between gestures and
meanings.
Take for instance the following example:
Karon is a word found both in
Hiligaynon and Cebuano languages referring to
the concept of time. But while karon in
Cebuano means ‘now’, karon in Hiligaynon
means ‘later’.
It is therefore important that we are familiar with
a particular language so that we can understand
it and use it in the communication process.
DEFINITIONS OF LANGUAGE
1. Language is a purely human and
non-instinctive
method
of
communicating ideas, emotions, and
desires by means of a system of
voluntarily produced symbols.
~Sapir (1921)
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Prevarication - the ability to lie
Learnability - the ability to learn
another language
Reflexiveness - the ability to use
language to talk about language
Semanticity - the ability to combine
grammatical units to make more
meaningful utterances
Productivity - the capacity of language
users to produce and understand an
indefinitely large number of sentences;
also referred to as creativity.
Displacement - talking about yesterday
or the future
Combinatorial Power - ability to string
signs together to make new signs
While
animal
communication
happens
automatically and instinctively, conditioned by
the situation, relying mostly on symptomatic
(and iconic) signs, linguistic communication
between human beings is predominantly
intentional, relying mostly on symbolic signs,
and can be totally independent of the situation.
2. Language is the process whereby
humans communicate and interact with
each other by means of habitually used
oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.
~Hall (1969)
3. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal
symbols
used
for
human
communication.
~Wardaugh (1972)
LESSON 1: The Nature of Language
AH 111 (Purposive Communication)
CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE
(Fromkin and Rodman, 2003)
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Wherever humans exist, language
exists.
All languages change through time.
All grammars contain rules for the
formation of words and sentences of a
similar kind.
Similar grammatical categories (e.g.
noun, verb, etc.) are found in all
languages.
Any normal child, born anywhere in the
world, of any racial, geographical,
social, or economic heritage, is capable
of learning any language to which s/he
is exposed to.
The differences we find among
languages cannot be due to biological
reasons.