Features of Human Communication Vocal-Auditory Channel Duality of Patterning Tradition Transmission Productivity Displacement Arbitrariness Semanticity Specialization Broadcast transmission and direct reception Feedback Interchangeability Rapid Fading Irreversibility Interpersonal relationship Context-Based Complexity Vocal-Auditory Channel: Standard human language is a vocal type of communication which is perceived by hearing it. It is the basic mode of communication. Duality of Patterning: Discrete parts of a language can be recombined in a systematic way to create new forms and orders. Tradition Transmission: Human language is not something in born. We must learn and acquire the language from other speakers. Whereas animals are born with a language. Productivity: Human languages allow speakers to create novel, never before heard utterances. E.g. :- The little lavender man who lives in my socks drawer told me that Elvis will come from Mars. Displacement: Speaker can talk about things which are not present spatially or temporally. Arbitrariness: There is no necessary connection between the form of the signal and the thing referred to. Semanticity: Some times specific signals cannot be associated with specific meanings only. E.g. :- Mouse. It can be a rat or the computer mouse. Specialization: Organs used for producing speech, perform dual functions. They function as speech apparatus as well as eating apparatus. Broadcast transmission and direct reception: Speech signals are sent out in all directions while they are perceived in a limited direction. Feedback: Human beings can hear themselves speak as well as monitor their language performance as they go. Interchangeability: Human beings can both receive and broadcast the same signal. Rapid fading: Human language signals do not persist over time. Speech waves fade rapidly and cannot be heard after they fade. Irreversibility: Human speech cannot be erased after it has been spoken. Interpersonal relationship: Human communication has the ability to bond and foster relationships. Poor choice of words can have a devastating effect on relationships. Context based: Human communication happens in a context. It involves creating and responding to messages in certain context. Complexity: Human communication is complex in nature. It includes phonology, morphology, grammar, syntax. As a result, it requires a certain degree of competence to communicate.