INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE

1. Language and its Characteristics

1. Language and its Characteristics

 Language is the most important phenomenon in the world. From birth to death, all our
activities are regulated by language. The human knowledge and culture is stored and transmitted
in language. Thinking is only possible through language. In our dreams, we make use of
language. Language dominates every aspect of human life. In fact, it is a yardstick to separate us
from other beings. Language is a mean of communication. With the help of language, we can
express our thoughts and feelings to others. Without language, society would be impossible.

Etymology of language

Derived from Latin Lingua which means tongue and the French term langue, language is
the "entire complex of phenomena associated with human vocal and auditory communication of
emotions and ideas."

Language is called a social phenomenon, because it has relevance only in a social

setting. Language undergoes a continuous, though unnoticed, process of growth and change. It
becomes sharp, crisp, refined and versatile with the passage of time. Pick up the historical
background of any language; you will be astonished to notice the major changes in spellings,
meaning, pronunciation and its connotation and denotation. Hence, language is a living
phenomenon.

In its broadest and most general sense, "language may be said to be any means of
expression or mental concepts by any living beings whatsoever and of communicating them to,
or receiving them from, other living beings."

Language is a very complex human phenomenon; all attempts in define it have proved
inadequate. In common parlence it may be said that language is an organised noise used in actual
social situations. Thai is why it is defined as contextualised systematic sounds. Patanjali defined
it as that human expression which is uttered out by speech Organs. Encyclopaedia Britannica
defines language as "a system of conventional, spoken or written symbols by means of which
human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, communicate".

Some Definition of Language:

“Words and the methods of combining them for the expression of thoughts”

(Oxford English Dictionary)

“Language is a mean of communicative thoughts.” (Allen)

  “Language is species specific.”( Bolinger)

 “Language is one of the most important and characteristic forms of human behavior.”

(H.A. Gleason)

“Language most shows a man, speak that I may see thee.” (Ben Jonson)

“Each community is formed by the activity of language.” (Leonard Bloomfield)

"Language is a primarily human and non- instinctive method of communicating ideas,

emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols" (Sapir).

"Language, in its widest sense, means the sum total of such signs of our thoughts and
feelings as are capable of external perception and as could be produced and repeated at will"

(A. H. Gardiner).

"Language may be defined as the expression of thought by means of speech-sounds"

(Henry Sweet).

"A system of communication by sound i.e., through the organs of speech and hearing,
among human beings of a certain group or community, using vocal symbols possessing arbitrary
conventioal meanings." (Mario A Pei & Frank Gaynor).

Language is human...a verbal systematic symbolism... a means of transmitting

information...a form of social behaviour... (with a) high degree of convention" (J. Whatmough).

"A language (is a) symbol system... based on pure or arbitrary Convention... infinitely
extendable and modifiable according to the l bunging needs and conditions of the speakers"

(R. H. Robins).

"A language is a device that establishes sound-meaning correlations, pairing meanings

with signals to enable people to exchange ideas through observable sequences of sound"

(Ronals W. Langacker).

"A language is "audible, articulate human speech as produced by the action of the tongue
and adjacent vocal organs... The body of words and methods of combining words used and
understood by a considerable community, especially when fixed and elaborated by long usage; a
tongue" (Webster).

Nature of Language:
1.       Language is learnt: Learning of language is not an automatic process. Of course, it is a
behaviour but it is not type of behaviour like walking and crawling that comes to child in natural
way. Language by imitation and practice. Language is not possible without effort.

2.      Language is related to the culture of society: Every language is related to culture of

society to which it belongs. The culture of the people naturally influences the language. Every
language is the product of society. We cannot separate language from the culture in which that
language exists. It has meaning only in relation to that society and culture.

3.      Language is species specific: Language is species specific. Only human beings have got
the gift of language. Of course, the other species do communicate but only human beings can
make use of language.

4.      Language is species uniformed: Language is species uniformed. All human children are
capable of acquiring any language natively if they are provided the right kind of environment.

5.      Language is a system: Each language is a unique system. The system of language consists
of sounds, structures and vocabulary. A person who wants to learn a new language will have to
learn new sounds, new structures and new vocabulary. The sound system of language differs
from language to language depending upon the culture to which a language belongs. Each
language has its own system of vocabulary. Thus each language is systematic.

6.      Language is a system of systems: Each language is a system of systems. There are

phonological and grammatical systems in all languages. There are several sub systems with in a
language. The phonology of a language forms its own system as the various sounds function in a
systematic way.

7.      Language is a system of symbols: Each language works through symbols. Different words
used in a language are the symbols. They stand for certain things. The language will function
well if its symbols are known both to the speaker and the person for whom they are being used.

For example the world cup has three sounds (K, Л, P) It is a symbol of English because a
meaning is attached to it. But if we take the same three sounds like, K, Л, P they do form Puc,
but that is not a symbol of English language as no meaning is attached to it.

8.      Symbols of language are vocal: Different symbols are used in a single language. These
symbols are vocal. A language system does not exist in a vacuum. It is primary used in speech.
Only speech provides all essential signals of a language. There are other kinds of symbols which
cannot be called vocal symbols. For example, gestures and signal flags are visual symbols and
ringing of the bells and beating of a drum are auditory symbols. They do not form any language.
In language the sounds are produced through vocal organs. Reading and writing are no doubt
important. But speech is the basic form of language. A language without speech is unthinkable.

9.      Language is a skill subject: Learning of a language is a skill subject. It is skill like

swimming and cycling. We can not learn swimming or cycling just by studying rules. We can
learn it by practice. In the same way, we can learn a language y constant practice of that
language. So a lot of repetition for major linguistic skills like listening, speaking, reading and
writing is required.

10.    Language is for communication: Language is the best means of communication and self
expressions. Human beings express their ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions through
language. In this way language is a means to connect past present and future.

11.     Governed by a particular set of rules: Each language is governed by a particular set or

rules. For example English is S.V.O. language. In forming sentence, we put subject, then verb
and after verb we put object.

For example

He                        killed                    a snake.

Subject                 Verb                     Object

On the other hand, Hindi is S.O.V. language. First we put subject, he object and after object, we
put verb.

          ]sanao              saaMp               maara .

          Subject                 Object                   Verb

12.    Symbols of language are Arbitrary: Here by arbitrary symbols we meant that there is no
visual relationship between the language item and the object for which it stands. A man is called
man traditionally. There is no visual similarity between the symbol ‘man’ and the actual man.
We have not named it so on the basis of some logic or scientific principles. In English we say
man, in ‘Hindi’ we say ‘manauYya’ and in Punjabi we say ‘___________’. None of them is
better than the other. In fact, we call a man ‘man’ because people have agreed to use it in that
sense.

13.    Language is unique: Each language is unique because it has its own style of functioning.
The sounds, vocabulary and structures of every language have their own specialty.

Language is a learned arbitrary system of vocal symbols by means of which human

beings interact and communicate in terms of their common cultural experience.
Significance of Language in Human life
Language covers the entire expanse of life. It preserves the best human thoughts and
achievements which enriches life. The scope of language widens with the enlargement of human
activities : the larger the field of human functioning, the wider the extent of a language.
1. Social Function - It has been said time and again that language is social' it operates in a
social setting; it acquires meaning and significance in a social interaction. It is a means of
communication between members of a community, or between a community and
community. It is "capable of handling all references and meanings" (Sapir) of a given
culture. It is a means of expression.
2. Cultural Function - As a "language is a part of the culture of a people and the chief
means by which the members of a society communicate", it is wedded to culture, is
inseparable from it and, hence performs a cultural function. The content of every culture
is expressible in its language.
3. Language and the Individual - As a symbolic system, language either reports to, refers to
or substitutes for, direct experience. Whatever the case may be, language cannot "stand
apart from or run parallel to direct experience, but completely interpenetrates with it."
4. The Expressive Function - Language is a great force of socialization. "language is
primarily a vocal actualization of the tendency to see realities symbolically". There
cannot be any meaningful social interaction without language. The language binds the
people into one large group called nation. The national language socialises the behaviour
of the whole nation, whereas, the regional languages help integrate regional groups.
Language is the greatest and most potent force of integration.
5. Aesthetic Aspect- Language helps store culture experiences in the form of literature and
other written records for the posterity. These cultural experiences form the nexus of
individual realisation. It breathes life into our poets and dramatists. Short of a language,
such fine arts were not possible. Aesthetic experiences are the treasure for the posterity to
feel proud of it as a national treasure-house.

2. Language Variation: Register & Dialects

The study of language variation is an important part of sociolinguistics, to the extent that
it requires reference to social factors. Languages vary from one place to another, from one social
group to another, and from one situation to another. In sociolinguistics, language variety is a
general term for any distinctive form of a language or linguistic expression.
 Linguists commonly use language variety (or simply variety) as a cover term for any of
the overlapping subcategories of a language, including dialect, idiolect, register, and social
dialect. 
In The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), Tom McArthur identifies two
broad types of language variety: "(1) user-related varieties, associated with particular people and
often places, .
. . [and] (2) use-related varieties, associated with function, such as legal English (the
language of courts, contracts, etc.) and literary English (the typical usage of literary texts,
conversations, etc.)."