UNIT 5 WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

UNIQUE
FEATURES OF HCTMAN LANGUAGE
Structure
5.0 Objectives
5.1 l~ltroductioil
5.2 Definitions of bnguage
5.3 The Origin of Lilnguage
5.4 What is Language?
5.4.1 Knowlrdpr of the sound system
t 5.4.1- Knowledge of the meaning of words
5.4.3 Knowledge of appropriate social contexl

5.5 The U~lique~less

of Hullla11Lailguage
5.5.1 Animal romrnunication
5.5.2 Instinctive-intuitive vs. Formal communication
5.5.3 Design features of human communication

5.6 Let Us Suin Up

5.7 Key Words
5.8 Suggested Reading
5.9 Answers

5.0 OBJECTIVES
Our aim in this unit is to exallline the nature of language, and to exaluulle the various
theories dealing with its origins. We will illso reflect on what counts as human languilge, is
opposed to some other system of communication, and fi~rther,to cnntrast it with animal
co~lunuilication syste.il~sand thus establish the uiuque~lessof hu~nanlanguage.

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5.1 INTRODUCTION
"Man is 111a1rthrough la~lguagealone", said Humnboldt.
What then is this unique facility called language, which sets us apart from other creatures,
helps us respond to our environment and above all, enables us to reflect on the very essence
of our being*? .
Lai~guageis that systeill by which souucl.. a i d meaiiiilgs are related (Frotnkin a~idRodman,
1974). Lang~3gecommunication and human ~leedsare unquestionably linked. Human
beings have various needs -iildividual, social, economic, political and cultural --and it is
to fulfill these tlmt inan needs language. Even the youngest infant expresses its need3 -
which are priillarily biological to begin with. As the infant grows and hisher needs become
illore coinplex, SO doe$ its lai~guage.Fmln the stage of whinlpering in discolnfort or
gurgling with pleasure, the iiidividual reaches the stage where s h e starts reflectiug on
hisher needs.
Lailguage does .slot exist in a vacuum. It serves and is lnoulded by other systeil~sin the
llulilair mind. Since language is used to convey ideas, its structure alld fui~ctionn~ustreflect
these ideas. Besides, since it exists within a conlplex social and cultural system, it is
moulded hy these aspects as well. Lailguage pervades and is lxrvaded by all aspects of our
lives.
Th Language Learner

5.2 DEFINITIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language is il ternl, which due to its range of applications has prompted innumerable
definitions. Some of these focus on the general concept of 'language', others on more
specific aspects of 'a language' aiid yet others nu its more fi)nnal fiatures like phonology,
grammar and semantics. Then there are also those which emphasize on its lilnge of
functions or those which stress the differences between language and other forms of human
and ani~rulcommuilication. Tlie range of defiliitio~~s give11below aniply illustrate this point.
'Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of coiumu~ucatingideas, emotions
and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.' (E. Siipir, 1911)
'A language is a syste~uof arbitrary vocal syiii1,ols by inrails of which the n~enll>rrs
of a
society interact in ternls of their total culture.' (G. Tliiger, 1040)
'A language is a set (finite or infinite) of senteiices, each finite in length and colstructed of
a finite set of ele~ilents.' (N. Clionlsky, 1057)
'Language is the institution whereby hunians communicate and interact with each other by
iilealls of habitually used oral - auditory arl~itrarysyni1)ols.' (R.A. Hall, 1964)
'1. The words, their pronunciation, aiid the methods of combining them used and
understood by a co~siderableco~il~~iunity and est;iblished by long usage.
2. Audible, articulate meaningful sounds ils produced by the action of the vocal orgill&.'
(Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Vol.2, 1971)
Check Your Progress 1 -
1. You've read the various definitions of language. Now, write your own definition of
language.

3. Wliat are the fu~ictiol~s

of lalipage wliich enlrrgc froail these definitions ? Na~ileat
least two functiois.

5.3 THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE

L;lngu;~geseems to be a highly developed fc>rn~ of animal signalling. But how illid when did
we start to talk? Nunierous philosophers have speculated on the origin of language,
resultilig in the exte~sivecollrc*tionof theories that we havc with us. It is a qucstion which
even today attracts much attention.
111the early part of the eighterntli century, theories of the origi~lof language proposed that
lankwage was of Diviiie Origin. According to then1 maa was crcatcd and at thc moment of
his creation, speech was provided to him as ii divine gift. 111the hihlici~ls t o ~ yabout the
Garden of Edeu, God created Adam aild speech siiiiultanc*oiisly.for God spokc- with Adaiti
a ~ l dAda111 a ~ s w r r c dl~iili- the Iangage they used was Hebrew.
Other cultures too propagated the divine origin of Ii~ngu;~gc -the Egyptialb, for example.
considered thcnnclves the oldest civilization and thewfore tlieirs was tlie original lancguagr,
passed down through thrir god-ii~~cesto~. One of their m l e ~ s-Psil~n~netichus is said to
have tried an experiment to test this theory. He had tuo babies froill an ordinaiy I'amily
raised in isolation. Whe~ithey were two years old, tlie l~al~ies abruptly said "l~ccos",whicli
in Phrygian nle.ans "bread". Psan~n~etichus
believed that this proved his theory that
Phrygian was the original language,
In the latter part of the eighteenth century, speculatio~lon the origin of language n~oved
fro111the realm of divine origin and fancy to what is called the "organic phase" with the
publication in 1972 of Johnn Gottfried von Herder's 'On the Origin of Language'.
According to him, lailguage was too iinperfeci to have heell a divine gift, it came about
through man's own goping efforts towards reasoning. "Languagef', he argued, "W~S the
result of an instinctive impulse, sinlilar to that of ill1 embryo pressing to be horn."
Darwin arbmed agaii~5tally di$ti~lctly"huii~au"quality of l a r p g e . 111his Descent of Man
(1871), he proposed that there is only a difference of degree between the language of man
and the cries of aiiiiilals. Accordi~igto him, illan's language, like illail hir~nelf,came froin a
inore priinitive fornl, probably expressio~~sof eillotioi~s.For exai~lple,a feeling of codenlpt
is accompanied by the action wC puffing air out thmugh the nose or ~llouthand this makes
sounds such as "pooh", or "pish". Darwin's coilteinprary Max Mullcr, disagreed wiih him
and sconlfully ilained this the POOH-POOH theory,
Muller proposed what he called the DING-1)ONG theory of the origin of language.
Accordii~gto his theory there was a mystic cornlation brtween sound and meaning.
Priinitive illail had an ii~stincthy which every inlpression froill without received vocal
expression fro111 within. Just like every object whcn stn~ckby a solid body gives off a
particular souild, so also man's illiild gives off a parlicular respome to the various ii~lpacts
the world made upon it. For exanlple, when confronted by a tiger, the sight mng a hell and
he iilstiilctively said "tiger". Muller later rejected his own theory.
Muller proposed another theory called the ROW -WOW theory - also referred to iu
ONOMATOPOETICor ECHOIC. The theory suggests that first words were inlitative of
ilatural sounds - the cry of birds, the call of aiu~uals.etc. Although Mullerrejected this
theory too; it is tnle that virtually every language hm some percentage of echoic words in its
vocabulary -"babble", "rattle", "ripple", etc., are some English exi~mples.An argument
agaii~stthis has bren that we hear a i ~ dimitate the souilds of nature within the li~nitatiomof
our first language^ A popular exiln~pleof this cultural influence is the roosters crowing -
in English it is cork-a-doodle-doo; in French, carluel-iro; in Russian, kuki~iku;in Gernlan,
kikeriki, etc.
hloder~ltheorists propose that speech is not sinlply il nlanipulation of physical orgillls.
Co~~conlitant psychological developnlent was essential to the developnlent of language.
Each person lras different ii~ll)ressioiaof the world that s h e perceives. In order to fonllulate
a credible theory of the origin of language, it is important to learn about the psychological
development of early milll.
Anthrc>polgists believe that the filctors that led to the developnlent of the species Homo
sapie~~s,also led to the developnlent ot la~ywage- his upright posture gave hiin additioi~al
visual rang, his eyes became stereoscopic, further improving his vision. The cerebral
cortex, virtually noii-existent in the lower creatures, developrd trenlendously in evolviilg
~niln.11 w i s with this m;l.jor developiuent that the human being pxd~ratedto reilsoning
powers - and hegall to speak.
Lan_guage evolved from the human need to corumunicate. It developed in a social situatiorl
and was needed to spread infc>r~uiltion anlongst the nlenlbers of il group. Each benefited
froin the otheers' exl)erience and com~uunic.atedthrough language. Suhsequeiltly the wllole
working of the human society, through a divisioll of labour has heel1 due to language. With
iln increase in the con~plexityiu society. there was a concomitant increase in the
developi~leilto t language.
Check Your Progress 2 -
1. What is the oiuue given to the theory which holds that the origin of hunlan speech
c.omes froill the sound5 heard by huillails in their ei~viroluneilt?
The Language Learner
2. Suggest three reasons why people talk.
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3. a. Can you think of any o~lo~natopoeic soutlrls in your ~rlothertongue ?

b. If yes, then do the soutlds of 3 (a) above, have equivaleilts in English !' If so, tnuke
a list.
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5.4 WHAT IS LANGUAGE?

When people come together they use language. We use language to communicate our
thoughts and ideas anlongst our friends and acquaintances. It is this facility which is said to
disti~iguishhutrlat~sfrom aninlals. But we rarely reflect on this superior ability that we
possess - the basis of our humanness. What does it meall when we say we "kliow"
language?
Nonrully whet1we say we know a latlguage, it i~ilpliesthat we can speak to and be
understood by people who know that language. This means that we are able to prc>duce
certain sounds, which are n~utuallyinterpretable as having a certain meaning.
Since all of us know at least one language and are able to use it without tliakitlg trluch of a
collscious effort, why do we need to discuss it? Exactly this is the objective of the unit - to
make us aware that the ability to carry oti the sinlplest cotlversation requires a profound
h o w l r a g e of the language of which speakers are ullawarc. A speaker call produce the 111ost
complicated setltetices without being aware of the principles and rules that goveru their
formation.
So what is this specific knowledge possessed by speakers of a language? I11 other words,
what does knowledge of a language involve knowledge of?

5.4.1 Knowledge of the Sound System

When we say we know a language, we imply that we know the sounds which are a part of
that langu;lg, and by default which sounds are not. This h i . .ccomes quite vbvious when
speakers of a particular language.protioullce words from another language. For e x .:iiple, a
speaker of Bengali, Assamese or Onya is not able to iI"ic~~!.~te the distinction between the
sounds 'b' ilnd 'v'. When they sily the word 'Vivek' i; ccx..es out 21s bihek. The very fact
that they ~r~isprnl~ounceit reveals their c o ~ ~ c i ok~lowledge
us of this fact. They are able to
distinguish it when they encounter it in the written form or when another person is speaking
those words, but are unable to articulate the distinction properly.
It is tlot ellough that speakers of a language know only the permissible sounds of their
language -they also possess an unconscious knowledge of the permissible sound
cot~lbilntio~~s and also the positio~~sin which these sounds can occur in a word. When a
speaker of one lariguage ellcounters a word which has a different soulid con~buiatioutlla~i
that which is pernlissible in hisher language, s h e will in all probability mispronounce that
worrl.
 What is Language? Unique
Featores of Hmnm L n n p y e
5.4.2 Knowledge of the Meaning of Words
Knowing a laiiguage also nleaiLs that you know how to relate sound to meaning, i.e., apart
froill a knowledge of the souilds and sound patten~s,it is illlportant to know that certain
socnd sequences signify certain meanings. This is obvious to us when we hear a "foreign"
or uilknown language- the string of syllables that the speaker of that language produces
are inconll~rehe~aible to us, but the speakers seein to be conveying a lot to each other. Tlus
then also tells us that the relation between sound and the meaning it signifies is arbitrary.
Many languages share lllany sou11ds but the way in which they conlbine thenl to form words
a 11dthe n1eaniiig that they assign to even a sinlilar co~llbiilationis not the sanle. This at
times can hive ainusing consequences. For example, Bulgarian and Hindi share a sound
sequence 'kuTia', which in the fonner lneaws a 'box', while in the latter it refers to a
'female dog'! This shows very clearly how souild and the ~tleaiungattached to it is
arbitrary. The corollary to this is that a particular concept will be represented in different
languages by different sound sequences.
There are sollle words in most la~lguageswhose pmilunciation suggests meaning -these
are referred to as ONOMATOPOEIC or ECHOIC words. Sounds of these words imitate
sounds of nature. But even here there Itlay be a variatioii froit1 laiiguage to language. The
nlost well-known exaillple is the cock's crow, that we referred to earlier on in this unit.
Sonletin1e.s particular endings suggest a certain mealling. For example, in Hindi, the /I/
endiiig sugests a din?inutive or feminine aspect - /drbbr/, /ladlu/, etc.
But even if a person knows all the correct sound conlbiuatioi~sand their nleanings in a
language, one could not say that s h e "knows" the language. Knowledge of a language also
meals that you know how to combine words to fonn phrases and further to be able to
co111l)inephrases to for111sentences. Since it is not possible for a person to nleillorize all the
possible sentences of a lailguage, it is obvious that using language also meails being
creative - there are many sentences a person speaks which s h e has never spoken or heard
I ~ f o r e .This essei~tiallyis the creativity of language in the nlost Basic form - the ability to
"create "-andunderstand novel sentences.

5.4.3 Knowledge of Appropriate Social Context

Now just being able to create novel sentences is also not enough, one nust know exactly
where they can be used i.e., one must have a knowledge of the appropriate contexts for their
use. This is the social aspect of language. To conln~unicateeffectively, we should know
what kind of response is expecled in a particular situation. If you respond by saying "the
weather is very line", when son~eoneasks you your name, it would not be appropriate,
althougbyour amswer would not be granlinatically incorrect. Wonls aid toiles have the
property of bringing to nlind associations with things and ideas, and comnl~~nication is
possible to the degree that the speaker and hearer have sinlilar associatioi~s.Worrls and
toiles are therefore syn~bolswith ineanings. Siiice colttext detenlliiies and inodifieCsthe
n~eaningsof what is said, we nlust attribute ~neaiungpotelltials to the context also.
A language then, consists of the sounds, words and possible sentences. When we say that
we know a language, we mean that we know the soullds and the words and the rules for
their conlbiuatioii and use in appropriate co~itexts.
Check Yoilr Progvss 3 -
1. Can knowledge of a la~lguageexist without knowledge of the social context? Discuss
with exaiuples.
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l'he Langllage I.e;an~er
2. ii. Make ii list 01the soulids in yournlother toiig~~c.
b. Now iirdeiltify which of these soulids ilre iibse~itin iiiiother lilng~iigc,Sily Eiigli\l~.
c. DOYOLI hiive a pmblem in pm~iounciugurclrds with the sounds of 2 (h) itbove. I f
you do, 11ienwhy do you think it happens?

5.5 THE UNIQUENESS OF HUMAN LANGUAGE

It is lalipage which ~llorpthan auytliiug else distiu~misliesliunia~ibciug fro111the anilr~ls.
We frequently rpfer to lanpage as lxi~ig unique or human. Wi:rt thcn is llunllau ahout
human language and how is it different from the forms of coiilnlu~iicatioilpmduced by
other f o n ~ of
~ slifc'?
It is generally accepted aild uilderslood that language deals with conlnluniciitio~i.Now the
nature and scope of this co~ll~llui~icatio~i is iuflueilced hy various factors -- physiological,
ewironnlental, sociiil and need-based. Increasing complexity oC inhr~ilalioncontent ci~lls
for il correspondingly complex mess;ige-geneniti~~g systeni. Therefore, species in which
hehaviour is rucdiated hy co~rlplexsocial i~~terrelatio~~sllips, evolvr, 1)y virtur of this fact, a
conl~~lunicatio~l systenl which ciill fiilfill the needs geuefiited by this level of interaction.
If we view langiiage as only 11 conlnlunication system, then ~ l l i l lother
l~ species ;~lso
communicate. Co~unlunicationiuvolvrs active i~uentio~lal tra~~smission of a signal as \\?el:
as active, intentional reception, rffec!ing il cha~igein the receiver. Therc must also be ii
feedback fm111the receiver, creiiting a closed loop between the inter,ictiints.
The word 'co~n~nunication' is related to common. It mealls; the act o f nlaki~ig
comn~u~lication and applied especially to infonniition and feelings, the only h r n l of gift that
r e m a i ~ with
~ s the giver eve11 after sflie has passed it on to allother. L;lngua~e,spoken and
\\ ritten, is ~tlan'schief i~atru~rie~ilof co~milunication,hut it is not the only one. Gestures
hiive ii sinlilar role. ils we have seen, arid so do other fbrms of symbolism. Flowers hi~vt.
meaning, particular clotlii~igor onianle~itiq a device to 111akek11ow11ones' affiliatio~land
loyi~lities.Thus, conimunication is ;I pervasive n~ir~uksti~tion with m i i ~ ~fi>rms.
y Our
colleen1 here is primarily with spoken language, bur to undefirand it we need to see how it
is related to other co~llnlu~iicative behavior.

5.5.1 Animal Communication

~ t different animal species show different fornls o f vocill illld gesturiil
It is c v i d e ~that
hcliavior. 01ic of tlie nlost reinarkahlc species is the her, which is i.ap:ihle of'
communiciitiog uith great accuriicy the lociltion of ;I f i ~ ~ ofdnccl:~r;i~ldby carrying out ;I
series of motiom ivkdch have been dcsc~ibcd;w ;I 'diioce'. The bee nloves in alternate
dircctio~~s anjund a co~ista~itaxis, so as to describe an approximate tigurr 8. Tlie axis of
nlove~nenti~~diciites the direction of the find, the speed of the circling is reIated to the
distance, ;ind the iigiti~tio~~ ofthe iini~llalrellecls the abundance of the find. While the da~icc
is hei~igexcc.uted near tlic Iiivc, the otlicr worker hees fonil a circle around the dancer.
After wit~icssirigthe ~ilovc~ilc~its Ibr a 1.w nlolnents, the otlicr hces ~rlakrolf in the proper
direction and 17y the correct distance hehrc d e s c e ~ ~ d ito~ ltlie
g Howers.
Aiiother tonn of hec comniunication occurs wlie~ipart of a colouy is rcady to s\vanu. The
bees asscmble at ;i co~ivenientpoint outside the hive, ilppi~rentlylong enough to establish a
centre of open~tions.Then workers go off in difkre~itdirections. Thosc hees that coine
ul)on a suitable loc.ation retuni to the ~ilaillgroup and ilidicatc hy their excitrment illat the!
have found ii site. Bees that fail to find il suitable locatiori illso return. If fa\rourilble reporls
come iii from a nuinber of directiot~s,the swan11 shows indecisiveiies~,inovi~igto one side
aiid aiiothe,r until a weight of opitiioit$ Ims ionlied it1 favour of one of tlie locatio~~s.
In their
communicative behaviour bees do not employ vocal sclunds, but the buzzing niade by the
vibrating wings apparently plays a role in coweyiltg exciteineitt and emphasis, perhaps
coit~)arableto degrees of conviction ill huiilan beings.
Another interesting form of vocal behilvior is imitative. There are several cli~sesof birds
that engage iit soutid iinitatioii as iar as cot~servatiotiof the species is colicenled. Perhaps it
is tilerely an exceptional ma~~ifestation of the echoic tendency, comtlioth ill lesser degree. to
many animal species. Imitation usually occurs within a species.
hi coi-st to the phonetic ability of the lowerspies, illat1i.&finitely superior. f i t l y atlirld .@es
pr01muncP only vowels and even here perh,~psonly one or a few partic~llarones; some manage one
consonant, especially fricatives of outgoing breath. The ability to produce stops is far less
trequeiit, and tlie cotllhit~atio~iof stoppage and vibration of the vocal cod5 tnay be. etitirely
lacking. Man's superiority consists in being able to nliiniige a great number of resonant,
fricative and stop consonants; tc) make click and .inbreathed sounds as well as outbreathed
ones; and above all to produce co~uplexcot~ibitlatio~~. and sequettces of varied souuds. HL~
abilities go far beyond the denland.. of ally sitigle language, as i. evident froin the ricluiess
of exclamative and irilitative s o u ~ ~in d sall languages with phonetics that go beyond the
language it1 question, as well as, the ability to lean1 foreign words.

5.5.2 Instinctive-intuitive vs. Formal Communication

Con~municationis nomlally an intentional and plia~lnedactivity. However, at times we say
things we do iiot mean to say, or our tone of voice tells things we had not planned to reveal.
If we trace cc)mm~unication back to the lower aiiinlals we find that there can be such a thing
as irtstinctive commullication. If one member of a species experiences pain, fear or any
other enlotion because of a physicill stimulus and utters a cry, niakes a grimace, or moves
away, and if this reaction evokes an atlalogous or related etu~otioitsill other iudividuab, an
act of con~munic;~tion has taken place, whether or not any conscious intention llils been
involved. If the reaction pattern follows a strict ilibor~ltendency, it is instinctive. If the
te~ideticyis ge~terafizedand is subject to coliditio~liiigby exl~erience,it may be better
described as intuitive. 111sc) far as a code has bee11developed, requiring coi~siderable
leanling and involving many arbitrary associations between the signal and its meaning, we
are dealing with a fortnal systetn. Hutnati spoken la~~ylages cottstitute such codes.
Thus, two main levels of co~nn~unication call be distinugished :the instinctive-intuitive
found in all animals, and the fcmilal, conventional or arbitrary found only in nliln. The
fonnal systen~sof comi~iuiiicatioi~ in iliati i~icludegestures, l a t l p g e and pictorial syinbols.
Art fonlls are complex behavior system. i~~volvitig features of intuitive aiid foniial
conm~utiicatioti.Tile ti~nualsystetii of cot~uiiunicationtilay have evolved out of tlie
intuitive, and very priniitive art fomis may hilve plilyed il role in the process.

5.5.3 Design Features of Human Communication

'Illere have been a tlutllber of atletnpts to detenilille the defining pmperties of hunlaii
l a t l p g e , and different lists of features cat1 be found by different writers. We have takeiisix
core features and described how they are n~anifestedin h u t n a ~language.
~ We have also
sliown how the.se features are uniquely a part of humat1 language and unlikely to be found
in the coii~~i~u~licatior~ systei~aof othe,r creatures.
-
Arbitrariness In anin~alcommunic;ition, there is frequently ii connection between the
sigtlab and tlie messapes setit. For i~atat~ce, an a~liiilalwho wi.lies to wan1 an opponent
tliay siniulate an attackiiig attitude. Acat, for exariiple, will arch its back, spit aiid appear
ready to pounce.
111 h u ~ t a n
latipage,
the reverse is true, and there is no 'natural' li~lkbetween a linguistic
form and its meaning. That is, the syn~bolsused are arbitmry. For example, t h e r'~IS' 110
connection behveen the word DOG i ~ l dthe fc)ur le_gged animal it sy~nbolizes:it can equally
be called kutta (Hindi), clirn (Fr~ncll),Hutid (German).
Cultural transmission - It is said that human beings are biologically pn>gmmmedto
acquire "language". However, they lei~rna: specific la~iguageonly by exposure to it. That is,
The Lngaage Learner
language is handed down by one generation to illlother. This cilrl be described as cultural
trinsrnission. A child brought up in isolation, ilwiiy from human beings, does not acquire
latiguage.
In animal systems, a far greater proportion of comn~unicationis genetially inbuilt. For
instance, a cuckoo will sing a fully developed song, even if it never hears another cuckoo
sing. Bee-daucing is substa~~tially the same in bee colo~iiesin differe~ltparts of the world,
with only s~iiiillvariations.
Displacement - Most alli~llalscan co~l~~liuincate about things in the i111111ediateewimll~uieut
only. An anillla1 utters its cry of danger only when danger is present. It callnot give
infornlation about il peril which is removed in time and place. Hunian language, on the
other land, can conuiiunicate about things that are absent as easily as about things that art.
pre-sent. This pmperty of hu~lla~l language is called displacement.
However, it has been proposed that bee communication does have the property of
displacement. For i~tstance,when a worker bee finds a source of nectar, atid retunts to the
hive, it can perform a complex &lice routine to cotll~riunicateto the other bees the location
of this nectilr. This ability of the bee to indicate a location some distance ilwily must indicilte
that bee co~tl~tlunication has, some degree of displacement as a feature. The crucial factor,
lio~vever,is that of degree. Bee conl~nu~ucatioti has displaceine~ltiu an extre~rlelyli~iiited
form. Hunliin language is much more comprehensive where this property is concenied.
Hutl~anbeings can talk on events remote in space or tinie from the spea ker or hearer.
Duality of S t l u c t u n - Aninlals have a stock of basic sounds (a cow his under ten, while
gorillas and chimpa~lzeeshave betweell twenty and thirty) which they ran use otily once.
That is, the nunlber of nlessages an animiil can send is restricted to the number of basic
sounds, or, in thc niore conplex systelils, a few simple conibinatio~isof sounds. Aid there
is tio k~iowtiinternal organisatio~iwithin this system.
Hunl;in language, on the other hand, is not a list of individual sounds. Most
sou~idshecorae n~eaninghlonly when they are c ~ l l ~ b i n with
e d other sounds. This
organisation of language into two layers - a layer of sounds, which combines into a layer of
larger units (such as words) - is known as duality of s t n ~ c t uA~ con~niunication
~. systelil
with duality is nii~chniore flexible than one without it, because 111i1nyniore messages can be
sent.
Moreover, there is an inteniiil order which these sounds follr>w.For instance, sounds such is
a,h,s,t can be arra~igedoiily ih 4 possible ways in English - tales, bats, stab, bast.
Possibilities such as sbat, abts, stba are excluded.
A siniilar kind of intenla1 orgalusation occurs at the selltellce level. Hunlan beings can
i~ulomaticallyrecognize the patterned nature of language and manipulate stn~cturrdchunks
of language. For example,
That beautiful wolilan gave Itie flowers.
That woman gave ~ileflowers.
She gave me flowen.
Hunia~lbeings call u~lderstatidthat tliese s e ~ ~ t e ~are
~ cstructurally
es equivalent. Aninlals, as
far as we h o w , do iiot use structutwlepe~~de~~t operatio~ts.
Froductivity/C~~ativity - The n~ostimportant distinction between hulnan and ani~llal
co~il~~iu~licatioliis that hu~ilanbeings are esse~itiallycreative in their use of language. On the
other Ia~ld,ani11laLs have a limited ~ ~ u t ~ lof
b emessages
r that they call send or receive. For
e ~ i ~ m p lbees
e , can colilniunicate only about nectar. Dolphins, in spite of their intelligence,
use a large nu~uberof clicks, whistles and squawks, to cot~utiunicatemerely about the sanie
thiltg over and over again.
This type of restriction is not found in hi~nliinlangi~agewhich is esse~itiallyil creative
process i.e., huiuan beiugs call pmduce absolutely new uttera~~ces whenever they feel like it.
A person clan utter il sentence which has never been said before, in the most unlikely
circumstaucrs, and still be understoc>d.Even in everyday routine communication, a person
is tlot obliged to say the salule tl~ingover and over again.
 What is Language? IJnique
Features of Human Language
Other Featulvs - Hunlan language does have n~anyother pmperties, but they may not be
ul~iqueto it. Some of the other features may be :
Vocal-Auditory channel - Hunlan lin&istic conl~llu~~ication is typically generated via the
vocal orgiins and perceived by the ears. However, linguistic communication can be
transmitted without sound, via writing. Moreover, many other species, example dolphins
aLso u - e the vocal-auditory channel.
Broadcast transmission and directional reception - A signal can be heard by any
auditory syste~llwithill earshot, and the s o u r e call be located using the ear's
direction-tinditlg ability.
Rapid fading - Auditory signals ilre transitory, and do lot await the hearer's convenience.
(unlike aiu~llalsor writing).
Irlterchangeahility - Any speakerfsender of a linguistic signal can also be a
1iste.nerIreeiver.
Total feedback - speakers hear aud can reflect upoil everythiug that they say (unlike the
visual displays often used in aninla1 cc~urtship,which ilre ~ ~visible
o t to the displayer).
Specialization - the sound waves [of speech have no function other than to signal meaning
(unlike the audible pantiilg of dogs, which has a biological purpose).
Check Your Progress 4 -
1. Explore the co~n~ll~rniciition
system in at least one other aninla1 system and con~pareit
to human language. Do you see any links ?

2. Suggest at least three properties which are very rare or absent in a1u1l1al conuuu~lication.

3. Whatisi~iea~~thythetr;ni~screativitya~~darbitrarii~essasitisusedtodescribea
property of hunlan language.

4. a. The property wluch relates to the fact that a language mu5t be acquired or leanled
by each liew generation is

b. The term used to describe the ability of human l a n g t ~ a guusers

~ to discuss topi~x
which are renlote in space and tinle is
The Language Lomer

5.6 LET US SUM UP

111this unit we have see11that one of the inost distinctive characteristics which sets us apart
fro111other life fonn.9 is the highly evolved Inode of colr~~llunicationwhich we call language.
Philosophers and scientists have long debated on the nature and use of language and even
today t b w is no c-oiaellsus as to wl~enexactly lnan started to speak.
Several principles operate, at the level of learning of language. These involve knowledge of
the sound system, and that of the meaiung of words and iippropriate social context of use.
We have attempted to place in a proper perspective the origin of language and looked illto
the reasons that makes human language unique.

5.7 KEY WORDS

arbitrariness One of the properties which defitles hullla~llanguage as distinct
from animal communication, whereby 'Linguistic Fornls' lack
any physical correspondence with the entities in the world to
which they refer.
consonant A speech sound that functions at the margins of syllables,
produced wlicn tllr vocal tract is either blocked or so r~stricted
that there is audible friction.
creativity Refers to the capacity of hur~lanbeings to produce and ullderstaiid
an indefinitely large number of sentences, most of which they
might not have heard or used before.
cultural Property of huma~i'Lauguage' whereby the ability to speak a
transmission language is transmitted from generation to generation by a process
of lem-ning, and not genetically.
displacement A defiilii~gproperty of hutnan lat~guage,w l ~ e ~ latlguage
by call be
used to comn~unicateabout events removed in time. and space.
This property occurs very rarely in a ~ l i l ~co~muuication.
ul
duality of structure Property of hu~tlail'Language', w k c h sees language as being
structurally organised in terms of two levels - level of sounds
and level of words.
phonology Esbblishnlent, description and arrangement of the sound systeni
of a language.
fricative A comotuilt which is produced wliei~two vocal orgatm cotrle so
close together that the air moving between then1 produces audihle
friction. Example : (0,(2)
onomatopoeic I~rutatioiiof tiatural sou~iclsby 111eal~sof words or groups of wonks,
as in English moo, baa, cock-adoodle-do.
resonance Air vibratio~~
in the vocal tract that are set it1 ~ r ~ o t i obyu phonatiou.
semantics The study of ~tlea~u~lg.
stop A consonant made by a complete closure in the vocal tract.
vocal cords Two t~~uscular
folds in t11e Iary~vrthat vibrate as a soume of sou~id.
vocul tract The whole of the air passage ahwe the larynx.
vowel A sou~idinade without closure or audible frictioiq which cat1
fui~ctionas the centre. of a syllable.
 W b t k Language? Ilnique
Fealures of'llrnllam 1.auyunyr

5.8 SUGGESTED READINGS

Xitc.hiso11.J. IC)78.Ge~rcri~l
Lirrgrtisric.~.Lolldeli : Hoclder atid Stoughton.
X kmiljian, A. et al. 1984. Lirrgiristic~:An hrtroductio~rto Langltugtnclnd Commu?ricnfinrr.
Cambridge, M A :hllT Press.
Boliugcr, D. 1075. A . y ~ c lopL~~i.qringe.
s Harcou~t,Brace, Jovanovich.
Frolnkin, V. and Rodinan, R. 197X.An Ir~froductionto Lnriguc~ge.Hult, Rinchart and
Wiaston.
~ ~Morler~tLiriglnbtics. Macrnillan.
Hoc.kell. C.F. 1 QSS. A C c r v r : iri
Lyons, J. 1981Lrrn~icrgeoniiLirr~~iisrics.
Cambridge : Gambridg Uilive~sityPress.
Yule. G. lQX5.TlreStrt~\yoflnrtg~nnge.CamBridge: Chillbridge Uiliversity Press.

5.9 ANSWERS
-

2. inler~ctionwith other membem pf society; expression of emotions.

('heck Your IJn~gruss 2 -
2. Sonle of the reasons why peoplc talk are :
- lo convey inhnn;ition
- to communicate feelings and elnodolls
- social snlall-talk: exalnple 'How are you?'

2. Xrhitrarincss, d~ialityof structure, creativity.

3. Read 5.5.3 for the answer.