Characteristics of Language
A system of communication will qualify to be a language if
it has language characteristics. These characteristics are universal, that is,
they apply to all natural human languages. Here are some of them:
1. Language is a system
A system is a group of
related parts that work together as a whole for a particular purpose. Language is
a system of set of speech sounds which are connected and working together to
form different words in a language. Speech sounds are systematically combined together
into words, and words into sentences.
2. Language is symbolic
A symbol is any thing
that stands to represent something else. Language is symbolic in that words
whether written or spoken are used to represent ideas, objects and actions by
convention (agreement). The word ‘dog’ for example, is a symbol it is used to
represent a four legged animal kept at home. These symbols (words or phrases)
are not naturally connected to its meaning. They have no direct resemblance
with the things they represent neither in appearance nor in sound. The word ‘dog’
in this case has no natural connection (resemblance) with the animal called dog
in appearance or in its sound. Every language community has its symbols (words)
which are used to represent all its physical and conceptual experiences.
3. Language is arbitrary
Some thing is said to
be arbitrary if its origin and its relationship with other things is not based
on reasons or plan. It has come by chance. Language is arbitrary because one
can not tell when and where language started, it came by chance and also there
is no direct or physical relation between its symbols (words) and its meaning. Symbols are
related to their meaning by convention; they have no inherent relation with their
meanings. Yule (1985) says they do not, in any way ‘fit’ the object they
denote. The word ‘dog’ for example,
as it was pointed out earlier has no inherent relation with the domesticated barking
animal with a four legs in the world neither in appearance nor in its sounds.
Any form of human
language demonstrates arbitrariness.
4. Language is vocal or oral
Vocal in this context
has been used to mean ‘voice’. Language is primarily vocal in that it must be
produced with voice, any natural human language must be produced with voice in
our mouth and it should be perceived (heard) via ear.
Indeed, only spoken language can be truly considered ‘language’. Spoken language existed even before the invention
of writing and sign language. Writing is only collection of symbols to
represent and preserve spoken language in permanent form and it is marginal and
recent form of language. Up to date there are still many languages in the world
which are not written but those languages are not in any means inferior to the
written ones, all languages whether documented or undocumented are equal in
their characteristics, expressive potential and grammatical complexity. There are no primitive languages, nor are any
known to have existed in the past, even among the most remote tribes of Stone
Age or hunter and gatherers. Written language is not
language in and of itself. Many written languages today are regularly
undergoing orthographic reforms to reflect changes in the spoken language.
5. Language is human
Language is purely for
human beings. Only human beings have an ability to learn or acquire language
for communication. It is there fore a species- specific, it is specific only to
human being (Syal etal 2007). According Fromkin, (1974) the possession of language,
more than any attribute, distinguishes humans from other animals; to understand
our humanity one must understand the language that makes us human. Non human beings
do not have the capacity to learn or acquire language (for the reasons that
will be discussed latter). They have their own systems of communication (such
as cries and signals) which are not language. Human beings have the in-born
biological or in born transmitted ability for language learning. We all become
human because we all know at least one language (ibid)
6. Language is learnable or acquired
Language is not
genetically or biologically inherited by the young generation from the old
generation, the young generation has to learn or acquire it. Children can
inherit colour, red eyes, behaviour or some diseases from their parents but
they can not inherit language. Language must be learned or acquired not
biologically or genetically inherited. Human must learn or acquire language
from social groups of speakers of the language. Speakers of one language can
learn any other languages. There is an important distinction made by linguists
between language acquisition and language learning.
Language acquisition
Language acquisition is
the unconscious process of learning language in natural communicative settings.
It is a natural process of mastering a language for meaningful communication.
According to linguist Yule (1985) language acquisition refers to the gradual
development of ability in language by using it naturally in communicative
situations. In this case a learner needs to partake in
natural communicative situations. Children are not taught their first languages
(mother tongue) but rather they acquire it unconsciously from the natural
communicative environment. Any normal child, born anywhere
in the world, of any racial, geographical, social, or economic heritage, is
capable of acquiring any language to which he or she is exposed. The
differences we find among languages cannot be due to biological reasons.
There is an innate
basis for acquisition of language in children. This innate capacity is active
in early years of a child up to puberty, after that age, it difficult if not
impossible to acquire a language.
Language learning
Language learning on
the other hand is the conscious process of learning a particular language. It
refers to a formal and systematic study of the knowledge of language and
verbalizing. Yule, (1985) says ‘learning applies to the conscious process of
accumulating knowledge of vocabulary and grammar of a language. In this process
a learner needs to consciously apply deliberate efforts to knowing a language. It is the result of
direct instruction in the rules of language. Adults do not acquire language but
they need to learn it by applying deliberate efforts.
7. Language is communicative
Communication is the
process by which people exchange information or express their thoughts and feelings,
an act of communication is basically the transmission of information (message)
from a source to a receiver, in language both source and receiver are human and
the message can be transmitted through air or through a phone. The purpose of
any human language in the world is to communicate information from one person
to another in a given society. For communication to be successful the message must
be received and understood by the receiver in the same way as it is intended by
the sender. The skill of communicating depends not only on the
strength of ones vocabulary, but the ability to express one's thoughts and
ideas clearly. According to Crystal
It should be noted that
human is not the only creature which is capable of communicating. In fact,
Yule, (1985) says ‘all creatures, from apes, bees, cicadas, and dolphins are
capable of communicating with other members of their species’
Sender or source is the person who gives
out the message or anything that act as a source of information or message to
the listeners or the receiver. A sender starts with an impulse he or she wishes
to express and then must encode that idea into symbols (words) and signs
(facial expressions, tone of voice, etc).
The message is an idea, thought or
feeling that a person (the source) wishes to communicate to other persons or
group of people (the receivers). The message is the content of interaction to
communicate. All messages are carried by a channel (such as face-to-face, over
the phone, email, etc).
The channel is the means or medium by which a message
moves from the source to the receiver of the message. The channel can be a
radio, television, phone, computer or postal.
The receiver or decoder is the listener or decoder of the message from the sender.
After receiving the message the receiver has to send back the feedback.
Sometimes the receivers of the message can decide to remain silent, silent also
is a feedback.
Feedback is the receiver’s
response to the message. Feedback allows the sender to know how his or her
message is being received. Sometimes even no response or silence is a feedback.
NB: given the fact that
the purpose of any language is to communicate does not mean that all the
methods human being use to communicate are language. This is because we can
communicate by gestures, facial expressions, or touch and these are not
languages.
8. Language is conventional
The word ‘convention’
in this context has been used to mean a formal agreement among people about
particular rules or behaviour. Language is conventional because it must be
agreed upon by the members of its speakers. It is communally agreed and possessed
(Wardhaugh 1999). The only reason as to why Language exists is because users
agree on symbols to be used and rules to be followed (Brown 1988). Any language or part of it must be
conventionally be accepted by the speech community concerned. The conventional
or socially shared code of language allows listeners and speakers or writers
and readers of the same language to exchange information (ibid). An individual person can not create a language
of his or her own. Any language created by an individual and not accepted by
the speech community will die a natural death.
9. Language is an aspect of culture
A culture has to do
with beliefs, art, values, norms, attitudes, traditions and customs that are
shared and accepted by people in a particular society. In other words we can
say culture of the society is whatever a person must know or believe in order
to operate in a manner acceptable to its members. Language is part and parcel of culture. It influences our
culture and even our thought processes, it interacts with each and every aspect of
human life in the society and it can be understood if it is considered in
relation to the society’s culture. No wonder therefore in learning a language one
gets exposed to certain cultural elements of the nature speakers of that
particular language. A community is known by the language it speaks this is
because every aspect of culture is reflected in their language. Language is
related to people’s culture in the following ways:
·
Language
reflects the cultural values, norms, traditions and customs of its speech
community. In other words we can say all cultural elements are coded in
language. According to Wardhaugh, (1999) a culture values certain things and do
them in certain way, they come to use their language in ways that reflect what
they value and what they do.
·
Language
helps culture to be practiced in a particular community. It binds our society
to work for a common cultural practices such as ceremonies, initiations etc.
·
Language
helps culture to be transmitted from one generation to another. Language is a
principal way in which a new generation learns about itself, others and their
culture. Human being can pass on the accumulated knowledge of the community and
his culture to their offspring by means of language.
·
Language
provides human being with a powerful and flexible tool of thought. People in
the society can not think without a language. A linguist Fromkin, (1974) points
out that thought depends on the prior existence of language.
·
Language
and culture are also related in that, the culture creates a lens through which
we perceive the world and create shared meaning. Language therefore develops in
response to the needs of culture or to the perceptions of the world.
By looking at the
language Characteristics discussed so far, which definition among the fore
listed definitions above covers as many characteristics and hence suitable for
language definition? We say the definition which covers as many language
characteristics because according to Syal etal (2007) ‘no single definition
which can include all the properties of language in it, it is not possible to
have such a definition’ a good definition in this case will be selected basing
on how many language characteristics have been covered. In this case a
definition that covers as many characteristics compared to others is the best.
And that is definition is definition number
six (6) which states:
Language is learned,
shared and an arbitrary system of vocal symbols though which human being in the
speech community interact and hence communicate in terms of their cultural
experience and expectations. The definition covers all the characteristics of
language of arbitrariness, symbolic, conventional, vocal, systematic,
learnable, communicative and cultural transmission.
Language
versus a Language
In language study,
sometimes the words language and a language are used to mean different
but related concepts. The term ‘Language’ without an article ‘a’ is used to
refer to the universal ability of all normal human beings to produce speech. It
is used to refer to the unique characteristic shared by all human being. This
ability has been endowed and shared in common to only human beings animals do
not possess this ability.
On the other hand, ‘a language’
(with an article ‘a’) refers to a particular system of speech used by a
particular community. It is a particular language used by a particular society.
Wardhaugh, (1999) says ‘it what the members of a particular society speak’. It is not held in common by all human beings
but only those who belong to a particular community for example, each of the
following is a language, English, French, Zulu, Chagga e.t.c.
Study questions
- Which
influences the other and how between language and culture?
- How
will you differentiate between language
and a language?
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