MODULE 1 – “The Nature of Language”

Language

- has set of rules (grammar)

- has a sound system (phonology)
- a vocabulary (lexicon)

It is man’s most effective medium of communication. It has but one purpose: to serve the code
for the transmission of messages between and among people. By virtue of convention or social
agreement, language thus exists as a tool used in expressing ideas and feelings to achieve
understanding. It is a part of, in fact, the greatest achievement of culture and is adequate for the
communication needs of people who use it.

Speech Community

- People use language and understand each other

- People share the same set of rules in the language system

Language Acquisition

- The process of acquiring language used by those in the community.

Mother tongue

- Also referred to as “first language”

- Language acquired while growing up.

Second Language

- Can be learned by studying formally in school or informally on their own

PROPERTIES OF LANGUAGE

Every human being speaks at least one language, the one we learn from the home. What most of
us know about language, however, is simple. That we use it to be able to communicate and that it
is made up of sounds, words and/or sentences that convey meaning. Few do realize that how
these sounds, words and sentences are related is important for everyone to know.

Taking a good look at these relationships will give us a clearer understanding of language and
how it works. These are the properties or characteristic features of language:
1. It is systematic.

Language is a highly organized system of sounds, words and sentences in which unit
plays an important part. Each unit is related to other parts, which when put together
constitutes a whole.

2. It is arbitrary.

There is no necessary connection between the sounds people use and the objects to which
these sounds refer. The word is not the thing. The relationship between meaning and the
symbols employed is just a matter of convention.

3. It is rule-governed.

While the relationship between meaning and symbols used is an arbitrary one, the
arrangement of the symbols in relation to one another in an utterance is not arbitrary. This
feature of language demonstrates that there are underlying rules or patterns that occur
frequently. These rules that govern the use of language is embodied in what is called the
grammar of language.

4. It has dual structure.

In language, there are two levels of structure of systematic relationships. In other words,
language is a system consisting of two subsystems: the subsystem of sound, and the
subsystem of meaningful units. Actually, it is speech, a system of sounds related to a
system of meanings.

5. It is generative.

This refers to the speaker’s ability to understand and produce any number of
sentences/utterances in the native tongue by recursion or by relativization that makes
language creative and productive.

6. It is a socially learned behavior.

It is a skill acquired as one person grows up in society. It is culturally transmitted. A

speaker learns the language to which he is exposed.

7. It is a social interactive tool.

Language cannot be considered without communication because it is the very reason for
its existence. It is a shared code that enables its users to transmit feelings, ideas, and
desires to one another because they want to communicate.
COMMUNICATION
- Exchange of thoughts, ideas, concepts and views
Communication between two or more people.

- A process by which information, meanings and

feelings are shared by persons through a common
system of verbal and non-verbal symbols

As a process, communication is characterized as:

1. Dynamic
It is constantly changing because it relies on human perception
that can change overtime; therefore, it is irreversible and
unrepeatable.
2. Continuous
It is an ongoing exchange of meaning-sharing behavior
between/among individuals who operate within a frame of
experience; it does not have a beginning, an end, a fixed
sequence of events.
3. Adaptive
It adjusts to the changes that occurs in its physical and
psychological environment.
4. Systematic
It involves components that are interrelated and interacting in a
cyclic order
5. Transactional
Every communication is a unique combination of people,
messages, and events; it consists of unending sharing
(transmission and reception) of messages between/among
people on some occasion.