FEATURES AND CHARACTERISTICS IN LAGUAGE

1. Arbitrary-means that language doesn’t have any natural connection/relationship with its
meaning. It is just random. Like for example the word “dog.” Why are dogs called dogs?
Perhaps, because the g at the end of that word looks like a dog’s tail? Or the d and o looks like
the dogs head and body? No, because the truth is, it doesn’t have any reason at all. We just
randomly name it that way. So that’s what it means when we say that language is arbitrary.
2. Social- language is social because it’s not only for communicating—It is also for creating/building
strong relationships with other people within the speech community. For example, we make
new friends through socializing with them. Like all of us here in this class, diba most of us here
are still not familiar with each other, but because we speak the same language, nagkahi-usa ta
ninyo, we’re unified. So that’s what it means when we say that language is social.
3. Symbolic- When we say language is symbolic, we mean that each word represents a particular
object or idea, but it does not add up to the object or idea itself. Like for example, a table
symbolizes a certain type of furniture. A cat—A cat symbolizes certain of quadrupe.
4. Systematic- language is systematic because it has to undergo a certain process for it to be
comprehensible. For example; when we give instructions or directions diba we need to
organized our words or the things that we’re trying to say so that it will be understood by
others, or else maa-an kag nahubog kay wa nagkadimao imong gipang sulti.
5. Vocal- language is vocal because it has verbal elements such as sounds, words and phrases
which are fixed up in certain ways to make several sentences. Diba, we all have our vocal
chords, and we use it to speak, or say the things that we wanna say using the language that we
speak.
6. Non-instinctive- language is non-instinctive because we, humans have an innate or natural
ability to speak our language. It just come out naturally in our mouths. For example, when we
are talking to our friends, diba we don’t necessarily think about the words that were gonna say
next?
7. Conventional- language is conventional because we use words according to a system of rules.
Like kaning gibuhat nato karon, diba were studying the English language, starting from grade 1
until now by knowing its rules, grammar rules, vocabulary, spelling, etc. into order for us to
speak it well or be fluent in it.
8. Productive- Language is productive because it produces a wide range of new words and
sentences. Words and expressions are infinite though I’ve read it somewhere that its still
debatable, but still we can formulate words and sentences just by combining it or experimenting
on it. For example, when we play scrabble, we can formulate new words out of the blocks of
letters that we have then if we try to search those words in the dictionary and sometimes walay
mo gawas, but we formed a word. It has vowels and consonants and everything..
9. Creative- Language is creative in a way that we, speakers are able to create new meanings or
representations of words, we can alter sentences and spellings as well. Like the gay language,
jargons, colloquial and slang words. Like for example when we find something suspicious, we say
“that’s kinda sus tho,” or when we joke with our friend about them being stupid, we say, “dude
you’re a no brainer.”
10. Dynamic- because always changing through the addition of new words or old words with new
meaning, and the creation of slang. Like for example kanang mga expressions that we often on
 the internet, nowadays like when we find something suspicious, we say “that’s kinda sus tho,”
or when we joke with our friend about them being stupid, we say, “dude you’re a no brainer.”
11. Reciprocal- because we communicate with others to make our needs and desires known and
others communicate back to us to acknowledge and respond to our needs, and vice-versa. Like
for example, when you ask your parents for a new cellphone, and they would say, “okay, we’ll
get you a new phone, but you have to do well on your studies first.”
12. Interchangeable- language is interchangeable in a way that people can receive and at the same
time transmit the same message that would be understood by the other party. This is because
humans are not limited in the types of messages they can say/hear. For example, I can say that
"I am a boy" even if I’m actually a girl.  In other words, anything that one can hear, one can also
say.
13. Transitory- means that language only last for a short period of time, especially if we don’t use it
often. Like for example: the old English words: thy, thou, thee, thine…or the word
“overmorrow” which means the day after tomorrow. Diba those words are already obsolete .
Although some use these words in making poems, but we don’t really hear someone use these
words on our daily conversations.
14. Specialized- because you need to be really good at it in order to use it or speak it well and be
able to relay your message to other people. This will make communication comprehensive and
understandable. Like what we are doing right now, were studying English so that we will be able
to speak it well or be fluent in it.
15. Displacement- because humans are capable of communicating with things that are not
physically present or that do not even exist. For example when we talk to God or when we pray
to him. Diba, God is not physically present but we know in our hearts that he’s there, watching
us so we talk to him. Another example is.. its actually what I always do, like whenever I look up
to the night sky and see the moon, I would always say, “hi, Luna!” and I know that its weird but
it just became a habit of mine to great the moon, even when I know that its not gonna answer
back.
16. Culturally transmitted- because it is passed on from one generation to another.
17. Prevaricated- in away that it is not only useful in telling the truth but also the lies. In using
language, we can make false or meaningless statements. One good example of this is the gossips
or mga chismis whenever theres a news, those gossipers (grasshoppers) make it more dramatic
than what the actual news is by adding words in it, to make it more interesting.
18. Reflexive- because humans can use language to talk about language and it’s not a trait not
shared by animal communication. What we’re doing right now is a good example of reflexive
language. We’re talking about language here. The features and characteristics of language,
specifically.
19. Learnable- because we can just learn it if we want to. Like sa katong gi example ni miss sa
English 101 nga if we watch animes, kdrama, or any other movies in different languages, we will
eventually pick up some words or phrases from it until we decide to actually learn it kay
kapuyan ta mobasag subtitles.
20. Non-directional- because anyone close enough to hear can pick up the message. We don’t need
to say it very loud or word by word for us to understand it. Unless if we’re still new to that
language.
CHECKPOINT:
1. We all know that opinion is neither right nor wrong and we all have the freedom to believe
what we want to believe. However, being gullible and not looking for any credibility of an
opinion is just plain ignorance. That is why, when hearing other people’s opinion, we should
all be open-minded and try to understand it first before jumping to conclusions.
2. Being involve in a visual communication makes it easier for us to understand and
communicate effectively because it includes visual representations that can clarify words
that cannot be conveyed easily, just like what we are doing right now in our online classes. If
Ms. A did not provide us any visual representation of her discussions, I don’t think we will
get to understand her discussions easily. And when Ms. A wants to hear our feedbacks, we
just simply press the reaction button, for her to know that we are still actively listening and
she’s not just talking to herself.
3. In formal communication, we need to use formal language because its purpose is to inform,
entertain, instruct, and persuade, and it mostly takes place in a very strict setting, such as
when we talk to our superiors at work and in school. While Informal communication mostly
happens in a less strict environment where we tend to be comfortable with the other
person that we’re talking to, such as friends, family, acquaintance, etc.