THEORYOFLANGUAGE

Al
though t
hosewho st
udyl
anguagemaydi
sagr
eeov
erapr
eci
sedef
ini
ti
on
becauset
heydi
sput
esomeconcept
s,suchaswhet
herornotl
anguagemusthav
ea
wr
it
tenandoror
alcomponent
,theyagr
eet
hatl
anguagei
sar
ule-
basedsy
stem ofsi
gns.
Say
ing t
hatl
anguage i
srul
e-based usual
l
ymakes peopl
ethi
nkofot
herki
nds of
si
tuat
ionswher
erul
esar
eenf
orcedbyapar
ti
cul
araut
hor
it
y.Forexampl
e,t
hinkabout
cl
assr
oom behav
ior
.St
udent
sar
eexpect
edt
osi
tst
il
l,
bequi
et,
payat
tent
ion,
andsoon;
t
ypi
cal
l
y,t
her
ear
econsequencesi
ftheydon’
tfol
l
owt
heser
ules.

Languager
ules,howev
er,ar
enotenf
orcedbyanyaut
hor
it
yfi
gur
e;l
anguage
pol
i
cedonotexi
st.I
nst
ead,
languager
ulesar
econv
ent
ions.Thi
smeanst
hatt
heycome
i
ntoexi
stencet
hroughcommonpr
act
icebyuser
soft
hel
anguager
athert
hant
hrough
t
hei
mposi
ti
onofanaut
hor
it
yfi
gur
e.Asar
esul
t,member
swhouset
hel
anguage
conv
ent
ionsoft
hei
rpar
ti
cul
arcommuni
tymaynotev
enbeconsci
ousoff
oll
owi
ngt
hem.

Languagei
soneat
tri
but
ethatset
shumansapar
tfr
om al
lot
hercr
eat
uresand
bi
ndshumanst
oget
heracr
ossal
lgeogr
aphi
cbar
ri
ers.Awor
dcancauset
osi
nki
ntot
he
deepestdespai
rorl
i
ftust
oinspi
red act
ion.Languagecan bet
het
oolf
orgr
eat
achi
evementi
nanydi
sci
pli
ne.Goodunder
standi
ngoft
hecapabi
l
iti
esandneedsoft
he
i
ndi
vi
dualchi
l
d and a sound knowl
edgeand bel
i
efi
nthegoal
sofl
anguageact
s
pr
ogr
ammear
evi
tal
fact
orsi
nsuccessf
uli
ndi
vi
dual
i
zat
ionofi
nst
ruct
ions.

Languagemeanst
hepecul
i
armodet
otr
ansf
er,t
ransmi
tthei
ntendedmessage
t
other
ecei
ver
.Ev
ery
oneashumanbei
ngsmakeut
il
izesi
t.Languagei
sapur
elyhuman
andnon-
inst
inct
ivemet
hodofcommuni
cat
ingi
deas,
emot
ions,
anddesi
rebymeansof
sy
stemsofv
olunt
arypr
oducedsy
mbol
s.

Languagei
sameanst
hroughwhi
cht
houghti
sor
gani
sed,
ref
ined,
andexpr
essed.
I
nshor
t,l
anguagehel
psi
nthef
ormat
ionofconcept
s,anal
ysi
sofcompl
exi
deas,
andt
o
f
ocusat
tent
iononi
deaswhi
chwoul
dot
her
wisebedi
ff
icul
ttocompr
ehend.
ORI
GINOFLANGUAGE

Wesi
mpl
ydonotknow how l
anguageor
igi
nat
ed.Wedonotknow t
hatspoken
l
anguagedev
elopedwel
lbef
orewr
it
tenl
anguage.Yetwehav
enophy
sicalev
idence
r
elat
ingt
othespeechofourancest
orsandbecauseoft
hisabsenceofev
idence
specul
ati
onsaboutt
heor
igi
nsofhumanspeechhav
ebeendev
eloped.I
nfact
,ther
ear
e
many‘
specul
ati
ons’
abouthowl
anguagest
art
ed:

1.TheDi
vi
neSour
ce

 I
nbi
bli
calt
radi
ti
on(
Godcr
eat
edAdam andwhat
soev
erAdam cal
l
edev
ery
l
i
vingcr
eat
uret
hatwast
henamet
her
eof
)

 I
nHi
nduLanguagecamef
rom Sar
avat
i,wi
feofBr
ama,
creat
orofuni
ver
se.

 Fewexper
iment
shadbeenconduct
edt
odi
scov
ert
heor
igi
nofl
anguage.The
basi
cideaoft
het
heor
yist
hat
:“I
finf
ant
swer
eal
l
owedt
ogr
ow upwi
thout
hear
inganyl
anguage,
thent
heywoul
dspont
aneousl
ybegi
nusi
ngt
heor
igi
nal
Godgi
venl
anguage”
.

 TheGr
eekhi
stor
ianHer
odot
usment
ionedPsamt
ikasanexampl
e.Dur
inghi
s
t
rav
elt
oEgy
pt,Her
odot
ushear
dthatPsammet
ichus(
"Psamṯ
ik"
)soughtt
o
di
scov
ert
he or
igi
n ofl
anguage byconduct
ing an exper
imentwi
tht
wo
chi
l
dren.Al
l
egedl
yhegav
etwo newbor
nbabi
est
o ashepher
d,wi
tht
he
i
nst
ruct
ionst
hatnooneshoul
dspeakt
othem,butt
hatt
heshepher
dshoul
d
f
eedandcar
efort
hem whi
l
eli
steni
ngt
odet
ermi
net
hei
rfi
rstwor
ds.

 Thehy
pot
hesi
swast
hatt
hef
ir
stwor
dwoul
dbeut
ter
edi
nther
ootl
anguage
ofal
lpeopl
e.Whenoneoft
hechi
l
drencr
ied"
βηκοs"(
bèkos)
,theshepher
d
concl
udedt
hatt
hewor
dwasPhr
ygi
anbecauset
hatwast
hesoundoft
he
Phr
ygi
anwor
dfor"
bread.
"Thus,t
heyconcl
udedt
hatt
hePhr
ygi
answer
ean
ol
derpeopl
ethant
heEgy
pti
ans,andt
hatPhr
ygi
anwast
heor
igi
nall
anguage
ofmen.ThePhr
ygi
anl
anguage/
ˈf
rɪdʒi
ən/wast
heI
ndo-
Eur
opeanl
anguageof
t
he Phr
ygi
ans,spoken i
n Asi
a Mi
nor dur
ing Cl
assi
calAnt
iqui
ty(
2nd
 mi
l
lenni
um BCt
o5t
hcent
uryAD)
.

 Ki
ngJamest
heFour
thofScot
landcar
ri
edoutt
hesameexper
imentand
di
scov
eredt
hechi
l
drenspokeHebr
ew.TheDi
vi
neSour
ceofLanguagecoul
d
notbeconf
ir
med.

2.TheNat
ural
SoundSour
ce

 “
Pri
mit
ivewor
dscoul
dhav
ebeeni
mit
ati
onsoft
henat
uralsoundswhi
chear
ly
menandwomenhear
dar
oundt
hem “
Exampl
es:cuckoo,spl
ash,bang,and
boom.Thi
svi
ew hasbeencal
l
ed“
bow-
wow t
heor
y”ofl
anguageor
igi
nand
t
hesewor
dsechoi
ngnat
ural
soundsar
ecal
l
ed“
onomat
opoei
cwor
ds”
.

 Asi
mil
arsuggest
ion:“
Theor
igi
nalsoundsofl
anguagecamef
rom nat
ural
cr
iesofemot
ionsuchaspai
n,angerandj
oy.Exampl
es:
Ouch!,
Ah….

 Thef
actt
hatal
lmoder
nlanguageshav
esomewor
dswi
thpr
onunci
ati
ont
hat
seemst
oechonat
ural
l
yoccur
ri
ngsoundscoul
dbeusedt
osuppor
tthi
s
t
heor
y.

3.TheSoci
alI
nter
act
ionSour
ce(
Yo-
he-
hoTheor
y)

 Thesoundsofaper
soni
nvol
vedi
nphy
sicalef
for
tcoul
dbet
hesour
ceofour
l
anguage,especi
all
ywhent
hatphy
sicalef
for
tinv
olv
edsev
eralpeopl
eand
hadt
obecoor
dinat
ed.Thei
mpor
tanceofy
o-he-
hot
heor
yist
hati
tpl
acest
he
dev
elopmentofhumanl
anguagei
nsomeSOCI
ALCONTEXT.

 Ear
lypeopl
eli
vedi
ngr
oups.Gr
oupsof
fer
edbet
terpr
otect
ionf
rom at
tack.
Gr
oupsar
esoci
alor
gani
zat
ion.I
nagr
oup,communi
cat
ioni
srequi
red.So
humansoundswer
epr
oduced.
4.ThePhy
sical
Adapt
ati
onSour
ce

 Thi
sTheor
ydependsont
hephy
sicalf
eat
ureshumanposses.Especi
all
y
t
hoset
hatar
edi
sti
nctf
rom ot
hercr
eat
ures.Ourancest
orsmadeav
ery
si
gni
fi
cantt
ransi
ti
ont
oupr
ightpost
ure,wi
thbi
pedal
,andar
evi
sedr
olef
or
t
hef
rontl
i
mbs.

 Thet
heor
ycomesf
rom t
hei
deat
hatt
her
eisal
i
nkbet
weenphy
sicalgest
ure
and or
all
ypr
oduced sounds.Fi
rstofal
lasetofphy
sicalgest
ureswas
dev
elopedasameansofcommuni
cat
ion.

 Thenasetofor
algest
uresespeci
all
yinv
olv
ingt
hemout
hdev
elopedi
nwhi
ch
t
hemov
ement
soft
het
ongue,l
i
psandsoonwher
erecogni
zedaccor
dingt
o
pat
ter
nsofmov
ementsi
mil
art
ophy
sical
gest
ures.

 Thef
ocusi
sont
hebi
ologi
calbasi
soft
hef
ormat
ion.I
ntheev
olut
ionar
y
dev
elopmentt
her
ear
ecer
tai
nphy
sicalf
eat
ures,bestt
houghtofpr
act
ical
adapt
ati
onst
hatappeart
ober
elev
antf
orspeech.

 Human t
eet
h,l
i
ps,mout
h,t
ongue,l
ary
nx,phar
ynxand br
ain hav
e been
cr
eat
edi
nsuchawayt
ocoor
dinat
einpr
oduci
ngspeechsounds.Thei
rpl
aces,
connect
ionsandcoor
dinat
ivef
unct
ionsmakehumanki
nddi
ff
erentf
rom al
l
t
hel
i
vingcr
eat
ures.

 Teet
h=upr
ight
,notsl
ant
ingout
war
ds.Li
ps=hav
emuchi
ntr
icat
emuscl
es.
Mout
h=smal
l
.Tongue=canbeusedi
nvar
iet
yoshapes.Humanscancl
ose
of
ftheai
rwayt
hrought
henoset
ocr
eat
eai
rpr
essur
einsi
det
hemout
h.
Lar
ynx=(
voi
cebox)di
ff
erentposi
ti
on-upr
ightpost
ure.

 Humanbodypar
tshav
emor
ethanonef
unct
ion:Teet
h,l
i
ps:chewi
ngand
sucki
ngpr
oduci
ngspeechsounds.Humanhands:maki
ngt
ool
sandmanual
gest
ures.Br
ain atwor
k!Human br
aini
slat
eral
i
zed.I
thas speci
ali
zed
f
unct
ionsi
neachoft
het
wohemi
spher
es.Compl
exv
ocal
i
zat
ion(
Speaki
ng)
andobj
ectmani
pul
ati
on(
maki
ngorusi
ngt
ool
s)ar
ever
ycl
oset
oeachot
her
 i
nthel
efthemi
spher
eint
hebr
ain.Ther
emaybeanev
olut
ionar
yconnect
ion
bet
weent
hel
anguageusi
ngandt
ool
usi
ng.

5.TheGenet
icSour
ce

 Thei
nnat
enesshy
pot
hesi
sisal
i
ngui
sti
ctheor
yofl
anguageacqui
sit
ionwhi
ch
hol
dst
hatatl
eastsomeknowl
edgeaboutl
anguageexi
stsi
nhumansatbi
rt
h.
Thi
shy
pot
hesi
ssuppor
tsl
i
ngui
sti
cnat
ivi
sm andwasf
ir
stpr
oposedbyNoam
Chomsky
.

 Fact
saboutt
hecompl
exi
tyofhumanl
anguagesy
stems,t
heuni
ver
sal
i
tyof
l
anguageacqui
sit
ion,andt
hef
aci
l
ityt
hatchi
l
drendemonst
rat
einacqui
ri
ng
t
hesesy
stemsandt
hecompar
ati
veper
for
manceofadul
tsi
nat
tempt
ingt
he
samet
askar
eal
lcommonl
yinv
okedi
nsuppor
t.

 Ahumanmi
ghthav
e(Languagegene)t
hatmakeshi
m speak!
!

LEVELSOFLANGUAGE

Al
lknownhumanl
anguagesoper
ateonf
ivel
evel
s.Thi
slev
elofl
anguageasr
ecogni
zed
byl
i
ngui
stswi
l
lbeexpl
ained.

1.Phonet
ics,Phonol
ogy
:Phonet
icsi
sthesci
ent
if
icst
udyofaspeechsoundofa
nat
urall
anguage.Whi
l
e phonol
ogyi
sthe st
udyoft
he sound sy
stem ofa
par
ti
cul
arnat
urall
anguage.Thi
sist
hel
evelofsounds.Onemustdi
sti
ngui
sh
her
ebet
weent
hesetofpossi
blehumansounds,whi
chconst
it
utet
hear
eaof
phonet
icspr
oper
,andt
hesetofsy
stem soundsusedi
nagi
venhumanl
anguage,
say
inghowt
hesubsetusedi
napar
ti
cul
arl
anguagei
sut
il
ized,
fori
nst
ancewhat
di
sti
nct
ionsi
nmeani
ngcanbemadeont
hebasi
sofwhatsound.

2.Mor
phol
ogy
:Mor
phol
ogyi
sthest
udyofwor
dfor
mat
ionandi
texami
nest
he
i
nter
nalst
ruct
uresofwor
dsi
napar
ti
cul
arnat
urall
anguageandt
her
ulet
hat
gov
ernst
hef
ormat
ion.Thi
sist
hel
evelofwor
dsandendi
ngs,
toputi
nsi
mpl
i
fied
t
erms;i
tiswhatonenor
mal
l
yunder
standsbygr
ammar(
alongwi
thsy
ntax)
.The
t
erm mor
phol
ogyr
efer
stoanal
ysi
sofmi
nimalf
ormsi
nlanguagewhi
char
e,
 howev
er,t
hemsel
vescompr
isedofsoundwhi
char
eusedt
oconst
ructwor
ds
whi
chhav
eei
theragr
ammat
ical
orl
exi
cal
funct
ion.

3.Sy
ntax:Thi
sist
hel
evelofl
anguaget
hathast
odowi
thhow wor
dsar
eput
t
oget
hert
ofor
m phr
ase,
clausesandsent
encesi
nal
anguage.Sy
ntaxi
sthel
evel
ofsent
ence.I
tisconcer
nedwi
tht
hemeani
ngsofwor
dsi
ncombi
nat
ionwi
th
eachot
hert
ofor
m phr
aseorsent
ences.I
npar
ti
cul
ar,i
tinv
olv
esdi
ff
erencesi
n
meani
ngar
ri
vedatbychangesi
nwor
dor
der
,theaddi
ti
onorsubt
ract
ionofwor
ds
f
rom sent
encesorchangesi
nfor
m ofsent
ences.

4.Semant
ics:Thi
sist
hest
udyofmeani
ngofapar
ti
cul
arwor
dorsent
encei
na
gi
vennat
urall
anguage.I
tisanaspectofl
anguaget
hati
simpor
tantbecause
meani
ngi
nlanguageusei
scr
it
icalt
ohumanexi
stence.Semant
icsi
sthear
eaof
meani
ng.I
tmi
ghtbe t
houghtt
hatsemant
ics i
s cov
ered by t
he ar
ea of
mor
phol
ogyandsy
ntax
,buti
tisqui
ckl
yseeni
nthatt
hisl
evel
needst
obest
udi
ed
oni
townt
ohav
eapr
operper
spect
iveonmeani
ngi
nlanguage.

5.Pr
agmat
ics:Thi
sconcer
nher
eiswi
tht
heuseofl
anguagei
nspeci
fi
csi
tuat
ion.
Themeani
ngofsent
encesneedsnott
obet
hesamei
nanabst
ractf
orm andi
n
pr
act
icaluse.I
nthel
att
ercaseonespeaksofut
ter
ancemeani
ng.Thear
eaof
pr
agmat
icsr
eli
esst
rongl
yfori
tanal
ysesont
henot
ionofspeechactwhi
chi
s
concer
nedwi
tht
heact
ual
per
for
manceofl
anguage.

CLASSI
FICATI
ONOFLANGUAGES

Al
though,i
tisst
il
lunr
eal
i
sti
cresul
tget
ti
ngt
heact
ualnumberofl
anguages.I
tis,
howev
erpossi
blet
o cl
assi
fyl
anguage.Languages can be cl
assi
fi
ed i
ntot
hree
cat
egor
ies:Maj
orl
anguage,Medi
um l
anguageandMi
norl
anguage.Languagecanal
so
becl
assi
fi
edbasedondev
eloped,
dev
elopi
ngandunder
dev
elopedpar
amet
ers.

Maj
orLanguage

Somel
anguagear
esai
dtobe“
maj
or”
.Per
hapswhati
nfor
mst
hei
rcl
assi
fi
cat
ionas
bei
ngmaj
orl
anguagecoul
dbeont
hegr
oundsofor
thogr
aphy
,popul
ati
onofspeaker
s,
geogr
aphi
calcov
erageandamongot
her
s?Forexampl
eYor
uba,HausaandI
gboar
e
r
egar
dedasmaj
orl
anguagei
nNi
ger
iabecauset
heyar
ethemostdev
elopedasnt
hey
hav
ebeenr
educedt
owr
it
ingandar
euseasmedi
aofl
ear
ningi
nschool
s.

Medi
um Languages

Medi
um l
anguagesar
ethoset
hatar
eusedbyany
thi
ngbet
weenoneandt
hreemi
l
li
on
peopl
e.Thesear
eref
err
ed t
o byschol
arsasdev
elopi
ng l
anguagesbecauset
hei
r
or
thogr
aphi
eshav
erecent
lybeendev
elopedorar
ebei
ngst
abi
l
ized.

Mi
norLanguages

Themi
norl
anguagesar
eal
sor
efer
redt
oasunder
dev
elopedi
nthesenset
hati
nmost
cases,t
heyhav
enotbeenr
educedt
owr
it
ingandt
her
eisst
il
lnowr
it
tenl
i
ter
atur
eand
st
andar
dcount
ingsy
stem i
neachoft
hem.

LANGUAGEANDCOMMUNI
CATI
ON

Languagei
sfor
emostameansofcommuni
cat
ion,andcommuni
cat
ional
most
al
way
stakes pl
ace wi
thi
n some sor
tofsoci
alcont
ext
.Thi
sis why ef
fect
ive
communi
cat
ionr
equi
resanunder
standi
ngandr
ecogni
ti
onoft
heconnect
ionsbet
ween
al
anguageandt
hepeopl
ewhousei
t.Theseconnect
ionsar
ecompl
ex:f
orexampl
e,
t
heyt
elly
ouwhent
ousesl
angwi
thaf
ri
endorf
ormall
anguagewi
thaboss,how t
o
j
udgeacandi
dat
e’scampai
gnspeeches,andwhet
hert
oabbr
evi
ateanemai
l
.Al
lof
t
heseact
srequi
reknowl
edgeoft
hel
anguage,aswel
last
hecul
tur
alandsoci
alf
orces
act
ingont
hatl
anguage.

Soci
alcont
exti
samaj
orf
act
ort
hatdr
ivesourl
anguagechoi
ces.Forexampl
e,
consi
dert
hel
anguagey
oumi
ghthav
eusedi
nani
nter
view si
tuat
ion,per
hapswi
tha
pr
ospect
iveempl
oyerorcol
l
egeadmi
ssi
onsof
fi
cer
.Ify
ouar
eli
kemanyot
herpeopl
e,i
n
t
hei
nter
viewy
oupr
obabl
ywer
easmuchconcer
nedwi
thhowy
ouspokeaswi
thwhat
y
ouact
ual
l
ysai
d.Youmayhav
eev
enpr
act
icedsoundi
ngconf
ident
,fori
nst
ance,or
i
ntel
l
igent
,sot
haty
ouwoul
dmakeagoodi
mpr
essi
ondur
ingt
hei
nter
view.Wemake
deci
si
onsev
eryday
,orhav
edeci
sionsmadeaboutusbyot
herpeopl
e,basedont
he
l
anguageweuse.Wef
requent
lyev
aluat
eaper
son’
seducat
ion,soci
oeconomi
clev
el,
backgr
ound,honest
y,f
ri
endl
i
ness,andnumer
ousot
herqual
i
tiesbyhow t
hatper
son
speaks.Andwhenwewantt
omakeapar
ti
cul
ari
mpr
essi
ononsomeoneel
se,we
consci
ousl
ychooseourl
anguage,
justaswechooseourhai
rst
ylesorcl
othi
ng.

Languagei
sint
egr
all
yint
ert
winedwi
thournot
ionsofwhowear
eonbot
hthe
per
sonalandt
hebr
oader
,soci
etall
evel
s.Whenweusel
anguage,wecommuni
cat
eour
i
ndi
vi
dualt
hought
s,aswel
last
hecul
tur
albel
i
efsandpr
act
icesoft
hecommuni
ti
esof
whi
chwear
eapar
t:ourf
ami
l
ies,
soci
algr
oups,
andot
herassoci
ati
ons.

CONCEPTSOFLANGUAGE

Languagei
sobv
iousl
yaconceptt
hati
sver
ydi
ff
icul
ttodescr
ibe,expl
ainor
def
inel
i
keanyot
herconcept
s;def
ini
ti
on,
descr
ipt
ionanddef
ini
ti
oni
scompl
exbecause
t
heper
cept
ionsexper
iencesandwor
ldv
iew oft
hei
ndi
vi
dual
sdi
ff
er.Her
e,wedi
scuss
howl
anguagei
sbeengr
ouped;

Fi
rstLanguage

Byf
ir
stl
anguage,
wemeant
hel
anguaget
hataper
sonacqui
resi
nthepr
ocessof
gr
owi
ngupasachi
l
dint
ochi
l
dhood.Foranor
malhumanbei
ng,t
hel
anguagewhi
cha
per
soncomescont
actwi
thcoul
dber
egar
dedast
hef
ir
stl
anguage.

SecondLanguage

Asecondl
anguageusual
l
ylear
nt,
notacqui
red.I
tisal
anguaget
hatani
ndi
vi
dual
consci
ousl
ylear
ninaddi
ti
ont
oal
anguaget
hathasal
readybeenacqui
red.

For
eignLanguage

Thi
scoul
dbedescr
ibedasal
anguageofr
emot
ear
est
ri
cteduse.Li
ket
he
secondl
anguage,
iti
slear
ntnotacqui
red.For
eignl
anguagesar
ether
efor
eempl
oyedf
or
speci
fi
cpur
poseandoccasi
onal
l
y.

Li
nguaFr
anca

Li
nguaf
rancar
efer
stot
hel
anguaget
hati
scommonl
yempl
oyedbypeopl
e
wi
thi
naspeci
fi
cgeogr
aphi
call
ocat
ion.I
tcoul
dbedescr
ibedasabr
idgebet
weenand
among peopl
es who bel
ong t
o di
ver
se l
i
ngui
sti
c backgr
ound.I
nthe sout
h-sout
h
geopol
i
ticalzone ofNi
ger
ia,t
her
e ar
evar
ious l
anguages t
hatar
e used by t
he
i
nhabi
tant
s.Duest
onumer
ousl
anguagesuchasi
j
aw,Ef
ik,I
tseki
ri
,Ur
hobo,I
bibi
o,et
c.,
Pi
dgi
nhasbecomet
hegener
all
anguageusedbyt
hepeopl
etocommuni
cat
eand
est
abl
i
shsoci
alr
elat
ionshi
p.

Nat
ional
Language

I
tisanendogl
ossi
clanguagewhi
chhasev
olv
edf
rom wi
thi
nacount
ry,i
.e.i
tis
t
hel
anguageofanat
ion.Anendogl
ossi
clanguagei
saf
ir
stl
anguageofacount
ryor
communi
tyandnotasaf
orei
gnorsecondl
anguage.I
tcoul
dbechosenbydecr
eesor
st
atut
es,especi
all
yin a mul
ti
li
ngualcommuni
ty wher
e sev
erali
ndi
genous (
local
)
l
anguagesco-
exi
st.Forexampl
e,Swahi
l
iisanat
ionall
anguagei
nKeny
a,Uganda,and
Tanzani
aet
c.

Of
fi
cial
Language

Thebel
i
efi
n somepl
acesi
sthatan of
fi
ciall
anguagei
ssy
nony
mouswi
th
nat
ional
language.Jowi
tt(
1991)cont
endst
hati
nreal
senseofi
t,especi
all
yasi
tappl
i
es
i
nNi
ger
ia,t
her
eisnol
anguaget
hatcoul
dbesai
dtobenat
ionali
nout
look.Howev
er,
whatcoul
dbesai
dandwhi
chi
sjust
if
iabl
eist
hatacount
ryl
i
keNi
ger
iahasanof
fi
cial
l
anguage.Al
thought
her
eisnost
atut
e,l
egi
slat
ionordecr
eet
hatpr
onounceNi
ger
iaas
hav
ingof
fi
ci
all
anguage,Engl
i
shal
way
sbeenusedbyt
heFeder
alGov
ernment
,St
ate
Gov
ernmentaswel
lasLocal
counci
l
sinal
lthei
rtr
ansact
ions.

FUNCTI
ONSOFLANGUAGE

Byf
unct
ionofl
anguage,i
tcoul
dbei
nfer
redt
hatwear
etal
ki
ngaboutt
her
olewhi
ch
l
anguagepl
ayi
nanyhumansoci
ety
.Al
anguagedoesnotexi
stf
orexi
stencesake,
buti
t
hascer
tai
nrol
ethati
sassi
gnedt
oitbyhumans.
Expr
essi
veandEmot
iveFunct
ion

Amaj
orf
unct
ionofl
anguagei
sthati
tisexpr
essi
veandemot
ive.i
.e.
,theexpr
essi
ve
f
unct
ionofl
anguager
efer
stot
heuseofl
anguagebyaper
sonorcommuni
cat
ort
o
expr
esshi
sorherf
eel
i
ngs.I
tcanei
therf
unct
ionposi
ti
vel
yornegat
ivel
y.

I
nfor
mat
iveFunct
ion

I
nfor
mat
ivef
unct
ioni
sahal
l
mar
kofl
anguages.I
nsomei
nst
ance,l
anguagei
ssol
ely
andspeci
fi
cal
l
yempl
oyedt
opassacr
ossbasi
cinf
ormat
ion.Newspaperandmagazi
nes
ar
epl
ubl
i
shedmai
nlyt
oenabl
ether
eaderandt
hepubl
i
catl
arget
ohav
eaccesst
o
i
nfor
mat
ion.

Regul
ator
yFunct
ion

Regul
ator
yfunct
ion,
whi
chi
sal
socal
l
edconat
ivef
unct
ion,
ref
erst
otheuseofl
anguage
t
oregul
atet
he act
ion orconduct
s ofot
hercommuni
cat
ors.I
tincl
udes such a
per
suasi
ver
olesascommands,
inst
ruct
ionandr
equest
.

I
dent
it
yFunct
ion

Oneoft
henumer
ousf
unct
ionsofl
anguagei
sexpr
essi
onofi
dent
it
y.Languagei
san
aspectofcul
tur
eandcanbeusedt
odi
scov
eronesor
igi
n.Aper
sonwhohasi
dent
it
y
cr
isi
smayf
indi
tdi
ff
icul
ttoassoci
atewi
thpeopl
e.Butt
hroughl
anguage,
mancanknow
ordi
scov
erhi
spastandal
i
gnhi
msel
ftopr
esentwhi
l
emaki
ngapr
oject
ionf
orf
utur
e.

Soci
alFunct
ion

A pr
omi
nentr
oleofl
anguagei
sthatofsoci
ali
nter
act
ion.Peopl
eusel
anguaget
o
i
nter
actandr
elat
ewi
thot
heri
nthesamespeechcommuni
ty.Theai
mist
oseet
hat
wi
thi
naspeechcommuni
tyt
her
eismut
ual
under
standi
ngandcoexi
stence.