LANGUAGE

Definitions of Language
 Definitions of Language

Lyons
According to Lyons, languages are the principal
systems of communication used by particular groups
of human beings within the particular society of
which they are members. Especially Lyons points out
that, language is the best communicative system of
human beings by particular social groups .

Lyons John (1981): Language and Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.
 Definitions of Language

Wardhaugh
A language is a system of arbitrary vocal
sounds used for human communication.
This definition of language by Wardhaugh
mainly insists on arbitrariness, vocal
sounds, humans and communication.
 Definitions of Language
Thus, we can say, language is a system of
communication or arbitrary vocal sounds by means of
which human beings are used to communicate and
interact with each other in their everyday life.
There are approximately 6,500 spoken languages
available in the entire world used by different kinds of
social groups and cultures.

Encyclopedia Britannica: Language | Definition,

Characteristics & Change
 THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE
• 5 theories from The Danish Linguist Otto Jespersen(1860-1943)
• 1. speech arose through Onomatopoeic words but few of
these exist in language
• 2. speech arose through people making instictive sounds
caused by pain, anger or emotions. For ex. İnterjections
• 3.universal use of sounds for words of a certain menaing-
sound symbolism.
• 4. speech arose as peole worked together, their physical
efforts produced communal, rhythmical sounds which in
due course developed into chants, and thus language.
• 5.If any single factor was going to initiate human language
it would arise from the romantic side of life-sounds
associated with love, play, poetic feeling, perhaps even
song.( Crystal, 1987)
 Features of Language
• The important features that all
human languages have in
common.
• Design features of language by
American linguists Charles
Hockett
 The Features of Human Language
Hockett, Charles. 1960. The Origin of Speech

• Hockett isolated 13 features that characterize

human language and which distinguish it from
other communication systems.
 The Features of Human Language
• 1. Vocal-auditory channel -- This means that the standard
human language occurs as a vocal (making sounds with the
mouth) type of communication which is perceived by hearing
it.
• 2. Broadcast transmission and directional reception -- This
means that the human language signal is sent out in all
directions, while it is perceived in a limited direction.
• 3. Rapid fading (transitoriness) -- This means that the human
language signal does not persist over time. Speech waveforms
fade rapidly and cannot be heard after they fade.
• 4. Interchangeability -- This means that the speaker can both
receive and broadcast the same signal.
 The Features of Human Language
• 5. Total feedback -- this means that the speaker can
hear themself speak and can monitor their language
performance as they go.
• 6. Specialization -- This means that the organs used
for producing speech are specially adapted to that
task. The human lips, tongue, throat, etc. have been
specialized into speech apparati instead of being
merely the eating apparati they are in many other
animals.
• 7. Semanticity -- This means that specific signals can
be matched with specific meanings. This is a
fundamental aspect of all communication systems.
 The Features of Human Language
• 8. Arbitrariness -- This means that there is no necessary
connection between the form of the signal and the thing being
referred to. For example, something as large as a whale can be
referred to by a very short word. Similarly, there is no reason
that a four-legged domestic canine should be called a dog and
not a chien or a perro or an anjing (all words for 'dog' in other
languages).
• 9. Discreteness -- This means that the basic units of speech
(such as sounds) can be categorized as belonging to distinct
categories. There is no gradual, continuous shading from one
sound to another in the linguistics system, although there may
be a continuum in the real physical world.
 The Features of Human Language
• 12. Traditional Transmission -- This means that human
language is not something inborn. Although humans are
probably born with an ability to do language, they must
learn, or acquire, their native language from other
speakers.
• 13. Duality of patterning -- This means that the discrete
parts of a language can be recombined in a systematic
way to create new forms. This idea is similar to
Productivity (Feature 11). However, Productivity refers to
the ability to generate novel meanings, while Duality of
patterning refers to the ability to recombine small units
in different orders.
The Features of Human Language
• 10. Displacement -- This means that the
speaker can talk about things which are not
present, either spatially or temporally. For
example, human language allows speakers
to talk about the past and the future, as
well as the present. Speakers can also talk
about things that are physically distant
(such as other countries, the moon, etc.)
• 11. Productivity -- This means that human
languages allow speakers to create novel,
never-before-heard utterances that others
can understand.
 Minor features of Language
• Language reveals patterns of how mind works.

• Language is a means for mental and social development.

• Language is the property of the individual as well as society.

• Language is a predictor of social identity.

• Language is used for cultural preservation and transmission.

 Continues..
• Language is varied: variation (e.g.dialects).
• Self-talk can be regarded as a form of language.
• We talk in our minds: inner speech. Language is used in
thinking.
• Processing and understanding what we hear.
• All natural languages have the same potential for
development.
• Language is adaptable and flexible to accommodate new
communicative needs.
 3Ds of Language

Dimensions of language as used in oral communication.

• 1. FORM: sound, word, sentence (accurate?)

• 2. MEANING: what does it mean?

• 3. USE: where, when with who to use it?(appropriate?)

 Knowledge of a language
• “I know English?”
– identifying individual sounds correctly;
– Knowing the combinations of sounds. For example: beg is
permitted but bge is not permitted;
– Knowing the formation and division of words: Clear-ly;
– Combination of words at sentence level;
– Decoding all above system: understanding the meanings of
words, phrases, sentences;
– Using language in communicative context.

• Label each of the above explanations with one of the

terms: syntax, morphology, pragmatics, semantics,
phonetics and phonology
 Continues..

• Knowing a language means having moderate

level of speaking and listenings skills, and also
expressing ideas in written mode.

• You are illeterate if you cannot convert your

speech into writing.
• Therefore, the use of language is an integral part of
human being.

• Children all over the world start putting words together

at approximately the same age, and follow remarkably
similar paths in their speech development.

• All languages are similar in their basic structure, whether

they are in Africa, America, China…