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Nature and functions of language - Coggle Diagram
Nature and functions of language
Properties of language
Displacement
Displacement is the property of human language that allows language users to talk about things and events not present in the immediate moment.
Humans can use language to refer to the past, present and future
e.g. last night, now, next week
We can even talk about things and places whose existence we cannot be sure of.
e.g. angels, fairies, Superman, Santa Claus, heaven, hell
Animal communication is generally considered to lack this property
Arbitrariness
in human
The relation between linguistic forms and the objects they refer to is arbitrary
There are some words (onomatopoeic) in language with sounds that seems to ‘echo’ the sounds of objects or actions (less arbitrary)
Onomatopoeia: the use of words that sound like the thing they are describing, (e.g. 'hiss' or 'boom’)
in animals
Consists of a fixed and limited set of vocal or gestural forms. (many are only used in specific situations or at particular times)
Productivity
in human
The capability of humans to continually create new expressions and utterances to describe new objects and situations
The number of utterance in any human language is infinite.
in animals
The communication systems of other creatures don’t have this flexibility.
They have a limited set of signals to choose from (fixed reference)
Each signal in the system is fixed as relating to a particular object or occasion.
They cannot produce any new signals to describe novel experiences.
Cultural Transmission
in human
Humans inherit physical features from their parents but not language.
We acquire a language in a culture with other speakers (not from parental genes)
The process whereby a language is passed on from one generation to the next.
We are born with a predisposition to acquire language (but not with the ability to produce utterances in a specific language)
We acquire our 1st language as children in a culture
in animals
Animal are born with a set of specific signals that are produced instinctively. So, cultural transmission of a specific language is crucial in the human language acquisition process.
Duality
in human
Duality is one of the most economical features of human language (with a limited set of discrete sounds, we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words)
in animals
Animals’ communicative signals are fixed and cannot be broken down into separate parts meow is not m + e + o + w
Human vs. Animals
Signals
Communicative Signals
(intentionally communicating sth)
Humans
e.g. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can make
it to the meeting
Animals
e.g. A blackbird producing a loud squawk
when a cat appears in the scene
Informative Signals
(sending signals unintentionally )
a cold = sneezed
not at ease = shifting around
disorganized = non-matching socks
stranger = strange accent
Definition of language
langage /lFìapè/ (n.) A French term introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure to refer to the human biological faculty of speech. (David Crystal:2008) It is distinguished in his approach from langue, the language system of a speech community. langue denotes a system of internalised, shared rules governing a national language’s vocabulary, grammar, and sound system;