LANGUAGE

-the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and
conventional way.

Characteristics and Features of Language

Language is, today, an inseparable part of human society. Human civilization has been possible only through
language. It is through language only that humanity has come out of the stone age and has developed science, art
and technology in a big way. Language is a means of communication, it is arbitrary, it is a system of systems. We
know that Speech is primary while writing is secondary.

Language is human so it differs from animal communication in several ways. Language can have scores of
characteristics but the following are the most important ones: language is arbitrary, productive, creative,
systematic, vocalic, social, non-instinctive and conventional. These characteristics of language set human language
apart from animal communication. Some of these features may be part of animal communication; yet they do not
form part of it in total.

Language is Arbitrary: Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no inherent relation between the words of
a language and their meanings or the ideas conveyed by them. There is no reason why a female adult human being
be called a woman in English, aurat in Urdu, Zen in Persian and Femine in French. The choice of a word selected to
mean a particular thing or idea is purely arbitrary but once a word is selected for a particular referent, it comes to
stay as such. It may be noted that had language not been arbitrary, there would have been only one language in the
world.

Language is Social: Language is a set of conventional communicative signals used by humans for communication
in a community. Language in this sense is a possession of a social group, comprising an indispensable set of rules
which permits its members to relate to each other, to interact with each other, to co-operate with each other; it is a
social institution. Language exists in society; it is a means of nourishing and developing culture and establishing
human relations.

Language is Symbolic: Language consists of various sound symbols and their graphological counterparts that are
employed to denote some objects, occurrences or meaning. These symbols are arbitrarily chosen and
conventionally accepted and employed. Words in a language are not mere signs or figures, but symbols of meaning.
The intelligibility of a language depends on a correct interpretation of these symbols.

Language is Systematic: Although language is symbolic, yet its symbols are arranged in a particular system. All
languages have their system of arrangements. Every language is a system of systems. All languages have
phonological and grammatical systems, and within a system there are several sub-systems. For example, within the
grammatical system we have morphological and syntactic systems, and within these two sub-systems we have
systems such as those of plural, of mood, of aspect, of tense, etc.

Language is Vocal: Language is primarily made up of vocal sounds only produced by a physiological articulatory
mechanism in the human body. In the beginning, it appeared as vocal sounds only. Writing came much later, as an
intelligent attempt to represent vocal sounds. Writing is only the graphic representation of the sounds of the
language. So the linguists say that speech is primary.

Language is Non-instinctive, Conventional: No language was created in a day out of a mutually agreed upon
formula by a group of humans. Language is the outcome of evolution and convention. Each generation transmits
this convention on to the next. Like all human institutions languages also change and die, grow and expand. Every
language then is a convention in a community. It is non-instinctive because it is acquired by human beings. No body
gets a language in heritage; he acquires it because he an innate ability.
Language is Productive and Creative: Language has creativity and productivity. The structural elements of
human language can be combined to produce new utterances, which neither the speaker nor his hearers may ever
have made or heard before any, listener, yet which both sides understand without difficulty. Language changes
according to the needs of society.

Finally, language has other characteristics such as Duality referring to the two systems of sound and
meaning, Displacement which means the ability to talk across time and space, Humanness which means that
animals cannot acquire it,Universality which refers to the equilibrium across humanity on linguistic
grounds,Competence and Performance which means that language is innate and produced is society and
furthermore, language is culturally transmitted. It is learnt by an individual from his elders, and is transmitted
from one generation to another. Thus using J. Firth’s term, language is a ‘polysystametic’. It is also open to be
studied from multifaceted angles.

What are the 4 important features of language?

While primate communication utilizes the first 9 features, the final 4 features(displacement, productivity, cultural
transmission, and duality) are reserved forhumans. Hockett later added prevarication, reflexiveness, and
learnability to the list as uniquely human characteristics.

Distinction between Language and a Language

You may wonder if there is any distinction at all; but there is! Language is a general notion, an aabstract concept in
the mind and a universal phenomenon. A language, on its own part, is a specific instance or manifestation of the
phenomenon known as language.

Functions .

Five functions of language:

Actually, Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). Mentioned that language has five functions. They are:

1. Informational
2. Expressive
3. Directive
4. Aesthetic
5. Phatic

I am going to discuss every function. “Informational function which every one tends to assume is most important”
Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). In fact, this function concentrates on the message. It is used to give new information. It
depends on truth and value. Let us look at this example, the car is big, the bus is crowded.

” language can have an expressive function: that is, it can be used to express its originator’s feelings and attitudes –
swear words and exclamations are the most obvious instance of this”. Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). The speaker or
writer of this function tries to express his feelings. He or she reflexes his or her impression. This function could
give a clear image for the personality of the speaker or writer. The best example of this kind is Poetry and
literature . In fact, this function evoke certain feelings and express feelings. Examples of this kind are, I am very
happy or I spent a wonderful vacation. We can see from the previous examples that they reflex the feelings of the
speaker or the writer.
“The third function of language is the directive function whereby we aim to influence the behavior or attitudes of
others. The most straightforward instances of the directive function are commands and requests. This function of
social control places emphasis on the receiver’s end, rather than the originator’s end of the message: but it
resembles the expressive function in giving less importance, on the whole, to conceptual meaning than to other
types of meaning, particularly affective and connotative meaning” Geoffery Leech( 1974 ).

Examples of this kind are, I want a cup of tea or close the door. It is clear hear that, we use the language in a direct
way. We ask someone to do something. Some times we can use a sentence to express two functions. For example, I
am thirsty. The previous example could be used to show the condition of the speaker or writer or to express the
feeling. In a way that a person asks someone to give him water.

The fourth function is the aesthetic function, which is ” the use of language for the sake of the linguistic artifact itself,
and for no purpose. This aesthetic function can have at least as much to do with conceptual as with affective meaning”
Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). ” The function associated with the message-the vehicle-is the poetic or aesthetic function:
the sign taken as an end in itself. All art understood as art is taken to embody this function, and any object valued
for its beauty rather than for its ideological value or usefulness-whether a gorgeous car, an elegant teapot, or some
acreage of untouched real estate-takes on this function. Although Jakobson, perhaps more precisely than anyone
who preceded him, showed how the aesthetic function could hinge on structure, he argues that cultural norms
ultimately determine the dominance of this function. As a striking demonstration, he notes that the aesthetic status
that one generation accorded only to the poems of Karel Mácha, a subsequent generation accords only to his
diaries. Jakobson, R. (1933)”.

According to Leech, the fifth function is the phatic function. ” the function of keeping communication lines open, and
keeping social relationships in good repair ( in Britain culture, talking about the weather is a well-known example of
this)”. Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). We can say about this function that it is used for normal talks. An example of this,
when two people meet each other accidently in a place. They start talking about something unimportant for the
sake of communication like, how are you? How is your children? And so on. We can say that it is a kind of daily
talking. It is not meaning but is good.

Actually has another classification from what we have discussed. H. Douglas Brown has classified function of
language into seven types. “This classification is not much different from that of Leech. The functional approach to
describing language is one that has its roots in the traditions of British linguists J,R Firth, who reviewed language
as interactive and interpersonal, away of behaving and making others behave” Berns, ( 1984).