1. What are the features of human language? Give examples to illustrate them.
Re: Through the comparison of human and animal communication, American linguist Charles Hocktett has given the defining properties of human language. The features are generally discussed from the angle of structure: the formation of words and phrases, the function of various forms of language and in what cases language is produced. In the following part, I will choose four of them to illustrate.
(1) Arbitrariness
By arbitrariness, "we mean that there is no logical connections between meanings and sounds." (4) That is from the very beginning when human tried to use symbols to communicate, the symbols had no relation in meaning with what they referred to or the similarities to indicate what the real things were.
One reason for the acceptance and memorizing of more and more symbols in communication is human's "sophistication" (5). This "sophistication" makes human beings distinguished from animals. And also for this great difference between human and animal, human is enabled to remember the symbols and the things they refer to and use them in communications freely. But for an animal, a dog, for example, will never have a certain kind of barking or gesture telling whether it wants to eat or go out. In stead they bark, only trying to call your attention, and then lead you to the door, which indicates their wanting of going outside .In other words, if animals had the arbitrary symbols as a tool in communications, they would be equally sophisticated with mankind. While in fact, they do not.
When we say the feature "arbitrariness" itself, we mainly refer to the word choosing like "apple", "radio", "cheese", etc. They are simply some si...
... middle of paper ...
...e other two or more poverties. Componential analysis helps people distinguish words in detail. Traditionally, categorize the words into "synonyms" and "antonyms." There are many limitations in the traditional method; differences between words couldn' be described efficiently. Seanticist Geoffrey Leech developed a new and a more complete idea to divide the words into two groups, which mainly explains the relations between the meaningful components of a word. His method has completed the componential analysis. So componential analysis is a method for people to describe words. It involves the meaningful components and the relations of the meanings.
Horse: +animal +adult male
Stallion: +animal +adult +male
Mare: +animal +adult +male
We may see both stallion and mare are huponymous to horse. But mare is compatible with stallion.
First, a brief background in the three dimensions of language discussed throughout this paper. The functional, semantic, or thematic dimensions of language as previously mentioned are often used in parallel with each other. Due, to this fact it is important to be able to identify them as they take place and differentiate between these dimensions i...
In the beginning, symbolism was used for a means of communication. The reason for this was because during this time most Native American’s were Illiterate. Instead of using letter’s in the alphabet, as we do today , they used pictures (Douglas 42). This came to become what we call symbolism.
“…animals, plants and even “inert” entities such as stones and rivers are perceived as being articulate and at times intelligible subjects, able to communicate and interact with humans for good or ill. In addition to human language, there is also the language of birds, the wind, earthworms, wolves and waterfalls – a world of autonomous speakers whose intents (especially for hunter-gatherer peoples) one ignores at one’s peril” (Manes 15).
The prehistoric times stand evidence to the power of language as a tool for communication and growth. Language has proven to be an effective medium and factor surrounding the evolution of man. Language has played a big role in the development of individuals and societies. What is spoken and/or written, help in the initiation of imagination, expression of feelings, and conveyance of thoughts and ideas. “The pen is mightier than the sword” (Bulwer-Lytton 1839).
Hill, Jane H., P. J. Mistry, and Lyle Campbell. The Life of Language: Papers in Linguistics in Honor of William Bright. Berlin [etc.: Mouton De Gruyter, 1998. Print.
Communication is used throughout every primate and animal and it includes any behaviors, scents, and autonomic responses. Communication is used to indicate submission, reassurance, or amicable intentions. Vocalizations are used as a form of communication to inform others of predator or food presence. Social living would not be possible without communication.
The other part of computational linguistics is called applied computational linguistics which focuses on the practical outcome of modeling human language use. The methods, techniques, tools, and applications in this area are often subsumed under the term language engineering or (human language technology. The current computational linguistic systems are far from achieving human ability of communicating they have numerous applications. The goal for this is to eventually have a computer program that will have the same communication skills as a human being. Once this is achieved it will open doors never thought possible in computing. After all the major problem today with computing is communication with the computer. Today’s computers don’t really understand our language and it is very difficult to learn computer language, plus computer language doesn’t correspond to the structure of human thought.
Something else native speakers understand is the context of statements. We can easily tell when someone is being literal or just trying to make a joke. There are many different characteristics to a language. According to Charles Hockett, a language must consist of communication, mode of communication, semanticity, pragmatic function, interchangeability, arbitrariness, discreteness, displacement, productivity, cultural transmission, prevarication and reflexiveness. To be able to transfer a message from a source to a receiver and how that message is transmitted are all important for a language. Originally, Hockett’s design features only included a vocal-auditory channel but he later added on sounds, visual cues, touch, odor, and electrical signs. This expansion occurred because you have to consider animal communication as well. Both animals and humans have the innate ability to communicate but there are differences between the two systems. Animal communication is confined to a very small set of topics that they discuss which is usually about survival. Humans are able to talk about the present and past, or the immediate environment, known as displacement, and are able to develop concepts and ideas
This essay is written to introduce the Russell’s Theory on Definite Description. The main content of this essay including: the definition of definite description, the puzzles concerning definite description, Russell’s Theory on Definite Description, how this theory solves the puzzles, Strawson’s objection to this theory, my evaluation on the convincingness of Strawson’s objection and my evaluation on the convincingness of Russell’s Theory of Definite Description.
Next, we shall evaluate the key features of language which are; communicative, arbitrary, structured, generative, and dynamic. Communicative, language can allow one to interact with another. According to Willingham (2007), the bond found with the elements in language and what they mean is arbitrary. The way language is set up shows how the symbols are not arbitrary. The set up language shows precisely how intricate it can be. Generative, one is able to build countless number of meanings from words. Dynamic, language never stays the same, therefore it can be known as sporadic. According to Willingham (2007), changes are being made all the time as new words get added and as the ways of grammar change. These elements can be quite critical when it comes to language.
Finegan, Edward,."Language :its structure and use" Edward Finegan, David Blair and Peter Collins. 2nd ed. N.S.W : Harcourt, Brace & Co., c1997
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to Language. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson, 2007.
In this paper the writer is going to present an overview of the field of neurolinguistics which is the study of the mental faculties involved in the perception, production, and acquisition of language. In other words, the neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language.
As the name suggests, linguistic learners most easily acquire information through words. They love to read, write, and tell stories. Memorizing names, places, dates, and trivia come naturally to these learners (Mantle, 2002). People with a linguistic preference have an awareness of the sounds, rhythms, and meaning of words. These students learn best by saying, hearing, and seeing words.
Saussure followed that if we are able to recognise things through mental representations, then the brain also has to recognise words we hear via mental representations, in conjunction with distinguishing what the words mean via representations. From this, Saussure goes on to make the sign the unity of sound-image and concept. Thus like Aristotle he seems to think that there are mental facts (concepts). He does not believe however of the sound as a sign of those concepts, rather that the sound that travels due to the physical disturbance in the air (is associated with a mental representation of the sound) the sound-image.