Module 1: The Nature and Function of Language

• Language 


  A system of vocal, written, and non-verbal symbols that are put together in meaningful ways according to a set of rules that enable members of a given community to communicate with one another.
• Language


  A systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures or marks having understood meanings.
• Language


  Is any set or system of linguistic symbols as used in a more or less uniform fashion by a number of people who are thus enabled to communicate intelligibly with one another.
• Edward Sapir


  Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced sounds.
• Noam Chomsky


  Language is the inherent capability of the native speakers to understand and form grammatical sentences.
• Noam Chomsky


  A language is a set of finite or infinite sentences, each finite length and constructed out a finite set of elements.
• Leonard Bloomfield


  The totality of the utterances that can be made in a speech community is the language of that speech community.
• Form, and not meaning, is the basis of language
• John Lyons


  Languages are the principal systems of communication used by particular groups of human beings within the particular society of which they are members.
• John Lyons


  His definition of language validates that language is social.
• Language is a system of communication, a medium for thought, and a social interaction.
• Characteristics of Language

  1. Language is systematic
  2. Language is symbolic
  3. Language is social
  4. Language is arbitrary
  5. Language is dynamic
• Language is symbolic


  Language is an arrangement of systems.
• Grammar


  The rules followed by a language.
• Language is symbolic


  Every language is composed of various types of symbols (sounds and words) that represent meaningful ideas and concepts.
• Language is social


  Language is a social phenomenon.

  Language evolved to develop culture and connect people in order to establish human relations.

  Each language is a reflection of the society that uses it.
• Language is social

  It makes us who we are. The culture of people is reflected in their language.
• Language is arbitrary


  There is no inherent relation between the form (words of a language) and meaning (ideas conveyed).
• Language is dynamic


  Language keeps changing.

  Language could be either a response to the needs of the speakers or maybe just a natural effect of people using it.

  It allows for new development with the creation of new words and ideas.
• Language is dynamic


  People recognize changes and meanings attached to these words.
• Linguistics


  It pertains to the scientific study of human language and its structure, while the people who study linguistics are referred to as linguistics.
• Subfields of Linguistics

  1. Phonetics
  2. Phonology
  3. Morphology
  4. Syntax
  5. Semantics
  6. Pragmatics
• Phonetics

  Refers to the production and perception of speech sounds as physical entities.

  Speech sounds.
• Phonology

  The study of the organization and use of human speech sounds or the sound system of a particular language.
• Phonetics

  The study of the smallest unit of language/sound.
• Phonemes


  The smallest unit of language.
• Morphology


  The study of the internal word structure and of systematic relations between words.
• Morphology


  The building block of words, or the smallest linguistic unit which has a lexical (meaning) or grammatical (structure) function.
• Morphemes


  The smallest unit of language with meaning.

  The smallest meaning-bearing unit of language.
• Syntax


  Is mainly concerned with word order of language and its agreement to form phrases or sentences.
• Syntax


  The study of how words are combined in a sentence.
• Semantics


  Notional
• Semantics


  It refers to the literal meaning of sentences, phrases, words and morphemes as well as the variation of meanings.
• Pragmatics


  Is about the use of language in specific situations, especially how context influences the interpretation of utterances, that is, the same sentence can be used to do different things in different situations.
• Semantics


  Study of the literal meaning.
• Ambiguity


  It refers to the quality of language that makes speech or written text open to multiple interpretations.
• Ambiguity


  Language has more than one meaning. It makes language confusing and can lead to misunderstanding in communication.
• Lexical Ambiguity


  The presence of two or more possible meanings within a single word.

  The word is confusing.
• Syntactic Ambiguity


  The presence of two or more possible meanings within a single sentence or sequence of words.
• Pragmatics


  The study of meanings in context of discourse.