“LANGUAGE IS LIGHT TO MIND” -J.S.MILL
We always say Language is the unique quality of man which differ “HIM” from other creatures, to make friends, communicate his thoughts feelings and emotion, know about his cultural ties and form economical relationships but we never discuss its characteristics, functions and misconceptions related to it.
Edward Sapid says that Language is not only a vehicle for the expression of thoughts and idea but also a fundamental expression of social identity.
Here we discuss some definitions, characteristics, functions and misconception related to language.
Definition:-
“The whole body of words and methods of the combination of words used by a nation, people or race; a tongue; which implies that a language can exist in spoken as well as written form” – Oxford dictionary.
“Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desire by means of the system of voluntarily produced symbols” - Edward Sapir
Conclusions from above definitions
Language is organised sound used in actual social situations that is why it defines as contextual systematic sound.
Characteristics of language:-
Language is multifaceted and complex so it is not possible to state all the characteristics of language but some of them are as follows:
❖ Language is verbal, vocal- Language is the sound of vocal symbols that is the sound produced by the various organ of speech to convey a meaningful message. Speech is primary to writing. There are languages which are spoken but not written. Language is a system of verbal symbolism which makes use of sound words and phrases arranged in a certain manner.
❖ Language is a system of systems- a system is a group of related parts working together. Language works in a system every language has the various system and their system as well. For example- the phonetic system. There are 3 types of system in the English language:-
⮚ Phonology- the system of sound
⮚ Syntax- the system of word
⮚ Semantics- the system of meaning
The written form is more prestigious than spoken form- Speech is the primary form of languages and writing is duster graphical representation of it.❖ Arbitration of language- There is no relation between sound and the form of any word and object related to it. For different language we use different words to represent the same object, for example, we use the tree in English, Vriksh in Sanskrit. There is no natural relation between sound and meaning denoted by word but this does not mean that a speaker to use any sound to represent any meaning of a word.
❖ Language is symbolic in nature-It used word essentially as symbols and not a sign for concepts represented by them.
❖ Language is non-instinctive and conventional-It is conventional means that there is a traditional way of conveying language from one generation to another but in this transferring of language, the language changes grow and dies.
❖ Language is a social phenomenon - It helps in communication in society without which certain work cannot be done by members of a social group. To interact with each other as members of society you need to acquire it.
❖ Language as a means of communication- It is a powerful convenient and permanent means for communication and to express self. It helps in the transmission of knowledge, ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions.
❖ Language is productive and creative- It is productive because it helps us to produce our own feeling expression and emotions and to understand others feeling emotions etc. It is creative because we need to form sentences and arrange words to convey our message to others.
❖ Language is human and structurally complex- Other creatures produce sound and human produces sound as well as words which are written or spoken language is said to be human. Language is modifiable and flexible that it is complex in structure.
❖ Language and displacement- Displacement in space and time we can talk about people or things which are not immediately present in front of us. It can be real or imaginative the power of language helps a person to talk about those things also.
❖ Duality- language is organised at two levels:-
a) Primary level- units
b) Secondary level- elements
The function of language:-
Language acts as a tool for communication and for others to know our thoughts, emotions, ideas and feelings.
According to a different purpose, there are different uses of language that serves people:-
● Instrumental- It helps to satisfy the need and want of a person. For example, can I take your pen?
● Regulatory- It helps to control others behaviour.
● Interactional – It establishes and maintain interpersonal relations between two persons.
● Personal- It helps a person to express his feelings and emotions to others.
● Heuristic- It helps in learning and describing words.
● Imaginative- It creates an imaginary environment according to the stories that are told to people or by people.
● Informational - It helps in conveying facts and information.
Misconceptions related to language:-
Some languages are superior to others- Every culture has its norms and values so every language is equal.
Mother Tongue- first language (L1)
It is the native language. The first language learnt by a child. UNESCO selected February 21st to be celebrated as International Mother Tongue Day. It is part of personal, social and cultural identity learning of social patterns which leads to the development of an intellectual, moral and physical aspect of a person.
English-second language (L2)
The most widely used language is English. It is the language of science, trade and commerce. It is used by more than 50% of the world's population. It has an inseparable effect on Indian culture and its people. It could be said that English is the official language of India.
We have discussed the characteristics, functions and misconceptions along with the first language, that is, the mother tongue and the second language or the universally used, English language and the influence in our life. From above it is clear that language is far too complicated, integrated and mysterious to be explained.