DEFINING A LANGUAGE

WHAT IS A LANGUAGE

► A language is a system of communication which consists of a set of sounds and written

symbols which are used by the people of a particular country or region for talking or
writing.
 Functions of a Language

Halliday (1978) proposed that there are 7 stages or functions of a child's speech. These are as
follows.

Instrumental function - language that is used to fulfil a need, such as to obtain food, drink
or comfort. This typically includes concrete nouns.

Regulatory function - language that is used to influence the behaviour of others including
persuading, commanding or requesting.
 Functions of a Language cont…

Interactional function - language that is used to develop relationships and ease interaction.
This could include phrases like "I love you mummy" or "Thank you".

Personal function - language that expresses personal opinions, attitudes and feelings
including a speaker's identity.

Representational/Informative function- language that is used to relay or request

information.
 Functions of a Language cont…

Heuristic function - language that is used to explore, learn and discover. This could include
questions or a running commentary of a child's actions.

Imaginative function - the use of language to tell stories and create imaginary constructs.
This typically accompanies play or leisure activities.
Animal Communication
 Can you identify how any other
animal communicate?
What makes a Language a
‘Language’?
 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 Symbolic

Language is a construct of sounds and symbols. Each symbol has a meaning of their own and
change depending on how the cultural group uses the language. Moreover, the symbols are
also dependent on the context within which they are used. The most important symbol of
language is the word.

Symbols—such as gestures, signs, objects, signals, and words—help people understand that
world.
 Language is Systematic

In spite of the fact that language is symbolic, its symbols are arranged in specific systems. All
languages have their arrangement of plans. Each language is an arrangement of systems. All
languages have phonological and syntactic systems and within a system, there are also several
sub-systems.

Inside the linguistic system, there are the morphological and syntactic system, and inside these
two sub-systems, we have systems, for example, those of plural, of mindset, or perspective, of
tense, etc.
 Language is Cultural
(A Social Phenomenon)

Language is social that exists in our human society; it is as a means of nourishing and developing
culture and establishing human relations. As a member of a particular social group, we human beings
interact with each other, which allows us to identify with one another, to connect with one another
and to coordinate with one another.

Language is cultural as it is entirely dependent on :

1. who uses it
2. for what reasons
3. within what context, and
4. for what purpose.
Culture is the setting that enables the medium of language. It is also what defines it and gives
it uniqueness.
Also, you address people depending on their culture; when the culture is very different from
yours, you use less context and more symbols to convey understanding.

When the culture is similar to yours, you can use more context because you are more likely to
be understood verbally and non-verbally.
 Language is Flexible
(Productive/Creative/Dynamic)

Language can be subdivided and re-created, expanded, and extended. The main example of
these instances are idioms and paradoxes, dialects, jargon, and street talk.

Language is dynamic and not static- words will continue to be added to our daily vocabulary,
whether they are culturally coined or created for trademark purposes.

Examples:
photobomb, twerk, awesomesauce, safe space, froyo
Examples
‘No cap’…
'Wah Gwaan'

Small up yuhself' ... ‘y’all are bugging’…

'Weh yuh ah seh' ... ‘word’…

'Inna di morrows' ... Beat around the bush

'Mi Soon Come' ... Break a leg

One an ready, two an move… ‘The perp had multiple gsh’

 Language is Arbitrary

Arbitrary is defined as something that is determined by judgment or whim and not for any
specific reason or rule.

based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any objective distinction, perhaps
even made at random.
 Language is Non-Instinctive,
Conventional

No language was made in multi-day out of a commonly settled upon the recipe by a gathering
of people. Language is the result of advancement and tradition. Every age transmits this
tradition on to the following.

Like every single human organization, languages may also change and pass on, develop and
extend. Each language has a circulation in a particular community around the globe. However,
we can consider language as non-instinctive because naturally it is acquired by us.