Module-1

Legal Language and Grammar

Language
Language:
❖ Language is the method of human communication.
❖ It is either in spoken or written form which consisting the
use of words in a structured and conventional way.
❖ Without language, it is very difficult to convey the
information, ideas, emotions, thoughts and so on.
Language
⚫ Language is a system of communication which is used by
particular country or community.
⚫ Language is the system of words or signs that people use
to express thoughts and feelings to each other.
⚫ Language is not happening without linguistics. The
knowledge of linguistics is one of the inevitable branches
in the study of language.
Defining Language

⚫ According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, “A systematic

means of communicating ideas”.
⚫ According to Noam Chomsky, “Knowing a language
means being able to produce an infinite number of
sentences never spoken before and to understand
sentences never heard before”. Chomsky refers to this
ability as the "creative aspect" of language.
Defining Language
⚫ The principal method of human communication,
consisting of words used in a structured and conventional
way and conveyed by speech, writing or gesture.
- Anonymous

⚫ A system of communication used by a particular country

or community.
- Anonymous
Nature of Language
⚫ The scientific study of language and its structure,
including the study of grammar, syntax and phonetics.
⚫ Syntax means a study of grammatical arrangement
statements.
⚫ Phonetics means a study of sounds and pronunciations.
Nature of Language
⚫ There are some specific branches of linguistics. They are
mainly:
⚫ Socio-linguistics
⚫ Dialectology
⚫ Psycho linguistics
⚫ Computational linguistics
⚫ Comparative linguistics
⚫ Structural linguistics
⚫ Semantics
Nature of Language
⚫ Socio-Linguistics: The study of language in relation to
social factors including the differences of regional, class
and occupational dialect.
Nature of Language
⚫ Dialectology: The systematic study of dialects. Dialect
means a form of language that is spoken in a particular
area and people uses some of its own grammar, words
and pronunciation.
Nature of Language
⚫ Psycho-Linguistics: It deals with psychological and
neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire and
produce language.
⚫ Psychological linguistics connects with mind-conscious,
sub-conscious and unconscious.
⚫ Neurobiological factors connects with nervous system.
⚫ It demonstrates how the brain has function and acquire the
language.
⚫ Observing acquiring thinking expressing
Nature of Language
⚫ Computational Linguistics: Computational linguistics is
the scientific study of language from a computational (a
system of reckoning/operation of computer) perspective.

⚫ It allows using some techniques of computer science in

language with the analysis, synthesis and comprehension.
Nature of Language
⚫ Comparative Linguistics: The study of similarities and
differences in languages.
⚫ Structural Linguistics: The branch of linguistics that
deals with language as a system of interrelated structures.
The Universal Nature of Language
⚫ The language is a social tool.
⚫ Language must be learned.
⚫ The relationship between the sounds of a language and
their meaning is arbitrary (not standard) and dual.
⚫ Language has rules.
⚫ Language allows humans to be creative.
Nature of Language and its historical
development:
⚫ Theoretical linguistics is the branch of linguistics which
deals with the nature of language itself and seeks to
answer the fundamental questions as what language is…
⚫ Theoretical linguistics can be categorized into four types.
They are:
⚫ Phonology
⚫ Morphology
⚫ Syntax
⚫ Semantics
⚫ Phonology: The descriptions of the systems and patterns
of speech sounds. (Or)The system of contrastive
relationships among the speech sounds that constitute the
fundamental components of a language.
⚫ It is simply considered as the description of the systems
and patterns of speech sounds.
⚫ Morphology: The study of forms of things in particular. It
is a smallest unit that conveys meaning.
⚫ Syntax: a study of grammatical arrangement of
statements.
⚫ Semantics: The study of meaning of the words, phrases,
sentences, signs and symbols. It is the linguistic and
philosophical study of meaning.
Primary Concern of Language
⚫ The first thing to realize is “that language is primarily for
spoken, not only for written.

⚫ Secondly, people should realize that language is

evolutionary, but not for static. Change is constantly going
on.
Primary Concern of Language
⚫ Thirdly, many philologists argue that the origin of
language probably related to the origins of modern human
behaviour. Philologist means one who studies history and
origin of the language. Philology means the study of how
the words and languages can be developed
Thank You