Properties unique to

human language
Yule, ch 1 & 2
 Unique properties of human language

• Displacement
– Language allows us to talk about things and
events not present in the immediate environment
• Arbitrariness
– The meaning of a linguistic sign and its referent
are not connected by a natural relationship
• Creativity/productivity/openendedness
– Language users can produce an infinite number of
new expressions

2
 Unique properties of human language (2)

• Cultural transmission
– Language is not innate; it is transmitted culturally
• Discreteness
– Each sound of a language is taken to be separate
from another sound
• Double articulation/duality
– Language consists of two levels: the level of sound
and the level of meaning