F E AT U R E S O F

HUMAN LANGUAGE
BY HOCKETT
OBJECTIVES

1 Recognize the features of Human language.

2 Identify the functions of language distinct to humans.
3 Define the 13 features of Human language.
INTRODUCTION
A lot of scholars have defined the characteristics of
human language. Charles Hockett (1967) has created
a checklist for language. It is like a set of ingredients
that makes up all human language. These are the
design features incorporating the amaizing
similarities that languages all over the world display
together.
Who is Charles Francis Hockett?

- was an American linguist known for

his significant contributions to the field of
linguistics, particularly in the areas of
phonology and the study of language
structure. He made notable
advancements in the understanding of
language and communication.
 13 Features of Human Language
1 Vocal- auditory channel - human language occurs as a vocal
type of communication, which is perceived by hearing.
2 Brodcast transimission and directional reception - human language
signals when sent can be perceived in limited directions though sent in all
direction.
3 Rapid Fading (transitoriness) - speech waveforms fade rapidly which is
why the human language signal does not persist over time.
4 Interchangeability - this means that the speaker can receive and
send the same language signal.
5 Total feedback - unlike traffic signs, which cannot monitor its
function, we can hear ourselves while we speak.
6 Specialization - humans have lips, tongue, throat, etc, and each
organ has its own specific function in speech.
7 Semanticity - this means that for every signal there is a
corresponding meaning.
8 Arbitrariness - sometimes we ask, why we assign "bird" to refer
to the small flying animals. Human language is arbitrary, meaning,
there is no necessary correction to the form and the thing assigned
to.
9 Discreteness - the basic speech units can be categonzed. There is
no gradual continuous shading from one sound to another in the
linguistics system, although there may be a continuum in the real
physical world.
10 Displacement - sometimes we speak about things in the past or
future, and our language allows us to do so. We can even talk
about distant things, like the planets and things which do not exist,
like Jack Frost or the Tooth Fairy.
11 Productivity - we can create never-before-heard utterances. For example,
“The lady who lived in my closet told me that Mer who is in Jupiter will
come and celebrate the birth of the emperor of the Earth and free all
prisoners in jail.”
12 Traditional Transmission - learning language requires effort because
human language is not inborn.
12
Traditional Transmission - learning language requires
effort because human language is not inborn.
13
The Duality of Pattering - this means that the discrete
part of a language can be combined in a systematic way
to create new forms. It is the ability to recombine small
units in different orders.
THANKS