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Definition of a LanguageWhat is a language? A language is the system of symbols with the most general meanings of any used by humans. The perceptible portion of linguistic symbols are articulatory gestures, transmitted one after another usually as sounds. They are used to communicate or store information, or even to design and think. The scientific study of the nature and structure of languages is called linguistics.The symbols are words, and their meanings cover everything we humans deal with. Language is not perfect: it may not be good at describing the sensations we feel when riding a bike, but it's the best description we have. Music -- which is not language -- may be used to ssymbolize emotions, but without words music cannot tell you how to bake a cake. When the symbols are transmitted only between locations in the brain, we are thinking in language. When the symbols are converted into articulatory gestures and the resulting sounds are heard by others, we are talking or communicating. When the symbols are converted into bits in a computer or printed on paper, or when we write, we are storing information. Generally, the above definition puts the label language on English, Spanish, Chinese, Algonquin, Swahili, etc. It also covers sign language for deaf people. A good way to see if something is a language might be to find out whether it can translate the Bible. Other symbolic systems, such as computer languages, the language of flowers, mathematics, etc., are sometimes called languages, but they do not fit this definition. The alphabet, ASCII computer codes, and manual alphabet do not, either. Like the telephone, they are media through which language can be transmitted, but they are not languages. |
LinguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of the nature and structure of language. Some subfields are: phonology and phonetics (articulatory gestures and sounds of language), semantics (meaning), syntax (grammar), historical linguistics (history and family trees of languages), psycholinguistics (psychology of language), sociolinguistics (sociology of language).The founder of modern linguistics was Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), a Swiss historical linguist, who showed us how to separate historical (diachronic) linguistics from non-historical (synchronic) linguistics. Saussure is probably still the greatest linguist, and few linguists even today can dispute his theories. A linguist is a scientist who studies the nature of language, not a multilingual. A linguist observes languages as they are, and does not try to change them; so a linguist will note that some people say he don't, and others say he doesn't, but a linguist will not pass judgement on which is "better." Today there are many schools of linguistics, but the main split is between mentalists and empiricists. The various uses of language are probably responsible for most of the disagreements and orientations. |