Language is a learned system of signs that enables us to communicate an unlimited number of meanings about any topics.
Properties of Human Language
Communicativity
Language is used for communication.
Modalities (Way to Produce and Perceive)
- Auditory-vocal (spoken language): learned w.o. instruction.
- Visual-gesture (sign language): learned w.o. instruction.
- Visual-written (written language): requires explicit instruction. Started as representations of some auditory-vocal or visual-gesture language.
Semanticity
All the forms in language have a meaning or function.
Sign
A pairing of a form with a meaning.
Semiotics
How is a form linked with a meaning.
- Icon: The form resembles the meaning.
- Index: The form resembles a result of the meaning.
- Symbol: The form is associated with the meaning arbitrarily, by convention.
Cultural Transmission.
People learn a language from other people. Languages propagate by cultural transmission. There are no genetic or hereditary influences on what languages you can learn.
Displacement
A monkey makes an alarm call only when it sees a predator. It can’t talk about a predator that isn’t present.
Productivity
Linguistic units can be recombined to express novel meanings. e.g., good+ness, bad+ness. You can express an infinite number of new ideas by recombining parts.