What Is Language? Essay Sample

Language is the human beings’ most basic method of communication whether it is spoken or written. One can share thoughts, ideas, feelings and knowledge through the use of sounds and words that make up sentences. In addition to communication, one feature of human beings’ language is its flexibility; some languages can be easily understood and incorporated with other languages.

What is the origin of it?

There is no clear evidence of how language’s originated however there are multiple theories, each of which is based on different assumptions. Including but not limited to the number of assumptions. Sanskrit is called as the “Mother of All Languages”; also called as the “Dev Vani” or the language of the Gods according to the Hindu Mythology. It is called as the source of all languages but not the derivation of any languages. One of the theories is the divine source, which differs from one religion to another. However, in the past, there was a basic assumption among people that the divine source of language was given to a human being if they were lived in isolation. According to the bible, whatever name Adam gave to an object it was given that particular name. According to the Hindu tradition Goddess Saraswati the “Goddess of knowledge”, the creator of the universe provided human beings with a language. Another proposed theory is the natural sounds sources theory. It is based on the assumption that human beings in ancient times gave words to sounds after their natural sounds. On hearing a particular sound, they would imitate it to recall it. There are several words used in the modern English language that support this theory. The third theory is the social interaction source, which is interestingly called the (yo-he-ho) theory. It proposes that the origin of language is the sound made by a human being while exerting himself or making any physical effort. The fourth theory is the physical adaption source; which says that the human beings’ physical features that is different from other creatures and has led to the creation of language. These physical features include lips, teeth, mouth and larynx and pharynx. The human’s upright and even teeth helped them adapt to certain behaviors while eating, like chewing instead of ripping and tearing. More importantly it helped them produce sounds that other creature could not like the letters (V) and (F). Also, the flexibility of humans’ lips helped them pronounce letters like (B) and (P). Moreover, the rapid motion of humans’ mouth due to its relative small size in comparison to other creatures have aided them speak. The human tongue is very different in its thickness, muscularity and size. Since it is thick, muscular and small; human beings can produce a variety of sounds. The human larynx and pharynx are provisioned to be very different from other creatures. Its position helps human beings produce sounds. However, there is a chance that human beings choke on food, unlike other animals like apes. Fifth theory is the tool making source, it proposes that language originated in the tool-making periods. When the ancient humans used their brains for object manipulation, they also used the same strategy for vocalization or speaking as both of them are done in the left hemisphere of the brain. The sixth theory is the genetic source, which is not based on physical adaption but actual brain capacity of a new born child. It indicated that human are born with certain language capacity.
3. What are the characteristic of human language?
Language is not only a means of communication; there is more function than that. One property of human language that animals lack is displacement which is the reference to past and future times. In addition, human language is characterized by is arbitrariness; there is no connection between a word and the actual object. Productivity is another characteristic which indicates that there is no limit to the number of words humans can produce; they are continually creating new words. Human language is also characterized by cultural transmission; it can be passed from one generation to another. Also it’s characterized by duality; language is organized in two layers at the same time. In one layer we have sounds and in the other we have meaning.

References

Merriam Webster. An Encyclopaedia Britannica Company. (2015). Retrieved from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/language
Arika Orkent. 6 Early Theories About the Origin of Language. (2015). Retrieved from.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/48631/6-early-theories-about-origin-language
Donna Rosenberg. World Mythology. Hindu Concept of Creation of the Universe. Rig Veda. (2015). Retrieved from
http://1stholistic.com/prayer/hindu/hol_hindu-creation-of-the-universe.html
Characteristics of Human Language. Language. Chapter 5. 2015. Retrieved from.
https://www.udel.edu/anthro/budani/language.pdf
Michelle Ossa. What are the six unique properties of a language?
(July 10, 2012). Retrieved from
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-six-unique-properties-language-347927
Swami Dharam Chakravorty. The Vedic Foundation. The True History and Religion of India. ( 2004). Retrieved from
http://www.thevedicfoundation.org/valuable_resources/Sanskrit-The_Mother_of_All_Languages_partI.html