Essay about Human Language

Submitted By nkopylova

Words: 424

Pages: 2

Open Document

This article is about human language in general. For other uses, see Language (disambiguation).

A mural in Teotihuacan, Mexico (c. 2nd century) depicting a person emitting a speech scroll from his mouth, symbolizing speech

Cuneiform is the first known form of written language, but spoken language predates writing by at least tens of thousands of years.

Two girls learning American Sign Language

Braille writing represents language in a tactile form. Language is the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, and a language is any specific example of such a system. The scientific study of language is called linguistics. Estimates of the number of languages in the world vary between 6,000 and 7,000. However, any precise estimate depends on a partly arbitrary distinction between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken or signed, but any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli, for example, in graphic writing, braille, or whistling. This is because human language is modality-independent. When used as a general concept, "language" may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and use systems of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules that makes up these systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs with particular meanings. Oral and sign languages contain a phonological system that governs how symbols are used to form sequences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic system that governs how words and morphemes are combined to form phrases and utterances. Human language has the properties of productivity, recursivity, and displacement, and it relies entirely on social convention and learning. Its complex structure affords a much wider

Essay Linguistics: Human and Language

whether or not animals can be taught a language. Birds, bees, dogs, apes, parrots, even humans have a communication system; however, “human language has a number of characteristics that set it apart from other communication systems” (Wilson 568). There have been many experiments conducted on a variety of different animals, but the most common animal tested is the chimpanzee. “They share close to 99% of their genetic material with human beings” (Wilson 578). Since humans are so similar to chimps, many scientists…

Words 1229 - Pages 5

Essay on Origin of Language

Origin of Language Ling 100: Language and Communica4on Dr. Anne Rimro9 Spring 2013 1 Outline 1. Language as uniquely human / Explana4ons for language evolu4on 2. Characteris4cs of human speech 3. Limita4ons and unknowns 2 1. Language as Uniquely Human 3 Discussion “Fully developed language was in…

Words 1380 - Pages 6

Apes In English

learning a human language. Since the 1960s and 1970s, a multitude of studies have been initiated to investigate the ability of apes to learn our complex human language. Many different methods are being attempted in different species of apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos in order to discover the answer to this heavily debated issue among the biological community. There are two major opposing sides in this argument which focuses on the ability of these clever animals to produce language. Many…

Words 1849 - Pages 8

Commercial Applications of Spoken Language Technology Essay

applications of spoken language technology” for my report, within the report I will research into the area of Spoken Language Technologies, commercialisation within this field and the technology that exists already. I will then discuss a plan of the system I intend to create for my second assignment within this module. I will also create several power point slides which I will present in class. Brief History of Spoken Language Technology The first recorded attempts at Language and speech technology…

Words 748 - Pages 3

Essay on Language Learning

Language Learning by Instinct or by Social Construct One of the biggest human inventions has been the language. This tool has facilitated through sound the interaction and understanding between society, but even “the most amazing invention that humans had created collectively, raises many questions.” (Ynetnews.com, 2011) Through years men has improve and change and sometimes even create language expressions and grammar, but it still trying to conserve certain rules for a proper use and understanding…

Words 505 - Pages 3

Essay on Discuss And Evaluate The Evolution Of Cognitive Abilitieseeeeeeeeee Autosaved

Evolution of language From monkey like action recognizing individuals to abstract polyglot lying humans - this is how one could summarize the complex and unique evolution of the cognitive ability known as language. All species communicate and yet the existing of spoken and signed languages is arguably our most defining and mysterious characteristic (Munn,1955), but when and why did they emerge? To what extent can animals use language? What is language and are we using its final forms today? Sadly…

Words 3047 - Pages 13

Computational Lingustics Essay

Computational Linguistics Computational linguistics is a discipline between linguistics and computer technology, which is concerned with the computational aspects of our languages. This area of computer science can correlate with the field of Artificial Intelligence. Put simply, computational linguistics is a set of programs that turns human speech into words and motions. There are a couple of different areas of computational linguistics that make up its entirety; theoretic computational linguistics and…

Words 903 - Pages 4

The Importance Of Language

Language is appreciably transcendent and the most crucial invention for humans since time began. All of us would agree it is the first thing we use when we wake up and the last thing we use before we go to bed. It is used consistently throughout a human’s average day, no matter where you are. You are using it all the time even now the voice in your head reading this is using language. We know to an extent that the world of today cannot live without it, but language is never considered as important…

Words 1855 - Pages 8

Persuasive Brochure Essays

Persuasive Brochure Language death—facing it, caring it and addressing it What we care Half of 7000 plus languages in the world is dying right in this moment, including both indigenous languages spread in small ethic groups and dialects used within some certain communities. These endangered languages are in both written form and oral form, but mostly in the latter one. However, the even worse thing is that the phenomenon of language death is increasing in an accelerating rate due to the rapid globalization…

Words 532 - Pages 3

On the Gestural Origin of Language Essay

Deconstructing Armstrong & Wilcox’s The Gestural Origin of Language Perhaps the most commonly discussed question in modern linguistics is that of the origins of language, of where and how spoken communication was developed. This revived interest differs entirely from attitudes a century ago, where the linguistic societies of both Paris and London banned discussion of the subject in 1866 and 1872, respectively. In recent years, many papers have been published on the topic, with many of them drawing…

Words 1522 - Pages 7