Topic 5: Language and Humans Flashcards
Human language occurs as a vocal type of communication, which is perceived by hearing. The basic mode of communication by the vast majority makes use of sounds, decondary to which is writing. An exception are the people who use sign language in communication which makes use of manual-visual channel.
Vocal-Auditory Channels
This means that just like when a person stands in the middle of a room, he can be heard by everyone, assuming that he is speaking loudly enough. Human language signals when sent can be perceived in limited directions through sent in all diirections.
Broadcast transmission and Directional reception
Speech waveforms fade rapidly which is why the human language signal does not persist over time. It is impossible to say, “how are you?” and have someone hear it hours later. It may be possible when audio recorded or video recording or writing the message is done..
Rapid Fading (transitoriness)
This means that the speaker can receive and send the same language signal.
Interchangeability
Unlike traffic signs, which cannot monitor its function, we can hear ourselves while we speak.
Total Feedback
Humans have lips, tongue, throat, etc. and each organ has its own specific function in speech.
Specialization
This means that for every signal there is a corresponding meaning
Semanticity
Sometimes we ask, why we assign “bird” to refer to the small flying animals. Human language is arbitrary, meaning, there is no necessary connection to the form and the thing assigned to.
Arbitrariness
The basic speech units can be categorized. 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.
Discreetness
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.
Displacement
We can create never-before-heard utterances. For example, “The lady who lived in my closet told me that Mer who is from Jupiter will come and celebrate the birth of the emperor of the earth and free all prisoners in jail.”
Productivity
Learning language requires effort because human language is not inborn.
Traditional Transmission
This means that the discrete parts 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.
Duality of Patterning
