As a linguist, Iāve always been fascinated by language. I was the one who, at the age of 10, was secretly delighted by my punishment of copying words out of the thesaurus after a minor misdemeanour in the classroom. It isnāt just the learning of language that interested me, but the concept of it too.
One recent rabbit hole I found myself going down on TikTok (if you know, you know) was about the Deaf community and how many are eschewing cochlear implants. Why? Because sign language, like all languages, is more than a way of communicating.
In this article, weāll talk about the main characteristics of language and what makes a language a language.
So, what is language?
Language is a way of communicating. It uses gestures, symbols, and/or sounds to convey meaning. Communicating with language is unique to humans and it plays an essential part in how we interact, transmit knowledge, and share ideas.
There are many forms of language ā written, signed, and spoken ā and language varies widely, even within the same official language. In the United Kingdom, for instance, you only have to go ten miles down the road and you come across another word for a bread roll or alley.
Language also has rules that allow meaning and nuance to be shared. This means we can express complex emotions, concepts, and thoughts. Ultimately, itās a hugely fundamental part of human culture and cognition.
With more than 7000 languages on planet Earth, there are still common characteristics. Letās look at them.
1. Language is social
Language is inherently a societal behaviour. Itās a phenomenon that allows humans to become a community and develop culture. It is a way of setting up relations and creating a society.
When you belong to a particular community, the way you interact and make connections creates a sense of belonging. If we refer back to the Deaf community rejecting cochlear implants, itās easy to see why some might see this as a threat to their developed culture and community.
2. Language is an arbitrary social construct
Because there are so many different languages in the world, itās clear to see that there is no inherent relationship between the words used and the concepts they describe. If language wasnāt arbitrary, weād only have one all around the world.
For instance, there is nothing inherent about the sound ātreeā that makes it mean the tall, branched, leafy structure in a forest. Ultimately, we use the word ātreeā to represent this feature because as a society, weāve agreed to attach this meaning to it.
3. Language is symbolic
No matter the language, it will use sounds, words, and gestures to communicate and represent meaning. The symbols (e.g., letters) are arbitrary, just like language itself and they donāt have a connection to the meaning.
It could be argued, however, that scripts like Mandarin appear to have inherent meanings in the characters (hanzi), but this connection is still based on social agreement.
Sign language is another example where signs and gestures can appear to have an inherent connection to what it is they represent. However, it is still a symbolic system and a social construct, and signs arenāt universal.
British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language (ASL) both originate from English-speaking countries yet are not mutually intelligible. They each have their own vocabulary, grammar, and syntax.
4. Language is systematic
Though language is symbolic, it is systematic in nature. This means each language has its own set of rules, conventions, and patterns that govern how all of the elements work together to communicate meaning.
Unlike language, the patterns and rules arenāt arbitrary. Instead, they reflect the underlying language structure. In English, for example, there are things like word order rules like subject-verb-object (e.g., āhe touched the bookā).
Moreover, the system extends to phonetics and sounds. Each different spoken language has phonemes that combine in specific ways to form words and sentences. Usually, the rules are predictable and consistent, though some languages (e.g., Spanish) are more phonetic than others (e.g., English).
5. Language is acquired and not instinctive
Though we are born with the ability to learn and acquire language, language itself is not innate or biologically determined. Infants acquire language through exposure and this develops as they begin to explore and experiment with it.
The language that a person learns is determined by cultural and social factors, i.e., the languages spoken in their family, community, and school.
The non-instinctive nature of language means that it is shaped by cultural and social factors over time, examples of this include technological advances, globalisation, and migration. We can see this when comparing how the English spoken by our grandparents, for example, is already different from that spoken by our children.
6. Language is cultural
Whenever you learn about another country, one of the biggest aspects of its culture is the language or languages spoken there.
Culture is transmitted through the use of language. The reason we know about past events, for instance, is entirely because of language.
As such, our culture is engrained in the language we use. It is more than just a means of communication; itās also a powerful tool that is linked intimately to our identity and history.
The vocabulary and structures people use reflect their own priorities, experiences, and perspectives. This, unconsciously, expresses and reinforces the values and norms of a culture.
For instance, certain languages have words and concepts that reflect their beliefs and cultural practices, like the role of religion.
7. Language is human
Language is considered to be a trait thatās unique to humans for many reasons.
Firstly, human language is much more sophisticated and complex compared to the rudimentary ways in which animals communicate. It allows for the expression of abstract concepts and can be used creatively and flexibly.
Secondly, it is not innate, unlike animal communication methods and it is not tied to a specific situation or stimulus. Animal communication, for example, cannot hypothesise or be abstract.
8. Thereās huge variation
Two people might speak the same language but they wonāt necessarily use it in the same way. Ask a classroom full of English speakers to write a story with a very specific stimulus and they wonāt use the same language to tell it.
In other words, the same meaning can be conveyed in many different ways. There might be differences in lexicon, morphology, pronunciation (in spoken language), and syntax.
Variations in language happen for a multitude of reasons. The area of study that deals with how different factors affect language is sociolinguistics. This talks about how language changes due to social factors like geography, socioeconomic status, gender, race, and age.
9. Language has meaning
Language is semantic. This means it conveys meaning ā whether thatās about social interactions, concepts, or the physical world.
People who study semantics examine how words and phrases convey different meanings depending on context. Cultural factors also come into play with semantics too.
If we look at the word ālove,ā for instance, we donāt immediately know the nuance or true meaning behind it until itās in context. The meaning of āloveā can change and it can be used to refer to a range of emotions and behaviours.
It can be romantic, familial, or platonic, for instance. Go to Yorkshire, and itās a term of endearment that even strangers might use for one another. In this context, itās not used to convey love but rather a sense of warmth, friendliness, or familiarity.
10. Language evolves
Language constantly evolves and is dynamic. New words, phrases, and even grammatical structures are created all the time, while older ones fall out of use or change their meaning.
For instance, in Old English, there was a word that meant āthe day after tomorrow,ā which was āovermorrowā. Nowadays, itās fallen out of favour and weāre forced to use four words to convey that meaning!
New words are always added. Merriam-Websterās latest addition to its dictionary includes words such as dumbphone, video doorbell, supply chain, laggy, virtue signalling, yeet, side hustle, and plant-based.
Final thoughts
In this article, weāve discussed various aspects of language, including its symbolic nature, cultural influence, and dynamic character. Weāve explored how language uses arbitrary, culturally-specific sounds and symbols to convey meaning, and how itās shaped by culture itself.
With language being non-instinctive, we understand how it requires conscious learning and use, and how it varies across different regions and cultures. This leads to different ways of expressing the same concepts. As language is constantly evolving, we see new words and phrases entering and leaving the lexicon over time.
All of these different characteristics of language are captivating and complex. What makes this even more fascinating is that despite the complexity of language, children younger than two can put together simple sentences.
I donāt know about you but I think all these characteristics of language make language learning even more fun and exciting!
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