Assignment topic: Language and its

characteristics
 Language and Its Characteristics

Language is a system that consists of the development, acquisition,

maintenance and use of complex systems of communication,
particularly the human ability to do so; a language is any specific
example of such a system.
According to Edward SAPIR: “Language is a purely human and non-
instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by
means of voluntarily produced symbols.”
According to Henry Sweet: “Language may be defined as the
expression of thought by means of speech sounds.”
In simple words, Language can be defined as a tool to express thoughts,
emotions, and ideas in a structured and conventional way.
Characteristics of language
After we’ve discussed the meaning of language, we will look into its
characteristics. Some of the mainly known characteristics of language
are given below:
1. Language signs are arbitrary: Language is arbitrary in the sense that
there is no relation between the words of a language and their
meanings or the ideas conveyed by them. There is no reason why a
female adult human being be called a woman in English, aurat in Urdu,
Zen in Persian and Femine in French. Had there been no arbitrariness in
language, there would be only one language in the world.
2. Language is a living entity: Like living beings, language also evolves.
It responds to the demands and requirements of the group it
represents. In order to stay alive, language improves with the
complexity and variety in human utterances. In this process of change
and growth, language acquires new shape, new approach, new
significance, and new application.
3. Language is speech: Language is speech and is distinct from the
sounds and gestures that animals produce. According to Bloomfield “In
human speech, different sounds have different meanings. To study this
coordination of certain sounds with certain meanings is to study
language.” In other words, a study of a language consists in giving
meaning to a meaning. The meaning already exists, we have to give it
meaning to be intelligible to us as a language.
4. Language is non-instinctive: No language was created in a day out of
a mutually agreed upon formula by a group of humans. Language is the
outcome of evolution and convention. Each generation transmits this
convention on to the next. Humans are not born with a certain
language but they acquire it from their society.
5. Language is Productive and Creative: Language has creativity and
productivity. The structural elements of human language can be
combined to produce new utterances, which neither the speaker nor
his hearers may ever have made or heard before any, listener, yet
which both sides understand without difficulty. Language changes
according to the needs of society.
6. All languages are learnable: As discussed earlier, language is
acquired through a natural and structured process. The existence of
vocal cords help a language to evolve. As all human beings are gifted
with the similar vocal organs, any language produced by these vocal
organs can be learned.
7. Language is a system of systems: Although language is symbolic, yet
its symbols are arranged in a particular system. All languages have their
system of arrangements. Every language is a system of systems. All
languages have phonological and grammatical systems, and within a
system there are several sub-systems. For example, within the
grammatical system we have morphological and syntactic systems, and
within these two sub-systems we have systems such as those of plural,
of mood, of aspect, of tense, etc.
8. Language is Vocal: Language is primarily made up of vocal sounds
only produced by a physiological articulatory mechanism in the human
body. In the beginning, it appeared as vocal sounds only. Writing came
much later, as an intelligent attempt to represent vocal sounds. Writing
is only the graphical representation of the sounds of the language.
9. Displacement: Displacement is one of the distinct properties of
human language. It is the capability of language to communicate about
things that are not present at the moment.
Different languages accomplish displacement in different ways.
English has a system of auxiliary verbs (e.g., will, was, were, had)
and affixes (e.g., pre- in predates; ed in dated) to signal when an event
occurred relative to the moment of speaking or relative to other
events.
10. All languages are equal: As all languages perform the function of
communicating a common cultural experience, there is no distinction of
grading amongst languages. However, languages may differ as to their
refinement, growth, and application.
11. Languages are illogical: we have already discussed that the symbols
of a language are arbitrary and there is no logic in their representation.
The famous quote that b-u-t is but, p-u-t is put shows there is no logic
in language. The famous Ghoti=Fish device is another illustration of
illogical pronunciation in English language.
12. Language, the vehicle and transmitter of culture: Language is a
part of culture and plays a very important role in carrying and
transmitting the works of culture. So, language can be considered as
the vehicle and transmitter of culture.