CHARACTERISTICS OF

LANGUAGE
 1. LANGUAGE IS VERBAL (VOCAL &
USES SOUND)
• Language is primarily made up of vocal
sounds which is produced from the vocal
cord, an organism of human body.
• The initial communication often starts with
sounds, and writing mostly come much later.
During the life time of the average human
being, he/she must speaks much more than
he/she writes.
 2. LANGUAGE IS A SYSTEM (MEANS) OF
COMMUNICATION
• Language is the most powerful, convenient and permanent
means and form of communication.
• It is through language that humans express their thoughts,
desires, emotions and feelings.
• It is through language that they store knowledge, and
transmit messages from one person to another, from one
generation to another.
• Most activities in the world are carried on through or by
language.
• Language yokes the present, the past and the future together
(how is this achieved?).
 3. LANGUAGE IS SOCIAL
• Language is mostly used in a social setting. We use it to
communicate with others. We depend on others when
learning language, and we constantly borrow one
another’s uses of expression. Language helps us perform
various social functions, and many of its uses have
become institutionalized.
• Here are examples of social uses of language that have
become institutionalized:
• Bootylicious
• Clapback
• YOLO
 4. LANGUAGE IS ARBITRARY
• Meaning of arbitrary: random, and not based on
any reason or system
• Language is arbitrary because 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.
• The choice of a word selected to mean a particular
thing or idea is purely random (for instance the
terms lol or bootylicious are random and based on
creativity), but once a word is selected for a
 5. LANGUAGE IS SYMBOLIC

• Language has specific sounds and

words according to their symbols.
• These symbols are arbitrarily
(randomly) chosen and conventionally
accepted and employed.
• Example the word hello is presented by
the following symbols:
• H-E-L-L-O
 6. LANGUAGE IS SYSTEMATIC
• All languages have their system of arrangements.
• By “systematic” we mean the speakers of language
use only certain combinations. For instance,
although the sounds b and z occur in English, there
is no word in English which begins with bz. And
although we may not be able to use these two
sounds together, they can still both appear in a
sentence. Examples?
• Similarly, we can say that “the beautiful girl chased
the brown dog” is a sentence of English, but “the
dog beautiful the chased the brown dog is not in
 7. LANGUAGE IS UNIQUE, CREATIVE,
COMPLEX AND MODIFIABLE

• Language is indeed a unique phenomenon in

the world. Every language has its characteristics
and distinctive features.
• Furthermore, each language has its creativity
and productivity to deliver the best ways to
communicate. (V)
 8. LANGUAGE IS HUMAN AND
STRUCTURALLY COMPLEX

• No species other than human beings have been

endowed with the ability to speak language. So we
can say that language is naturally human,
structurally complex.
• What I mean by ‘structurally complex’ is that
language is that the structure of human language is
complex and intricate and each language spoken in
the world has different sounds that are used, which
 LANGUAGE barriers
• Simply put, a language barrier is anything
in the realm of verbal communication that
prevents two people from understanding
each other. They are a common challenge
to individuals, groups, international
companies, governments, nations, and the
 1. FOREIGN LANGUAGE

• Communication between people of

different countries becomes difficult if
neither of the speakers has a common
language to communicate in.
 2. DIALECTS AND PIDGIN

• Dialects are regional variants of a language. They are a

form of language which is unique to a specific region or
social group. For instance, Kiswahili sounds different
depending on where you are around the country or
continent. (V)
• Pidgin is a version of the language that arises when
users of two different languages create an in-between
language that eases communication. Words and
grammatical forms of either language are adopted into
use and a pidgin is formed. Naija is a common example
of Pidgin English.
 3. ACCENTS

• Accents are peculiar ways of pronouncing

words of a language. Accents occur when
speakers belonging to different regions or
countries speak a language not their own.
• Their mother tongue will influence how
they pronounce words in the foreign
language. This causes difficulty in
understanding what is being said.
 4. JARGON & SLANG
• Jargons are the technical words used in
communication. It might be different according to
different professions, specialty and technical field of a
person.
• For example, technical words used by doctors and
lawyers are extremely different. If they start talking,
both of them will not get what the other is talking
about. Any jargons unique to your degree (speciality?)
 5. LITERACY & VOCABULARY

• Effective communication also depends on the literacy level of

the users of the language.
• For example: The primary language of instruction in many
rural primary schools across the country is mothertongue.
Hence many lower primary pupils have limited access or
exposure to the language of English. This results in limited
vocabulary and very little reading of the literature of the
English language as they progress, even into high school.
• What is the easiest way to increase vocabulary and language
proficiency, despite one’s background?
 6. GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

• Grammatical errors while speaking or

writing can distort the message and
therefore act as a barrier to communication.
• Example of common grammatical error: Mr.
Jeff has been assigned the task. It is
expected that she complete it within the
time limit allocated.
 7. WORD CHOICE

• The choice of word used in describing anything must

be considered before communicating. For instance,
when someone says “Stop pulling my leg all the time”,
it makes an ambiguous sentence as the listener isn’t
sure if the speaker means their leg or if it’s the idiom
being used.
• We also have to be careful about our word choices so
as not to offend the receiver of the message. You are
getting fat, for instance. How would this choice of
words offend the listener?
 MEANING IN WORDS

• Cliches-A cliché is an element of an artistic

work, saying, or idea that has become overused
to the point of losing its original meaning or
effect, even to the point of being weird or
irritating, especially when at some earlier time it
was considered meaningful.
• Examples: It was raining cats and dogs.
• Any other, from your everyday use?
• Slang- a type of language consisting of
words and phrases that are regarded as
very informal, are more common in speech
than writing, and are typically restricted to
a particular context or group of people.

• Metaphors- (your phone). Look at

definitions and examples
 EUPHEMISM

• This is a mild or indirect word or expression substituted

for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when
referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
• Some of these terms below are considered impolite.
What would be the polite terms to use in their place?
1. Fat
2. Rude
3. Stripper
4. Insane
5. Prostitute
• Now the following are euphemisms. What would be the
blunt words or expressions for these phrases?
1. Ethnic cleansing
2. Passed away
3. Put to sleep
4. Pregnancy termination
5. Correctional facility
6. Under the weather
7. Friends with benefits
8. I need space.
9. She is creative with the truth.
 CONNOTATION VS DENOTATION
• Denotation-the literal meaning or "dictionary definition"
of a term, devoid of emotion, attitude, and color.
• Connotation- A connotation is a commonly understood
cultural or emotional association that any given word or
phrase carries. It can often be described as either
positive or negative. with regard to its pleasing or
displeasing emotional connection.
a) What is the denotative (dictionary definition) of the word blue? And what
about its connotative (emotional) meaning?

b) More examples…(see if you can identify their meanings):

• The boxing match ended in a knockout.- denotation
• Rihanna was a knockout in that dress.-connotation

c) Now form both connotative and denotative sentences using these words
below:
Grey
Cool
Hot
 DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
• In descriptive writing, you need to use vivid description
to create vivid pictures.
• The word vivid means producing powerful feelings or
strong, clear images in the mind.
• Your goal is to make your readers see, hear, taste,
smell, and feel what you want to say. (Think about the
compositions and essays you wrote in high school.
Remember those?)
• This vivid description appeals to the senses — eyes,
nose, ears, skin, etc. (V)
 EXERCISE
• Take a walk outside. Observe your surroundings. Don’t
record or photograph or write anything down, just
spend some time absorbing it through your senses. Pay
attention to the things that strike you most. And then
in two to three paragraphs, write a description of what
you see. Remember to include the sensory details—
what it felt and smelled and sounded like etc
• Bring it to class with your student number on it. I will
sample some answers.