School of Advance Education

LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND LITERACY

WHY SHOULD WE STUDY LANGUAGE?

LANGUAGE IN DAILY LIFE

I. Language according to Linguists:

a. Chomsky

According to Chomsky's theory, the human mind is born with a set of linguistic
limitations known as "universal grammar." Despite the apparent differences between
languages, this framework offers a common structural foundation (Main, 2023).

According to Chomsky, language is a natural and universal characteristic of

humans, a feature shared by all members of the species that develops as a person ages
in a similar way to how the body's organs do. Moreover, a language is a state attained
by a particular mental computational system that emerges spontaneously and whose
precise parameters are determined by the linguistic context in which the person is
raised. This definition, which is at odds with the common notion of a language as a
public system of verbal signals shared by a group of speakers, has important
implications for the nature of the mind (Enos, 2002).

b. Wardhaugh, Ronald

According to Wardhaugh (2001), language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols

used for human communication. Since language is a tool for interaction and the
building of culture, it is a necessary component of culture. Furthermore, a society's
language is what its members speak. Wardhaugh made a connection between
language's function in society and his definition of it. He made the statement that
language is a shared resource that anybody can use (Wardhaugh, 2023).

c. Finocchiaro, Mary
According to Finocchiaro (1964), a language is a system of arbitrary, vocal symbols
that permit all people in a given culture or other people who have learned the system
of that culture, to communicate or to interact.
Mary Finocchiaro claimed that there are six functions of a language, they are as
follows:

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 (a) Personal. A language's personal function allows its user to communicate his
innermost feelings, needs, wants, and attitudes as well as to categorize or clarify
concepts that are jumbled in his mind,
(b)Interpersonal. With the help of his interpersonal function, he can build and sustain
positive social relationships with both people and groups, as well as ask about the well-
being of others, apologize, invite, and celebrate their successes,
(c)Directive. He can influence other people's behavior with the directive function by
giving them instructions, warnings, requests, persuasion, suggestions, orders, or
dialogue,
(d)Referential. He can discuss the present, the past, and the future by using the
referential function to talk about items or events in the immediate setting, environment,
or culture,
(e)Metalinguistic. The metalinguistic function enables him to talk about language, for
example, “What does .…….mean?”, and
(f)Imaginative. He can use language creatively when speaking, writing, rhyming, or
creating poetry thanks to the imaginative function..

Other definitions of language are defined by:

a. Webster’s New International Dictionary defines language as a systematic means of
communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds,
gestures, or marks having understood meanings.

b. Random House Dictionary of the English Language defines language as an

indispensable instrument of human society. It is how individuals understand each
other and are enabled to function together as a community. It stressed that there can
be no human organization that is not maintained by language. It also defines
language as not biologically inherent where is not instinctively present. An infant
needs to learn the power and the uses of language consciously. Finally, it stressed
that for a modern man to function well in society, one of his necessities is to keep
pace with the dynamic growth of his language.

c. Collins Dictionary defines language as a system of communication which consists

of a set of sounds and written symbols which are used by the people of a particular
country or region for talking or writing. Language is the use of a system of
communication which consists of a set of sounds or written symbols. Finally, a
person can refer to the words used in connection with a particular subject as the
language of that subject.

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 d. Wikipedia defines language as a structured system of communication that consists
of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey
meaning, both in spoken and written forms, and may also be conveyed through sign
languages.

e. Britannica defines language as a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed),

or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group
and participants in its culture, express themselves. The functions of language
include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative expression,
and emotional release.

II. How can language and culture be described adequately?

It is somewhat difficult to comprehend the relationship between the language and

culture. Personally, I describe these two as expressions of oneself. To wit, language
pertains to the expression of thought while culture is the expression of identity. A person
has both ideas and other aspects that make him whole. With language, his thoughts can be
communicated. With culture, his nature is identified.

III. How did language come to be? What role did it play in human evolution and cultural
development?

There is no one right answer to the complicated and hotly contested question of
how language originated and developed. Nonetheless, a number of theories make an effort
to clarify how language originated. Two very significant conclusions come from a recent
study led by biologist Quentin D. Atkinson of the University of Auckland in New Zealand:
language originated only once, and it may have done so in southwest Africa.

While most research traces the origins of modern language using words, Atkinson
focused on phonemes—the fundamentally different units of sound that represent words—
in more than 500 languages worldwide. Through the application of mathematical
techniques to linguistics, Atkinson found that the number of phonemes that survived
decreased with the distance that humans traveled from Africa.

The advent of language was crucial to the evolution of human culture and played a
major role in the success of our species in a number of important areas. Various theories
emphasize the significance of language in influencing human evolution and culture, even
though the precise chronology and mechanisms are not fully understood. In a paper by
MacWhinney (2005), he described how humans have evolved to deal with four main
evolutionary difficulties such as bipedalism, social cohesion, mimesis, and
systematization. He also assessed linkages between evolution and the development of
language in the infant and child such as recapitulation, traditional transmission,
demodularization, and the child’s construction of social reality.

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 In the aspect of cultural development, the relationship between language and
culture has been the subject of centuries of debate among many distinguished scientists.
While some scholars argue that language is just a tool for expressing culture, others
maintain that language is an integral part of culture as a whole. Society and culture have
an influence on the words we use in speaking acts, and these words in turn have an effect
on society and culture. There are various examples in our everyday lives that demonstrate
this cyclical interdependence, despite the fact that it may seem complicated. More
importantly, Ghafar (2023) concluded in her study that language, the mind, and culture
constitute a single, harmonious whole that includes all three of these crucial components.
For each of these components to function and exist, the others are necessary. They are
connected to the real world, it is their opposite, they depend on it, they represent it, and
they also mold it. When it comes to the close relationship between language and culture,
there are various approaches. In some situations, such as the linguistic functions mentioned
earlier, they can function in tandem. The way society evolves is greatly influenced by these
two essential elements.

IV. How are languages learned?

I lean toward Chomzky's philosophy on learning. He stated as human beings grow,

they absorb their surroundings. From observing their environment, they imitate and
eventually learn. This is the same for language. I strongly agree with this as I observed in
from personal experience, if a child is exposed to any language, he or she would eventually
learn them. Moreover, Birner (2023) mentioned in her article that children pick up language
through interaction with other kids as well as with their parents and other adults. All typical
kids who are raised in typical homes and are exposed to language will pick up on the
language spoken there. Furthermore, if a child interacts with speakers of the languages on
a regular basis, learning two or more languages at the same time is equally simple for them.
The key to this is exposure to the language. This is also true to adult language learners.
Some other techniques are involving social interaction, imitation and modeling.

V. How can languages be categorized in order to illustrate their relationships?

According to Britannica, there are two kinds of classification of languages practice

in linguistics. These are the genetic or genealogical and the typological. Languages are
categorized into families based on their level of diachronic relatedness using genetic
classification. The Indo-European family, for instance, recognizes subfamilies called
Germanic and Celtic, which include, on the one hand, German, English, Dutch, Swedish,
Norwegian, Danish, and others, and, on the other, Irish, Welsh, Breton, and others. The
majority of languages on the planet have only been loosely categorized into families thus
far, and as more work is done, many of the proposed classification schemes will
undoubtedly undergo significant revisions.

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 In an archive by the US Department of State, they categorized languages according
to the degree of difficulty for English speakers. This include category 1 for languages
closely related to English, category 2 for languages that take a little longer to master than
category 1 languages, category 3 for languages with significant linguistic and/or cultural
differences from English, and finally category 4 for languages which are exceptionally
difficult for native English speakers.

With these categorization samples, it can be concluded that languages need to be

categorized according to their closeness (diachronic) to a person/state’s first language. This
will allow the language learner or speaker to densely observe the connection in the
languages.

VI. What's the connection between language and thought?

Philosophical, psychological, and linguistic disciplines all disagree on how

language and thought relate to one another. A number of theories investigate the possible
connections between language and thought, and various viewpoints regarding the nature of
these connections have been put forth by researchers. According to Noam Chomsky's
Universal Grammar theory, language has a universal cognitive foundation that is
unaffected by linguistic variances. Another is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis which dictates
that language determines thought. Finally, the Whorfian hypothesis dictates that the
manner a person speaks determines how he thinks.

VII. What exactly is meaning? How is it given? How is it taught?

The Oxford dictionary defines meaning as what is meant by a word, text, concept,
or action. It is also intended to communicate something that is not directly expressed. The
ability to give meaning to the things they see in the world, to the people in their lives, to
their physical selves, and to the different expressions of agency that fall under the umbrella
term "self" is a basic human characteristic that is just as universal as language.

This making-meaning phenomena is carried out on multiple levels by the intricate

operations that define human cognition. In one way or another, mental processes such as
assigning values to objects, classifying them based on predetermined standards, and
evaluating their aesthetic appeal give the phenomenal world meaning.

Robert Kegan’s theory of meaning-making development is a conceptualization of

how human beings make meaning of themselves, of others, and of their experiences
throughout the life span. In the perspective of language classrooms, teaching meaning is a
crucial aspect. Primarily, teaching correct meaning of vocabulary can be hurdle some for
teachers, but it can also be rewarding. The Texas Education Agency listed six possible
techniques for vocabulary instruction namely, Concept Definition Maps, Semantic
Mapping, Semantic Feature Mapping, Possible Sentences, Comparing and Contrasting,
and Teaching Word Parts. Moreover, in a paper by Ignelzi (2003), he used the word “farm”

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 as a metaphor for a person’s “way of making-meaning.” He then provided a list of guidance
for teachers in teaching meaning-making namely, visiting and appreciating the other
people’s farm before trying to get them to consider moving to that new farm up the road,
giving the students good directions on how to get to the new farm or, better still, accompany
them on the trip, encouraging students to travel together to visit the new farm, and
providing opportunities for celebrating the move to the new farm and reminiscing about
leaving the old one. In a nutshell, any attempts to teach meaning-making will go to waste
without proper support from teachers.

VIII. What exactly does it mean to be human?

Defining being-human is not exactly a one-question-one-answer type of inquiry.

There are many perspectives that contribute to the complexities of defining what exactly
does it mean to be a human. In a spiritual perspective, the Bible say that God created man
in his own image and likeness. If that is so, if people do not believe in God or follow his
rule and reign over under God’s provision, will that make them less to non-human? In
psychological perspective, being human refers to an individual belonging to the species
Homo sapiens. However, even in this one perspective, it still cries for more data. From a
psychological perspective, being human encompasses more than just biological
classification. It involves understanding and studying various aspects of human behavior,
cognition, emotions, and the complexities of human experience. In sociological
perspective, humans are social beings who live out our lives in the company of other
humans. In philosophical perspective, various overlap in other perspectives also contribute
to the mix as it considers the human person as physical being, as knower, as responsible
agent, as a person in relation to other persons, to society, to God, and to the end, or purpose,
of human life.

From all these perspectives, it can be concluded that being human is not being able
to completely understand what it actually means to be human. It is simply being. I think
it's important for people to try to grasp life and all of its facets because it can be very
beneficial to understand the underlying ideas behind living life to the fullest. Making use
of the positive forces in life is facilitated by an understanding of the good and evil forces
that exist. Living as a human means balancing hundreds of extremes. To gain a deeper
understanding of life, we may occasionally need to steer clear of these extremes, but other
times it seems wise to do so.

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functions-of-a-language-are-they-are/
Collins. (2023). Language. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/language
Enos, C.(n.d). Noam Chomsky (1928 – ). https://iep.utm.edu/chomsky-philosophy/
Flexner, B. (2021). The Random House Dictionary of the English Language.
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