What is Language: Unique

UNIT 1 WHAT IS LANGUAGE? UNIQUE Features of Human Language

FEATURES OF HUMAN
LANGUAGE

Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definitions of Language
1.3 The Origin of Language
1.4 Functions of Language
1.5 Knowing a Language
1.6 The Uniqueness of Human Language
1.7 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Answers
1.9 Suggested Readings

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
critically analyze the definitions of language given by various linguists and
scholars;
understand the functions of language;
discuss various theories of the origins of language;
distinguish language from other forms of communication, especially animal
communication.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
“There is no mode of action, no form of emotion that we do not share with the
animals. It is only by language that we rise above them”, said Oscar Wilde.
What then is this unique facility called language, which sets us apart from other
creatures, helps us respond to our environment and above all, enables us to reflect
on the very essence of our being? Language is that system by which sounds and
meanings are related (Fromkin and Rodman, 1974). Language communication
and human needs are unquestionably linked. Human beings have various needs
— individual, social, emotional, economic, political and cultural and it is to
fulfill these that human beings need language. Even the youngest infant expresses
its needs which are primarily biological to begin with. As the infant grows, his/
her needs become more complex, so does its language. From the stage of
whimpering in discomfort or gurgling with pleasure, the individual reaches the
stage where s/he starts reflecting on his/her needs.
Language does not exist in a vacuum. It serves and is moulded by other systems
in the human mind. Since language is used to convey ideas, its structure and
function must reflect these ideas. Besides, since it exists within a complex social
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The Nature of Language and cultural system, it is moulded by these aspects as well. Language pervades
and is pervaded by all aspects of our lives.

1.2 DEFINITIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language is a term, which due to its range of applications, has prompted
innumerable definitions. Some of these focus on the general concept of
‘language’, others on more specific aspects of ‘a language’ and yet others on its
more formal features like phonology, grammar and semantics. Then there are
also those which emphasize on its range of functions or those which stress the
differences between language and other forms of human and animal
communication. The range of definitions given below amply illustrates this point.

‘Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas,

emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols.’ (E. Sapir, 1911)

‘A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which the members

of a society interact in terms of their local culture.’ (G. Trager, 1949)

‘A language is a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and

constructed of a finite set of elements.’ (N. Chomsky, 1957)

‘Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the
manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied.
Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.’ (N.
Chomsky, 1983)

‘Language is the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with

each other by means of habitually used oral - auditory arbitrary symbols.’ (R.A.
Hall, 1964)

‘Audible, articulate meaningful sounds as produced by the action of the vocal

organs.’ (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Vol.2, 1971)

‘Language is the most sophisticated and versatile means available to human beings
for the communication of meaning.’ (Brown, 1984)

‘Language is patterned system of arbitrary sound signals, characterized by

structure dependence, creativity, displacement, duality, and cultural transmission.’
(Aitchison, 1987).
Check Your Progress 1
1) You’ve read the various definitions of language. Now, write your own
definition of language.

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2) What are the functions of language which emerge from these definitions? What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
Name at least two functions.

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1.3 THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE

‘The suspicion does not appear improbable that the progenitors of man, either
the males or females, or both sexes, before they had acquired the power of
expressing their mutual love in articulate language, endeavored to charm each
other with musical notes and rhythm’. (Darwin, 1871)

In Charles Darwin’s vision of origins of language, early humans had developed

musical ability “to charm each other”. This is an interesting speculation about
how language may have originated. Nonetheless it remains a speculation.

We simply do not know how language originated. We do know that the ability to
produce sound and simple vocal patterning appears to be in an ancient part of the
brain that we share with all vertebrates but this is not human language. Due to
the absence of direct physical evidence or artifacts relating to speech of our
distant ancestors, there has been a lot of speculation about the origins of human
speech.

As a result, numerous philosophers have presented their theories on the origin of

language.

The divine source

In the early part of the eighteenth century, theories of the origin of language
proposed that language was of Divine Origin. According to them man was created
and at the moment of his creation, speech was provided to him as a divine gift. In
the biblical tradition, as described in the book of Genesis, God created Adam
and “whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”
Alternatively, following a Hindu tradition, language came from Sarasvati, wife
of Brahma, creator of the universe. In most religions, there appears to be a divine
source who/which provides humans with language.

Other cultures too propagated the divine origin of language “ the Egyptians, for
example, considered themselves the oldest civilization and therefore theirs was
the original language, passed down through their god-ancestor. One of their rulers
– Psammetichus is said to have tried an experiment to test this theory. He had
two babies from an ordinary family raised in isolation. When they were two
years old, the babies abruptly said “bekos”, which in Phrygian means “bread”.
Psammetichus believed that this proved his theory that Phrygian was the original
language. However, this seems highly unlikely. The children may not have picked
up this “word” from any human source, but as several commentators have pointed
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The Nature of Language out, they must have heard what the goats were saying. (First remove the ‘kos’
ending, which was added in the Greek version of the story, then pronounce be-
as you would the English word bed, Can you hear a goat?).

In an attempt to rediscover this original divine language, more experiments have

been carried out, with conflicting results. The basic hypothesis seems to be that,
if human infants were allowed to grow up without hearing any language around
them, then they would spontaneously begin using the original God-given
language.

All experiments with infants who have been living in isolation, without coming
into contact with human speech, tend not to confirm the divine source claim.
Very young children living without access to human language in their early years
grow up with no language at all.

The natural sound source

A different view of the beginnings of language is based on the concept of natural

sounds. The basic idea is that primitive words could have been imitations of the
natural sounds which early men and women heard around them.

When an object flew by making a caw-caw sound, the early human tried to imitate
the sound and used it to refer to the thing associated with the sound. And when
another flying creature made a coo-coo sound, that natural sound was adopted to
refer to that kind of object. The fact that all modern languages have some words
with pronunciations that seem to echo naturally occurring sounds could be used
to support this theory. In English, for instance, we have splash, bang, boom,
rattle, buzz, hiss, screech, and forms such as bow-wow. In fact, this view has
been proposed by Muller and is called the Bow-Wow theory – also referred to as
Onomatopoeic or Echoic theory. The theory suggests that first words were
imitative of natural sounds – the cry of birds, the call of animals, etc. Although
Muller rejected this theory, it is true that virtually every language has some
percentage of onomatopoeic words in its vocabulary. This phenomenon is called
onomatopoeia that is imitating natural sounds to form words. An argument against
this has been that we hear and imitate the sounds of nature within the limitations
of our first language. A popular example of this cultural influence is the roosters
crowing – in English it is cock-a-doodle-doo; in French, coquerico; in Russian,
kukuiku; in German, kikeriki, etc.

The social interaction source

Another theory involving natural sounds has been called the “yo-he-ho” theory.
The idea is that the sounds of a person involved in physical effort could be the
source of our language, especially when that physical effort involved several
people and the interaction had to be coordinated. So, a group of early humans
might have developed a set of hums, grunts, groans, and curses that were used
when they were lifting and carrying large bits of trees, etc.

The appeal of this theory is that it places the development of human language in
a social context. Early people must have lived in groups as living in larger groups
offered better protection from attacks. Groups were social organizations and to
maintain them some form of communication is required, even if it is just grunts
and curses. So, human sounds, however they were produced, must have had
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some principled use within the life and social interaction of early human groups. What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
This is an important idea that may relate to the uses of humanly produced sounds.
It does not, however, answer our question regarding the origins of the sounds
produced.

The physical adaptation source

Anthropologists believe that the factors that led to the development of the species
Homo sapiens, also led to the development of language – the upright posture
gave humans additional visual range, their eyes became stereoscopic, further
improving their vision. Human teeth, lips, mouth, larynx and pharynx as compared
to other primates facilitate production of speech. The cerebral cortex, virtually
non-existent in the lower creatures, developed tremendously in the evolving
human. It was with this major development that the human being graduated to
reasoning powers and began to speak.

The tool-making source

In the physical adaptation theory, one function that is producing speech sounds
must have been superimposed on existing anatomical features (teeth, lips)
previously used for other purposes (chewing, sucking). A similar development is
believed to have taken place with human hands and some believe that manual
gestures may have been a precursor of language. By about two million years
ago, there is evidence that humans had developed preferential right-handedness
and had become more capable of making stone tools. Wood tools and composite
tools eventually followed, tool-making, or the outcome of manipulating objects
and changing them using hands is evidence of brain work.

The human brain is not only large relative to human body size, it is also lateralized,
that is, it has specialized functions in each of the two hemispheres. Those functions
which control the motor movements involved in complex vocalization (speaking)
and object manipulation (making or using tools) are very close to each other in
the left hemisphere of the brain. It may be that there was an evolutionary
connection between language-using and tool-using abilities of humans and both
were involved in the development of speaking brain.

The genetic source

The human baby in its first few years shows a number of physical changes. In a
relatively short period of time, the larynx descends, the brain develops, the child
assumes an upright posture and starts walking and talking. This almost automatic
set of developments and the complexity of the young child’s language have led
some scholars to look for something more powerful than small physical
adaptations of the species over time as the course of language. It has been proposed
that human offspring are born with a special capacity for language. It is innate,
no other creature seems to have it, and it isn’t tied to any specific language. Is it
possible that this language capacity is genetically hard-wired in the newborn
human?
As a solution to this puzzle of origin of human language, this innateness hypothesis
would seem to point out to something in human genetics, possibly a crucial
mutation, as the source. We are not sure when this proposed genetic change
might have taken place or how it might relate to the physical adaptations described
earlier. However, as we consider this hypothesis, we find our speculations about
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The Nature of Language the origins of language moving away from fossil evidence or the physical source
of basic human sounds toward analogies with how computers work (pre-
programmed or hard-wired) and concepts taken from genetics. The investigation
of the origins of language then turns into a search for the special “language
gene” that only humans possess.
Check Your Progress 2
1) What is the name given to the theory which holds that the origin of human
speech comes from the sounds heard by humans in their environment?

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2) Which of the above theories seem to be most appealing to you and why?

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3) Can you think of some onomatopoeic sounds in your mother tongue? List
them

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1.4 FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE

How language began continues to be somewhat of a puzzle but why language
evolved seems clearer. Perhaps as Jean Aitchison says, it began because human
beings needed to cooperate in order to survive, and for efficient cooperation a
satisfactory mode of communication was required.

Language is a complex phenomenon with multiple functions. Various linguists

have tried to understand and elucidate the functions of language. Roman Jakobson
defined six primary functions of language according to which an effective act of
10 verbal communication can be described. These functions are:
The referential function: What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
This function is primarily used to convey information which was one of the
primary reasons that language was discovered. Descriptions of situations, objects
and even mental states come under this.
The expressive function:
This function reports feelings or attitudes of the speaker or writer and it is also
meant to evoke feelings in the listener or reader. This form of communication
can also happen when we are alone. For example, if my mobile phone falls into
a bucket of water, what do you think I’m likely to say to myself? Probably use a
swear word. We can also utter emotive utterances of a positive nature, especially
when we sight something of great beauty “Wow, isn’t that beautiful!”
The directive function:
This function engages the addressee directly and is usually used for the purpose
of causing or preventing an action. It is therefore found in commands and requests
and requires the use of vocatives and imperatives, example, “Adit, come here at
once”, “Please shut the window.”
The phatic function:
This involves language for the sake of social interaction. This function can be
observed in greetings “Hi, how are you” and casual discussions about the weather,
i.e. “It’s so hot these days”.
The poetic function:
This function focuses on the message for its own sake, and is used in poetry as
well as in slogans. This is an aesthetic function of language.
The metalingual function:
This function is used to talk about language itself as we are doing in this unit.
However, it is very rare for any piece of discourse to serve only one function,
unless it is a very specialized and restrictive piece of discourse; most ordinary
kinds of discourse are mixed.
Check Your Progress 3
Given below are sentences expressing one of the functions. Indicate the
appropriate function against each.
i) “It looks like it may rain, doesn’t it?”
ii) Tired eyes,
Aching feet,
The commuters scramble
For a seat.
iii) Don’t come near me.
iv) India has a long tradition of grassroots bilingualism.
v) Your dress looks beautiful!
vi) The place looked neat and clean.
vii) English syntax is quite different from Hindi.

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The Nature of Language
1.5 KNOWING A LANGUAGE
Language is the unique ability that makes us human. We can communicate our
thoughts, feelings and ideas with the help of language. But have we ever paid
attention to this unique ability that we possess? We use language so spontaneously
that we hardly think about it. If we have to imagine a life without language, how
would it be? It seems impossible to live without language in our lives. What is
this unique ability then? What constitutes ‘knowing’ a language?

Normally when we say we know a language, it implies that we can speak to and
be understood by people who know that language. This means that we are able
to produce certain sounds, which are naturally interpretable as having a certain
meaning.

Since all of us know at least one language and are able to use it without making
much of a conscious effort, why do we need to discuss it? Exactly this is the
objective of the unit to make us aware that the ability to carry on the simplest
conversation requires a profound knowledge of the language of which speakers
are unaware. A speaker can produce the most complicated sentences without
being aware of the principles and rules that govern their formation.

So what is this specific knowledge possessed by speakers of a language? In

other words, what does knowledge of a language mean?

1.5.1 Knowledge of the Sound System

When we say we know a language, we imply that we know the sounds of that
language and we can distinguish the sounds which are not part of that language.
This fact becomes quite clear when speakers of a particular language pronounce
words from another language. For example, a speaker of Bengali, Assamese or
Oriya is not able to articulate the distinction between the sounds ‘b’ and ‘v’.
When they say the word ‘Vivek’ it comes out as ‘bibek’. The very fact that they
mispronounce it reveals they are unconscious of this fact. They are able to
distinguish it when they encounter it in the written form or when another person
is speaking those words, but are unable to articulate the distinction properly
themselves.

It is not enough that speakers of a language know only the permissible sounds of
their language, they also possess an unconscious knowledge of the permissible
sound combinations and also the position in which these sounds can occur in a
word. When a speaker of one language encounters a word which has a different
sound combination than that which is permissible in his/her language, s/he will
in all probability mispronounce that word unless s/he consciously makes an effort
to learn the ‘new’ sound (of another language system).

1.5.2 Knowledge of the Meaning of Words

When we know a language we are able to relate sound to meaning, i.e., apart
from a knowledge of the sounds and sound patterns, it is important to know that
certain sound sequences signify certain meanings. When we hear a word from a
language which is new to us we are unable to comprehend it but speakers of that
language are able to understand each other. Each concept/meaning is named
differently by each language. To understand this let us take the following example:
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 Meaning/concept/signified What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language

Sound Signifier

/tri:/ (English)

/m a R a m/ (Tamil)

/g a: ch/ (Bangla)

/p e: D/ (Hindi)

/a: r b o l/ (Spanish)

The universal concept/meaning of a tree (a woody perennial plant, typically having

a single stem or trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral
branches at some distance from the ground) is common to every human who has
been exposed to the concept/meaning of a tree. However, how we name this
concept differs from one language to another. As we can see in the above example,
the concept is named ‘tri’ in English, ‘maRam’ in Tamil, ‘ga:ch’ in Bangla, ‘pe:D’
in Hindi and ‘a:rbol’ in Spanish. Therefore, the relation between the sound
(signifier) and the meaning (signified) is arbitrary.

Why is it called tree in English and ‘arbol’ in Spanish has no logical connection.
It is a convention among the speakers who speak the same language.

When we say that the relationship between the sound (t r i) and meaning (signified)
is arbitrary we do not imply that the choice of what the concept will be called is
left entirely to the speaker since the individual does not have the power to change
a sign in any way once it has become established in the linguistic community.
Ferdinand de Saussure (also known as the father of modern linguistics) points
out that the relationship between the signifier (sound) and signified (meaning) is
unmotivated, i.e., arbitrary, in that it actually has no natural connection with the
signified.

Many languages share many sounds but the way in which they combine them to
form words and the meaning that they assign to even a similar combination is
not the same. This at times can have amusing consequences. For example,
Bulgarian and Hindi share a sound sequence ‘kutia’, which in the former means
a ‘box’, while in the latter it refers to a ‘female dog’. This shows very clearly
how sound and the meaning attached to it is arbitrary.

However, there are some words in most languages whose pronunciation suggests
the meaning – these are referred to as onomatopoeic or echoic words. Sounds of
these words imitate sounds of nature. But even here there may be a variation
from language to language. The most well known example is the cock’s crow
that we referred to earlier on in this unit.

But even if a person knows all the correct sound combinations and their meanings
in a language, one could not say that s/he “knows” the language. Knowledge of
a language also means that you know how to combine words to form phrases and
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The Nature of Language further to be able to combine phrases to form sentences. Since it is not possible
for a person to memorize all the possible sentences of a language, it is obvious
that using language also means being creative – there are many sentences a person
speaks which s/he has never spoken or heard before. This is essentially what is
meant by creativity of language, i.e. the ability to “create” and understand
novel sentences which one has never uttered before.

The number of sentences one can produce is infinite. It is this feature of human
language which makes it truly unique. The ability that we have to be able to
produce infinite number of novel utterances each time we speak must be due to
some special knowledge of the language system that we possess.

1.5.3 Knowledge of Appropriate Social Context

Just being able to create novel sentences is not enough, one must know exactly
where they can be used i.e., one must have a knowledge of the appropriate contexts
for their use. This is the social aspect of language. To communicate effectively,
we should know what kind of response is expected in a particular situation. If
you respond by saying “the weather is very fine”, when someone asks you your
name, it would not be appropriate, although your answer would not be
grammatically incorrect. Words and tones have the property of bringing to mind
associations with things and ideas, and communication is possible to the degree
that the speaker and hearer have similar associations. Words and tones are
therefore symbols with meanings. Since context determines and modifies the
meanings of what is said, we must attribute meaning potentials to the contexts
also.

A language then, consists of the sounds, words and possible sentences. When we
say that we know a language, we mean that we know the sounds and the words
and the rules for their combination and use in appropriate social contexts.
Check Your Progress 4
1) Can knowledge of a language exist without knowledge of the social context?
Discuss with examples.
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2a) Make a list of the sounds in your mother tongue.
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2b) Now identify which of these sounds are absent in another language, say What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
English.
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2c) Do you have a problem in pronouncing words with the sounds of 2 (b)
above. If you do, then why do you think it happens?
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2d) What do we mean by ‘signifier’ and ‘signified’? How are they related?
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1.6 THE UNIQUENESS OF HUMAN LANGUAGE

It is language which more than anything else distinguishes human beings from
animals. We frequently refer to language as being unique to humans. What then
is unique about human language and how is it different from the forms of
communication produced by other forms of life?

It is generally accepted and understood that language deals with communication.

Now the nature and scope of this communication is influenced by various factors
– physiological, environmental, social and need-based. Increasing complexity
of information content calls for a correspondingly complex message-generating
system. Therefore, species in which behaviour is mediated by complex social
interrelationships evolve, by virtue of this fact, a communication system which
can fulfill the needs generated by this level of interaction.
If we view language only as a communication system, then many other species
also communicate. Communication involves active intentional transmission of a
signal as well feedback from the receiver, creating a closed loop between the
participants.
Language, spoken and written, is a human being’s chief instrument of
communication, but it is not the only one. Gestures have a similar role, as also
other forms of symbolism. Giving flowers to someone has a meaning, particular
clothing or ornament is a device to make known one’s affiliation and loyalties.
Thus, communication is a pervasive manifestation with many forms. Our concern
here is primarily with spoken language, but to understand it we need to see how
it is related to other communicative behaviour. 15
The Nature of Language 1.6.1 Animal Communication
It is evident that different animal species show different forms of vocal and gestural
behaviour. One of the most remarkable species is the bee, which is capable of
communicating with great accuracy the location of nectar by carrying out a series
of motions which have been described as a ‘dance’. The bee moves in alternate
directions around a constant axis, so as to describe an approximate figure 8. The
axis of movement indicates the direction of the find, the speed of the circling is
related to the distance, and the agitation of the animal reflects the abundance of
the find. While the dance is being executed near the hive, the other worker bees
form a circle around the dancer. After witnessing the movements for a few
moments, the other bees make off in the proper direction and fly the correct
distance before descending on to the flowers.

Another form of bee communication occurs when part of a colony is ready to

swarm. The bees assemble at a convenient point outside the hive, apparently
long enough to establish a centre of operations. Then workers go off in different
directions. Those bees that come upon a suitable location return to the main
group and indicate by their excitement that they have found a site. Bees that fail
to find a suitable location also return. If favourable reports come in from a number
of directions, the swarm shows indecisiveness, moving to one side and another
until a weight of opinions has formed in favour of one of the locations. In their
communicative behaviour bees do not employ vocal sounds, but the buzzing
made by the vibrating wings apparently plays a role in conveying excitement
and emphasis, perhaps comparable to degrees of conviction in human beings.

Another interesting form of vocal behaviour is imitative. There are several classes
of birds that engage in sound imitation as far as communication of the species is
concerned. Perhaps it is merely an exceptional manifestation of the echoic
tendency, common in lesser degrees to many animal species. Imitation usually
occurs within a species.

Most animals have a very limited number of messages that they can convey and
receive. For example, the male of a certain species of grasshopper has a choice
of six which could be translated as follows:
I am happy, life is good
I would like to make love
You are trespassing on my territory
She’s mine
Let’s make love
Oh how nice to have made love
Not only is the number of messages limited for the grasshopper, the circumstances
under which each message can be communicated is also highly restrictive.
Dolphins, in spite of their intelligence and large number of clicks, whistles and
squawks, seem to be restricted in communicating about the same things again
and again and even the clever velvet monkey, who is claimed to make thirty-six
different vocal sounds, is obliged to repeat these over and over.

In contrast to the phonetic ability of other species, human beings are definitely
superior. Many animal species pronounce only vowels and even here perhaps
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only one or a few particular ones; some manage one consonant, especially What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
fricatives of outgoing breath. The ability to produce stops or plosives is far less
frequent, and the combination of stoppage and vibration of the vocal cords may
be entirely lacking. The human being’s superiority consists in being able to manage
a great number of resonant, fricatives and stop consonants; to make click and
inbreathed sounds as well as outbreathed ones; and above all to produce complex
combinations and sequences of varied sounds. Their abilities go far beyond the
demands of any single language, as is evident from the richness of exclamatory
and imitative sounds in all languages with phonetics that go beyond the language
in question, as well as, the ability to learn foreign words.

1.6.2 Instinctive-Intuitive vs. Formal Communication

Communication is normally an intentional and planned activity. However, at
times we say things we do not mean to say, or our tone of voice tells things we
had planned not to reveal. If we trace communication back to the lower animals
we find that there can be such a thing as instinctive communication. If one member
of a species experiences pain, fear or any other emotion because of a physical
stimulus and utters a cry, makes a grimace, or moves away, and if this reaction
evokes an analogous or related emotions in other individuals, an act of
communication has taken place, whether or not any conscious intention has
been involved. If the reaction pattern follows a strict inborn tendency, it is
instinctive. If the tendency is generalized and is subject to conditioning by
experience, it may be better described as intuitive. In so far as a code language
has been developed, requiring considerable learning and involving many arbitrary
associations between the sound and its meanings, we are dealing with a formal
system. Human spoken languages constitute such codes.

Thus, two main levels of communication can be distinguished: the instinctive-

intuitive found in all animals, and the formal, conventional or arbitrary found
only in the human species. The formal systems of communication include
gestures, language and pictorial symbols. Art forms are complex behaviour system
involving features of intuitive and formal communication. The formal system of
communication may have evolved out of the intuitive, and very primitive art
forms may have played a role in the process.

1.6.3 Features of Human Communication

There have been a number of attempts to determine the defining properties of
human language, and different lists of features can be found by different writers.
We have taken six core features and described how they are manifested in human
language. We have also shown how these features are uniquely a part of human
language and unlikely to be found in the communication systems of other
creatures.
Arbitrariness:
In animal communication, there is frequently a connection between the signals
and the messages sent. For instance, an animal who wishes to warn an opponent
may simulate an attacking attitude. A cat, for example, will arch its back, spit
and appear ready to pounce.
In human language, the reverse is true, and there is no ‘natural’ link between a
linguistic form and its meaning. That is, the relationship between the signifier
(sound) and signified (meaning) is arbitrary. This feature has been discussed in
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The Nature of Language earlier section of this module with the example of ‘tree’. To consider another
example, we can see that there is no connection between the word DOG and the
four legged animal it symbolizes: it can equally be called kutta (Hindi), chien
(French), hund (German).
This idea of a ‘signifier’ and its arbitrary relationship with ‘signified’ was given
by Ferdinand de Saussure, a Swiss linguist who was working around the turn of
the twentieth century. He is credited with pointing out several important aspects
of language. Among many things he proposed the idea that words are more than
just a list of items. He called them signs – linguistic signs. He defined a linguistic
sign as consisting of two things, a concept (signified) and sound-image (signifier).
He identified various properties of a linguistic sign one of which he stated was
arbitrariness.
The need for learning:
It appears that the role played by ‘learning’ in animal communication is very
little. Their language is more or less genetically inbuilt. For example, bee-dancing,
which is used by the bees to convey information about the course of nectar, is
quite the same in bee colonies all over the world. And since, we do not expect the
bees all over the world to be holding international conferences, we have to agree
with the hypothesis that they are born with the language.
Another interesting thing to notice is that if a human child is brought up in
isolation, s/he does not acquire language, whereas birds reared in isolation sing
songs that are recognizable. Human beings require a long exposure to language
in order to acquire it. This does not mean that human language is totally
conditioned by the environment. According to Chomsky, human beings are born
with an innate ‘language acquisition device’ (LAD), but environment plays an
important role in triggering this innate ability. We should note that every normal
child learns an extremely complex grammatical system before s/he is 3 years
old. Language is certainly one of the greatest wonders of human societies; it
could not be accomplished unless we were endowed with an innate language
faculty.
So we can say that although both humans and other animals seem to be genetically
predisposed to acquire language, it seems in humans, this latent potentiality can
only be activated by long exposure to language, which requires careful learning.
Displacement:
Most animals can communicate about things in the immediate environment only.
An animal utters its cry of danger only when danger is present. It cannot give
information about a peril which is removed in time and place. Human languages,
on the other hand, can communicate about things that are absent as easily as
about things that are present. This property of human language is called
displacement.
For example, we can talk about our childhood experiences and also predict future
possibilities. We can talk about things which may not be present in our immediate
surroundings. The ability to talk about concepts in abstraction is unique to human
beings.
It is interesting to note that bee communication seems to exhibit this property of
displacement to some degree. For instance, when a worker bee finds a source of
nectar, and returns to the hive, it can perform a complex dance routine to
communicate to the other bees the location of this nectar. This ability of the bee
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to indicate a location at some distance must indicate that bee communication has What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
some degree of displacement as a feature. The crucial factor, however, is that of
degree. Bee communication has displacement in an extremely limited form not
just in terms of distance but also in terms of directionality. If the source of nectar
is perpendicular to the hive, the worker bee gets confused and fails to communicate
effectively. Human language on the other hand is much more comprehensive
where this property is concerned. We can talk of events remote in space or time
from the speaker or hearer.

Duality of Structure:

Animals have a stock of basic sounds (a cow has under ten, while gorillas and
chimpanzees have between twenty and thirty) which they can use only once.
That is, the number of messages an animal can send is restricted to the number of
basic sounds, or, in the more complex systems such as the dolphins, a few simple
combination of sounds. And there is no known internal organization within this
system.
In contrast, human language works very differently. Every language has a set of
thirty to forty basic sounds which are called phonemes. These phonemes are
generally meaningless in isolation. Imagine a person uttering the basic sounds
‘a..k..u..t..v..r..l..j..h... Do you think it would be possible for this person to convey
any meaning? These basic sounds or phonemes become meaningful only when
they combine with each other in accordance with the rules of a language. So we
can say that human language is organized into two levels or layers, i.e., a layer of
individual sounds which combine with each other to form the second layer of
bigger units like words. This kind of organization into two layers is called duality
of structure or double articulation.
At one time, it was thought that duality was a characteristic unique to human
language. But now some people claim duality is not unique to humans as it is
present in bird song where each individual note is meaningless. It is the
combination of notes which conveys meaningful messages. However, the complex
ways in which words are combined to create an infinite number of sentences
may indeed be unique to humans.

Patterning:

Close to the phenomena of duality is patterning. As you are aware most animal
systems of communication comprise a simple list of sounds. There does not seem
to be any internal organization within the system.

Human language, on the other hand, has well defined internal patterns. There are
firm restrictions on which elements (sounds, words, etc.) can occur together, and
in which order. For example, take the sounds ‘o’, ‘p’, ‘t’, and ‘s’ in English.
These sounds can be arranged in the following seven ways only: ‘spot’, ‘stop’,
‘opts’, ‘pot’, ‘pots’, ‘top’ and ‘tops’. Other possibilities like ‘tsop’, ‘ptos’, ‘opst’,
are not possible because the rules of English do not allow these.
Similar kinds of patterns are followed when words are combined to form
sentences.
A similar kind of internal organization occurs at the sentence level. Human beings
can automatically recognize the patterned nature of language and manipulate
structured chunks of language. For example: 19
The Nature of Language That beautiful woman gave me flowers.
That woman gave me flowers.
She gave me flowers.
Human beings can understand that these sentences are structurally equivalent.
Animals, as far as we know, do not use structure-dependent operations.
Creativity:
The most important distinction between human and animal communication is
that human beings are essentially creative in their use of language. On the other
hand, animals have a limited number of messages that they can send or receive.
For example, bees can communicate only about nectar. Dolphins, in spite of
their intelligence, use a large number of clicks, whistles and squawks, to
communicate merely about the same thing over and over again.
This type of restriction is not found in human language which is essentially a
creative process i.e., human beings can produce absolutely new utterances
whenever they feel like it. A person can utter a sentence which has never been
said before, in the most unlikely circumstances, and still be understood. Even in
everyday routine communication, a person does not say the same thing over and
over again.
The word creativity is not to be understood as ‘creative writing’ which involves
literary use of language or poetic language. Here creativity refers to the ability to
utter infinite number of novel utterances each time a person wishes to speak.
Every human being uses this property of human language in day to day
communication.
Other features:
Human language does have many other properties, but they may not be unique
to it. Some of the other features may be:
Vocal-auditory channel:
Human linguistic communication is typically generated via the vocal organs and
perceived by the ears. However, linguistic communication can be transmitted
without sound, via writing. Moreover, many other species, example dolphins
also use the vocal-auditory channel.
Broadcast transmission and directional reception:
A signal can be heard by any auditory system within earshot, and the source can
be located using the ear’s direction-finding ability.
Rapid fading:
Auditory signals are transitory, and do not await the hearer’s convenience (unlike
animal communication or writing).
Interchangeability:
Any speaker/sender of a linguistic signal can also be a listener/receiver.
Total feedback:
Speakers hear and can reflect upon everything that they say (unlike the visual
displays often used in animal courtship, which are not visible to the displayer).

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Specialization: What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
The sound waves of speech have no function other than to signal meaning (unlike
the audible panting of dogs, which has a biological purpose).
Check Your Progress 5
1) Explore the communication system in at least one other animal system and
compare it to human language. Do you see any links?
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2) Suggest at least three properties which are very rare or absent in animal
communication
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3) What is meant by the terms creativity and arbitrariness as is used to describe
a property of human language?
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4a) The property which relates to the fact that a language must be acquired or
learned by each new generation is
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The Nature of Language 4b) The term used to describe the ability of human language users to discuss
topics which are remote in space and time is
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1.7 LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have seen that one of the most distinctive characteristics which
set us apart from other life forms is the highly evolved mode of communication
which we call language.
Philosophers and scientists have long debated the origin of human language and
even today there is no consensus as to when exactly human beings started to
speak. There are a number of theories which attempt to explain the origin of
language.
Several principles operate at the level of learning of language. These involve
knowledge of the sound system, and that of the meaning of words and appropriate
social context of use.
We have also attempted to identify some properties of human language which
makes it different from animal communication.

1.8 ANSWERS
Check Your Progress 1
1) Do it yourself.
2) Interaction with other members of society; expression of emotions.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Bow-Wow theory
2) Discuss which theory seems to be most powerful. Give reasons to support
your claim.
(Hint: choose a theory which is more inclusive/holistic in its approach)
3) Do it yourself.
Check Your Progress 3
i) Phatic function
ii) Poetic function
iii) Directive function
iv) Metalingual function / Referential function
v) Expressive function
vi) Referential function
22 vii) Metalingual function
Check Your Progress 4 What is Language: Unique
Features of Human Language
1) No, social context is very important for effective communication. For
example, you will behave formally with your boss in the office, but much
more informally at a picnic.

2d) ‘Signifier’ is the sound of a word which is different in each language and
‘signified’ is the meaning or concept. The relationship between the two is
arbitrary. It is the collective understanding or convention which is followed
by a linguistic community. Individuals do not have the right to change these
signifiers.
Check Your Progress 5
2) Arbitrariness, displacement and duality of structure.
3) Read 1.6.3 for the answer.
4a) The property which relates to the fact that a language must be acquired or
learned by each new generation is need for learning.
4b) The term used to describe the ability of human language users to discuss
topics which are remote in space and time is displacement.

1.9 SUGGESTED READINGS

Akmajian, Adrian. et al. 2003. Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and
Communication. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited.
Aitchison, J. 1987. Linguistics (3rd Edition). London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Yule, G. 2010. Study of Language (4th Edition). Cambridge: CUP.

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