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Nature and Function of Language

The document defines key properties of language: 1) Arbitrariness - There is no direct relationship between words and their meanings. Words are chosen arbitrarily by a language. 2) Productivity - Language allows for an infinite number of new utterances to be constructed from a finite set of elements. 3) Displacement - Language allows people to communicate about things that are not present in space or time, like discussing a past event. 4) Recursion - Language allows for items like phrases to be repeated in a self-similar manner, like a phrase containing another phrase.

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259 views

Nature and Function of Language

The document defines key properties of language: 1) Arbitrariness - There is no direct relationship between words and their meanings. Words are chosen arbitrarily by a language. 2) Productivity - Language allows for an infinite number of new utterances to be constructed from a finite set of elements. 3) Displacement - Language allows people to communicate about things that are not present in space or time, like discussing a past event. 4) Recursion - Language allows for items like phrases to be repeated in a self-similar manner, like a phrase containing another phrase.

Uploaded by

Fara Syikien
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Nature and Function of Language

Group 2

Definitions of language

The method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way.

A system that uses some physical sign ( sound, gesture, mark) to express meaning.

Socializing Examples: We court and seduce, buy and sell, insult and praise Establishing and maintaining relationships

Purposes and use of language


Avoiding trouble influencing people

Arguing

Giving feedback

Properties of language

Properties of language
Arbitrariness

Productivity

Displacement

Recursion

Arbitrariness

The choice of symbols used by a language

No direct relationship between a particular word and its meaning.

Word Ball (BALL) Slog (S L O G )

Meaning a round, usually spherical used in ball games. To work hard for a long period.

Productivity
This property refers to the fact that language both written and spoken serves a purpose or function. Many animals respond to stimuli in their environment in predictable ways.

Example : The stimulus of seeing a collection of shiny objects in front of a small grass covert will stimulate a female Bowerbird to mate with the male bird who prepared the display. The sight of the objects stimulates the female to perform a particular behavior, in this case pairing and mating.

These behavior is said to be stimulus bound.

If language were stimulus bound we would expect that each time a human was presented with the same stimulus he or she would utter exactly the same words.

Clearly this is not so.

The fact that language can be used to construct an infinite set of new and meaningful utterances.

Displacement
The capability of language to communicate about things that are not immediately present spatially or temporally.

Example 1 : we can refer to our new car even though it is not actually in front of us.

Example 2 : we can discuss last nights football game even though it has passed.

Recursion
The process of repeating items in a selfsimilar way.

A noun phrase is able to contain another noun phrase. Example : as in "[[the chimpanzee]'s lips]") A clause to contain a clause Example : (as in "[I see [the dog is running]]").

The end. Thank you.

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