Difference between language used in

academic texts from various

disciplines

What is Language?

1.The principal method of human

communication, consisting of words used
in a structured and conventional way and
conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture.
- a nonverbal method of expression or
communication:
"a language of gesture and facial
expression"
2. A system of communication used by a
particular country or community.
3. The style of a piece of writing or
speech.
  Language, 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.

English for Academic and Professional

Purposes (EAPP) is a subject that
develops communication skills in
English for academic and professional
purposes. It covers topics such as
reading and writing academic texts,
summarizing, and presenting
information
Academic language is the language
used in classroom lessons, books,
tests, and assignments. It includes
formal-language skills such as
vocabulary, grammar, punctuation,
syntax, and discipline-specific
terminology. It also involves the ability
to communicate effectively in different
situations and contexts in school1.
Different disciplines have different
academic language features, such as
specific terms, concepts, genres, and
conventions. For example, in
mathematics, academic language
includes symbols, formulas, equations,
proofs, and graphs. In history,
academic language includes dates,
names, events, sources, and
interpretations
Academic texts from various
disciplines have distinct language
characteristics that reflect the unique
nature of each field. For instance,
scientific texts are often written in a
formal and objective tone, using
technical terms and jargon that are
specific to the field. In contrast,
humanities texts tend to be more
subjective and interpretive, using
literary devices such as metaphor and
allusion to convey meaning. Social
science texts often use empirical data
and statistical analysis to support their
arguments, while business texts may
use more practical and applied
language.
In general, academic texts are
characterized by their use of
specialized vocabulary, complex
sentence structures, and formal tone.
They are often written for a specific
audience of experts in the field, and as
such, they assume a certain level of
knowledge on the part of the reader.
Understanding the language used in
academic texts is essential for
effective communication within a
particular discipline.
1
provides an example of a self-learning
module on English for Academic and
Professional Purposes that covers the
topic of language used in academic
texts from various disciplines. The
module aims to help learners
differentiate the language used in
different disciplines such as Business,
Law, Art, Philosophy, Politics, Religion,
Science, Sports and TechVoc.
Characteristics of language

Definitions of language

Many definitions of language have been

proposed. Henry Sweet, an English
phonetician and language scholar,
stated: “Language is the expression of
ideas by means of speech-sounds
combined into words. Words are
combined into sentences, this
combination answering to that of ideas
into thoughts.” The American
linguists Bernard Bloch and George L.
Trager formulated the following
definition: “A language is a system of
arbitrary vocal symbols by means of
which a social group cooperates.”
Any succinct definition of language
makes a number of presuppositions
and begs a number of questions. The
first, for example, puts excessive
weight on “thought,” and the second
uses “arbitrary” in a specialized,
though legitimate, way.

A number of considerations (marked in

italics below) enter into a proper
understanding of language as a
subject:

Every physiologically and mentally

typical person acquires in childhood
the ability to make use, as both sender
and receiver, of a system of
communication that comprises a
circumscribed set of symbols (e.g.,
sounds, gestures, or written or typed
characters). In spoken language,
this symbol set consists of noises
resulting from movements of certain
organs within the throat and mouth.
In signed languages, these symbols
may be hand or body movements,
gestures, or facial expressions. By
means of these symbols, people are
able to impart information, to express
feelings and emotions, to influence the
activities of others, and to comport
themselves with varying degrees of
friendliness or hostility toward persons
who make use of substantially the
same set of symbols.

Different systems of communication

constitute different languages; the
degree of difference needed to
establish a different language cannot
be stated exactly. No two people
speak exactly alike; hence, one is able
to recognize the voices of friends over
the telephone and to keep distinct a
number of unseen speakers in a radio
broadcast. Yet, clearly, no one would
say that they speak different
languages. Generally, systems of
communication are recognized as
different languages if they cannot be
understood without specific learning
by both parties, though the precise
limits of mutual intelligibility are hard
to draw and belong on a scale rather
than on either side of a definite dividing
line. Substantially different systems of
communication that may impede but
do not prevent mutual comprehension
are called dialects of a language. In
order to describe in detail the actual
different language patterns of
individuals, the
term idiolect, meaning the habits of
expression of a single person, has been
coined.
Typically, people acquire a single
language initially—their first language,
or native tongue, the language used by
those with whom, or by whom, they are
brought up from infancy. Subsequent
“second” languages are learned to
different degrees of competence under
various conditions. Complete mastery
of two languages is designated
as bilingualism; in many cases—such
as upbringing by parents using
different languages at home or being
raised within a multilingual
community—children grow up as
bilinguals. In traditionally
monolingual cultures, the learning, to
any extent, of a second or other
language is an activity superimposed
on the prior mastery of one’s first
language and is a different process
intellectually.

Language, as described above, is

species-specific to human
beings. Other members of the animal
kingdom have the ability to
communicate, through vocal noises or
by other means, but the most important
single feature characterizing human
language (that is, every individual
language), against every known mode
of animal communication, is
its infinite productivity and creativity.
Human beings are unrestricted in what
they can communicate; no area of
experience is accepted as necessarily
incommunicable, though it may be
necessary to adapt one’s language in
order to cope with new discoveries or
new modes of thought. Animal
communication systems are by
contrast very tightly circumscribed in
what may be communicated. Indeed,
displaced reference, the ability to
communicate about things outside
immediate temporal and spatial
contiguity, which is fundamental to
speech, is found elsewhere only in the
so-called language of bees. Bees are
able, by carrying out various
conventionalized movements (referred
to as bee dances) in or near the hive, to
indicate to others the locations and
strengths of food sources. But food
sources are the only known theme of
this communication system.
Surprisingly, however, this system,
nearest to human language in function,
belongs to a species remote from
humanity in the animal kingdom. On
the other hand, the animal
performance superficially most like
human speech, the mimicry of parrots
and of some other birds that have been
kept in the company of humans, is
wholly derivative and serves no
independent communicative function.
Humankind’s nearest relatives among
the primates, though possessing a
vocal physiology similar to that of
humans, have not developed anything
like a spoken language. Attempts to
teach sign language to chimpanzees
and other apes through imitation have
achieved limited success, though the
interpretation of the significance of
ape signing ability remains
controversial.
In most accounts, the primary purpose
of language is to facilitate
communication, in the sense of
transmission of information from one
person to
another. However, sociolinguistic and
psycholinguistic studies have drawn
attention to a range of other functions
for language. Among these is the use of
language to express a national or local
identity (a common source of conflict
in situations of multiethnicity around
the world, such as in Belgium, India,
and Quebec). Also important are the
“ludic” (playful) function of language—
encountered in such phenomena
as puns, riddles, and crossword
puzzles—and the range of functions
seen in imaginative or
symbolic contexts, such
as poetry, drama, and religious
expression.
Language interacts with every aspect
of human life in society, and it can be
understood only if it is considered in
relation to society. This article
attempts to survey language in this
light and to consider its various
functions and the purposes it can and
has been made to serve. Because each
language is both a working system of
communication in the period and in
the community wherein it is used and
also the product of its history and the
source of its future development, any
account of language must consider it
from both these points of view.

The science of language is known

as linguistics. It includes what are
generally distinguished as descriptive
linguistics and historical linguistics.
Linguistics is now a highly technical
subject; it embraces, both
descriptively and historically, such
major divisions
as phonetics, grammar (including synt
ax and morphology), semantics,
and pragmatics, dealing in detail with
these various aspects of language.