Firstname: UMARALI

Lastname: ABDILALILOV

Important features of natural human language

Introduction:
Human language is a fundamental aspect of human communication, which serves as the
way of our ability to express our thoughts, emotions, and ideas. It is a remarkable and
complex system of communication that distinguishes from other species on the planet. It
serves as a tool for sharing information, and creating social bonds. Natural human
language is a rich culture, and social development. In this article. I try to address the
essential features that define and characterize the complexity of natural human language.

Keywords: Semiotics, vocal symbols, encode, versatile, arbitrary.

A real-world example of how a communication system operates practically

The features discussed above are common to all communication systems, including
language. Some concepts involved in the communication system, when practically
applied to human communication, can be illustrated from a real-world situation as
follows: Suppose you are thirsty and walk into a restaurant or a hotel, sit at a table, call a
waiter, and say,
“Coca Cola, please.”
The waiter will probably respond to your request by saying
“Right or OK,” and he/she will bring
you a Coke shortly. If we analyze what occurred in the situation described above
regarding semiotics, it becomes evident that your signal was the sound you produced
/kou’, kӘ’ kou.lӘ/. This
signal was transmitted from your mouth to the waiter's ears along the oral-auditory
channel. You encoded your signal as /kou’, kӘ’ kou.lӘ/.
However, you could have changed its form to Coco-Cola Buddy, which would have
conveyed a different meaning or message. When the waiter
replied, “Right or OK,”
you knew he had decoded your message correctly. This is a very simple example drawn
from a real-world situation we encounter daily in our interactions with humans.
What has been discussed concerning semiotics has centered so far on some features
common to all communication systems in general, but our interest is in human language
to which We now turn. Recorded literature indicates that the attention of linguists,
anthropologists, sociolinguists, and psychologists has attracted different aspects of
human language for generations. When talking about human language, the first thing
which strikes our mind is that it is unique among all communication systems. This is to
emphasize that language is very versatile. To understand this language characteristic, let
us consider the traffic lights, which can convey only a few messages, such as GO,
READY, and STOP. Likewise, The number of messages that animals can convey is
limited. However, with human language, people can talk about anything under the Sun.
Given such an ability, what enables us to use the language remarkably is worth
discussing in some detail

A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols

Bloch and Trager (1942,) define language as

“A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols using which a social group co-
operates" If we examine this definition, we find that each keyword is a language
characteristic. Thus, we can conclude that a language is a set of symbols. For example,
(returning to the restaurant scenario) the signal

In the restaurant, Coca-Cola consists of at least four symbols:/

kou’, kӘ’ kou.lӘ/. The substance of these symbols is the sound produced by the mouth.
Hence, they are vocal symbols. A symbol is a form that stands for some real thing, i.e.,
some meaning. Thus, there are different symbols for different meanings.

The term 'vocal' may need further clarification because the language can be written and
spoken. When we produce symbols with the mouth, we use a phonic medium. But we
can also produce the same symbols by drawing bits of lines on paper with a pen or a
pencil. This method is called a graphic medium. This transferability of the medium
appears to be a special feature of language.
Then if language can be both spoken and written, the question next arises as to why
language is defined as vocal symbols. In a language discussion, linguists are generally
concerned with spoken language or what they call the
'primacy’ of language. The primacy of speech
means that speech is basic, and writing is only secondary. There are many reasons to
justify this view. Some of them are stated below.
Structural priority: We write what we speak. This does not mean that spoken language
and written language are identical. It only means that writing is a device to transfer the
phonic medium to a graphic medium. Moreover, over 3000 spoken languages
worldwide, but only a few hundred have writing systems. Based on this premise, one
cannot say that the unwritten languages are not languages. On the other hand, there is no
language, which is only written and not spoken
Historical priority: Human beings have spoken languages for millions of years, but the
history of writing is not even five thousand years old.
Every human speaks a language daily, but a clear majority does not read or write.
Biological priority: spoken language is natural, whereas written is artificial. Written
language can be said as man-made in the sense that every human child acquires spoken
language without conscious learning.

There is no logical connection between the form and its meaning

A linguist can understand that language is spoken for specific reasons. With that in
mind, we highlight the importance of the term 'arbitrary' in Bloch and Trager's (1942)
definition. In natural languages, vocal symbols are arbitrary, meaning there is no logical
connection between a symbol's form and meaning. For instance, the word 'pen' has no
inherent link to the object it represents. We only use this word to refer to a writing
utensil through a collective agree men among English speakers. Occasionally, some
words in a language may be onomatopoeic, like 'crow,' 'flutter,' and 'splash,'which
resemble their corresponding sounds. However, this is not a commonality among all
words. Arbitrariness extends beyond words to include sentence structures as well. For
instance, there is no logical reason why "He is a doctor" is a statement and "Is he a
doctor?" is a question. It is merely an agreement among English speakers to interpret
them as such. The arbitrariness of language is what makes it so versatile since we are not
limited in our ability to assign forms to various meanings. Without arbitrariness, creating
words for abstract concepts like democracy and kindness would be impossible. The
beauty of arbitrariness is that anything can represent anything.

Duality of human language

Examining another characteristic that sets human language apart from other
communication systems is its efficiency due to duality. Language forms consist of units
ranging from the smallest unit, phonemes, to larger units, such as syllables, morphemes,
and words. Phonemes and syllables have no meaning, while morphemes and words are
meaningful. This means that meaningful units are composed of meaningless units. For
example, the word "umbrellas" has nine phonemes, which make up three syllables:
Λm,brel, la;z. Neither phonemes nor syllables have meaning, but they can form
meaningful units when combined. In the case of "umbrellas," the two morphemes,
umbrella+s, have meanings as complete words. This duality is crucial to language as it
allows us to form an unlimited number of words with a few phonemes, whereas if each
phoneme or syllable had a distinct meaning,we would be limited in our vocabulary. So,
the arbitrariness and duality of language are fundamental features that make it an
efficient communication system.
According to Bloch and Trager, the keyword "System" is an essential language
element. A language is a collection of symbols and a system of symbols. This was first
introduced by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in 1959. To better understand this,
imagine a game of chess. The chessboard, pieces, and rules for moving them make up
the game. Similarly, language games have phonemes, morphemes, and words, along
with rules for using them in speaking or writing. For instance, in the English language
system, the sentence "Peter ate a piece of bread" is correct, while"ate a piece of bread
Peter" or "A piece of bread ate Peter" are not. The system's rules are invisible but can be
discovered through the operation. The symbols and rules form the system, also known as
"structure." If people cannot understand or produce a language for various reasons, it
becomes limited in use, even if it has all the other characteristics of a language.
However, human language is productive, and we will explore this quality in the next
section.

Productivity of human language

Humans possess an exceptional ability to produce and comprehend an infinite

number of utterances that have never been heard or spoken before, as stated by
Chomsky in 1965. This is mainly attributed to the productivity of human language,
which permits the creation of novel sentences, except for conventional expressions like
"Good morning," "How are you?" and "I'm fine. Thank you." Despite the limited
number of phonemes, morphemes, and words in a language,we can use them to generate
uncountable sentences, which is exclusive to human communication. On the other hand,
animal signals have fixed messages like our "Good morning." Chomsky emphasizes that
the productivity of language results from its structure dependence and recursiveness,
where specific grammatical constructions can be extended limitless by applying the
same rules repeatedly. For instance, noun phrases can be coordinated indefinitely, such
as Jack and Jill and Annie and Frank went dancing (Robins, 1980).
According to Hockett's (1960) study on the origin of speech, four unique design
features distinguish human communication. One such feature is displacement, which
allows us to communicate across time and space. This means that we can discuss past
and future events. Yule(2010) supports this idea and notes that displacement also enables
us to talk about people, places,and things (such as angels, fairies, Santa Claus,
Superman, heaven, and hell) that we know exist. Additionally, Firth (cited in
Widdowson, 1971, p.102) comments on another characteristic of human language.
The moment a conversation is started, whatever is said is a determining condition
for what in any reasonable expectation may follow. There is a positive force in what you
say, and there is a negative side, too, because what you say shouts out most of the
language of your companion, leaving him only a limited range of possible responses.
After carefully analyzing Firth's claims, it is evident that our ability to express ourselves
is limited by the social rules, norms, and ethics that have already been established in our
respective societies. While human language also incorporates other aspects, such as
language functions, use, and rules, this article does not delve into those topics.
Semiotics also recognizes the role of context in shaping the meaning of language. Its
internal structure does not solely define language but is profoundly influenced by the
social and cultural contexts in which it is used. Pragmatics, the study of language in
context, explores how meaning is constructed through the interaction of language users,
their intentions, and the situational context.

Conclusion

In wrapping up this article that delves into the intricacies of human language, it is
worth restating Brown's (2000) definition of language: a systematic collection of
symbols, primarily vocal but also visual, that have conventionalized meanings and are
used for communication within a speech community or culture. While it is a human
construct, other beings could acquire it too. Context plays a crucial role in shaping
linguistic meaning, and the property of displacement enables humans to communicate
beyond the immediate spatial and temporal context. By studying language from a
semiotic perspective, we can gain deeper insights into its structure, function, and
significance as a central aspect of human communication and cognition. The more we
examine language, the more we appreciate its wonder and excitement - and this holds
for all languages, which are equally complex and productive for humans regardless of
their origin. There is no such thing as a primitive or underdeveloped language.

Bibliography

Bloch, B., & Trager, G. L. (1942). Outline of Linguistic Analysis. Linguistic Society of
America. Waverly Press, Inc.

Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching, Fourth Edition, NY
Longman.

Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. MIT Press.

Hockett, C. F. (1960). The Origin of Speech. Scientific American, 203, 88–111.

Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2006). How Languages are Learned, Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Lyons, J. (1981). Language and Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.