language

Examples of language in the following topics:

• Symbols and Nature

  • A single language is any specific example of such a system.
  • Written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system.
  • Written language exists only as a complement to a specific spoken language.
  • A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveying sound patterns, uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning.
  • Sign languages, like spoken languages, organize elementary units into meaningful semantic units.

• Language

  • The word language has at least two basic meanings: language as a general concept, and a specific linguistic system (e.g.
  • Ferdinand de Saussure first explicitly formulated the distinction, using the French word langage for language as a concept, and langue as the specific instance of language.
  • One definition sees language primarily as the mental faculty that allows humans to undertake linguistic behaviour--to learn languages and produce and understand utterances.
  • Human languages are usually referred to as natural languages, and the science of studying them falls under the purview of linguistics.
  • Members of a culture usually share a common language.

• Human Language Development

  • Humans, especially children, have an amazing capability to learn language, and several theories exist to explain language development.
  • Noam Chomsky's work discusses the biological basis for language and claims that children have innate abilities to learn language.
  • He has observed that all children make the same type of language errors, regardless of the language they are taught.
  • Jean Piaget's theory of language development suggests that children use both assimilation and accommodation to learn language.
  • In language acquisition, there is a hypothesis that a "critical period," or a time when it is optimal to learn a language, exists in children.

• Introduction to Human Language

  • Human language is recursive.
  • Human language has displacement.
  • Speaking is the auditory form of language, but writing and sign language are visual forms.
  • A language family is a group of languages descended from a common language.
  • The Indo-European language family contains 445  current languages, and all of them are thought to have descended from PIE.

• Human Language and the Brain

  • Without the brain, there would be no language.
  • The human brain has a few areas that are specific to language processing and production.
  • These areas must function together in order for a person to develop, use, and understand language.
  • Patients with Broca's can often still understand language, but they cannot speak fluently.
  • The areas of the brain necessary for language.

• Using Impartial Language

  • In business writing, it is important to communicate the message using impartial or unbiased language.
  • Choosing unbiased language avoids offensive language and ensures that the message is effectively communicated.
  • Here are a few examples that illustrate the use of unbiased language:
  • Gender language that could be considered sexist or stereotypical should be avoided.
  • Explain why it is important to use impartial language in business writing

• Review Your RFI, RFP and Contract Language

• The Origins of Language

  • The origin of language is a widely discussed and controversial topic due to very limited empirical evidence.
  • The origin of language in the human species is a widely discussed topic.
  • Theories about the origin of language can be divided according to their basic assumptions.
  • Other continuity-based models see language as having developed from music.
  • The origin of language in the human species is a widely discussed topic.

• Linguistic Relativity

  • Language and thought tend to influence one another in a dual, cyclical relationship.
  • It is easy to wonder which comes first, the thought or the language.
  • Can thought exist without language?
  • For example, different words mean different things in different languages; not every word in every language has a one-to-one exact translation in a different language.
  • Beck, this school of thought discusses the interplay among emotion, behavior, language, and thought.

• References

  • Principles of Language Teaching and Learning (2nd Ed.).
  • Learning strategy applications with students of English as a second language.
  • What the "good language learner" can teach us.
  • H. (1975).What can we learn from the good language learner?
  • The Canadian Modern Language Review 31:304-318.