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( Language)
A language is a dynamic set of visual, auditory, or tactile symbols of communication and the elements used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon. Strictly speaking, language is considered to be an exclusively human mode of communication. Although other animals make use of quite sophisticated communicative systems, sometimes casually referred to as animal language, none of these are known to make use of all of the properties that linguists use to define language. In Western Philosophy, language has long been closely associated with reason, which is also a uniquely human way of using symbols. In Ancient Greek philosophical terminology, the same word, logos, was used as a term for both language or speech and reason, and the philosopher Thomas Hobbes used the English word "speech" so that it similarly could refer to reason, as will be discussed below. More commonly though, the English word "language", derived ultimately from lingua, Latin for tongue, typically refers only to expressions of reason which can be understood by other people, most obviously by speaking. A set of commonly accepted symbols is only one feature of language; all languages must define the structural relationships between these symbols in a system of grammar. Rules of grammar are one of the characteristics sometimes said to distinguish language from other forms of communication. They allow a finite set of symbols to be manipulated to create a potentially infinite number of grammatical utterances. Another property of language is that its symbols are arbitrary. Any concept or grammatical rule can be mapped onto a symbol. In other words, most languages make use of sound, but the combinations of sounds used do not have any necessary and inherent meaning – they are merely an agreed-upon convention to represent a certain thing by users of that language. For instance, there is nothing about the Spanish word nada itself that forces Spanish speakers to convey the idea of "nothing". Another set of sounds (for example, the English word nothing) could equally be used to represent the same concept, but all Spanish speakers have acquired or learned to correlate this meaning for this particular sound pattern. For Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian or Bosnian speakers on the other hand, nada means something else; it means "hope".
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Language Subcategories
Language Articles
Exercise Your Brain by Learning a New Language by Kelly Winter
It is no mystery that the secret to preventing memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is to ensure your brain stays active throughout your life. Largely fueled by the concerns and fears of the aging baby boomers, there is a thriving business ...
The Language and Meaning of Flowers by Garry Gamber
Sweet flowers alone can say what passion fears revealing
Thomas Hood poem, The Language of Flowers Flowers and bouquets of flowers have a meaning of their own. Most of us know that a dozen red roses means, “Be mine.” But di...
Learning Two Languages Slows Down Dementia by Martin Mak
makky@pacific.net.sg.
Best regards
Martin Mak
http://www.MightyMemory.com Learning Two Languages Slows Down Dementia
Study Shows Bilingualism Slows Dementia Onset Researchers find that probable Alzheimer's patients who
speak ...
Using the Language of Self-Hypnosis by Adam Eason
Words are just a part of our lives aren’t they? Why do we need
to think about them? When I teach people self-hypnosis, the language they use in self-hypnosis sessions is very important. What's more, the kind of language used in self-hypnosis can be ...
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