Features of Linguistics

The Features and Importance of Linguistics:

Language is a complex phenomenon with various theories surrounding it. Present language families derive from many original languages.

a)      The importance of linguistics:

 -       The need of communication

-          Language is superior than other tools (non verbal human communication)

 

b)      The features of language: ( according to linguist Charles Hockett)

-          Use of sound signals: More widespread than non-verbal communication.

-          Arbitraries: in human language, there is no link between the signal and the message. The symbols used are arbitrary.

-          The need for learning: Human language is culturally transmitted. A human brought up in isolation does not acquire language. There is an innate predisposition towards language in a new born child. This latent potentiality is activated by long exposure to language. 

-          Duality of patterns: Human language has a stock of sound units (phonemes) between 30-40.  Each phoneme is meaningless in isolation and become meaningful only when it is combined with other phonemes.

-          Displacement: Human language can cope with any subject whatever, and it does not matter how far away the topic of conversation is in time and space.

-          Creativity (productivity): Humans can produce novel utterances.  A person can utter a sentence which has never been said before.

-          Patterning: humans do not juxtapose sounds and words in a random way. Instead ring the changes on a few well-defined patterns.

-          Structure dependence: The grammar is structure-dependent in that the rules must refer to the structure of the language in order to adequately perform some operation.