What is Language?

 



General Introduction on Language, Policies and Politics

1.1 Concept of Language:

Language is God’s special gift to mankind. Without language human civilization, as we now know it, would have remained impossibility. Language is ubiquitous. It is present everywhere––in our thoughts and dreams, prayers and meditations, relations and communication. It is our ability to communicate through words that makes us different from animals. Language is a very important means of communication between humans.

A can communicate his or her ideas, emotions, beliefs or feelings to B as they share a common code that makes up the language. No doubt, there are many other means of communication used by humans e.g. gestures, nods, winks, short-hand, Braille alphabet, Morse code, acting, miming, dancing etc. But all these systems of communication are extremely limited or they too, in turn, depend upon language only.

Language gives shape to people’s thoughts and guides and controls their entire activity. It is a carrier of civilization and culture as human thoughts and philosophy are conveyed from one generation to the other through the medium of language. It is through language that they store knowledge, transfer it to the next generation and yoke the present, past and the future together. Because of its omnipresence, language is often taken for granted.

Definitions of Language:

1. Otto Jesperson : Defines “Language is set of human habits, the purpose of which is to give expression to human thoughts and feelings especially to impart them to others”

2. Dr. Sweet. : defines “ language is the expression of ideas by means of which speech sounds are combined into words, words are combined into sentences and combination of sentences gives shapes to ideas and thoughts”

3. Sapir: says “language is purely human and non instinctive methods of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols”

4. B.M.H. Strang : says “ Language is an articulated system of signs primarily in the medium of speech”

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