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Language
hideA language is a system for encoding information. In its most common use, the term refers to so-called "natural languages" — the forms of communication considered peculiar to humankind. In linguistics the term is extended to refer to the human cognitive facility of creating and using language. Essential to both meanings is the systematic creation and usage of systems of symbols—each referring to linguistic concepts with semantic or logical or otherwise expressive meanings.
The most obvious manifestations are spoken languages such as English or Spoken Chinese. However, there are also written languages and other systems of visual symbols such as sign languages.
Although some other animals make use of quite sophisticated communicative systems, and these are 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 the strict sense.
When discussed more technically as a general phenomenon then, "language" always implies a particular type of human thought which can be present even when communication is not the result, and this way of thinking is also sometimes treated as indistinguishable from language itself.
In Western Philosophy for example, 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.
For more information about Language, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with language
Why can’t I learn a new language?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jul 08, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (51) |
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Adults, even the brightest ones, often struggle with learning new languages. Dr Nina Kazanina in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bristol explains why.
New study may revolutionize language learning
Jan 27, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (20) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- The teaching of languages could be revolutionised following ground-breaking research by Victoria University, New Zealand, PhD graduate Paul Sulzberger. Dr Sulzberger has found that the best way to learn a ...
Researchers document how brain computes language
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (19) |
1
A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports a significant breakthrough in explaining gaps in scientists' understanding of human brain function. The study - ...
The effect of gamma waves on cognitive and language skills in children
Oct 21, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (20) |
2
New studies conducted by April Benasich, professor of neuroscience at Rutgers University in Newark, and her colleagues reveal that gamma wave activity in the brains of children provide a window into their cognitive development, ...
Indus script encodes language, reveals new study of ancient symbols
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 23, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (17) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Rosetta Stone allowed 19th century scholars to translate symbols left by an ancient civilization and thus decipher the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Scientists discover oldest words in the English language, predict which ones are likely to disappear
Feb 26, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (22) |
9
The oldest words in the English language include "I" and "who", while words like "dirty" could die out relatively quickly, British researchers said Thursday.
Are you a different person when you speak a different language?
Jun 25, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (17) |
1
People who are bicultural and speak two languages may actually shift their personalities when they switch from one language to another, according to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research.
Sign language puzzle solved
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 15, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (15) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have known for 40 years that even though it takes longer to use sign language to sign individual words, sentences can be signed, on average, in the same time it takes to say them, ...
Taking the drudgery out of software development
Nov 24, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (19) |
18
(PhysOrg.com) -- Software developers will no longer have to reinvent the wheel when writing new programs and applications thanks to a clever new set of tools and a central repository of 'building blocks'.
Babies understand dogs
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jul 20, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (16) |
7
New research shows babies have a handle on the meaning of different dog barks - despite little or no previous exposure to dogs.
Efforts to save endangered languages
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (15) |
9
(PhysOrg.com) -- There are an estimated 6,500 languages in the world, with around fifty percent of them endangered and likely to cease to exist by 2100, but efforts are now being made to save them from extinction.
What's the semantic organization of human language?
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Aug 11, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (14) |
0
A Chinese semantic network with semantic (argument structure) annotation was built and investigated for finding its global statistical properties. The results show that semantic network is also small-world and scale-free ...
Three of a kind: Revealing language’s universal essence
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (15) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- On the surface, English, Japanese, and Kinande, a member of the Bantu family of languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have little in common. It is not just that the vocabularies ...
Scientist unveils secret of newborn's first words
Aug 26, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (13) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study could explain why "daddy" and "mommy" are often a baby's first words – the human brain may be hard-wired to recognize certain repetition patterns.
Playing, and even watching, sports improves brain function
Sep 01, 2008 |
3.7 / 5 (16) |
0
Being an athlete or merely a fan improves language skills when it comes to discussing their sport because parts of the brain usually involved in playing sports are instead used to understand sport language, ...
