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
IBM Researchers Lower Language Barrier With Text Translator
Technology / Computer Sciences
Nov 23, 2009 |
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IBM Researchers are helping to break the language barrier with the advent of technology dubbed "n.Fluent" -- smart software that translates text between English and 11 other languages. IBM employees use it to instantaneously ...
Google Go gets going (w/ Video)
Nov 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Google has introduced its new experimental programming language Go, which aims to combine speedy application development through simplified coding with high-speed program execution.
Words, gestures are translated by same brain regions, says new research
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Your ability to make sense of Groucho's words and Harpo's pantomimes in an old Marx Brothers movie takes place in the same regions of your brain, says new research funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication ...
Babble Of Baby Reveals Language Skills
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 03, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
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Children have a remarkable ability to learn new languages. As little as five hours of exposure to a second language is enough to help infants incorporate characteristics of that language into their babbling ...
Researchers document how brain computes language
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 15, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (19) |
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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 - ...
Colombian guerrillas help scientists locate literacy in the brain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 14, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
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A unique study of former guerrillas in Colombia has helped scientists redefine their understanding of the key regions of the brain involved in literacy. The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Spanish ...
Toddlers develop individualized rules for grammar
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Using advanced computer modeling and statistical analysis, a University of Texas at Austin linguistics professor has found that toddlers develop their own individual structures for using language that are ...
Wagner's 'difficult' reputation unwarranted says research
Jul 01, 2009 |
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The composer Richard Wagner is well-known, even notorious, for writing operas that can challenge both performers and listeners. A new study published in the Journal of the Acoustic Society of America reveal ...
Perfect Pitch: Language Wins Out Over Genetics
May 19, 2009 |
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Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Sinatra and Hendrix -- these and many other of the world's most famous musicians have had "perfect" or "absolute" pitch. The ability, defined as recognizing the pitch of a musical note ...
Learning a second language is good childhood mind medicine, studies find
May 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Teaching young children how to speak a second language is good for their minds, report two Cornell linguistic researchers.
Indus script encodes language, reveals new study of ancient symbols
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 23, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (17) |
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(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.
Archeologists discover temple that sheds light on 'Dark Age'
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 15, 2009 |
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The discovery of a remarkably well-preserved monumental temple in Turkey — thought to be constructed during the time of King Solomon in the 10th/9th-centuries BC -- sheds light on the so-called Dark Age.
Psychologists reveal the un, deux, trois of learning a second language
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Mar 19, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Parlez-vous français? If you were quick at learning foreign languages at school, it could be because your brain has an enhanced ability to remember sequences.
Scientists discover oldest words in the English language, predict which ones are likely to disappear
Feb 26, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (22) |
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The oldest words in the English language include "I" and "who", while words like "dirty" could die out relatively quickly, British researchers said Thursday.
Language driven by culture, not biology
Biology /
Jan 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Language in humans has evolved culturally rather than genetically, according to a study by UCL (University College London) and US researchers. By modelling the ways in which genes for language might have ...
