2nd Material

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2. Design Features of Language

• Language distinguishes human beings from animals in that it is far more sophisticated than any animal communication system.

• Two Modes of LanguageSpoken

How human beings first started ‘speaking’?Primate language sophisticated language

such todayWritten

Developed about 6000 years ago2

Verbal and Non-verbal language

• Verbal Language which uses words• Non-verbal Language that does not use

words

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Form of Language

Spoken Written Body

Verbal

Non-verbal

Form of Language

Spoken Written Body

Verbal Speech, Song, Poem

Writing, Braille Lip-reading, semaphore

Non-verbal Cries Road signs, mathematical symbol

Body movements, facial expressions

Case to discuss

1. What is meant by ‘spoken language’ in a written form? Give examples.

2. What is meant by ‘written language’ in spoken form? Give examples.

3. Bible, Vedas (spoken first, then written)4. Speech, Songs, Poem/poetry (written first, then

spoken)

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Case 1

Human language is ‘unique’

The uniqueness of Human LanguageArbitrarinessDualityCreativityDisplacement

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2.1 Arbitrariness Ferdinand de Saussure, “the forms of linguistic signs bear no natural relationship to their meaning”In other words:‘Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no logical relation between ‘form’ and ‘its meaning’Example: 'Language Meaning

English : TableIndonesian : Meja

Form

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2.2 Duality

Duality is the property of having two levels of structures, such that units of the primary level are composed of elements of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its own principles of organization:– Primary units ‘words’ (meaningful) consist of

secondary units ‘sounds’ (meaningless).

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First Layer/Level(Meaningful)

Second Layer/Level(Meaningless)

Words Sounds

2.2 Duality-explanation

• The use of vocal signals has a stock of basic sounds which vary according to species.

• A cow has fewer than ten;

• a chicken has around twenty and a

• fox over thirty.

• Dolphins have between twenty and thirty, and so do gorillas and chimpanzees.

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10

2030

Most animals can use each basic sound only one. That is, the number of message an animal can send is restricted to the number of basic sounds, or occasionally the basic sounds plus a few simple combination.

20-30

2.2 Duality-explanationHuman language works rather differently. Each language has a stock of sound units or phonemes which are similar in number to the basic sounds possessed by the animals; the average number is between thirty and forty. But each phoneme is normally meaningless in isolation.

It becomes meaningful only when it is combined with other phonemes. That is, sounds such as f, g. d, o, and mean nothing separately. They take on meaning only when they are combined together in various ways, as in fog, dog, and god.

This organization of language into two layers-a layer of sound which combines into a second layer of larger units-is known as duality or double articulation.

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• Hierarchy of language: stratification as ‘the infinite use of finite means’.– Sounds > syllables > morphemes > words >

phrases > clauses > sentences/utterances > texts/discourses

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SOUNDS

SYLLABLES

MORPHEMES

WORDSPHRASES

CLAUSES

SENTENCES/UTTERANCES

TEXT/DISCOURSE

2.3 Creativity

• Language is resourceful because of its duality and its recursivness (pengulangan). We can use it to create new meanings.

• Words can be used in new ways to mean new things, and can be instantly understood by people who have never come across that usage before.

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• The recursive nature of language provides a potential to create an infinite number of sentences. For instance:– He bought a book which was written by a

teacher who taught in a school which was known for its graduates who ...

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2.4 Displacement • Human languages enable their users

to symbolize objects, events and concepts which are not present (in time and space) at the moment of communication. – Thus, we can refer to Confucius, or the

North Pole, even though the first has been dead for over 2550 years and the second is situated far away from us.

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• The honeybee's dance exhibits displacement a little bit: he can refer to a source of food, which is remote in time and space when he reports on it.

• A dog cannot tell people that its master will be home in a few days.

• Our language enables us to communicate about things that do not exist or do not yet exist.

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Case to discuss

1. Sukarno, the first President of RI, was said to be a polyglot (someone with the ability of speaking several languages). As a political who loved unity in diversity, he wondered why people had to speak different languages instead of one universal language.

a. Why there are so many local languages, whether it was possible to have one national language?

b. Why it should be English as the International language?

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Case 2

Assignment

1. What is? a. Lingua Francab. Vernacularc. Pidgind. Creoles

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Case 3