Language

Language is the systematic and conventional use of sounds (or signs or written symbols) for the purpose of communication or self expression (Crystal, 1995 as cited in Hoff 2014:4)

Language uses both iconic and symbolic representations

• Iconic: direct connection between the sound/shape/look of a word and its meaning
• Symbolic: no connection between the sound/shape/look of a word and its meaning

Children learn language through exposure to language, not through being taught explicit rules. Language must be learned through exposure, and the language you learn is based on the language you hear/see (input)

The goal of language is to learn a productive grammar that can generate (or produce) an infinite number of phrases that others can understand.

Involves knowledge of

• Sounds (phonetics)

• Words (phonology, semantics)

• Grammar (morphology, syntax)

• Social and communicative Function (pragmatics, sociolinguistics)

• Language Productivity: you can come up with (or generate) new words and sentences, even if you have never said them before

• Language Comprehension: you can understand infinite combinations of morphemes and words, even if you have never heard them before

Components of Language Knowledge

• Phonetics
• Phonology
• Morphology
• Syntax
• Semantics
  • Semantic organization: organizing the world between cognitive organization and language
• Pragmatics
• Sociolinguistics

See also:

• language development
• language of thought
• linguistic relativism
• New Words