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A short introduction to the English language

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1 What is language?

You’ll start by looking at a basic, but rather complicated question: What is language?

The answer may seem straight-forward. Language is a means of communication. It’s what people use to exchange ideas with each other. It’s a way of encoding information in sound, writing or gestures which can then be passed from one person to another. But when we start to think about it in a little more detail, it’s not quite as simple as it may at first seem.

Activity 1

Part 1

Have a think about all the times and ways you’ve used language so far today.

What have you used it to achieve?
Could you have done these same things without language?
What sorts of language have you used? Spoken, written, gestures or other forms of physical communication?
Have you used predominantly English, or other languages as well?

Jot down any thoughts you have about this in the text box below. Once you’ve done so, save your answer and then read the comment for this part of the activity.

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Comment

First off, you’re using language to read this course. This is written language, but in a moment, when you watch the video, it’ll include spoken language as well. Simply by going through the act of turning on the computer and navigating through to this page, you’ll have probably encountered – and had to produce – a variety of other language. So even for a small everyday task such as sitting down to do an online course, you’re using language for education purposes, for navigation purposes, perhaps for protecting your online identity through the use of passwords, and so on. And none of these things – at least in the way they are done in modern, everyday life – would have been possible without the use of language.

Part 2

Now watch the animation below, which gives a concise overview of what language is and what we use if for. While watching, keep an eye out particularly for the different functions or purposes we use language for.

Again, type your answer or thoughts into the text box and save your answer to read the comment for this activity.

Download this video clip.Video player: Video 1 What is language?

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Transcript: Video 1 What is language?

NARRATOR

What is language? Language is one of the defining features of what it means to be human. As the philosopher René Descartes once said, ‘There is no other animal, however perfect and fortunately situated, that can put words together in a manner to convey their thoughts.’

All animals communicate, of course, but the way they communicate isn’t anywhere close to being as flexible, wide-ranging or nuanced as us. Language is so fundamental to our nature that it’s used as a test to distinguish humans from robots. It was language above all else which let the human race turn itself from just another inhabitant of planet Earth into one which now dominates the rest of the animal kingdom.

Language first developed about 100,000 years ago, allowing people to work together and shape the society they were living in. Five thousand years ago, writing was invented. This revolutionised the way we record history and pass knowledge on from generation to generation.

But what exactly is language? By the age of three, almost all children have an expert knowledge of how to use it, but a knowledge of precisely what constitutes the phenomenon of language is much more elusive. According to the linguist Edward Sapir, language can be defined as a purely human and non-distinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. These symbols can be made by speech, writing or sign language, and although we might think of language as mostly consisting of words and the way they’re combined, other things like gestures, tone of voice and accent are all part of the way we communicate.

Then there’s the technology we use to communicate. These days this often means computers and smartphones, but writing itself is a technology. So is paper, ink and all sorts of other things. Every new technology that comes along alters the way we communicate. Some people take a very prescriptive view of how language should be used, but in reality it’s changing all the time. It doesn’t degenerate – it just adapts to the different contexts in which it’s used.

Language is also fundamental to our culture. It’s a badge of identity, both for individuals and groups. But this can lead to prejudice. People make assumptions about everything from someone’s education to their moral values based on how they speak.

Language also mediates the way we experience and understand the world. It influences the way we relate to each other, And ultimately, it’s connected to almost everything we do in society.