Language {{otheruses4|the properties of language in general|the use of language by humans|natural language|the linguistics journal|Language (journal)}} [[Image:Cuneiform script2.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Cuneiform]] was the first known form of [[written language]], but spoken language is believed to predate writing by tens of thousands of years at least.]] A '''language''' is a dynamic set of visual, auditory, or tactile [[symbol]]s of [[communication]] and the elements used to manipulate them. ''Language'' can also refer to the use of such systems as a general [[phenomenon]]. Language is considered to be an exclusively human mode of communication; although other animals make use of quite sophisticated communicative systems, none of these are known to make use of all of the properties that linguists use to define language. == Properties of language == A set of agreed-upon symbols is only one feature of language; all languages must define the structural relationships between these symbols in a system of [[grammar]]. Rules of grammar are what distinguish language from other forms of communication. They allow a finite set of symbols to be manipulated to create a potentially infinite number of grammatical utterances. Another property of language is that its symbols are [[arbitrary]]. Any concept or grammatical rule can be mapped onto a symbol. Most languages make use of sound, but the combinations of sounds used do not have any ''inherent'' meaning – they are merely an agreed-upon convention to represent a certain thing by users of that language. For instance, there is nothing about the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] [[word]] ''{{lang|es|nada}}'' itself that forces Spanish speakers to convey the idea of "nothing". Another set of sounds (for example, the English word ''nothing'') could equally be used to represent the same concept, but all Spanish speakers have acquired or learned to correlate this meaning for this particular sound pattern. For [[Slovene language|Slovenian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Serbian language|Serbian/Kosovan]] or [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]] speakers on the other hand, ''{{lang|hr|nada}}'' means something else; it means "hope". ==The study of language== ===Linguistics=== {{main|Linguistics}} [[Linguistics]] is the [[science|scientific]] and [[philosophy|philosophical]] study of language, encompassing a number of sub-fields. At the core of [[theoretical linguistics]] are the study of language structure ([[grammar]]) and the study of meaning ([[semantics]]). The first of these encompasses [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] (the formation and composition of [[word]]s), [[syntax]] (the rules that determine how words combine into [[phrase]]s and [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentences]]) and [[phonology]] (the study of sound systems and abstract sound units). [[Phonetics]] is a related branch of linguistics concerned with the actual properties of speech sounds ([[phone]]s), non-speech sounds, and how they are produced and [[speech perception|perceived]]. [[Theoretical linguistics]] is mostly concerned with developing models of linguistic knowledge. The fields that are generally considered as the core of theoretical linguistics are [[syntax]], [[phonology]], [[Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], and [[semantics]]. [[Applied linguistics]] attempts to put linguistic theories into practice through areas like [[translation]], [[Stylistics (linguistics)|stylistics]], [[literary criticism]] and [[Literary theory|theory]], [[discourse analysis]], [[speech therapy]], speech pathology and [[Second language acquisition|foreign language teaching]]. ===History=== {{main|History of linguistics}} The historical record of [[linguistics]] begins in [[India]] with [[Pāṇini]], the [[5th century BCE]] grammarian who formulated 3,959 rules of [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], known as the ''{{IAST|[[Aṣṭādhyāyī]]}}'' (अष्टाध्यायी) and with [[Tolkāppiyar]], the [[3rd century BCE]] grammarian of the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] work [[Tolkāppiyam]]. {{Unicode|Pāṇini’s}} grammar is highly systematized and technical. Inherent in its analytic approach are the concepts of the [[phoneme]], the [[morpheme]], and the [[Root (linguistics)|root]]; Western linguists only recognized the phoneme some two millennia later. Tolkāppiyar's work is perhaps the first to describe [[articulatory phonetics]] for a language. Its classification of the alphabet into [[consonant]]s and [[vowel]]s, and elements like nouns, verbs, vowels, and consonants, which he put into classes, were also breakthroughs at the time. In the [[Middle East]], the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] linguist [[Sibawayh]] (سیبویه) made a detailed and professional description of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] in 760 CE in his monumental work, ''Al-kitab fi al-nahw'' (الكتاب في النحو, ''The Book on Grammar''), bringing many [[Linguistics|linguistic]] aspects of language to light. In his book, he distinguished [[phonetics]] from [[phonology]]. Later in the West, the success of [[science]], [[mathematics]], and other [[formal system]]s in the 20th century led many to attempt a formalization of the study of language as a "semantic code". This resulted in the [[academic discipline]] of [[linguistics]], the founding of which is attributed to [[Ferdinand de Saussure]].{{Fact|date=June 2007}} In the 20th century, substantial contributions to the understanding of language came from [[Ferdinand de Saussure]], [[Hjelmslev]], [[Émile Benveniste]] and [[Roman Jakobson]],Holquist 1981, xvii-xviii which are characterized as being highly [[systematic]]. == Human languages == {{main|Natural language}} [[Image:Brain Surface Gyri.SVG|thumb|Some of the areas of the brain involved in language processing: [[Broca's area]], [[Wernicke's area]], [[Supramarginal gyrus]], [[Angular gyrus]], [[Primary Auditory Cortex]]]] Human languages are usually referred to as natural languages, and the science of studying them falls under the purview of [[linguistics]]. A common progression for natural languages is that they are considered to be first spoken, then written, and then an understanding and explanation of their grammar is attempted. Languages live, die, move from place to place, and change with time. Any language that ceases to change or develop is categorized as a [[dead language]]. Conversely, any language that is a ''living language,'' that is, it is in a continuous state of change, is known as a [[modern language]]. Making a principled distinction between one language and another is usually impossible.{{cite encyclopedia| title =Language| encyclopedia =The New Encyclopædia Britannica: MACROPÆDIA | volume =22| pages =548 2b| publisher =Encyclopædia Britannica,Inc.| date =2005}} For instance, there are a few [[dialect]]s of [[German language|German]] similar to some dialects of [[Dutch language|Dutch]]. The transition between languages within the same [[language family]] is sometimes gradual (see [[dialect continuum]]). Some like to make parallels with [[biology]], where it is not possible to make a well-defined distinction between one species and the next. In either case, the ultimate difficulty may stem from the [[interaction]]s between languages and [[population]]s. (See [[Dialect]] or [[August Schleicher]] for a longer discussion.) The concepts of [[Ausbausprache - Abstandsprache - Dachsprache|Ausbausprache, Abstandsprache and Dachsprache]] are used to make finer distinctions about the degrees of difference between languages or dialects. ==Artificial languages== === Constructed languages === {{main|Constructed language}} Some individuals and groups have constructed their own artificial languages, for practical, experimental, personal, or ideological reasons. International auxiliary languages are generally constructed languages that strive to be easier to learn than natural languages; other constructed languages strive to be more logical ("loglangs") than natural languages; a prominent example of this is [[Lojban]]. Some writers, such as [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], have created fantasy languages, for literary, [[Artistic language|artistic]] or personal reasons. The fantasy language of the [[Klingon]] race has in recent years been developed by fans of the Star Trek series, including a vocabulary and grammar. Constructed languages are not necessarily restricted to the properties shared by natural languages. This part of ISO 639 also includes identifiers that denote constructed (or artificial) languages. In order to qualify for inclusion the language must have a literature and it must be designed for the purpose of human communication. Specifically excluded are reconstructed languages and computer programming languages. ===International auxiliary languages=== {{main|International auxiliary language}} Some languages, most constructed, are meant specifically for communication between people of different nationalities or language groups as an easy-to-learn second language. Several of these languages have been constructed by individuals or groups. Natural, pre-existing languages may also be used in this way - their developers merely catalogued and standardized their vocabulary and identified their grammatical rules. These languages are called ''naturalistic.'' One such language, [[Latino Sine Flexione]], is a simplified form of Latin. Two others, [[Occidental language|Occidental]] and [[Novial]], were drawn from several Western languages. To date, the most successful auxiliary language is [[Esperanto]], invented by Polish ophthalmologist [[L. L. Zamenhof|Zamenhof]]. It has a relatively large community roughly estimated at about 2 million speakers worldwide, with a large body of literature, songs, and is the only known constructed language to have [[Native Esperanto speakers|native speakers]], such as the Hungarian-born American businessman [[George Soros]]. Other auxiliary languages with a relatively large number of speakers and literature are [[Interlingua]] and [[Ido]]. ===Controlled languages=== {{main|Controlled natural language}} Controlled natural languages are subsets of natural languages whose grammars and dictionaries have been restricted in order to reduce or eliminate both ambiguity and complexity. The purpose behind the development and implementation of a controlled natural language typically is to aid non-native speakers of a natural language in understanding it, or to ease computer processing of a natural language. An example of a widely used controlled natural language is [[Simplified English]], which was originally developed for [[aerospace]] industry maintenance manuals. == Formal languages == {{main|Formal language}} [[Mathematics]] and [[computer science]] use artificial entities called formal languages (including [[programming language]]s and [[markup language]]s, and some that are more theoretical in nature). These often take the form of [[character string]]s, produced by a combination of [[formal grammar]] and semantics of arbitrary complexity. === Programming languages === {{main|Programming language}} A programming language is an extreme case of a formal language that can be used to control the behavior of a machine, particularly a computer, to perform specific tasks.{{Cite web|url=http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/programming_language.html|publisher=Webopedia|accessdate=2007-11-23|title=What is programming language?}} Programming languages are defined using syntactic and semantic rules, to determine structure and meaning respectively. Programming languages are used to facilitate communication about the task of organizing and manipulating information, and to express algorithms precisely. Some authors restrict the term "programming language" to those languages that can express all possible algorithms; sometimes the term "computer language" is used for artificial languages that are more limited. == Animal communication == {{main|Animal language}} The term "[[animal language]]s" is often used for non-human languages. Linguists do not consider these to be "language", but describe them as [[animal communication]], because the interaction between animals in such communication is fundamentally different in its underlying principles from human language. Nevertheless, some scholars have tried to disprove this mainstream premise through experiments on training chimpanzees to talk. [[Karl von Frisch]] received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his proof of the language and dialects of the bees.Frisch, K.v. (1953). 'Sprache' oder 'Kommunikation' der Bienen? Psychologische Rundschau 4. Amsterdam. In several publicized instances, non-human animals have been taught to understand certain features of human language. [[Chimpanzee]]s, [[gorilla]]s, and [[orangutan]]s have been taught hand signs based on [[American Sign Language]]. The [[African Grey Parrot]], which possesses the ability to mimic human speech with a high degree of accuracy, is suspected of having sufficient intelligence to comprehend some of the speech it mimics. Most species of [[parrot]], despite expert mimicry, are believed to have no linguistic comprehension at all. While proponents of animal communication systems have debated levels of [[semantics]], these systems have not been found to have anything approaching human language [[syntax]]. == See also == {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} *[[Adamic language]] *[[Proto-language]] *[[Dialect]] *[[Extinct language]] *[[FOXP2]] - gene implicated in cases of specific language impairment (SLI) *[[Great ape language]] *[[ISO 639]] - 2- and 3-letter ID codes for languages *[[Language education]] *[[Language policy]] *[[Language reform]] *[[Language school]] *[[Linguistic protectionism]] *[[Metacommunicative competence]] *[[Non-verbal communication]] *[[Official language]] *[[Philology]] *[[Philosophy of language]] *[[Phonetic transcription]] *[[Sapir–Whorf hypothesis]] *[[Second language]] *[[Symbolic communication]] {{col-2}} *[[Symbolic linguistic representation]] *[[Translation]] *[[Universal grammar]] *[[Whistled language]] *[[Word game]] *[[Written language]] ===Lists=== {{sisterlinks|commons=Atlas of languages|wikt=language|v=School:Language and Literature}} *[[:Category:Lists of languages]] *[[Ethnologue]] - list of languages, locations, population and genetic affiliation *[[List of basic linguistics topics]] *[[List of language academies]] *[[List of languages]] *[[List of official languages]] {{col-end}} {{clear}} ==Notes== {{portal}} {{Reflist}} ==References== * [[Byomkes Chakrabarti|Chakrabarti, Byomkes]] (1994). ''A comparative study of Santali and Bengali''. Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi & Co. ISBN 8170741289 * Crystal, David (1997). ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. * Crystal, David (2001). ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. * Gode, Alexander (1951). ''[[Interlingua-English Dictionary]].'' New York, Frederick Ungar Publishing Company. *Holquist, Michael. (1981) [http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exbakdia.html#ex1 Introduction] to [[Mikhail Bakhtin]]'s ''The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays''. Austin and London: University of Texas Press. xv-xxxiv * [[Eric R. Kandel|Kandel ER]], Schwartz JH, Jessell TM. ''[[Principles of Neural Science]]'', fourth edition, 1173 pages. McGraw-Hill, New York (2000). ISBN 0-8385-7701-6 * Katzner, K. (1999). ''The Languages of the World.'' New York, Routledge. * McArthur, T. (1996). ''The Concise Companion to the English Language.'' Oxford, Oxford University Press. == Further reading == *{{cite book |author=Deacon, Terrence William |title=The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |location=New York |year=1998 |pages= |isbn=0-393-31754-4 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}} *{{cite book |author=Polinsky, Maria; Comrie, Bernard; Matthews, Stephen |title=The atlas of languages: the origin and development of languages throughout the world |publisher=Facts on File |location=New York |year=2003 |pages= |isbn=0-8160-5123-2 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}} ==External links== {{Spoken Wikipedia|Language.ogg|2005-07-19}} *[http://www.netz-tipp.de/languages.html Distribution of languages on the Internet (2002)] *[http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm Top Languages in the world Internet usage population and penetration report (Nov 2007)] *[http://www.goethe.de/lhr/prj/mac/enindex.htm The impact of language in a globalised world - Goethe-Institut] *[http://wals.info/index World Atlas of Language Structures] [[Category:Languages|Languages]] [[Category:Language|Language]] [[Category:Linguistics|Linguistics]] [[Category:Human communication]] [[Category:Human skills]] [[af:Taal]] [[als:Sprache]] [[ar:لغة]] [[an:Luengache]] [[frp:Lengua]] [[ast:Idioma]] [[gn:Ñe'ẽ]] [[ay:Aru]] [[az:Dil]] [[bm:Kan]] [[bn:ভাষা]] [[zh-min-nan:Gí-giân]] [[map-bms:Basa]] [[ba:Тел (фән)]] [[be:Мова]] [[be-x-old:Мова]] [[bar:Sprache]] [[br:Yezh]] [[bg:Език (лингвистика)]] [[ca:Llenguatge]] [[cv:Чĕлхе]] [[ceb:Pinulongan]] [[cs:Jazyk (lingvistika)]] [[cy:Iaith]] [[da:Sprog]] [[pdc:Schprooch]] [[de:Sprache]] [[dv:ބަސް]] [[nv:Bizaad]] [[et:Keel (keeleteadus)]] [[el:Γλώσσα]] [[es:Lenguaje]] [[eo:Lingvo]] [[eu:Hizkuntza]] [[fa:زبان]] [[fr:Langage]] [[fy:Taal]] [[fur:Lengaç]] [[ga:Teanga (cumarsáid)]] [[gd:Cànan]] [[gl:Linguaxe]] [[gu:ભાષા]] [[ko:언어]] [[hi:भाषा]] [[hr:Jezik]] [[io:Linguo]] [[ilo:Pagsasao]] [[id:Bahasa]] [[ia:Linguage]] [[xh:Ulwimi]] [[is:Tungumál]] [[it:Linguaggio]] [[he:שפה]] [[jv:Basa]] [[ka:ენა (მეტყველება)]] [[kw:Yeth]] [[ky:Тил]] [[sw:Lugha]] [[kg:Ndinga]] [[ht:Lang]] [[ku:Ziman]] [[la:Lingua]] [[lv:Valoda]] [[lb:Sprooch]] [[lt:Kalba]] [[li:Taol]] [[ln:Lokótá]] [[jbo:bangu]] [[hu:Nyelv]] [[mk:Јазик]] [[mg:Fiteny]] [[ml:ഭാഷ]] [[mr:भाषा]] [[mzn:Zivan]] [[ms:Bahasa]] [[cdo:Ngṳ̄-ngiòng]] [[nl:Taal]] [[ja:言語]] [[ce:Мотт]] [[no:Språk]] [[nn:Språk]] [[nrm:Laungue]] [[oc:Lenga]] [[ps:ژبه]] [[pl:Język (mowa)]] [[pt:Linguagem]] [[ksh:Sprooch]] [[ro:Limbă]] [[rmy:Chhib]] [[qu:Rimay]] [[ru:Язык]] [[se:Giella]] [[sc:Limbas]] [[sco:Leid]] [[stq:Sproake]] [[scn:Lingua (parràta)]] [[simple:Language]] [[sk:Jazyk (lingvistika)]] [[sl:Jezik (sredstvo sporazumevanja)]] [[sr:Језик]] [[fi:Kieli]] [[sv:Språk]] [[tl:Wika]] [[ta:மொழி]] [[th:ภาษา]] [[vi:Ngôn ngữ]] [[tg:Забон (суxан)]] [[tr:Dil (lisan)]] [[tk:Dil]] [[uk:Мова]] [[vo:Pük]] [[fiu-vro:Keeleq]] [[wa:Lingaedje]] [[yi:שפראך]] [[zh-yue:語言]] [[diq:Zıwan (lisan)]] [[bat-smg:Kalba]] [[zh:语言]]