1 minute read
Language
LANGUAGE
Language is more than words. It also involves the specific rules of organization of the words so that information is passed from one person to another. Communication is much more than language. It involves certain movements, postures, and vocalizations used by different species in order to develop social relationships.
Advertisement
There are two major components of language. These are a lexicon or the vocabulary and grammar, which are the rules used to convey the meaning of the lexicon. Words are made up of phonemes, which are basic units of sound. Each language has its own phonemes, which are combined to make morphemes. A morpheme is the smallest parts of a word that actually mean something. Semantics is the way meaning is derived from words and morphemes, while syntax refers to the organization of words into sentences.
While language is difficult when trying to learn a second language as adults, it is actually learned very quickly by young children. Language acquisition follows predictable patterns in all of the different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. There is a critical period when language is more easily acquired, which is generally early in life. This ability diminishes greatly the older a person is.
Language likely develops prenatally so that newborns have a specific preference for their mother s voice and a predilection to understand her language. Babies prefer videos in which the faces are synchronized with the audio. There are several stages of language development with the first words spoken at around 12 months of age. Two words are put together at a time at between 18 months and 2 years of age. Over time, the child s lexicon grows dramatically.
In any given language, words are the representation of people, ideas, events, and places. Language is tightly connected to one s surroundings and their culture. Cultures that do not have words related to the past tense often do not think much about the past, it is believed by some researchers. The interplay between thought and language, however, is still being studied among researchers.
