Essay sample library > What makes human language unique

What makes human language unique

2024-02-26 17:00:30

Human language is distinctive compared to other forms of communication such as communication forms used by nonhuman animals.

A communication system used by other animals such as bees and nonhuman primates is a closed system consisting of a closed number of possibilities that can be transmitted. Human language is open. In other words, humans can create unlimited words from limited elements. Because the human language is based on dual code, this can be realized. In double code, you can combine a limited number of meaningless elements (voice, letters, gestures, etc) to form meaning units (words and sentences). [13] Furthermore, the symbolic and grammatical rules of a particular language are generally arbitrary, meaning that this system can only be obtained through social interaction. [14] Meanwhile, the known communication system used by animals can only represent a limited number of discourse due to most genetic transmission. [15]

Human languages ​​also differ from animal communication systems because they use grammatical and semantic categories such as nouns and verbs, or present and past to express very complex meaning. [16] Human language is also unique in its recursive nature, for example, it is a phrase containing a noun phrase (such as "chimpanzee's lip") or a phrase ("I think it is raining" Etc. )Method. [17]. Human language is also the only known modal independent modal communication system. In other words, it can be used in various ways, not just communication via a single channel or medium. Writing using visual form and braille writing using tactile modality

The human language is also unique amongst the abstract concepts and imaginary or virtual events, as well as in relation to events that can be cited with regard to past events or what it can convey and the cognitive action it establishes . It will happen in the future. The ability to refer to events that are concurrent or not at the same time as the speech event is called "substitution", but depending on the animal communication system, permutation may be used, but the degree of its use in human language is also considered unique . [13]

The reason the human language is unique is that it does not allow us to communicate with each other but that it enables us in infinitely diverse ways. Monkeys can cry to warn their teammates to approach predators or encourage them to eat more delicious foods, but you can say that "Eagles do not look odd appearance" I can not tell. Or, "Add salt, this fig is sacred" "Like a meaninglessly sleeping colorless green idea", you can not create meaningless but easy-to-understand sentences.

Because some people define "language" as "human language", this is roughly circular discussion, "language" can not be human-specific. Whatever the uniqueness of the human language, it makes it unique and unique. We all agree that the human language is different in some way from the animal. Maybe we can concentrate on how to learn languages. That's why the majority of the argument that 'human language is unique' comes from this. The main argument is that the human language is too complicated to learn from input (there are too many possibilities for what we hear, we are unknown spiritual "grammar" You have to guess). Was born. Human, part of our DNA. Of course, this is not just a word, but because of the basic ability you can "learn" from a specific language such as English (in fact it is a better word to "get").