The Nature of Language
▪ Basically, language can be defined as
the tool used in the communication
process.
▪ It is through language that we are able
to express our thoughts, share our
feelings, and communicate our views
and perspectives about things.
▪ Language is integrally intertwined with
our notions of who we are on both the
personal and the broader, societal
levels.
▪ When we use language, we
communicate our individual thoughts,
as well as the cultural beliefs and
practices of the communities of which
we are a part: our families, social
groups, and other associations.
DEFINITIONS
1. Language is a purely human and non-
instinctive method of communicating
ideas, emotions, and desires by means
of a system of voluntarily produced
symbols.
~Sapir (1921)
2. Language is the process whereby
humans communicate and interact with
each other by means of habitually used
oral-auditory arbitrary symbols.
~Hall (1969)
3. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal
symbols used for human
communication.
~Wardaugh (1972)
Characteristics of Language
(Fromkin and Rodman, 2003)
A. Wherever humans exist, language
exists.
B. All languages change through time.
C. All grammars contain rules for the
formation of words and sentences of a
similar kind.
D. Similar grammatical categories (e.g.
noun, verb, etc.) are found in all
languages.
E. Any normal child, born anywhere in the
world, of any racial, geographical,
social, or economic heritage, is capable
of learning any language to which s/he
is exposed. The differences we find
among languages cannot be due to
biological reasons.
Communication: Models, Types, Purposes,
and Principles
Model of Communication Process
Elements of the Communication Process
1. Sender—the source of the message, the
one who encodes the message.
The sender is the one who transforms
thoughts into messages.
The primary responsibility of the sender
is to convey the message in the most
comprehensible way possible.
2. Receiver—the recipient of the message
from the sender.
The receiver is the one who decodes
and processes the information
conveyed by the sender.
The primary responsibility of the
receiver is to understand the message.
3. Message— is the body of information
that is sent by the sender to the
receiver.
It refers to anything that is
communicated by the sender to the
receiver.
4. Channel— is what connects the sender
to the receiver.
