Understanding Language

1. Understanding Language Unit 2

2. What is Language? • Language has been the expressive mode of the human specie. It has distinguished man from animal as well as different human backgrounds.

3. What is Language? • According to Hazel-Simmons McDonald, “Language has facilitated the strengthening of human societies by providing a medium for the instant and immediate transmission of information (for self preservation) as well as a medium for reflection and projection (for growth and development).”14

4. Language then is inextricably linked to communication. Language facilitates communication.

5. Language v/s A language • Language is recognized as having two possible interpretations: language and a language. When we think of language we think of it in a general way and we define it to be the verbal form of human expression. As such, it is therefore confined to a human context and not extended to any other species

6. A Language • When we think of a language we think of it in a specific way and we define it to mean any distinct system of verbal expression, distinguished from other such systems by its peculiarities of structure and vocabulary. That is to say that every language is distinct from other languages because of these features.

7. Examples of a Language • Therefore, Spanish, Portuguese, Jamaican Creole/Patois, English, Mayan, French and Chinese are each categorized as a language; while all who are speakers of these languages, in verbally expressing themselves, use language.

8. So, language refers to a natural ability which all normal human beings have while a language means a specific version used by some people who normally live in the same community.

9. Characteristics of Language • Language is considered human. • Where other creatures seem to have communication systems which enable them to perform basic functions, only the human species has one which allows such complexity and range of performance. We know of no other species which can express meanings about past or future events, articulate abstract ideas or construct advertisements.

10. Characteristics of Language • Language is Verbal • Human beings make language. It is first spoken then written. The complex anatomy in the throat and mouth allows us to modify this vibrating air in order to make the vowels and consonants of speech and to manipulate its melodies, the intonation system. We have ears to hear what others say as well as to monitor ourselves. We tend to use our hands and arms when we talk and always when we write or type. Our eyes allow us to read and are also important in conversations

11. Characteristics of Language • LANGUAGE IS SYMBOLIC • . Language has an arbitrary nature. The connection between the things signified (e.g. Objects) and the words used to signify them, that is the symbol ­ the word 'book' ­ and the symbolized ­ the actual book, is arbitrary. There is nothing inherent in the word 'book' for us to refer to the object as such. Indeed, in Spanish this object is referred to or symbolized by the word 'libro'.

12. Characteristics of Language • LANGUAGE IS SYSTEMATIC • Language is rule governed. It follows observable patterns that obey certain inherent 'rules'. To be fluent in a language requires both a mastery of its grammatical rules and competence in the appropriate use of the sentences that are structured by those rules.

13. Characteristics of Language • LANGUAGE IS MATURATIONAL • . A language is always developing. Most languages do so as they acquire vocabulary

14. Characteristics of Language • LANGUAGE IS NON-INSTINCTIVE • Language is naturally acquired. It is suggested that there is a built-in mechanism which gives human beings the ability to acquire and learn language; we are biologically conditioned.

15. Characteristics of Language • LANGUAGE IS DYNAMIC • Language is not static, it is always changing. Language changes because the lives of speakers change, for example, as speakers come into contact with other cultures or as new discoveries change their way of life.

16. What is a Language Community? • The term language community is used in reference to all the speakers of a particular language. This means that they do not have to reside within the same geographical location. English speakers, as you are aware live in several parts of the world: so too do Spanish speakers ­ some live in Spain, some in Cuba and still others in Panama.

17. What is a dialect? • Now, the Spanish/English in each of these locations vary in structure and vocabulary, these variations are known as dialects. So a dialect is one of the various forms of a particular language, spoken by a group in the language community. For example, Jamaican Standard English, American Standard English and British Standard English are all dialects of English. There are also non-standard dialects, such as Black English/Ebonics in the USA and Cockney in England.

18. What is language register? • Variation is not only among dialects but also within an individual dialect of a language. A speaker of any language can choose to speak in a form which may range from a level of formality to one of informality. This form (formality to informality) is referred to as a register.

19. Examples of Register • For example, in Jamaica, Standard English is a formal register and Jamaican Creole (Patois) is a more informal register. The words colloquial and vernacular are used to label some informal registers.

20. What is Creole? • A Creole is a new language formed from the contact between different languages. It is based on a combination of features of the original languages, along with its own new features.

21. Creole continued. • In situations of forced contact such as existed in the Caribbean during slavery, the speakers of the original languages (European on the one hand, African and indigenous on the other) did not know each others' languages, so they invented a rudimentary form of communication drawing on the features of the original languages. These were not Creoles, since they were not fully fledged languages. They were referred to as pidgins.

22. Creole cont. • But the descendants of slaves born in the new situation developed their own native languages from the combination of features from African and European languages and added other features of their own to produce fully fledged languages. These are Creoles.

23. The Jamaican Language Continuum • The Jamaican Language situation is referred to as a continuum. It depicts the range of languages and language dialects spoken in Jamaica. (Indeed there are a few other Caribbean territories which are described in a similar manner.)

24. The JA Language Continuum This range is represented as a continuum because: • Not every point on the continuum is a separate language • Jamaicans will switch from one to the other continuously in conversation and in different situations • According to some linguists, the Creole is continuously changing and becoming more like English. (Decreolisation)

25. JA Language Continuum

26. Basilect Defined • BASILECT is the form of Creole with more African derived features than other forms and is said to be the first point on the continuum. It is most often spoken in rural areas and by uneducated persons. • Eg: A fi mi buk dis!

27. Mesolect Defined • MESOLECT is the form of Creole with more English derived features than the basilect and is said to be the point on the continuum next to the basilect. It is most often spoken by urban and educated persons. • Eg: A my buk dis!

28. Acrolect Defined • ACROLECT is the Jamaican Standard English and it is the last point on the continuum. It is most often spoken in formal situations. • Eg: This book is mine!

29. JA Language Continuum • Undoubtedly this notion that each form is most often spoken by particular persons is debatable as the increased accessibility of new technological mediums of communication throughout the country has enabled Jamaicans to choose even more freely any variety they wish to use along the continuum.