The structure and functions of language.
Discuss the
structure and functions of language. One form of knowledge shared by all human societies is
the knowledge of language. Language is the principal means by which we acquire
and express knowledge; thus, the study of how language is used is a central
concern of cognitive psychology. In the previous chapter, we studied the modes
of language acquisition; here we will do an overview of the research on the
processes of language involving the comprehension and expression of language.
Introduction
Language, like other cognitive functions, is a (dynamic)
process. Such an enterprise requires that we examine the microstructure of the
entire process as it occurs in real time. It is only through the careful
examination of the temporal course of mental operations involved in the various
levels of analysis underlying speech that we can hope to discover its nature
Language is a system of symbols and rules that is used
for meaningful communication. A system of communication has to meet certain
criteria in order to be considered a language:
A language uses Symbols, which are sounds,
gestures, or written characters that represent objects, actions, events, and
ideas. Symbols enable people to refer to objects that are in another place or
events that occurred at a different time.
The structure and functions of language. A language is meaningful and
therefore can be understood by other users of that language.
A language is Generative, which means that the symbols
of a language can be combined to produce an infinite number of messages.
A language has rules that govern how symbols can be arranged.
These rules allow people to understand messages in that language even if they
have never encountered those messages before.
Cognitive psychology concerns both language and thought and
has been popular only since the 1950s. Before that, many psychologists believed
that the scientific method could not be applied towards the study of a process
as private as thinking. From ancient Greek times, only philosophers and
metaphysicians studied the nature of language and thought. The metaphysician René
Descartes, for example, famously argued, “I think, therefore I am.
LANGUAGE
AND COGNITION
The study of human language is important to cognitive
psychologists for the following reasons:
Human language
development represents a unique kind of abstraction, which is basic to
cognition. Although other forms of life (bees, birds, dolphins, dogs and so on)
have elaborate means of communicating and apes seem to use a form of language
abstraction, the degree of abstraction is much greater among humans.
Human thinking and problem solving can be conceptualised as
processes involving language. The structure and functions of language Many, if not most, forms of thinking and
problem solving are internal, that is, done in the absence of external stimuli.
Abstraction of puzzles, for example, into verbal symbols provides a way to
think about a solution.
Language influences
perception, a fundamental aspect of cognition. Some argue that how we perceive
the world is affected by the language we use to describe it.
On the other hand,
language development is at least largely based on our perception of language.
So the perceptual-language process is one of interdependency; both
significantly influence the other. Language from this point of view operates as
a window.
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The
Structure of Language
The structure
and functions of language Language is a system of symbols and
rules that is used for meaningful communication. A system of communication has
to meet certain criteria in order to be considered a language: A language uses
symbols, which are sounds, gestures, or written characters that represent
objects, actions, events, and ideas. Symbols enable people to refer to objects
that are in another place or events that occurred at a different time.
A language is meaningful and therefore can be understood by
other users of that language. A language is generative, which means that the
symbols of a language can be combined to produce an infinite number of
messages.
A language has rules that govern how symbols can be arranged.
These rules allow people to understand messages in that language even if they
have never encountered those messages before.
A theoretical intervention about the process which leads to
the understanding of an utterance in communication should involve two aspects.
Firstly, the aspects of language linked to the recognition of the form of the
utterance itself (phonology, morphology, and syntax); secondly, questions about
how the meaning of what is understood can be defined, which are linked to
semantics and pragmatics of the communication process. The structure and
functions of language
These two aspects cannot be separated, and in order to
analyse the process of language, both are to be taken into consideration. The structure
and functions of language Thus, to understand the language processes, it is
fundamental to understand the basic structure of language first.
As should be evident by now, language can be divided into
three basic parts, each with its own structure and rules: phonology, syntax
(grammar), and semantics. The first of these, phonology, concerns the rules for
pronunciation of speech sounds. The second aspect of language, syntax, deals
with the way words combine to form sentences. And semantics focuses on the
meaning of words and sentences.
FUNCTIONS
OF LANGUAGE
Language serves many functions, which are all related to the
fundamental process of communication. Perhaps most important is that language
conveys meaning and is part of almost all kinds of social interaction. The structure
and functions of language Language conveys intentions, motives, feelings, and
beliefs. Language is used to issue requests and commands; and is also used to teach
and to convey information.
Language is useful because it can represent ideas and events
that are not tied to present. You can also describe abstract ideas, such as
beauty and justice, as well as concrete objects of everyday experience.
Thus, language is symbolic, in that speech sounds and
utterances stand for or represent various objects, ideas, and events.
Regardless of whether we are considering spoken language, written language, or
sign language, there are three elements of language expression and human
communication that have been identified as operating in the speaker-listener
situation: speech acts, propositional content, and thematic structure.
Conclusion
The structure and functions of language In all, the approaches that have been taken in
exploring many of the issues involved in the perceptual analysis of language
and lexical processing merely scratch the surface of the complexity of both
theory and fact that must be developed to provide a sufficient characterisation
of the cognitive system. Language processing requires a multidisciplinary
examination. To conclude, we can say that, like many other cognitive process,
language processing is a very dynamic and complex process. No single method,
function or theory can explain the process of language completely in itself;
only a comprehensive approach should be appropriate and applied for the
comprehension of language.
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