The Nature of Language
Introduction
Just as the creation of human life is beautiful, so is the creation of a wonderful and dynamic
human capacity---language. Animals are said to be able to communicate with each other. Whales sing,
wolves howl, horses neigh, dogs bark, goats bleat, cows moo, and birds chirp. The sounds that these
creatures produce often reflect the state of their emotions. While it may be true that animals
communicate, only human beings are truly capable of producing language (Madrunio and Martin, 2018).
Language is at the core of human interaction. In today’s society, it would be an advantage if you, as the
language learner, speak “glocal,” that is, you have the proficiency in learning both local and global
languages. Competence in the use of the language becomes an edge as people are moving towards
globalization. Human beings are enmeshed with the cultures of the world. As a matter of fact, the
twenty first century learners are encouraged to boost their communication skills to cope with the
changing sands of time.
Human beings are born with the capacity to communicate. For communication to transpire,
language is used as a potential tool to create networks of human activities leading to progress and
development. Emerging world leaders in politics, business, religion, media, health, and even academe,
from presidents of nations to teachers in the classrooms--all use the power of language to obtain
results. Meanwhile, lack of communication has given rise to differences in language, in thinking, in
systems of belief and culture in general (Asimov, 2010, cited in Samovar, Porter & McDaniel, 2010). The
power to use language efficiently and effectively is in the hands of people who are bent to walk in the
roads to progress. Charismatic and influential people know how to use language and communicate
effectively to move people to action. The proficient and competent user of language has the greater
advantage in the era of technological advancement. So the question is: Why is there a need to
understand the nature of language? This lesson will help you improve your language proficiency and
competence, it is because as people in our community and culture, we are living in a global village.
“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we think about,” (Benjamin Lee Whorf, cited
in Samovar, Porter and McDaniel, 2010, p. 221). In every human interaction, language is at the core. It
enables us to exchange abstract ideas, setting us apart from other animal species by allowing us to say
or write down abstract ideas. It was through language that you learned your cultural values and
behaviors.
Together with the creation of human life is the creation of a wonderful and dynamic human capacity
that is, language. Animals are said to be able to communicate with each other. For instance, cows moo,
turkeys gobble, rats squeak, doves coo, and owls hoot. The sounds these creatures produce often reflect
the state of their emotions. While it may be true that animals communicate, only human beings are
truly capable of producing language. Every language has systems of rules, phonology, grammar, syntax,
semantics, orthography, and other language intricacies. While grammarians are concerned with clarity,
rhetoricians are concerned with effectiveness. One becomes proficient in the use of the language if
he/she grows up knowing that language. Cultural immersion contributes greatly in the expert use of that
language. Exposure to the intricacies of the use of that language makes one intelligibly functional.
Speech Community
The moment you are born in this world, you grow up in a community or culture where your
parents are part of it.
The language that is spoken by the people in that community becomes also your own. So, you
grow up in that speech community where your parents belong. They may speak the local language that
many Filipinos are accustomed to speak. According to SIL, Filipinos speak more than a hundred local
languages. These can be Tagalog, Tausug, Cebuano, Chabacano, Maranao, Maguindanao, Sinama, Yakan
and what have you. In some cases, children grow up in an environment where gadgets are their
companions. And they pick up the language that the gadgets speak to them. Exposure to watching TV—
like cartoon network or other e-learning tools, listening to music in English and other multimedia
applications will make them speak the language of their surroundings. Though it may be true, if for
instance, they are born with Chabacano or Cebuano speaking parents, yet they may speak English if
their dominant exposure to the gadgets influence their language use.
Language Acquisition
As you grow up, you pick up the language of your parents or the language of the environment
you are in. You started hearing sounds as a baby, and you mimicked them while you were yet young. As
you grow in age, you learn to speak their language. You learn the words they speak in a natural way.
Your vocabulary expanded as you use them in various occasions. As you mature, you read materials,
written texts, inscriptions and other forms of writings in that language. The last skill to be developed is
your writing ability in that language. All of these occur naturally. Your developmental milestones are
obvious.
Mother Tongue
The language you acquired or picked up from the speech community you are in while growing
up, becomes your first language or your mother tongue.
Second Language
The language that you formally learn either in school or tutorial classes, where you learned it
with a teacher or tutor is the second language other than the first language that you acquired from
home. This can be your national language, like Filipino or may be the global language like English. Formal
learning of this second language will help your proficient user of the language.
Language Learning
Language learning is the process of studying a second language formally. This happens when you
as a learner study: rules of grammar, correct usage, word derivation, pronunciation and enunciation. In
writing, you were trained to: build words from basic parts, affixes and infixes, derive word meaning,
construct sentences, as well as write coherent paragraphs and even longer stretch of discourses.
Language Contact
Your exposure to various situations and with other learners who speak a language different from your
own provide a language contact. This can happen in a classroom scenario, in a restaurant, online
transactions and more.
Language Change
In your interaction with other people, your language comes into contact with other languages resulting
in language change. Language change can happen when two or more languages try to adapt, loan or
borrow words, coin new words as products of exchanges of ideas. Language change is a natural behavior
of all languages. Philippine languages, as part of the Polynesian family of languages are observed to be
interrelated. For example, counting money in Tausug like twenty or “kawhaan” is also “kawhaan” in
Visayan. Variety may arise when spelling or speaking the language takes place.