What makes human language special
Many animals communicate, but human language lets us talk about the past, the future, and things that do not exist.
Communication and language
Communication is any transfer of information, from a bee's dance to a dog's growl. Language is a particular kind: a system of symbols combined by rules into an unlimited number of new messages. With a small set of sounds and words, any speaker can produce sentences no one has ever said before.
Design features
Human language is productive (new sentences are always possible), arbitrary (the word 'dog' has no natural link to dogs), and allows displacement (talking about things not present in time or space). Language also has grammar, rules for combining sounds into words and words into sentences, which children learn without formal teaching.
Origins
No one knows exactly when language began, because speech leaves no fossils. Clues include changes in the throat and brain, such as areas linked to speech, and genes like FOXP2 that affect speech control. Many researchers think a simpler protolanguage preceded fully modern language, which was likely in place by the time Homo sapiens spread across the world.
Flashcard
A rule-governed system of symbols for unlimited new messages
Check your understanding
When you tell a friend about a trip you plan to take next summer, which feature of language are you using?