Language and Lexicon - Essay Example

? Language LANGUAGE Language and Lexicon The analysis of language is fundamental in order to prevent misconceptions and misunderstandings concerning different cultures, as well as between same-community generations. Language can be defined as the system used for expressing feelings and thoughts through written symbols and sounds (Trask, 2012). It is the style of communication that is used by specific speech communities, possessing distinctive phonological systems, grammar, and vocabulary. Technically, it can be defined as a formal communicative system that involves symbols and/pr words, in spoken or written form, and the rules governing them. As long as it meets the description, it is a language, even if other organisms do not understand it. Generally, it is the cognitive ability to learn and utilize complex communicative systems. Language relies on semiosis in order to relate signs with their meanings. It contains phonological systems, which govern the manner in which symbols combine to create sequences of words (Trask, 2012). Lexicon, on the other hand, is the vocabulary of the said language, also referred to as an individual’s lexical knowledge (Trask, 2012). It is taken along the lines of meaning in a language of written symbols and speech sounds. It is essential to know a language’s lexicon in order to understand the language. Every culture possesses its own lexicon and language. Lexicon includes bound morphemes, for example, majority of affixes, which cannot be used alone as words. Lexicon can also include various idiomatic classes of expression, as well as other collocations, and compound words. Dictionaries normally attempt to list a given language’s lexicon in alphabetical order, although they do not include bound morphemes. Lexicon, more formally, is the inventory of lexemes that is present in a particular language (Trask, 2012). Key Features of Language There are several key features of any language. Language is quite complex since it is the only full lexicon. One feature of language is a vocal-auditory channel. Majority of languages are spoken with hearing and the voice being medium for the majority of communication. Vocal communication acts as the basis for language communication (Trask, 2012). Directional reception and broadcast transmission is another feature of language. Human language is dispersed in every direction when it is spoken, although the ear pinpoints the sound’s direction. Another key feature is transitoriness or rapid fading, which refers to the fact that sound, fades quickly. This gives sufficient opportunity for people to hold discussions that would be lost in confusion if the sounds hang in the air. Interchangeability is another key feature of language, which allows for speech utterances in use by the two genders. This is not present in all organisms. The feature allows for empathy and thorough understanding among the sexes (Trask, 2012). Another key feature of language is total feedback that ensures all humans can hear what they say while checking the communicative effect and quality of their speech. Individual analysis of speech allows one to correct mistakes that lead to clearer communication in conversations held in the future, as well as for the avoidance of undesirable action (Trask, 2012). Specialization is yet another feature with the human body possessing parts that let them vocalize the phonemes. These are essential increased communication perception and depth of understanding, both non-verbal and verbal. Other features are semantics, which refer to the use of different words to express similar meanings in the same language. Moreover, arbitrariness that ensures sounds are given a meaning by the person hearing them, discreteness that refers to the ability of humans to put sounds in context even where the sounds are not clear, and duality of patterning that is referent to the switching of known sounds to come up with new meanings (Trask, 2012). Levels of Language There are four levels of language; text, sentences, words, and phonemes-phonetics. Phonemes-phonetics is the first language level, and it makes for the difference in languages. In linguistics, phonemes are speech sounds that are not analyzable into smaller sounds that are meaningful (Chomsky, 2009). They are indicated conventionally in the form of slash symbols. Speech sounds can only be held as meaningful in any given language if their contrast with other sounds can be used as a mark of distinction in meaning. Phonetics is a linguistics branch, which is used to study speech sounds’ physical properties, as well as the physiological means through which they are perceived and produced. The next level is words, which are very important in language because they form the main part of a conversation. Language would not exist in the absence of words. Words, in most languages, do not even have to be spoken, as it is possible to sign them via sign language or even in written form communication. Word is the unit of language that consists of spoken sounds and their representation in writing, functioning as the basic carrier of meaning (Chomsky, 2009). They are made up of morphemes, and are either constitutive of the smallest units that can be used independently or two or more units that can be combined using specific conditions of linkage. The third level of language is sentences, which are formed when words are used together. They are grammatical units of words that bear little syntactic relation to preceding or succeeding words (Chomsky, 2009). They are normally followed and preceded by pauses in a speech with a number of characteristic patterns of intonation, as well as typical expression of independent statements, requests, questions, and commands. The fourth level of language is text, which is the fundamental body of matter in newspapers, books, manuscripts, and others. It is described as the sentences and words written on paper. It refers to conversations i.e. words are used together to form sentences while sentences are used together to form conversations (Chomsky, 2009). Role of Language in Cognitive Psychology Cognitive psychology is a psychology branch that deals with the operation of mental process with regards to memory, language, thinking, attending, and perceiving, mainly via behavioral inferences (Bloomfield, 2010). Cognitive psychology emphasizes unseen processes of knowledge, rather than behaviors that are directly observable and it recognizes that relationships between response and stimulus are mediated and complex, rather than direct and simple. It mainly concentrates on higher processes of the mind is also in contrast to typical psychoanalysis forces. It has been influenced by information processing approaches, as well as the information theory that has been developed by artificial intelligence and computer science (Bloomfield, 2010). Language has a fundamental role to play in cognitive psychology. The understanding of sounds and words in a language needs to be entered into the brain, and this has a significant effect on cognitive psychology (Bloomfield, 2010). Language’s role in cognitive psychology is for the remembrance of what every word or phoneme means. Many varying sounds exist, and individuals must remember them to learn their language. Individuals must also have a complete understanding of every word or phoneme in order to understand text or a sentence. When an individual hears a word or a sound, it is imperative that they are able to comprehend what is being said through retrieval from their memory. The individual is also required to retrieve other words and sounds from memory in order to give their feedback to the person who is present in their conversation (Bloomfield, 2010). References Bloomfield, Leonard. (2010). Language. Dehli : Motilal Banarsidass Publ. Chomsky, Noam. (2009). Language and mind. Cambridge : Cambridge Univ. Press. Trask, Robert. (2012). Language: The Basics. London: Routledge. Read More