Nature of Language: Functions and Characteristics of Language

Language is a means of communication. As a means of communication, it is used by humans to exchange information. Language makes it possible for people of the same or different origins to live and work together; it helps humans to give meaning to existence, to identify and characterise objects, to explain certain phenomenon, actions, thoughts, etc.

Functions of Language

Education function:

• Language is used for instruction in formal and informal education systems.

Communication function:

• Language helps in transmitting messages.
• It is also used at different levels of communication experience, giving commands to communication gadgets such as cellphones, computers, calculators, etc.

Entertainment function:

• Language is used to compose songs, in writing film scripts, and in acting.
• It is used in creating cartoons, literary genres, long and short videos, etc.

Marketing/Business function:

• Language is used in buying and selling and in discussing business cooperation.
• It is used in negotiating contracts and proposing a business plan.
• It is used in creating business awareness through advertisement.

Creative function:

• Creative writers, inventors, patent rights, etc., rely on language.
• It is used in creating dancing techniques.

Cultural function:

• Language is the carrier of culture.
• It is used to specify space boundaries, time references, etc.
• It helps in transmitting and interpreting different cultures and cultural phenomenon.

Interactive function:

• Language is used in all kinds of interpersonal functions.
• It is used for political engagement.
• It is also used in religious gatherings and in communal associations.

Storage function:

• It is used to store information in human memory, computer/cellphone memory, etc.
• It is used to save messages in the web and internet.
• Language also helps to save messages in detachable devices such as diskettes, flash drives, memory cards, etc.

Spiritual function:

• All spiritual and worship activities are done through language.
• Language is used in prayers, meditations, etc.
• It is used in secular and religious rituals which involve singing, chanting, and dancing.

Characteristics of Language

The basic features of language are:

• Language carries information:
  People use language to access, assess, extract, or add information through utterances or texts.

• Meaning:
  Language helps to give meaning to existence, interactions, feelings, cultures, desires, etc.

• Dynamics:
  Language is like an organism that grows and expands. Language changes and expands through coining of words, by modifying the meaning of old words, through neologism, and forming new acronyms to express new ideas, objects, events, etc.

• Sounds and Symbols:

  • Language is made up of sounds and symbols which represent ideas and meaning.
  • Sounds include phonemes of different languages combined to form words.
  • Onomatopoeia: Sounds produced by objects, water waves, rock eruption, air, etc. These sounds communicate.
  • Interpretable Symbols also include:
    (a) Non-verbal symbols such as gestures, kinesics, haptic, artifacts, silence, contact, paralanguage, physical appearance.
    (b) Visual symbols such as diagrams, screenshots, photography, colour, maps, charts.
    (c) Verbal symbols: spoken and written words.

• Human Oriented:
  Language is a means of communication for humans. It is instinctive for humans; hence, they can produce an infinite number of utterances.

• Culture bound:
  Language is an aspect of culture; it is culture-sensitive. Different cultures produce different languages. Variation in culture results in variation in language.

• Identity sensitive:
  Language is used to mark identity. People from different cultures, continents, and tribes are identified by the language they speak.

• Limitless:
  Language is infinite. Except for dead languages, language can be used in infinite ways and time.

• Principle:
  Language is governed by principles or rules which guide its usage and learning.

• Systematic:
  Language is not haphazardly used. It is an organized phenomenon with a definite process and medium.

• Interchangeable:
  Language users are simultaneously creating meaning and sharing experiences, so there is no permanent speaker or listener or writer or reader.