Definiton of Language

A language is a system of signs (indices, icons, symbols) for encoding and decoding
information. Since language and languages became an object of study (logos) by the
ancient grammarians, the term has had many and different definitions. The English word
derives from Latin lingua, "language, tongue," with a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European
root of *dnghû-, "tongue," a metaphor based on the use of the physical organ in speech.[1]
The ability to use speech originated in remote prehistoric times, as did the language
families in use at the beginning of writing. The processes by which they were acquired
were for the most part unconscious.

In modern times, a large number of artificial languages have been devised, requiring a
distinction between their consciously innovated type and natural language. The latter are
forms of communication considered peculiar to humankind. Although some other
animals make use of quite sophisticated communicative systems, and these are sometimes
casually referred to as animal language, none of these are known to make use of all the
properties that linguists use to define language.

The term “language” has branched by analogy into several meanings.[1] The most obvious
manifestations are spoken languages such as English or Spoken Chinese. However, there
are also written languages and other systems of visual symbols such as sign languages. In
cognitive science the term is also sometimes extended to refer to the human cognitive
facility of creating and using language. Essential to both meanings is the systematic
creation and usage of systems of symbols, each pairing a specific sign with an intended
meaning, established through social conventions.[2]

In the late 19th century Charles Sanders Peirce called this pairing process semiosis and
the study of it semiotics.[3] According to another founder of semiotics, Roman Jakobson,
the latter portrays language as code in which sounds (signantia) signify concepts
(signata).[4] Language is the process of encoding signata in the sounds forming the
signantia and decoding from signantia to signata.

Concepts themselves are signantia for the objective reality being conceived. When
discussed as a general phenomenon then, "language" may imply a particular type of
human thought that can be present even when communication is not the result, and this
way of thinking is also sometimes treated as indistinguishable from language itself. In
Western philosophy, language has long been closely associated with reason, which is also
a uniquely human way of using symbols. In Ancient Greek philosophical terminology,
the same word, logos, was a term for both language or speech and reason, and the
philosopher Thomas Hobbes used the English word "speech" so that it similarly could
refer to reason, as presented below.
FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE

I. Three Basic Functions are generally noted: there is perhaps nothing more subtle than
language is, and nothing has as many different uses. A. Without a doubt, identifying just
these three basic functions is an oversimplification, but an awareness of these functions is
a good introduction to the complexity of language . B. The Functions of Language (i.e.,
its purpose; what it does; its uses) 1. Informative language function: essentially, the
communication of information. a. The informative function affirms or denies
propositions, as in science or the statement of a fact.. b. This function is used to describe
the world or reason about it (e.g.., whether a state of affairs has occurred or not or what
might have led to it). c. These sentences have a truth value; that is, the sentences are
either true or false (recognizing, of course, that we might not know what that truth value
is). Hence, they are important for logic.

2. Expressive language function: reports feelings or attitudes of the writer (or speaker),
or of the subject, or evokes feelings in the reader (or listener). a. Poetry and literature are
among the best examples, but much of, perhaps most of, ordinary language discourse is
the expression of emotions, feelings or attitudes. b. Two main aspects of this function are
generally noted: (1) evoking certain feelings and (2) expressing feelings. c. Expressive
discourse, qua expressive discourse, is best regarded as neither true or false. E.g.,
Shakespeare's King Lear's lament, "Ripeness is all!" or Dickens' "It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness…" Even
so, the "logic" of "fictional statements" is an interesting area of inquiry.

3. Directive language function: language used for the purpose of causing (or preventing)
overt action. a. The directive function is most commonly found in commands and
requests. b. Directive language is not normally considered true or false (although various
logics of commands have been developed). c. Example of this function: "Close the
windows." The sentence "You're smoking in a nonsmoking area," although declarative,
can be used to mean "Do not smoke in this area."
Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another.
Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions between at least two agents
which share a repertoire of signs and semiotic rules. Communication is commonly
defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech,
writing, or signs".

Communication is a process whereby information is enclosed in a package and is

channeled and imparted by a sender to a receiver via some medium. The receiver then
decodes the message and gives the sender a feedback. All forms of communication
require a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, however the receiver need not be
present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication in
order for the act of communication to occur. Communication requires that all parties have
an area of communicative commonality. There are auditory means, such as speech, song,
and tone of voice, and there are nonverbal means, such as body language, sign language,
paralanguage, touch, eye contact, through media, i.e., pictures, graphics and sound, and
writing.