Speech and Language, Other Subject

Assignment Help:
Language is a multifaceted and complex cognitive function

Imagine a situation where one is in a foreign country and cannot utter a word in the local tongue. Further, imagine that gesturing in that country would follow a peculiar logic of its own that one could not comprehend. Under such circumstances one quickly comes to realize the importance of being able to communicate with others, through speaking, gesturing, reading, and/or writing. Indeed, the seeming ease at which one normally commands one’s mother tongue is highly misleading. In reality, language is one of the most complex and amazing of human cognitive functions.


Difficulties in developing computer programs that would be able to command language well enough to carry a conversation with a human is one example of the complexity of the task that the brain faces when listening and speaking. Further, out of all species, mankind is the only one capable of the kind of highly sophisticated and abstract form of communication that language represents. To some extent it has been debated whether language is unique to humans (i.e., whether ”speech is special”) and there are language-like communicative calls and gesturing in other animals. The most striking manifestation of language ability in other species have been obtained in studies where sign language was taught to non-human primates (Gardner and Gardner, 1969), however, even the best of these examples fail to compare with the richness of human language.


Human language is a multifaceted skill. In order to communicate effectively, one has to know the meanings of different words (semantic knowledge) and have sufficient command of grammar to organize the words in an appropriate manner to be understood. Further, in order to read and write, one also has to have command of the orthographic (how words are written) and phonological (how words are pronounced) knowledge. With respect to this, there is variability between different languages, with prominent ambiguity in English (as there is no one-to-one correspondence between the written form and pronunciation) and non-ambiguous pronunciation in some other languages such as Italian and Finnish, where there is one-to-one correspondence between the written form and pronunciation.

Related Discussions:- Speech and Language

Goverment, Forming a strong political _________________________ without for...

Forming a strong political _________________________ without forming an equally sound understanding of politics could lead to making unwise choices in the voting booth.

Public policy , can you find me 8 articles policies and write my reflection...

can you find me 8 articles policies and write my reflection for each one

Legal process of disclosure concerning therapy, Question: (a) "In coun...

Question: (a) "In counseling, there is rarely any convergence in the legal and ethical structure" Critically assess the validity of this statement (b) Does the legal proce

Applied behavior, For this week’s Learning Space Blog, start by looking at ...

For this week’s Learning Space Blog, start by looking at the table on page 461 of your Behavior Modification text. On your Blog, do your best to fill out this table for yourself,

Three broad model of electronic bill presentment and payment, Three broad m...

Three broad models of EBPP have emerged. These are 1.   Consolidation, wherever many bills for any one receiver are made accessible at one Web site, most usually the recipient'

Prepaid credit cards, Prepaid "Credit" Cards A prepaid credit card is n...

Prepaid "Credit" Cards A prepaid credit card is not a credit card, while no credit is presented by the card issuer: the card-holder spends money which has been "stored" by mean

Feminist thought up to 1980, Feminist Thought up to 1980: Feminism may bro...

Feminist Thought up to 1980: Feminism may broadly be defined as a movement seeking the reorganization of the world upon the basis of sex equality, rejecting all forms of different

Philosophy, consider the modern skeptical worry that all we claim to know c...

consider the modern skeptical worry that all we claim to know can be doubted on the grounds that universe could be computer simulation . how could Descartes respond to this worry ,

Culture, how do campaigns affect liberal democracy?

how do campaigns affect liberal democracy?

Chemistry, applications o chemistry in information technology

applications o chemistry in information technology

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd