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

It may be argued that globalisation increases poverty, QUESTION 1 ‘The ...

QUESTION 1 ‘The structure, objectives, sectoral coverage, and membership of Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs) can substantially influence their potential economic gains an

Modern cryptography systems: a hybrid approach, Modern Cryptography Systems...

Modern Cryptography Systems: A Hybrid Approach In fact, a mixture of both public key and traditional symmetric cryptography is used in current cryptographic systems. The motiva

B2c e-commerce, What is B2C e-commerce? Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-co...

What is B2C e-commerce? Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce or commerce between companies and consumers, includes customers gathering information, information goods (or goods

Objectives of selection and recruitment process, what are the objectives of...

what are the objectives of selection and recruitment process

Galileo telescope, What inspired Galileo to improve the telescope

What inspired Galileo to improve the telescope

Memo persusive, write persuasive memo mbout reduce the number of mail shipm...

write persuasive memo mbout reduce the number of mail shipment and suggest to use email or fax

Advantages of using electronic data interchange , Advantages of using EDI o...

Advantages of using EDI over paper systems EDI and other related technologies keep company money by providing an option to, or replacing information flows that need a great dea

Looking for case study assignment help, Are you looking for case study assi...

Are you looking for case study assignment help? Do you want qualified tutors or your case study based problems? Reach us with your complete assignment details. We at www.expertsmin

Aerodynamics, Are you able to do Aerodynamic assignments, Midterms?

Are you able to do Aerodynamic assignments, Midterms?

Explain the term cognitive dissonance, Problem 1: (a) Explain the term ...

Problem 1: (a) Explain the term cognitive dissonance. (b) How can cognitive dissonance act as a powerful motivator? (c) How can the Attribution theory be used to motivate

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