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

Cyber cash, CYBER CASH Cyber Cash, Inc. was an internet payment servi...

CYBER CASH Cyber Cash, Inc. was an internet payment service for electronic commerce, headquartered in Reston, Virginia. It was founded in August 1994 by Daniel C. Lynch (who

Help with Assignment, Do you have responses to the questions that you have ...

Do you have responses to the questions that you have on this link? http://www.expertsmind.com/library/how-has-digital-media-influenced-the-field-of-e-commerce-51139755.aspx

New media communication technologies, New Media Communication Technologies:...

New Media Communication Technologies: Here are some contemporary New Media communication technologies that are a mix of mass communication and interpersonal communication. Que

Gothic art, Gothic Art: Gothic art, the sculpture, painting and architectu...

Gothic Art: Gothic art, the sculpture, painting and architecture characteristic of the second of two huge international eras that flourished in central Europe and western througho

Principles of archaeology, Principles of Archaeology: Archaeology is the s...

Principles of Archaeology: Archaeology is the study of past cultural behavior, from the beginnings of the human species to events that happened yesterday, through the material rem

Business ethics & corporate governance, Why business ethics & corporate gov...

Why business ethics & corporate governance important even though there is a rule and regulation and policies.

..PUBLIC MANAGED CARE IN EASTERNVILLE: A CASE OF OPPORTUNITI, How did the e...

How did the experience with experimental programs affect the nature and pace of innovation at EPS

Define social psychology, QUESTION 1 Outline the research methods most ...

QUESTION 1 Outline the research methods most often used by psychologist. Illustrate your answer with an example of each method QUESTION 2 (A) Define social psychology

Decoder, deign 5*32 decoder with four 3*8 decoder and one 2*4 decoder

deign 5*32 decoder with four 3*8 decoder and one 2*4 decoder

Types and categories of rhetorical criticism, Types/Categories of Rhetorica...

Types/Categories of Rhetorical Criticism It is not an exhaustive listing of the particular types or genres of rhetorical criticism, but generally these are the ones discussed

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