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

Sarah, how did the Israelites live?

how did the Israelites live?

Average success rate of learning English in the world, what is the average ...

what is the average success rate of learning English in the world if measured by the ratio of number of people who learned English as a foreign language (EFL) for 3-4 years and wh

Life cycle of rawmaterial, What is the life cycle period of raw material fo...

What is the life cycle period of raw material for manufacturing sectors

Economic anthropology, Economic Anthropology: Economic anthropology is a s...

Economic Anthropology: Economic anthropology is a scholarly field that attempts to explain human economic behavior in its widest historic, geographic and cultural scope. Economic

Summary of analyses, 1. Gain enough experience with SPSS and its datasets a...

1. Gain enough experience with SPSS and its datasets and procedures that you can complete the analyses for your dissertation with little or no assistance. 2. Practice for the st

Psychology & geology, I have 2 online courses that i need assistance with. ...

I have 2 online courses that i need assistance with. PSYCHOLOGY & GEOLOGY both are ending in late april. Are you able to take the online quizes and test and exams for me?

Criminology, To what extent might a defense attorney use the Twinkie Defens...

To what extent might a defense attorney use the Twinkie Defense as a springboard for other defenses?

Library sience, write a short note on Principles of Financial Management.

write a short note on Principles of Financial Management.

True or false, #Busing is the practice of school districts sending students...

#Busing is the practice of school districts sending students from one school to another to achieve greater racial balance?

Report on security council resolution, Large protests have been taking plac...

Large protests have been taking place in Libygpt (a state in North Africa) against its oppressive authoritarian leader General Weird Al -dress-sense. The protesters want the Genera

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