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

Transaction steps in credit cards, The flow of money and  information betwe...

The flow of money and  information between these parties - forever via  the card relations - is known as the substitution, and it consists of a few steps. TRANSACTION STEPS

Financial economic theory, 1. Suppose we have four bonds with prices and ca...

1. Suppose we have four bonds with prices and cash flows as shown Bond Price Cash flow Cash flow Cash flow Cash flow Time zero Time one time two time three time four A 930 100 100

What led to the founding of the united nations organisation, QUESTION 1 ...

QUESTION 1 What led to the founding of the United Nations Organisation in 1945? Analyse critically two of its main objectives namely (i) the settlement of dispute by peaceful m

Driver behavior - traffic congestion and safety on the road, Driver Behavio...

Driver Behavior - Traffic Congestion and Safety on the Road Driver behavior is an issue that contributes directly or indirectly to the traffic congestion and safety on the r

Political science, Is Madison’s view that Federalism provides greater prote...

Is Madison’s view that Federalism provides greater protection to individuals and minorities still true today?

Credit card basics, CREDIT CARD BASICS A credit card is element of a sy...

CREDIT CARD BASICS A credit card is element of a system of payments named after the little plastic card issued to users of the system. The issuer of the card grants a line of c

Operation research, is there any phases solved by linear programming?

is there any phases solved by linear programming?

Patents of data encryption, Patents- Cryptographic strategy implementi...

Patents- Cryptographic strategy implementing this standard may be enclosed by foreign patents and U.S. issued to the International Business Machines Corporation. Though, IBM h

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