User Account

All Pages

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

Professional liability cases, Ronald Knee, an undergraduate student at the ...

Ronald Knee, an undergraduate student at the University of Excelsior, while receiving therapy from Dr. Ernest Grabbit, made threats against an unnamed classmate, who was identifiab

Fossil fuels, Fossil fuels Ken Boyd received a Bachelor's and a Mast...

Fossil fuels Ken Boyd received a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in geology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. He worked for both Gulf Oil and Marathon Oil

Elements of epic poetry, I am facing some problems in my assignment of Elem...

I am facing some problems in my assignment of Elements of Epic Poetry. Can anybody suggest me the proper explanation for it? the topics which are related to the assignment are give

Businees management, #questi VK Ltd a multi-product Company, furnishes you ...

#questi VK Ltd a multi-product Company, furnishes you the following data relating to the year 2000 First Half of the year Second Half of the year Sales Rs. 45,000 Rs. 50,000 Total

Proof reading, How can I improve my summary? Over the years the company Joh...

How can I improve my summary? Over the years the company Johnson and Johnson has been recalling Tylenol products and taking them off the shelves since 1982. As of February 18, 2012

#title. Organizational behaviour, how would you examine if there is any mer...

how would you examine if there is any meriyt in the remarks of various fuctional managers

Fresh produce senescence problem, From the moment a fruit or vegetable was ...

From the moment a fruit or vegetable was harvested from its parent plant, it underwent a process of aging and eventual decay known as senescence. Senescence was marked by two main

Principles of feminist research, Principles of Feminist Research: It is of...

Principles of Feminist Research: It is often taken for granted that feminist research takes an anti-quantitative attitude and therefore abstains from all quantitative standards an

Explain stages of moral development, Question 1: (a) (i) Briefly descr...

Question 1: (a) (i) Briefly describe the six stages of moral development as elaborated by Lawrence Kohlberg. (ii) Highlight some criticisms leveled against Kohlberg's theo

Banking, Why & when customers become dis-satisfied?

Why & when customers become dis-satisfied?

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Order Assignment

Featured Services

Order Now

Popular Subjects

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!

Submit Assignment

Academics

Major Subjects

Majors

Get In Touch

whatsapp: +91-977-207-8620

Phone: +91-977-207-8620

Email: [email protected]

TERMS & POLICIES

HELP & SUPPORT

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