language
Sign in to saveLanguage is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is characterized by its cultural and historical diversity, with significant variations observed between cultures and across time. Human languages possess the properties of productivity and displacement, which enable the creation of an infinite number of sentences, and the ability to refer to objects, events, and ideas that are not immediately present in the disc
AI overview
Language is a structured system of communication made up of grammar and vocabulary that allows humans to convey meaning through speaking, signing, or writing. It matters because it enables us to express an infinite variety of ideas and refer to things beyond what's immediately in front of us, and it varies significantly across different cultures and time periods.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- aptitude
- Part of
- communication
- Has part
- text
- Image
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- P1151
- Portal:Language
- P2579
- humanities
- P5008
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/1 (2022)
- P2633
- language geography
- P460
Article
40 sectionsContents
- Definitions
- Mental faculty, organ or instinct
- Formal symbolic system
- Tool for communication
- Human versus animal language
- Origin
- Study
- Subdisciplines
- Early history
- Modern linguistics
- Physiological and neural architecture of language and speech
- The brain
- Anatomy of speech
- Modality
- Structure
- Semantics
- Sounds and symbols
- Grammar
- Grammatical categories
- Word classes
- Morphology
- Syntax
- Typology and universals
- Social contexts of use and transmission
- Usage and meaning
- Acquisition
- Culture
- Writing, literacy and technology
- Change
- Contact
- Linguistic diversity
- Languages and dialects
- Language families of the world
- Language endangerment
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Works cited
- Further reading
- External links
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is characterized by its cultural and historical diversity, with significant variations observed between cultures and across time. Human languages possess the properties of productivity and displacement, which enable the creation of an infinite number of sentences, and the ability to refer to objects, events, and ideas that are not immediately present in the discourse. The use of human language relies on social convention and is acquired through learning.
Estimates of the number of human languages in the world vary between and . Precise estimates depend on an arbitrary distinction (dichotomy) established between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken, signed, or both; however, any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, writing, whistling, signing, or braille. In other words, human language is modality-independent, but written or signed language is the way to inscribe or encode the natural human speech or gestures.