Being Human Language Essay

1106 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Language acquisition nature

Being Human-Language
In Being Human by Richard Gross, one of the most common claims for human exceptionalism is language. Human language has surpassed any kind of communicative behavior carried on by other species. The power of spoken language is what makes us humans and what differs us from other living organisms. The complexity of human language involves learning the components of symbolic elements certainly not learned in other species’ communication systems. Non-human brains are simply not structured to develop language like humans do. Their brains lack abstract thinking and understanding of symbols. The language in humans has unique characteristics that mature and develop distinctly from other species.
Per Gross, “Postnatal structural …show more content…

However, there is a significant difference between the hoot of an owl or the grunt of a pig, and a human standing in front of an audience reciting a piece. The enormous difference between human language and animal communication nevertheless remains. Unlike humans, animals do not have a special region in the brain devoted to language. They possess a much smaller brain and lack the ability to speak the words they may think. Although, some animals are capable of understanding. For example, dogs can learn to respond to commands and signs. Other animals can even be trained to use minimal portions of human sign language. Dogs and some animals can be trained to do certain things and can convey ideas of danger or food but still cannot use language to communicate. The cognitive intelligence of animals is quite different unlike that of …show more content…

Being able to “understand and define ourselves through participation in dialogue with others in a linguistic Community” is what makes us characteristically humans (14). Humans are meant to be born into a world of language, which carries the meanings of the complexity of terms used. Through language, humans operate within a culture that helps create self-interpretations and understanding of each other as human beings. Language among humans is so diverse that anyone can communicate in a variety of ways. There is no area of experience that is regarded as incommunicable, though it may be necessary to adapt one’s language in order to cope with new models of thought within a

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Tom Munnecke's 'Nothing Is Missing'

    1369 Words  | 3 Pages

    How much does language truly affect the way that we think? In “Nothing is Missing,” Tom Munnecke discusses the limitations that arise when being confined to unique “linguistic shells.” However, after an eye-opening trip to Japan language paradoxes that once hindered the fluidity of his thoughts were depleted. Through his own experiences with thinking and speaking in different languages, Munnecke was able to open his mind and view the world in a more progressive way. The “linguistic shell” that frustrated Munnecke in his early age becomes a lead to many theories that he has about our modern lives. Subsequently, Munnecke is able to relate language, thought, and distance; all of which he concludes have no boundaries within each other. In his memoir

    Read More

  • The Return to Laughter, by Elenore Smith Bowen

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    As anthropologists seek to understand the culture that they are studying they must overcome the language barrier. Similar to the concept of culture, “people use language to encode their experiences, to structure their understanding of the world and themselves, and engage with on...

    Read More

  • Comparing Malcolm X And Helen Keller's A Word For Everything

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    The prehistoric times stand evidence to the power of language as a tool for communication and growth. Language has proven to be an effective medium and factor surrounding the evolution of man. Language has played a big role in the development of individuals and societies. What is spoken and/or written, help in the initiation of imagination, expression of feelings, and conveyance of thoughts and ideas.

    Read More

  • Language functions as told through figure skating: What skating can teach us about language.

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the most basic of functions like recognition and storage to the complexities of discourse and cultural expression, language functions are an integral and pervasive component of the human experience. In these pages I have sought to describe the operation of the six language functions through the analogy of a figure skater and a dancer. Each skill builds upon the next to weave the intricate set of skills and abilities that humans have uniquely developed to share information and each other’s experiences of the world.

    Read More

  • Non Human Primates Essay

    1325 Words  | 3 Pages

    In essence, the difference is simple, human primates have language while non-human primates do not. Even though non-human primates do not have

    Read More

  • Essay On Primate Language

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    Language is commonly held to be the province of humans, but other inhabitants of earth possess their own forms of communication. Birds, dolphins, and whales are some of those that have a language. Primates also use vocal communication with each other. Their utterances have varied uses and volumes, with each primate’s voice being distinct just as human voices are. These unique calls have given researchers insight into the social workings of primate groups. The very fact that primates have a language offers insight into the evolution of language and calls into question what the term human truly means.

    Read More

  • Non Verbal Communication Essay

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    Knowing other forms of communication is important because it can help to decrease negative behaviors for those who are non-verbal, and to understand their wants and needs. Many Autistic children have trouble with socializing and understanding different facial features, tones of voice, body language. For a non-verbal Autistic child the level of difficulty increases along with the chance of them becoming frustrated. There are many ways for a non-verbal child to be able to communicate, such as PECS boards, writing, different technology on ipads. This paper will provide evidence to answer the question: What are some techniques that are used to help a non-verbal Autistic child communicate?

    Read More

  • Summary Of Atoms Of Language By Mark Baker

    1335 Words  | 3 Pages

    How can it be that something so uniquely human and commonplace in our everyday existence as language, could transcend the limits of our immediate understanding? We all know how to speak and comprehend at least one language, but defining what we actually know about that language an infinitely more demanding process. How can a child without previous knowledge of the construction and concepts of language be born into the world with an innate ability to apprehend any dialect? Mark Baker, in his book The Atoms of Language, seeks to address these unsettling questions, proposing as a solution, a set of underlying linguistic ingredients, which interact to generate the wide variety of languages we see today.

    Read More

  • Communication In Oral Language

    1778 Words  | 4 Pages

    Language primarily is a system of communication (Fellowes and Oakley, 2014. p. 16). It is a “socially shared code” meaning it is custom to a certain group of humans and the language is understood by all in the group (Suri, n.d.). At all stages of life, language is an expressive tool that humans’ use as a vehicle to express ones’ self, ideas and thoughts (Kilgour, 1999). When language is learnt, certain notions about what is appropriate depending on different context is learnt (Emmitt, Zbaracki, Komesaroff & Pollock, 2010. p. 73). These notions are reflective of M. Halliday’s language register, language is diverse and is representative of context of interaction, who the communication is between and the communitive purpose as well as the mode of communication [oral or written] (Fellowes and Oakley, 2014. p. 19 & 20). Variety of vernacular is a diverse language barrier that may affect a person at any stage of life; refers to our everyday language and slang that is different to another group or region (Casano, n.d.). An example would be, this language would be appropriate for friends and close family but a different variety of vernacular would be used amoung work

    Read More

  • What Is Being Human Essay

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the biggest questions asked by not only researchers, but everyday people as well, has been the question of what makes we as people human. Being human consists of a complexity of definitions and factors that coexist with one another to make up who we are as people, and through anthropology, being human is studied very carefully in order to provide an answer to this question. Aspects such as language and communication, self-conceptualism, and bipedalism all correlate to what consists of being human, and while some of these can relate to other species, human beings use them in uniquely different ways that enhance our functioning in the world. Anthropologists have researched the complexity of human beings for centuries and throughout this

    Read More

  • Interpersonal Communication Essay

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    The purpose of this paper is not to teach you, or to show you how interpersonal communication is essential to everyday life at home or work. But, I am going to do my best to at least show you how essential communication skills are in all areas of life by using me as the example. My plan is to focus on some of the elements of interpersonal communication that we have been touching on this semester. While reading our Interpersonal Communications Book, three goals kept being highlighted that I personally wanted to accomplish by the end of course. I’m sure that by now have noticed that I keep referring to my topics as goals. The reason why I’m doing so is because I’m still on that learning curve…an ongoing process. If can recall back to all of our assignment in this course they all bring one collective point. That point is that, Interpersonal communication is an essential skill in everything that we do in life.

    Read More

  • Analyzing Key Features of Language

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Language is an essential thing needed to communicate and to develop the skills one needs to be a complete, whole, intelligent individual. Language is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Here we shall define language and lexicon, evaluate the key features of language, describe the four levels of language structure and processing, and analyze the role of language processing in cognitive psychology.

    Read More

  • The Biological Basis of Language Development

    3894 Words  | 8 Pages

    "[H]uman knowledge is organized de facto by linguistic competence through language performance, and our exploration of reality is always mediated by language" (Danchin 29). Most higher vertebrates possess ‘intuitive knowledge’ which occurs as the result of slow evolution of species. However, the ability to create knowledge through language is unique to humans. According to Benjamin Whorf, "language…. is not merely a reproducing instrument from voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas…. We dissect nature along lines laid down by language" (Joseph 249). In addition, the development and acquisition of language seems to be related to "complex sequential processing, and the ability to form concepts and to classify a single stimulus in a multiple manner" (Joseph 178). Antione Danchin suggests that the knowledge we create through language allows us distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world to produce models of reality, which become more and more adequate due to the "self-referent loop" which enables us to understand ourselves as objects under study. This "path from subject to object," which is common to all humans, Danchin claims, suggests the existence of a universal feature of language (29).

    Read More

  • Piaget's Theory Of Language Development

    2212 Words  | 5 Pages

    Language is a part of our everyday lives, and we can describe the meaning of language in many ways. As suggested in Gee and Hayes (2011, p.6 ) people can view language as something in our minds or something existing in our world in the form of speech, audio recordings, and writings or we can view language as a way of communicating with a group of people. Language can be used to express our emotions, make sense of our mental and abstract thoughts and assists us in communicating with others around us. Language is of vital importance for children to enable them to succeed in school and everyday life. Everyone uses both oral and written language. Language developed as a common ability amongst human beings with the change

    Read More

  • Essay On The Role Of Language

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Language is the basis of human communication. It is a cultural and social interaction, and the way language is used is influenced by the circumstances in which it takes place (Emmitt, 2010, p. 49; Green, 2006, p. 2). Children become aware that there are different types of language, including languages used at home, at childcare and at school, as they observe and participate in various language situations (Fellowes & Oakley, 2014, p. 39). Some of these languages may be unfamiliar, and children will need to learn the different roles and uses of language. The different roles of language in a child’s life are, therefore, part of their growing understanding of how to behave in society and in a particular context. As they experience different types and uses of language, children develop an understanding of how to use language appropriately for any given situation.

    Read More

More about Being Human Language Essay

Open Document