The nature of language
What is it that we learn when we learn a language? If we look up a definition of “language” in a dictionary, we will probably see reference to its verbal features (oral and written), to its function in communication, and to its uniquely human character. Most linguists would agree that all naturally occurring languages also share the following characteristics:
• Languages are systematic. They consist of recurrent elements which occur in regular patterns of relationships. All languages have an infinite number of possible sentences, and the vast majority of all sentences which are used have not been memorized. They are created according to rules or principles which speakers are usually unconscious of using – or even of knowing – if they acquired the language(s) as a young child. Although we use the same stock of words over and over, it is safe to assume that, for instance, most of the particular combinations of words making up the sentences in a daily newspaper have never been used before. How, then, do we understand them? We can do so because we understand the principles by which the words are combined to express meaning. Even the sounds we produce in speaking, and the orders in which they occur, are systematically organized in ways that we are totally unaware of.
• Languages are symbolic. Sequences of sounds or letters do not inherently possess meaning. The meanings of symbols in a language come through the tacit agreement of a group of speakers. For example, there is no resemblance between the four-legged animal that eats hay and the spoken symbol [hors] or the written symbol horse which we use to represent it in English. English speakers agree that the hay-eating animal will be called a horse, Spanish speakers caballo, German Pferd, Chinese ma, and Turkish at.
• Languages are social. Each language reflects the social requirements of the society that uses it, and there is no standard for judging whether one language is more effective for communication than another, other than to estimate the success its users may have in achieving the social tasks that are demanded of them. Although the capacity for first language acquisition is inherent in the neurological makeup of every individual, no one can develop that potential without interaction with others in the society he or she grows up in. We use language to communicate, to categorize and catalogue the objects, events, and processes of human experience. We might well define language at least in part as “the expressive dimension of culture.” It follows that people who function in more than one cultural context will communicate more effectively if they know more than one language.
Linguists traditionally divide a language into different levels for description and analysis, even though in actual use all levels must interact and function simultaneously. The human accomplishment of learning language(s) seems all the more remarkable when we consider even a simplified list of the areas of knowledge which every L1 or L2 learner must acquire at these different levels:
lexicon (vocabulary)
• word meaning
• pronunciation (and spelling for written languages)
• grammatical category (part of speech)
• possible occurrence in combination with other words and in idioms
phonology (sound system)
• speech sounds that make a difference in meaning (phonemes)
• possible sequences of consonants and vowels (syllable structure)
• intonation patterns (stress, pitch, and duration), and perhaps tone in words
• rhythmic patterns (pauses and stops)
morphology (word structure)
• parts of words that have meaning (morphemes)
• inflections that carry grammatical information (like number or tense)
• prefixes and suffixes that may be added to change the meaning of words or their grammatical category
syntax (grammar)
• word order
• agreement between sentence elements (as number agreement between subject and verb)
• ways to form questions, to negate assertions, and to focus or structure information within sentences
nonverbal structures (with conventional, language-specific meaning)
• facial expressions
• spatial orientation and position
• gestures and other body movement
discourse
• ways to connect sentences, and to organize information across sentence boundaries
• structures for telling stories, engaging in conversations, etc.
• scripts for interacting and for events
All of this knowledge about language is automatically available to children for their L1 and is somehow usually acquired with no conscious effort. Completely comparable knowledge of L2 is seldom achieved, even though much time and effort may be expended on learning. Still, the widespread occurrence in the world of high levels of multilingual competence attests to the potential power and effectiveness of mechanisms for SLA. Explaining what these mechanisms are has been a major objective in the study of SLA from a variety of linguistic perspectives.
Nonverbal structures are often excluded from traditional linguistic analysis, but they are an important component of what is acquired in both L1 and L2. This level is receiving increased attention from applied linguists (e.g. Gullberg and McCafferty 2008).
