Why do people need language

Language

Alexander Anaya Ashe

American InterContinental University

2/22/2015

Abstract

An insight into why people need language and what types of languages we have developed to suite our needs as humans. As well as what conditions determine the kind of language that people use. Which in turn has effect on why some languages survive while others die out.

Keywords: Language, Culture, History

Why do people need language

Language is a basic need for humans to survive and have helped us thrive as well.

A language is an entire system of shared sym­bols used to explain a group’s culture to the next generation, which in turn helps to build community identity. As people desire to communicate with others about things that have happened in the past, or things that are happening somewhere out of sight, the complexities of thought are reflected in the complexities of language. (Editorial Board. 2015, p. #50)

Developing Language

The conditions determine the kind of language that people will use?

The words included in each language vary from group to group, depending on their needs. Everything from rituals and foods to worldviews and geographic land­marks must be worked into the group’s language. Because they live intimately close to the animal, Arctic Sami speakers have over 1,000 words to describe reindeer, for example. A language from a tropical region might not have a single word for such an unknown creature. Words to describe a religious ceremony might be sacred in one language and vulgar in another. The cultural meaning attached to a language cannot be separated from its native speakers. (Editorial Board. 2015, p. #50)

Birth and Death of language
So why do some languages survive while others die out? Language is born of necessity when a language is no longer needed it is eventually discarded. Such as pidgin, though thought of normally as a language used by native Hawaiians the actual definition is;

a systemized, yet generally very streamlined new language created out of necessity. For example, if the two groups only come into contact twice per year to trade silk and diamonds with each other, then the vocabulary that they create only needs to pertain to those limited topics. They will simply combine the important basics of both of their languages into one new mutually functional language. They don’t need extra adjectives or flowery grammar patterns. They only need the basics. The pidgin language that results is thereby highly functional, yet highly abbreviated. It might be made up of vocabulary from mostly one of the two original languages and grammatical rules from the other. Usually, the pidgin language is only used by the two groups when they are communicating with each other, and when the contact ceases, the pidgin dies. Pidgins are languages of need, so if the need disappears, the language disappears. (Editorial Board. 2015, p. #65).

Another example is the Romans use of Latin as a main language.
Latin, like other languages past and present, had more than one form and changed over time because it was both written and spoken, and the educational level or social status of the writer or speaker often determined the final form of the language. (American InterContinental University [AIU], 2015).

Conclusion

Our Language set us apart from other creatures of this world. We express ourselves, defend ourselves, and move forward because of language. people need language and have developed many different languages to suite our needs as humans.

References

·         Editorial Board. 2015). World Cultures. Words of Wisdom.
Retrieved from http://wow.coursesmart.com/9781934920787/?CSTenantKey=aiuniv#extendedisbn 2015

·         American InterContinental University. (2015). Unit 2. Historical Foundations: Language and Literacy [Multimedia presentation]. Retrieved from American InterContinental University Virtual Campus, Huma215-1501A-17
https://class.aiu-online.com/_layouts/MUSEViewer/Asset.aspx?MID=MU21154&aid=AT115070