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Phonology, Morphology, and Syntax

Building Blocks of Language

Language is a communication tool that may be unique to humans. It serves to meet people's social, psychological, and survival needs as well as being a means of transmitting culture from generation to generation. Through language, we capture the breadth and depth of human thought. Language enables us to explore the distinct past, record the present, and make predictions into the future.

According to Ethnologue, there are close to 7,000 distinct living languages in the world today. The continent of Asia alone accounts for more than 2,000 varieties, with approximately 3.5 billion speakers. There are 350 languages with at least 1 million speakers that account for about 95% of the world's population. Of these, Mandarin is the most widely spread language internationally, followed by English, Spanish, Hindi/ Urdu, and Arabic. The majority of countries in the world support more than one spoken language. With over 300 language groups represented, the United States is the fifth most linguistically diverse country in the world, while New Guinea, with its 820 indigenous languages, ranks first.

Principles of Languages

All languages consist of a complex system capable of generating infinite numbers of ideas, and all languages are equally valid in stature. The vocabulary of any language is dynamic; that is, it is readily expandable to account for new concepts. In fact, a characteristic of language is that it evolves and changes over time. Speakers of all languages are competent in being able to understand and create an endless number of meaningful utterances.

Children born anywhere in the world are capable of language learning and are not predisposed to learning one language over another. The language or languages that predominate in children's lives are those they will acquire.

Language as a System

Language primarily consists of oral and written communication, with paralinguistic meaning expressed through body language. Each language is unto itself an intricate system with distinct sets of rules by which speakers abide to ensure mutual understanding. Languages consist of different configurations of a finite set of sounds and conventional symbols that express concepts, thoughts, and emotions. In addition, languages tend to have similar grammatical demarcations, such as in nouns or verbs, with specific conventions for formulating words, sentences, and discourse.

Persons with normal hearing abilities have the capacity to produce sounds and sound patterns that signify specific meaning when grouped together; the arrangement of meaningful elements forms a logical string that results in comprehensible communication. These building blocks of language are quite universal. In the next section, the building blocks or components of language systems are described.

Components of a Language System

A language system consists of four major components: (a) phonology, the sounds; (b) morphology, the smallest units of meaning within words; (c) syntax, the grammatical structure; and (d) semantics, the overall meaning conveyed. Imagine a set of nesting cups or blocks that fit one inside the other, as in Figure 1; this analogy applies to how a language system is built from the smallest to largest unit. When these four components are in simultaneous use for a given purpose within a certain context among members of the speech community, then the system also encompasses the field known as pragmatics.

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