LANGUAGE

AND

WRITING

LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE (DEFINITION)
The word language has two meanings: language as a general concept and a language (a specific linguistic system, e.g. French.) When speaking of language as a general concept, several different definitions can be used that stress different aspects of the phenomenon.

LANGUAGE AS A GENERAL CONCEPT

A mental faculty, organ or instinct - This view often understands language to be largely innate.

LANGUAGE AS A GENERAL CONCEPT

A formal symbolic system - sees language as a formal system of symbols governed by grammatical rules combining particular signs with particular meanings. This definition stresses the fact that human languages can be described as closed structural systems consisting of rules that relate particular signs to particular meanings.

LANGUAGE AS A GENERAL CONCEPT

A tool for communication - sees language as a system of communication that enables humans to cooperate. This definition stresses the social functions of language and the fact that humans use it to express themselves and to manipulate objects in their environment.

OTHER DEFINITIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language is a way of speaking distinct in every culture. (Beals and Hoijer)  Language is a vocal symbolism of speech, with its related bodily gesture and mechanical signals which give precision and finesse to communication. (Keesing)  Language as a body of words and systems for their use common to a people of the same community or nation. (Random House College Dictionary)


OTHER DEFINITIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language is a purely human and noninstinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and drives by means of voluntarily produced symbols. A symbol is anything that represents something else. It is something that can express or evoke meaning. Meanings are bestowed upon objects by those who use them. (Sapir)

BASIC CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE

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2)

3)

Language is the expression or communication of thoughts and feelings by means of vocal sounds and written symbols, and the communication of such sounds to which meaning is attributed. In any language the basic unit is sound. In order to learn a language, one must have the mastery or control of sound system through a variety of listening activities. Every language has its own structure. The hierarchy of structure consists of letters, syllables, words, phrases, clauses, sentences and paragraph level.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF LANGUAGE

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Language learning involves artistic and functional skills. Clarity, relevance, unity and coherence characterized good writing. Language is a shared experience. Language is a reflection of peoples values and experiences. Language is universal; it is civilization itself.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LANGUAGE
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Antiquity (Age) Developed through the years by evolution Part of Culture Grows by innovation Symbolism Elements

ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE
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2)

3)

Phonology (phonemic or phonetic) is a system consisting of sounds in human speech conveying significant meanings. Every sound or set of sound has a meaning. Grammar (morphology) is the study of the formal features of language, as the sounds, morphemes, words and sentences according to definite rules so that a complete thought is expressed. In other words, it is the way of putting together words into a sentence according to definite rules to express a complete thought. Lexicon (vocabulary) is the meaning system of language; it is the collection of words of a language together with their respective significant meanings.

FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE
1) 2)

Communication. Enculturation. Promotion of nationalism. Promotion of cooperation. Promotion of peace. Accumulation of knowledge.

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MECHANICAL AIDS TO COMMUNICATION

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Telephone Radio Television Video tape recording Motion picture Sound system

IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE
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Language is important because knowledge and information are accumulated and maintained. Language provides a continuity of culture. Language is one of the important sources of permanence for the culture, outliving any particular member. It is the most important channel for communication and a medium for determining the values of a society. Because of language, people learn to play and to work together and in the process, they are able to identify, discuss and provide alternative solutions to existing problems in the community. Language is also a way of bringing people close to one another and consequently, foster the feeling of acceptance and belongingness.

WRITING

WRITING - DEFINITION

Writing is an activity which is characterized by forming characters, letter, words and pictures on the surface of some materials, with a pen, pencil, knife, pointed stick or other instruments of means to express or communicate; it is representing meaningful sounds in a language by conventionalized graphic symbols.

DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
1. Picture Writing. This is probably the earliest form of writing. This was used by the most primitive people. This is simply a form of drawing pictures called pictographs or pictograms representing ideas or objects. The earliest pictograms were found on the walls of the cave dwellings of primitive people. Even today, we draw pictures of objects.

DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
2. Hieroglyphics. This is the kind of writing the early Egyptians invented. This was probably the earliest form of writing dating back about 2000 years before the Christian era. This name was derived from the Greek words hieros meaning sacred and glypho meaning to carve. These pictures or signs represented ideas. Since the priests were the only ones who knew how to write, the pictures or signs were called sacred signs. Writing was done on stones and papyrus.

DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
3. Cuneiform. The cuneiform system of writing was invented by the Sumerians about 2000 B.C. The word cuneiform was derived from the words cuneus, meaning wedge. The system consists of wedgeshaped characters which were pressed or scratched into soft clay and baked in the sun if worth keeping as a record. Different positions and combinations of the wedgeshaped characters gave different meanings.

DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
4. Logographic Writing. The dictionary defines logo as a word element denoting a speech and a logogram as a conventional abbreviated symbol for a frequently recurring word or phrase. Hence, the symbols that represented words were called logograms or logographs. This kind of writing was developed in the Near East, in China, and in the Maya language. It is difficult to represent abstract ideas with logograms.

DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
5. Ideographic Writing. Ideographic writing was probably an outgrowth of the logographic writing. This was developed in China. There is a distinctive symbol for each idea. To make the writing simpler, the Chinese reduce the number of characters to 214 which may be combined and which should be memorized to be able to write with facility. This form of language is adaptable to the Chinese language the words of which are monosyllabic, but not to languages the words of which contain many syllables.

DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
6. Phonetic Writing. This is assigning a symbol for a phonetic sound called phonogram or phonograph. Phonograms are associated with syllables instead of words. The symbols representing sounds were called syllabaries. This kind of writing was developed in Mesopotamia, now Iraq, and Babylonia, formerly Persia and now Iran.

DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
7. Alphabetic Writing. The alphabetic form of writing was developed about 1800 B.C. when Semites, probably the Phoenicians, took the Egyptians syllabary of 24 letters and substituted their own. About 1100 B.C., the Phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 letters made from hieroglyphics. This alphabet became the basis of the Greek and Latin alphabets. The Greeks added vowels in place of consonants they did not need. This alphabet spread to European countries. Thus, the Phoenicians are credited with the invention of the alphabet we are using now.

MECHANICAL AIDS TO WRITING

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Typewriter Telegraph Printing press Photocopying machine computer

FUNCTIONS AND IMPORTANCE OF WRITING

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Long Distance Communication. Recording and Preservation of Information Materials. Mass Production of Information Materials. Facilitation of Learning.

RELATION BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND WRITING

Language and writing are related but not identical. Writing is a tool or instrument of language so that the latter can function better, more effectively, and to a greater extent. Language can exist without writing but writing can not exist without language. When language functions, it is not because of writing, but when writing functions, it is because of language. In other words, language can function without writing, but writing can not function without language. Language can be separated from writing but writing can not be separated from language. Writing only serves the purpose of language but not vice versa. Each has a history of its own with the history of language preceding the history of writing.

SIGN LANGUAGE

SIGN LANGUAGE - DEFINITION

A sign language (also signed language) is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns (manual communication, body language) to convey meaningsimultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's thoughts. Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages develop.

SIGN LANGUAGE IN HEARING COMMUNITIES

Gesture is a typical component of spoken languages. More elaborate systems of manual communication have developed in places or situations where speech is not practical or permitted, such as cloistered religious communities, scuba diving, television recording studios, loud workplaces, stock exchanges, baseball, hunting (by groups such as the Kalahari bushmen), or in the game Charades. In Rugby Union the Referee uses a limited but defined set of signs to communicate his/her decisions to the spectators.

HAND SIGNS (ASL)

MORE

BRAILLE

BRAILLE - DEFINITION
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing. Braille was devised in 1821 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two columns of three dots each. Braille may be produced using a slate and stylus in which each dot is created from the back of the page, writing in mirror image, by hand, or it may be produced on a Braille typewriter or Perkins Brailler, or produced by a Braille embosser attached to a computer. It may also be rendered using a refreshable Braille display.

LETTERS AND NUMBERS (BRAILLE)

A,1

B,2

C,3

D,4

E,5

F,6

G,7

H,8

I,9

J,10

OTHER SYMBOLS
CAPITAL LETTER FOLLOWS FULL STOP, PERIOD

NUMBER LETTER FOLLOWS

COMMA

APOSTROPHE

SEMICOLON

OTHER SYMBOLS
EXCLAMATION POINT HYPHEN

OPENING QUOTATION MARK, QUESTION MARK*

CLOSING QUOTATION MARK

*The question mark is represented by dots 2-3-6the same as the opening quotation mark. Therefore the placement of the dotsbefore a word or after a wordwill determine which symbol it is. * Opening and closing parentheses are shown with the same symbol. Therefore, the placement context will determine whether the parentheses is opening or closing.

BRACKET, PARENTHESES*

GRADE 2 BRAILLE CONTRACTIONS

AND

CH

SH

ST

TH

This is just a small sample of some of the contractions that are used in Grade 2 Braille. Braille also includes a number of whole word contractions, for example the word Braille becomes a three cell word brl.