Language is an essential aspect of human beings because it facilitates communication. There exists a variety of languages worldwide, and for them to be understood, they are grammatical rules that must be strictly adhered to. The rules ensure constituency in the language, such that it can be learned and comprehended by individuals worldwide. There are five defining properties common in every language as discussed below.
One of its properties is meaningfulness; every word in a given language has its meaning. The words are combined to come up with sentences that can be understood; hence, foster communication. Words and sentences enable us to describe our feelings, objects, places, and events. Using wrong words in a sentence can relay the incorrect information or make a sentence lose its meaning.
Language is symbolic in the sense that one does not necessarily need to talk to communicate. A person’s facial expression is essential in determining various things, such as where they agree or disagree on something or even their mood. Posters and road signs can be used to relay information and instructions to people. The characteristic property of language has enabled the deaf and dumb to communicate using sign language even though they are unable to talk.
Language has rules; failure to follow the rules would bring about confusion and misunderstanding among people. Words are classified into various categories, and each has its role to play in a sentence. Punctuation marks and tenses are also important factors to consider when constructing a sentence (Akmajian, et al., 2017). The rules ensure that sentences are grammatical and meaningful hence facilitate communication among people.
Another the property of language is its generative and infinite nature. Words and sentences can be manipulated such that they still possess the same meaning even though the sentences vary. The various words can be used to mean the same thing, such that even though people come up with various sentences, they can understand one another.
The language also allows for displacement; this enables someone to either narrate a past or future event to another person even though it is not presently occurring. Someone can give their opinion about a given matter that is not happening at the present moment, which is achieved by altering the tenses. This property enhances communication as it gives someone the freedom to refer to past events while explaining a present one.
In conclusion, all the properties have an important role to play in any given language. They are the foundation of the language such that if they are disregarded, then they will be confusion and a lot of misunderstanding. They also ensure that there is freedom of choice of words by every individual, such that they talk differently but still understand one another. The language properties have enhanced communication among people.
References
Akmajian, A. et al., 2017. Linguistics: An introduction to language and communication.: MIT Press.
