Definition of Language & Language Meduims

1. Definition of Language

Definition of Language: Language is an abstract set of signals, used by human beings to communicate. It’s a system of well-organized units that are systematically related.

      Many definitions of language have been proposed. Henry Sweet, an English phonetician and language scholar, stated: “Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into thoughts.” The American linguists Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager formulated the following definition: “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group cooperates.” Any succinct definition of language makes a number of presuppositions and begs a number of questions. The first, for example, puts excessive weight on “thought,” and the second uses “arbitrary” in a specialized, though legitimate, way.

    Another case in Stiawan according to Owen (2006:1), describes the language definition language can be defined as a socially shared Those combinations of symbols and rule governed Those combinations of symbols (language can be defined as a socially acceptable code or conventional system for delivering concepts through the use of symbols and combinations of the desired symbols are governed by the provisions).

      The opinions above are similar to what was expressed by Tarin (1989:4), he gives two definitions of the language. First, language is a system that systematically, perhaps also for generative systems. Second, language is a set of symbols as you like it or arbitrary symbols.According to Santoso (1990:1), language is a series of sound produced by said means of a conscious human being.

        Another definition, language is a form and not a state (language may be the form and not matter) or something that sounds arbitrary symbol system, or also a system of many systems, a system of an order or an order in the system- the system. The expression proposed by Mackey (1986:12).

        According Wibowo (2001:3), language is a system of symbols that are meaningful and articulate sound (generated by said tool) which are arbitrary and conventional, which is used as a means of communicating by a group of human beings to give birth to feelings and thoughts.

       Almost similar to the opinion Wibowo, Walija (1996:4), disclose the definition language of communication is the most complete and effective way to convey ideas, messages, intentions, feelings and opinions to others.

       Other opinions about the definition of language expressed by Shamsuddin (1986:2), he gave two language understanding. First, language is a tool used to shape the mind and feelings, desires and deeds, a tool used to influence and be influenced. Second, language is a clear sign of a good personality or bad, a clear sign of the family and the nation, a clear sign from the mind of humanity.

      While Pengabean (1981:5), argues that language is a system of express and report what happens on the nervous system. Recent opinion of this short paper about the language expressed by Soejono (1983:01), language is a means of spiritual communication is very important in life together.

This abstract concept of language can be concrete through two different mediums: Speech and Writing.

2. Human Language Concrete Mediums

" Language is an abstraction based on the linguistic behavior of its users.”

Abstraction in linguistics
Abstraction denotes a process in the development of language.It can denote a process applied by linguists, whereby phenomena are considered without the details.

Language should not be considered equal to speech, why?

There is no speaker who can master the language completely.
Factors such as tiredness, illness and lack of attention affect speakers ability of using the language.

Speech is commonly seen as the main medium of communication.
Language, an abstract system, can be represented in writing.Speech and writing have common features, but they are not equal.

The abstract concept of language can be made concrete through two different meduims namely, speech and writing.

Speech: is a concrete medium of language consisting of vocal signals or messages perceived by the ear.

Writing: is a concrete medium of language consisting of graphic signals or messages perceived by the eye.

Language

Abstraction

                             Speech                                                      Writing

                            Spoken form                                         Written form

3. Speech vs Writing

Speech and writing as language mediums:

When we talk about 'language', sometimes we mean speech (spoken language), sometimes writing (written language). How are they different? Of course, speech is spoken and heard, while writing is written and read. But there are many other differences:

Age. Speech goes back to human beginnings, perhaps a million years ago. Writing is relatively recent, however; it was first invented by the Sumerians, in Mesopotamia, around 3200 B.C. Since then, the idea of writing has spread around the world and different writing systems have evolved in different parts of the world.

Universality. Humans everywhere can speak. But before the Sumerian invention, people were nonliterate. Even now there are many nonliterate groups (e.g. in New Guinea), and many nonliterate people in officially literate societies.

Acquisition. People everywhere start speaking during the first two years of life; many of the abilities involved are probably inborn rather than learned. Learning to write typically builds on learning to speak.

Levels of Structure. Speech consists of two types of basic units: 'Phonemes' or units of sound, which are themselves meaningless, are combined into 'morphemes', which are meaningful units; so the phonemes /b/, /i/, /t/ form the word 'bit'. Alphabetic scripts work the same way. In a different type of script, the syllabary, the basic unit, corresponds to a spoken syllable; Japanese and Cherokee use this system. In logographic script, e.g. Chinese, each character corresponds to an entire morpheme (usually a word). (For further information on scripts, see Daniels and Bright 1996.)

Interdependence. Most literate people can convey the same messages in either speech or writing, but speech typically conveys more explicit information than writing. Hebrew and Arabic scripts indicate consonants but often omit symbols for vowels. In Chinese, the symbols that correspond to words may give no indication of pronunciation, or only partial cues. The spoken and written forms of a given language tend to correspond on one or more levels and may influence each other—as when 'through' is spelled 'thru'. Conversely, in spelling pronunciation, people may come to pronounce the 't' in 'often' even though historically it had been lost. Some formal literary styles, like Classical Chinese, acquire a life of their own in written form and have little direct relationship to speech.

Retrievability. Until the invention of magnetic recording, speech could not be captured or preserved, except by fallible memories and by writing. But writing can be preserved for millennia. Its permanence has made possible such human institutions as libraries, histories, schedules, dictionaries, menus, and what we generally call 'civilization'.

Literary Use. Nonliterate societies have traditions—songs, rituals, legends, myths—composed orally and preserved by memory. Such texts may be called oral literature. By contrast, writing permits what is more often called 'literature', i.e. bodies of text which are much larger and more codified than memory permits. Yet even in literate societies, dramatic performance and reading aloud remain important traditions.

Prestige. Written language is associated with political and economic power, admired literature, and educational institutions, all of which lend it high prestige. In literate societies, people often come to think of their written language as basic; they may regard speech as inferior. Nevertheless, writing can be perceived as colder or more impersonal than speech.

Standardization. Spoken languages have dialects—forms varying across geographical areas and social groups. But in complex societies that use writing, the needs of communication encourage moves toward a single written norm, codified by governmental, educational, and literary institutions. The prestige of the written standard is then likely to influence speech as well.

Formality. Communication may be formal or casual. In literate societies, writing may be associated with formal style and speech, with casual style. In formal circumstances (oratory, sermons), a person may 'talk like a book', adapting written style for use in speech. Formal and informal styles may be very distinct, e.g. in Arabic, and can virtually be different languages.

Change. Spoken language, everywhere and always, undergoes continual change of which speakers may be relatively unaware. Written language, because of its permanence and standardization, shows slower and less sweeping changes; the spelling of English has changed much less than its pronunciation since Chaucer's time. This in turn is linked to the factors of formality and prestige.

Speech and writing as speech mediums are different. The following is a list of these differences:

4. The Primacy of Speech over Writing

        Linguists hold that while many languages of the world are both written and spoken, more languages of the world are only spoken, and many languages of the world are spoken by more people than are written, therefore what is primary about language it that it is spoken. Written language is derived from spoken language, not vice versa. Therefore if we see a conflict between what is written and what is spoken, we will describe the language as actually being what is spoken. In fact most discrepancies between one norm or another in prescriptive grammar are conflicts over whether to follow spoken usage or written usage. Written usage is usually the norm of a previous stage of the language.

Accordingly, we can divide these primacies into 3 main types:

a) The Historical Priority: Human beings have known how to speak before knowing how to write. Also, thousands of speech communities rely on speech, as they have no written form of their language. Writing is a recent development in human societies.

b) The Biological Priority: Children acquire the spoken form of language naturally or automatically without any training or conscious efforts. However, learning to write is usually less spontaneous and less automatic. Children are given special instructions based on their prior knowledge of spoken language:

c) The Structural Priority: Most linguists make use of an alphabetical writing system which is an association or a linking of particular shapes(forms) with particular sounds according to spoken form. Therefore, the spoken form of language is structurally more basic than the written language.