1. Discuss any four properties of human language.

(8 mks)

Language is a means of communicating and interacting with others. Language started as

abstract symbols to a systematic form of communication. At present, there are more than
7,100 languages spoken across the globe.

Properties of human language

I. Reflexivity

Although communication is often considered the main purpose of human language, this is not
a unique trait. Even if they do not vocalize it, all animals communicate in some fashion.
However, we assume that other organisms do not examine or reflect on how they develop
their expressive messages (or not). If you think about dogs, you can reasonably guess that one
barking dog is not telling another barking dog to tone down their bark, so it sounds more
frightening. Humans can consider language and its applications, and reflexivity is happening
here.

II. Displacement

People can speak of the past and the future. This feature of human language is referred to as
displacement. Language users can utilize it to discuss subjects that are not currently
happening around them. With the aid of displacement, we can discuss creatures and locations
(such as angels, fairies, Santa Claus, Superman, heaven, and hell) whose existence we cannot
even be certain of. A honeybee can engage in a dance routine to let the other bees know
where it found a supply of nectar when it returns to the beehive. The other bees can determine
the location of this recently discovered feast based on the sort of dance. This counts as
displacement, but of a very specific kind. It simply lacks the breadth of possibilities present
in human language.

III. Arbitrary

Language is also arbitrary, which is a fundamental feature. Words rarely have a coherent or
guiding relationship to what they mean. The first three digits are one, two, and three in
English, but yi, er, and san are Chinese. Because there is no "correct" word for anything,
neither language has one for numbers or anything else. Even onomatopoetic terms for noises,
like ding-dong and click, that are meant to sound like the noises they name vary from
language to language. A dog might say bow wow or woof woof in English, but it would say
bho bho in Hindi. Korean dogs say mung mung, while Greek dogs say gav. Even something
as seemingly objective as a dog's bark is represented arbitrarily in language because people
interpret these sounds through the arbitrary "sound filters" of their languages.

IV. Cultural Transmission

While we get our parents' physical traits like dark hair and brown eyes, we do not get their
linguistic traits. We do not learn a language from our parents' genes; rather, we learn it in a
community of speakers. An infant born to Korean parents in Korea but adopted and raised by
English-speaking parents in the United States from birth will physically resemble their
parents but invariably speak English. If a kitten has similar early experiences, it will still
meow. It is called "cultural transmission," when a language is passed down from one
generation to the next. Generally, people have some innate propensity to learn a language.
However, the capacity to speak a particular language, like English, is not something we are
born with. When we are young, we learn our first language.

V. Productivity

Humans invent new terms by modifying existing verbal resources to describe novel objects
and circumstances. Productivity (also known as "creativity" or "open-mindedness") is a
quality that means that there are an endless number of possible utterances in all human
languages. Is that a word? This is a common question people have when they first hear a
word. If they question a linguist, they will probably get the response, "It is now." Even
though a novel word is not listed in a dictionary, it is still considered a real word provided it
is produced following its language's morphological and phonological principles and makes
sense when used in context.

VI. Duality

Human language is simultaneously organized at two levels. This characteristic is known as

duality. Individual sounds, such as n, b, and I, are produced physically when we talk, and
none of these distinct variants have inherent significance when considered separate sounds.
We have another level in a combination, like a bin, that has a different meaning than the
meaning of the combination in the nib. As a result, we have separate sounds on one level and
distinct meanings on a different level. The fact that we can create diverse sound combinations
(like words) using a small collection of sounds makes this duality of levels one of the most
practical aspects of human language.
2. Critically examine four theories on origin of language.
(7mks)
Introduction

From the ancient Egyptians to the modern-day English language, there has been a long
and fascinating history surrounding the evolution of languages. The earliest known written
language is believed to be Egyptian hieroglyphs, which date back to around 3200 BC. From there,
other forms of writing began to emerge in areas such as Mesopotamia and India. Over time, these
writing systems began to develop into more advanced forms of communication that could be used
for trade and diplomatic relations between countries. As communication increased between
cultures, new languages were developed as well. This is believed to be one of the main reasons
why there are so many different languages spoken across the world today.

Tower of Babel Theory

One popular theory suggests that all languages stem from one original language. This
theory is often referred to as 'the Tower of Babel Theory' after the biblical story in which
God confused human speech and scattered people into different regions where they
developed their languages. This theory holds that many modern languages can be traced
back to a single source, with slight variations due to geographical factors such as climate,
geography, or dialect.

Proto-World Theory

Another popular theory suggests that language arose independently in multiple regions
around the world. According to this theory, known as the ‘Proto-World Theory’, there
were multiple ‘proto-languages’ that eventually evolved into distinct languages. This
theory is supported by evidence from archaeological sites which suggest that there were
several distinct linguistic communities during prehistoric times. Each proto-language was
spoken by a distinct group but had similarities with other proto-languages due to contact
between groups over time.

Noam Chomsky - theory of language origin

Noam Chomsky, a renowned linguist, developed a theory of language origin in the 1950s.
According to Noam Chomsky's language theory, humans possess an innate knowledge of
 the language that is not learned from environmental sources. Chomsky suggested that this
knowledge is derived from a universal grammar and is embedded into our unconscious.
This means that every person has an internal ability to determine grammar, syntax, and
vocabulary within any language. No matter the native language spoken by an individual,
the ability to learn and detect new dialects and languages remains the same. Noam
Chomsky's theoretical postulations have been influential in shedding light on the
complexity of human speech patterns and the rich diversity that exists among all
linguistic systems.

Evolutionary Theory

The evolutionary theory suggests that language evolved gradually over time in response
to environmental changes or evolutionary pressures such as population growth. According
to this theory, language evolved slowly and incrementally rather than suddenly appearing
out of nowhere in its current form. This means that it would have taken thousands of
years for the evolution of human language to emerge from earlier stages of
communication such as hand gestures or simple words and phrases.

Reference

 Stam, J. H. 1976. Inquiries into the origins of language. New York: Harper and
Row, p. 255.
 Müller, F. M. 1996 [1861]. The theoretical stage, and the origin of language.
Lecture 9 from Lectures on the Science of Language. Reprinted in R. Harris
(ed.), The Origin of Language. Bristol: Thoemmes Press, pp. 7–41.
 Botha, Rudolf P.; Knight, Chris (2009). The Prehistory of Language. Oxford; New
York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-954587-2. OCLC 819189595