But it was labour alone that created a new element, the appearance of which marked the birth of fully-fledged man, namely, society. And language, a doubly important medium having a close relationship to thinking and an essential social function, makes man human and fundamentally distinguishes him from the animals.
Language is one of the natural organic semiological systems, the basic and the most important means of communications between the members of a given speech community, for whom this system is a means of developing their thinking, of passing on their cultural and historical traditions from generation to generation This what the natural human language is for as our contemporaries understand it. It is necessary to add, that language as the medium of the literature as well as the history of ideas, is a vibrant, living phenomenon. It is subject to constant growth, change and decay which characterize all forms of life. When a language ceases to change, such as Latin did, we call it a dead language. Most of our languages, however, are in state of flux going in harmony with the dynamics and evolution of their respective users. Similar ideas on the evolution of a language were expressed by Russian philosophers, great thinkers of the XX century. According to J. Brodsky “language is the human being, particularly the poet that is the tool of language”. He stresses the role of literature and especially of poetry in gradual language development, shows relationship between language and literature highly praises poets and writers for their contribution to the language “maturity”.
2. The functions of language
The question "Why we use language?" seems hardly to require an answer. But, as is often the way with linguistic questions, our everyday familiarity with speech and writing can make it difficult to appreciate the complexity of the skills learned. This is particularly so when we try to define the range of functions to which language can be put. "To communicate our ideas" is the usual answer to the question and, indeed, this must surely be the most widely recognized function of language. Whenever we tell people about ourselves or our circumstances, or ask for information about other selves and circumstances, we are using language in order tо exchange facts and options. The use of language is often called "referential", "propositional", or "ideational". But it would be wrong to think of it as the only way in which we use language. Language scholars have identified several other functions where the communication of ideas is a marginal or irrelevant consideration. For instance, in “Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching” language is described as having three main functions: descriptive, expressive and social.
The descriptive function of language is to convey factual information. This is the type of information which can be started or denied and in some cases even tested, for example: It must be well below ten degrees outside.
The expressive function of language is to supply information about the speaker, his or her feelings, preferences, prejudices, and past experiences. For example, the utterance: "I'm not inviting the Sandersons again" may, with appropriate intonation, show that the speaker did not like the Sandersons and that this is the reason for not inviting them again. The social function of language serves to establish and maintain social relations between people.
For example, the utterance: "Will that be all, Sir?" used by a waiter in a restaurant signals a particular social relationship between the waiter and the guest. The waiter puts the guest in a higher role relationship.
Naturally, these functions overlap at times, particularly the expressive and the social functions.
The British linguist Halliday considers language as having three main functions:
a) the ideational function is to organize the speaker's or writer's experience of the real or imaginary world, i.e. language refers ю real or imagined persons, things, actions, events, states, etc.
b) the interpersonal function is to indicate, establish, or maintain social relationships between people. It includes forms of address, speech function, modality, etc.
c) the textual function is to create written or spoken texts which cohere within themselves and which fit the particular situation in which they are used.
A famous English linguist D. Chrystal has identified the following functions of language in his “Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language”.
Emotional expression
Mr. X carefully leans his walking stick against a wall, but it falls over. He tries again, and it falls a second time. Mr. X roundly curses the walking stick. How should we classify this function of language? It cannot be "communication of ideas", for there no-one else in the room.
Here we have one of the commonest uses of language-a means of getting rid of our nervous energy when we are under stress. It is the clearest case of what is often called an "emotive" or "expressive" function of language. Emotive language can be used whether or not we are alone. Swear words and obscenities are probably the commonest signal to be used in this way, especially when we are in an angry or frustrated state. But there also many emotive utterances of a positive kind, such as our involuntary verbal reactions to beautiful art or scenery, our expression of fear and affection, and the emotional outpourings of certain kinds of poetry.
The most linguistic expressions of consist of conventional words or phrases (such as By Gosh! Darn it! What a sight) and the semi-linguistic noises often called interjections (such as Tut-tut, Ugh, Wow, and Ouch). Also, an important function of the prosody of language is to provide an outlet for our attitudes while we speak. At a more sophisticated level, there are many literary devices of grammar and vocabulary which convey the writer's feelings.
However, in these more complex cases it becomes difficult to distinguish the emotional function of language from the "ideational" function described above.
Social interaction
Mrs. P sneezes violently. Mrs. Q says "Bless you!" Mrs. P says "Thank you." Again, this hardly seems to be a case of language being used to communicate ideas, but rather to maintain a comfortable relationship between people. Its sole function is to provide a means of avoiding a situation which both parties might otherwise find embarrassing. No factual content is involved. Similarly, the use of such phrases as Good morning or Pleased to meet you, and ritual exchanges about health or the weather, do not "communicate ideas" in the usual sense.
Sentences of this kind are usually automatically produced, end stereotyped in structure. They often state the obvious (e.g. Lovely day) or have no content at all (e.g. Hello). They certainly require a special kind of explanation, and this is found in the idea that language is here being used for the purpose of maintaining rapport between people. The anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) coined the phrase "phatic communion" to refer to this social function of language, which arises out of the basic human need to signal friendship-or, at least, lack of enmity. For someone to withhold these sentences when they are expected, by staying silent, is a sure sign of distance, alienation, even danger.
The power of sound
In 1952, children skipping in a school playground were heard to chant:"Shirley Oneple, Shirley Twople, Shirley Threeple... " and so on up to "Shirley Tenple" (i.e. Temple). The instance clearly illustrates the "phonetic" character of children's rhythms and games. It is largely nonsense, and yet it performs an important function: the repetitive rhythms help to control the game, and the children plainly take great delight in it. "I like coffee, I like tea, I like radio, and TV..." - a typical ball-bouncing monologue.
There are many situations where the only apparent reason for a use of language is the effect the sound have on the users or listeners. We can group together here such different cases as the rhythmical litanies of religious groups, the persuasive cadences of political speechmaking, the dialogue chants used by prisoners or slaves as they work, the various kinds of language games played by children and adults, and the voices of individuals singing in the kitchen or the bath. Perhaps the clearest cases are the lyrics of popular songs and the range of phonetic effects which can be encountered in poetry. Unintelligible words and phrases are commonplace in the oral poetry of many languages, and can be explained only by a universal desire to exploit the sonic potential of language.
The control of reality
In an English church, a priest holds a baby over a font, and pours water on its head, saying I baptize you... All forms of supernatural belief involve the use of language as a means of controlling the force which the believers feel affect their lives. The various prayers and formulae which are directed at God, gods, devils, spirits, objects, and other physical forces are always highly distinctive forms of language. In some cases, the language might be regarded as a form of ideational communication, with a supernatural being as the recipient - but if so, it is a somewhat abnormal type of communication, for the response is usually appreciated only in the mind or behavior of the speaker, and there may be no evident response at all.
In other cases, the function of the language is to control matter, or the reality which the matter is supposed to represent. For example, a Roman Catholic Mass, the speaking of the words "This is my body is believed to identify the moment when the communion bread is changed into the body of Christ. Several other situations, apart from the magical and the religious, illustrate this "performative" function of language - such as the words which name a ship at a launching ceremony.
Recording the facts
A solicitor, preparing a case for a client, pulls down an old book of judgments from the shelf, and reads a report of a case which took place 25 years ago. What use of language is this? At first sight, it would appear to be "ideational"; but the situation in which the communication takes place is quite different in several respects.
When information is stored for future use, it is impossible to predict who is likely to use indeed, much of the material may never be referred to again. There is therefore no "dialogue" element in the communication. The information has to be as self-contained as possible to predict the demands which may one da\ be made upon it, and in most cases there is no way in which the user can respond so as to influence the writer. Accordingly, when language is used for the purposes of recording facts, it is very different from that used in everyday conversation-in particular; it displays a much greater degree of organization, impersonality, and explicitness.
This function of language is represented by all kinds of record-keeping, such as historical records, geographical surveys, business accounts, scientific reports, parliamentary acts, and public databanks. It is an essential domain of language use, for the availability of this material guarantees the knowledge-base of subsequent generations, which is a prerequisite of social development. Human progress is greatly hastened by the use of language in cultural transmission (one of its functions); the knowledge and experience acquired by one person can be passed on another in language; so that in part restarts where the other leaves off.
The expression of identity
The crowds attending President Reagan's pre-election meetings in 1984 repeatedly shouted in unison "Four more years!" What kind of language is this?
Such language is hardly informative to those who use it, but it plainly has an important role in fostering a sense of identity-in this case, among those who shared the same political views. Many social situations display language which unites rather than informs -- the chanting of a crowd at a football n-atch, the shouting of names or slogans at public meetings, the stage-managed audience reactions to television game shows, or the shouts of affirmation at some religious meeting.
Our use of language can tell our listener or reader a great deal about ourselves-in particular, about our regional origins, social background, level of education, occupation, age, sex, and personality. The way language is used to express the variables is so complex that is requires separate discussion, but the general point can be made here, that a major function of language is the expression of personal identify - the signaling of whom we are and where we "belong".
These signals enter into the whole of our linguistic behavior, so much so that it is often a problem distinguishing the function of language from that used for the communication of ideas. In a public meeting, for instance, Mr. A may make a speech in support of Mr. B, and it may be difficult to decide whether the reason for his speech is to make a fresh point, or simply to demonstrate to all concerned that A is on B's side. The arena of political debate is full of such maneuverings, as individuals strive to express their solidarity with (or distance from) each other.
The instrument of thought
A woman sits alone at a workbench, staring at a piece of equipment with a puzzled frown. She says: "So if I put red four there, and link it to blue three, that'll leave blue six free. Then I can use that for green four. Right," She sets to work.
People often feel the need to speak their thoughts aloud. If asked why they do it, they reply that it helps their concentration. Authors often make similar remarks about the need to get a first draft down on paper, in order to see whether what they have written corresponds to what they had I mind. The French thinker, Joseph Joubert (1754-1824), once said: "We only know just what we meant to say after we have said it.”
Perhaps the most Common use language as an instrument of thought is found when people reform mathematical calculations "in their head". Very often, this supposedly "mental" act is accompanied by a verbal commentary. However, it is not essential that language used in this way should always be spoken aloud or written down. Often, people can be seen to move their lips while they are thinking, but no actual sound emerges. Language is evidently present, but in a "sub-vocal" form. Several theories have proposed concerning the role of language as the instrument of thought-notably that of the Russian psychologist, Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (1896-1934),who argued for a concept of "inner speech", a mental use of works to evoke a sequence of thoughts: Does all thought, then, require language?
Language and Thought
It seems that there is the closest of relationships between language and thought: everyday experience suggests that much of our thinking is facilitated by language. But is there identity between the two? It is possible to think without language? Or does our language dictate the ways in which we are able to think? Such matters have exercised generations of philosophers, psychologists, and linguists, who have uncovered layers of complexity in these apparently straightforward questions. A simple answer is certainly not possible; but at least we can be clear about the main factors which give rise to the complication.
Kinds of thinking
Many kinds of behavior have been referred to as "thinking", but not all of them require us to posit a relationship with language. Most obviously, there is no suggestion that language is involved in our emotional response to some object or event, such as when we react to a beautiful painting or an unpleasant incident: we may use language to explain our reaction to others, but the emotion itself is "beyond words". Nor do people engaged in the creative arts find it essential to think using language: composers, for example, often report that they "hear" the music they wish to write. Also, our everyday fantasies, day-dreams, and other free associations can all proceed without language.
The thinking which seems to involve language is of a different kind: this is the reasoned thinking which takes place as we work out problems, tell stories, plan strategies, and so on. It has been called "rational", "directed", "logical", or "propositional" thinking. It involves elements that are both deductive (when we solve problems by using a given set of rules, as in arithmetical task) anc inductive (when we solve problems on the basis of data placed before us, as in working out a travel route). Language seems to be very important for this kind of thinking. The formal properties of language, such as word order and sentence sequencing, constitute the medium in which our connected thoughts can be presented and organized.