1. Language as a means of communication. Language and extralinguistic world. As a means of communication.

The Nature of Language

Language is a system of arbiterary, productive, dynamic, having variation, and humans vocal symbol used by human being to carry out their social affairs.

System. It is formed by a number of component and can be formulated. We will think that the sentence has a good system although it has a missing component. “My mother fry a … in …”. But you might think this sentence as an incorrect sentence of English, “fry a… mother my in…”

Vocal (sound). We can pronounce the symbol. Each symbol represent a thing.

Arbitrer. The relationship between the symbol and and signified is not obligatory, it can changes, and it cannot be explained why the symbol refers to such thing. If it is obligatory, there will not be an utterance like horse, jaran, paard, etc.

Productive. The number of words always increase.

Dynamism. The language can change in the form of phonology, morphology, or sytax. We will not find the sentence: Know ye this man?. But we will often find Do you know this man?

Having Variation. Although a language has a certain pattern, it may different in phonology, morphology, syntax, or lexicon. The Javanese language in Surabaya, Banyumas, Semarang, and Yogyakarta can be different in phonology, morphology, and lexicon.

Human (Adj.). Language as a means or verbal communication is only possessed by human being, animal s and plants do not.

The Function of Language

Language has some functions based on some viewpoints.

– From the speaker’s viewpoint, language has personal or emotive function. Through language, the speaker shows his/her emotions (e.g. sad, happy, angry, etc)

– From the listener’s viewpoint, it has directive or instrumental function. It functions to control the listener’s behavior. It does not only make the listener doing something, but also doing something as what the speaker wants.

– From the contacts between the speaker and listener’s viewpoint, it has phatic, interactional, or interpersonal function. The phatic function of language is that which keeps the channels of communication open. Phatic communication is a term used by the British-Polish anthropologist Malinowski to refer to communication between people which is not intended to seek or convey information but has the social function of establishing or maintaining social contact. Phatic is language such as greetings, that is used primarily for maintaining social contact and interpersonal relationships, rather than for exchanging information. For example, Nice day, isn’t it?, How are you?, How do you do?, How’s life?, What’s up?, Hey, man, how’s it going?, etc.

– From the topics of speech viewpoint, it functions referential, representational, cognitive, denotative, or informative. We can use language to talk about the object or event in our surroundings. The sentences “The students are studying”, and “Our new buildings are painted yellow” show that the language has referential function.

– From the code used in communication viewpoint, it functions methalingual or methalinguistics. In this case, we use language to discuss language itself.

– From the message conveyed in communication viewpoint, it has imaginative or poetic speech function. It can function to express our true or imaginative thought, idea, or feeling.

The Nature of Communication

Communication is a process by which information is exchange between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.

From the definition, it can be said that there are three components that mest exist in communication process, i.e. 1) message sender and receiver or participants, 2) information being communicated, and 3) instruments used in communication.

Based on the instruments used, communication is distinguished into two kinds: verbal and non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication does not use language as the means of communication. It uses signs (traffic signs, pictures, sounds), gestures, etc.

Language and extralinguistic world.

The relation of language to the extralinguistic world involves three basic sets of elements: language signs, mental concepts and parts of the extralinguistic world (not necessarily material or physically really existing) which are usually called denotata.

The language sign is a sequence of sounds (in spoken language) or symbols (in written language) which is associated with a single concept in the minds of speakers of that or another language. Language signs are a kind of construction elements of which a language is built.

The mental concept is an array of mental images and associations related to a particular part of the extralinguistic world (both really existing and imaginary), on the one hand, and connected with a particular language sign, on the other. The mental concept of a word (and word-combination) usually consists of lexical meanings, connotations, associations and grammatical meanings. The lexical meanings, connotations and associations relate a word to the extralinguistic world, whereas the grammatical meanings relate it to the system of language.

Thus, a lexical meaning is the general mental concept corresponding to a word or a combination of words.

A connotation is an additional, contrastive value of the basic usually designative function of the lexical meaning. As an example, let us compare the words to die and to peg out. It is easily to note that the former has no connotation, whereas the latter has a definite connotation of vulgarity.

An association is a more or less regular connection between the given and other mental concepts in the minds of the language speakers.

The most important fact, however, to be always born in mind in translation is that the relation between words (language signs) and parts of the extralinguistic world (denotata) is only indirect and going through the mental concepts.