Wp/nth/Language

Language is a structured system o communication at consists o grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means at humans conveys meanin wiv, baith i spoken and written forms, and might be conveyed throo sign languages an aa. The vast majority o human languages hes developed writing systems at alloos for the recordin and presarvation o the soonds or signs ov a language. Human language is characterised biv its cultural and historical divarsity, wi significant variations scunnered atween different culturs and across time. Human languages possesses the properties o productivity and displacement, at enables the creation ov an infinite number o sentences, and the ability te refer te objects, events, and ideas at isn't immediately present i the discourse. The use o human language relies on social convention and is acquired throo lairnin.

Estimates o the number o human languages i the warld varies atween 5,000 and 7,000. Precise estimates lippens on the arbitrary distinction (dichotomy) establisht atween languages and dialects. Natural languages is spoken, signed, or baith; hooaniver, ony language can be encoded inte secondary media usin auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, writin, whistlin, signin, or braille. Iv other words, human language is modality-independent, but written or signed language is the way te inscribe or encode the natural human speech or gesturs.

Lippenin on the philosophical perspectives regairdin the definition o language and meanin, when used as a general concept, "language" can refer te the cognitive ability te lairn and use systems o complex communication, or te describe the set o rules at makes up these systems, or the set o utterances that can be produced frae thor rules. Aa languages relies on the process o semiosis te relate signs te particular meanings. Oral, manual and tactile languages contains a phonological system that govrens hoo symbols is used te form sequences knawn as words or morphemes, and a syntactic system that govrens hoo words and morphemes is combined te form phrases and utterances.

The scientific study o language is caaed linguistics. Critical examinations o languages, sic as philosophy o language, the relationships atween language and thowt, hoo words represents experience, etc., hes been debated sin at least Gorgias and Plato iv ancient Greek civilisation. Thinkers sic as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) hes argued that language originated frev emotions, while others like Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) hes argued that languages originated frae rational and logical thowt. Twentieth century philosophers sic as Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) argued that philosophy is really the study o language itsel. Major figures i contemporary linguistics ov oor times includes Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky.