The document discusses several key properties of language: 1) Languages are arbitrary systems of symbols and codes that have no natural connection between their sounds and meanings. 2) Languages have a dualistic structure with smaller meaningless elements that form larger meaningful units. 3) The elements of language, such as sounds, are discrete and distinct from one another. 4) Languages have productivity, allowing speakers to generate an infinite number of novel utterances. Other significant properties discussed include language universals, the cultural transmission of language, and how language both shapes and is shaped by culture.

1. Properties of Language
• Language, the most flexible and versatile system of
communication, human or non-human
• Natural languages are codes and may be compared with
other codes in all sort of ways
• The problem to decide what properties of the codes or
communication systems in which they operate is significant
• Properties are a way to compare languages and analyze
what properties are either insignificant or of less importance
• It is important to compares codes in terms of the degree to
which a certain property is present than in terms simply of
whether the property is present or not

2. Looking Backward
• Noam Chomsky's linguistic research in the late 1950s
and 1960s was one of the first to use the work in formal
theories of computation to illuminate some of the
properties of the human mind
• The emphasis was on the learning of 'verbal materials' -
nonsense syllables, randomly constructed lists of words,
and the like
• From the behaviorist point of view, to the extent that a
theory might be required; the ideal theory was one that
predicted 'observed behavior‘
• Chomsky argued that the number of sentences in any
natural language is, in principle, infinite
• In 1956 article (Chomsky, N. Three models for the
description of language. IRE Transactions on Information
Theory, 1956, IT-2(3), 113-124.) defined a new game

3. • In this game, a theory is not asked to predict specific
behaviors in a specific context. Rather the theory is
asked to 'generate all syntactically correct strings of
words (and only) the syntactically correct strings of
words of some language
• ' That is, the theory should capture the essential
properties of all language behavior.
• This eventually led psychologists to shift there
attention from the memorization of linguistically related
materials to questions about the kind of capacities that
the human mind must possess in order to use
language
• The properties of natural language became more
important than some specific linguistic utterance

5. • There are four significant properties that have
frequently been singled out for mention:
• Arbitrariness
• Duality
• Discreteness
• Productivity
However, in a broader sense, language
universals, grammar, cultural transmission, and
displacement also stand for the common
properties of language

6. Arbitrariness
• Another property of language is that the symbols used are arbitrary. Any
concept or grammatical rule can be mapped onto a symbol
• Directly related to the link between form and meaning, the signal and the
message
• By arbitrariness Saussure (200) means that there is no internal connexion
between the signifier and the signified
• It implies simply that the signifier is unmotivated: that is to say arbitrary in
relation to its signified, with which it has no natural connexion in reality
For Ex Compare the animal pictured to either the word "cat” or to its
pronunciation kæt
• There are sporadic instances in all languages of what is traditionally referred
to as onomatopoeia- the non arbitrary connection between the meaning and
the form

7. • Most languages make use of sound, but the combinations of sounds used do not
have any inherent meaning - they are merely an agreed-upon convention to
represent a certain thing by users of that language.
For instance
• there is nothing about the Spanish word nada itself that forces Spanish speakers to
use it to mean "nothing". Another set of sounds - for example, English nothing - could
equally be used to represent the same concept. Nevertheless, all Spanish speakers
have memorized that meaning for that sound pattern. But for Croatian,
Serbian/Kosovan or Bosnian speakers, nada means "hope“
• For Saussure, the traditional use of the word symbol to designate the linguistic sign
is awkward, for it is characteristic of symbols that they are never entirely arbitrary.
They show at least a vestige of natural connection between the signifier and its
signified. For instance, the scale could hardly be replaced by a chariot.
• Most languages make use of sound, but the combinations of sounds used do not
have any inherent meaning - they are merely an agreed-upon convention to
represent a certain thing by users of that language.
For instance
• there is nothing about the Spanish word nada itself that forces Spanish speakers to
use it to mean "nothing". Another set of sounds - for example, English nothing - could
equally be used to represent the same concept. Nevertheless, all Spanish speakers
have memorized that meaning for that sound pattern. But for Croatian,
Serbian/Kosovan or Bosnian speakers, nada means "hope“

8. • though in principle the symbols are arbitrary, this does not mean that a
language cannot have symbols that are iconic of what they stand for.
Words such as "meow" sound similar to what they represent like
Onomatopoeic words
• but they do not necessarily have to do so in order to be understood
• Many languages use different onomatopoeias as the agreed convention
to represent the sounds a cat makes.
• But vast majority of words are non-onomatopoeic: the connection
between their form and meaning is arbitrary; given the form it is
impossible to predict the meaning, and given the meaning its impossible
to predict the form
• but they do not necessarily have to do so in order to be understood. Many
languages use different onomatopoeias as the agreed convention to
represent the sounds a cat makes. Arbitrariness increases the flexibility
and versatility of communication system
• The extension of vocabulary is not constrained by matching form and
meaning
• A considerable burden upon memory in the language-acquisition process

9. • Arbitrariness makes the signals more difficult to interpret for one who
does not know the system
• In Chomskyean hypothesis that a good deal of principles including
operation of the structure-dependency in UG is also arbitrary
• For Chomsky, human beings are genetically endowed with a
knowledge of allegedly arbitrary general principles which determine
the general structure of all languages
• Absolute and Relative Arbitrariness
The fundamental principle of the arbitrary nature of the linguistic sign
does not prevent us from distinguishing in any language between
what is intrinsically arbitrary---that is, unmotivated---and what is only
relatively arbitrary. Not all signs are absolutely arbitrary. In some
cases, there are factors which allow us to recognize different degrees
of arbitrariness, although never to discard the notion entirely. The
sign may be motivated to a certain extent.

10. • the whole system of language is based on the irrational principle of the
arbitrariness of sign
• Diverse languages always include elements of both types; radically
arbitrary and relatively motivated
• But in proportions that vary greatly and this characteristic help to classify
them
• There is no language in which nothing is motivated
• In any case motivation is never absolute
• Compound words and derivational forms are not absolutely arbitrary. They
are relatively arbitrary
• There is a certain connection between their sounds and meanings. With a
particular language, signs may be partially
motivated in a different way. For example (Saussure, 2001: 130), nineteen is
not absolutely arbitrary, but relatively arbitrary
• For Saussure, the process of combining nine and teen, to create new
motivated signs is fundamentally similar to the way in which we combine
words to form phrases.
• The meaning of the new phrase is related to the combined meanings of
individual words.

11. • all languages have as their basic elements arbitrary signs first, and then they
have various processes for combining these signs. In spite of the various
processes of combining new signs, the essential nature of language and its
elementary constituents are never altered
• Arbitrariness is absolute, and motivation is relative
• There are two reasons for the claim:
• One is that the elements of a motivated sign themselves are arbitrary
• The other reason is that the value of the term as a whole is never equal to the
sum of the values of its parts
• For Saussure (ibid), “relative motivation implies:
(i) the analysis of the term in question, and hence a syntagmatic relation
(ii) appeal to one or more other terms, and hence an associative relation”,
• Languages always exhibit features of both kinds---intrinsically arbitrary and
relatively motivated--- but in varying proportions.

12. • Not only are the elements of a motivated sign themselves unmotivated,
but the value of the whole term is never equal to the sum of the value of
parts
• Pain+ful is not equal to pain ful
• The unit is a product, a combination of two interdependent elements that
are simply lumped together
• They acquire value only through their reciprocal action in a higher unit
pain ful
• The whole has value only through its parts, and the parts have value by
virtue of their place in the whole
• That is why syntagmatic relation of the part to the whole is just as
important as the relation of the parts to each other
• Relative motivation implies:
analysis of a given term, hence a syntagmatic relation
the summoning of one or more other terms; an associative relation

13. • Absolute arbitrariness and relative arbitrariness are
an important characteristic of all languages
• According to which, two types of language can be
classified in the world (ibid: 131-132). One is lexico-
logical languages, in which, absence of motivation
reaches a maximum. Chinese is claimed by him to
be the typical lexico-logical language
• The other is grammatical languages, in which,
absence of motivation falls into a minimum
Proto-Indo-European and Sanskrit are prototypical
examples for him.

14. Duality
• The property of having two levels of structure
• Distinct sounds – consonant and vowel
Organized in multiple ways to produce infinite meaning
combinations
• Never one sound = one meaning throughout a language
• The units of the primary level are composed of elements
of the secondary level and each of the two levels has its
own principles of organization
• The smaller, lower level elements are meaningless
whereas larger higher-level units have a distinct
identifiable meaning
• All communication systems have such primary units but
these units are not necessarily made up of elements
• Advantage:
a large number of different units can be formed out of a
small number of elements

15. Discreteness
• is opposed to continuity or continuous variation
• Property of secondary elements
• Sounds used to produce language are distinct from one
another (in our minds)
• Contrast voiced bilabial b with voiceless bilabial p
• Not logically dependent upon arbitrariness, it interacts
with it to increase the flexibility and efficiency of the
system
• Reduces the possibility of misunderstanding in poor
conditions of signal-transmission
• In animal communication systems non-discreteness is
associated with non-arbitrariness

16. Productivity
• Makes possible the construction and interpretation of
new signals and allows speakers to use linguistic signs
in new combinations to generate wholly new thoughts.
• Allows to say that which has never been said, as in “I
want to marry you even though you’re a giraffe,” and be
understood.
• All language systems enable their users to construct and
understand indefinitely many utterances that they have
never heard or read before
• Language is not learned solely by imitation and
memorization
• It manifests through grammatical structures
• Interconnected with other properties in various ways

17. Language Universals
• A linguistic universal is a statement that is true for all
natural languages
• For example, All languages have nouns and verbs, or All
spoken languages have consonants and vowels
• Research in this area of linguistics is closely tied to
linguistic typology, and intends to reveal information about
how the human brain processes language
• The field was largely pioneered by the linguist Joseph
Greenberg, who from a set of some thirty languages derived
a set of basic universals, mostly dealing with syntax
• Linguistic universals in syntax are sometimes held up as
evidence for universal grammar though epistemological
arguments are more common
• linguistic universals tend to be properties of language which
aid communication

18. Language Universals
• absolute implicational
• Absolute universals apply to every known language and are
quite few in number; an example would be All languages
have pronouns
• An implicational universal applies to languages which have
a particular feature that is always accompanied by another
feature, such as If a language has trial grammatical number,
it also has dual grammatical number, while non-implicational
universals just state the existence (or non-existence) of one
particular feature

19. • Also in contrast to absolute universals are tendencies, statements
that may not be true for all languages, but nevertheless are far too
common to be the result of chance
• They also have implicational and non-implicational forms
• EX: The vast majority of languages have nasal consonants
• However, most tendencies, like their universal counterparts, are
implicational
• For example, With overwhelmingly greater than chance frequency,
languages with normal SOV order are postpositional
• Strictly speaking, a tendency is not a kind of universal, but
exceptions to most statements called universals can be found
• For example, Latin is an SOV language with prepositions. Often it
turns out that these exceptional languages are undergoing a shift
from one type of language to another. In the case of Latin, its
descendant Romance languages switched to SVO, which is a much
more common order among prepositional languages

20. Language Universals
Unidirectional bidirectional
• In a bidirectional universal two features each imply the existence of each
other
• For example, languages with postpositions usually have SOV order, and
likewise SOV languages usually have postpositions
• The implication works both ways, and thus the universal is bidirectional
• In a unidirectional universal the implication only works one way
• Languages which place relative clauses before the noun they modify
again usually have SOV order, so prenominal relative clauses imply
SOV
• On the other hand, worldwide SOV languages show little preference for
prenominal relative clauses, and thus SOV implies little about the order
of relative clauses
• As the implication only works one way, the proposed universal is a
unidirectional one

21. Grammatical Backbone
• All languages must define the structural relationships
between these symbols in a system of grammar
• Rules of grammar are what distinguish language from
other forms of communication
• They allow a finite set of symbols to be manipulated to
create a potentially infinite number of grammatical
utterances
• Grammar is a complex and highly structured affair,
and operates in terms of concepts and categories,
which themselves have to be defined in the same way
• The technical terms are essential only for stating the
rules of grammar

22. Cultural Dependence and transmission
• Language is learned (in a certain age window) because we
have an innate predisposition (not an instinct) to learn it
• When language is used in the contexts of communication, it is
bound up with culture in multiple and complex ways
• The words people utter refer to common experience; the stock
of knowledge about the world other people share
• Words also reflect their author’s attitudes and beliefs, their point
of view, that are also those of others
• But
experiences are also created through language, by giving
meaning to it through the medium they choose to
communicate that is understandable to the group they
belong to
• Through all its verbal and non-verbal aspects, language
embodies cultural identity
• Language as a system of signs is seen as having a cultural
value
• Speakers identify their language as a symbol of their social

23. • The word culture evokes the traditional
nature vs. nurture debate
• Are human beings mainly what nature
determines them to be from birth or
what culture enables them to become
through socialization process?

24. • Essential Oils – are wrung –
• The Attar from the Rose
• Be not Expressed by Suns – alone –
• It is the gift of Screws –
• The General Rose – Decay –
• But this – in Lady’s Drawer
• Make Summer – When the Lady lie
• In Ceaseless Rosemary -

25. • Culture is not bound by biological time
• Culture refers to what has been grown and groomed
• Through a sophisticated technological procedure, developed
especially to extract the essence of existent species, culture
forces nature to reveal its ‘essential’ potentialities
• The technology of the word, printed syntax and vocabulary
is analyzed, among the many potential meanings that a
word or utterance might have, only those that best express
its innermost truth and serve best for the purpose
• The biological existence is not permanent but through the
process of language the essence becomes immortal and
brings both back the people and culture to life in the
imagination of its readers and speakers; the cultural
transmission
• The word and the technology of the word have immortalized
nature

26. • The nature and culture both need each other
• The use of written language is also shaped and
socialized through language
• Language Registers and text genres are also
sanctioned by cultural conventions, and these
ways with language, or norms of interaction and
interpretation, form part of the invisible ritual
imposed by culture on language users
• This is culture’s way of bringing order and
predictability into people’s use of language

27. So The Relationship Between Language And
Culture Illuminate Several Key Points
• 1- culture is always the result of human intervention in the
biological process of nature
• 2- culture both liberates and constrains
• 3- Culture is the product of socially and historically
situated discourse communities, that are to a large extent
imagined communities, created and shaped by language
• 4- A community’s language and its material achievements
represent a social patrimony and a symbolic capital that
serve to perpetuate relationships of power and
domination; they distinguish insiders from outsiders
• 5- Cultures are fundamentally heterogeneous and
changing and a constant site of struggle fro recognition
and legitimation
• 6- Cultural encodings can also change over time in the
same language

28. • 8- Linguistic signs do not signify in social vacuum
• 9- Sign-making and sign-interpreting practices are the
result of socio-cultural motivation
• 10- Linguistic signs can be emptied of the fullness of
their meaning and used as symbolic shorthand in the
context of situation or culture

29. Minor traits of Human Language
• Uses voice-auditory channel (for most speakers)
• Reciprocity – speakers can both produce and
receive language
• Specialization – language symbols not used for
much else than language
• Rapid fade – must be nearby to hear
• Non-directionality – cannot easily direct speech
to one listener only