2. 1. Language
2. What is language?
3. Theories of language
4. The ‘Divine-gift’ Theory
5. The ‘Tongue-tied’ Theory
6. The ‘bow-wow’ or ‘Onomatopoeic’ Theory
7. Other theories
8. Conclusion
INDEX
3. LANGUAGE
“ A language is a system of
arbitrary vocal symbols, by
means of which a social
group
operates and interacts.”
-Block and Trager
4. WHAT IS LANGUAGE ?
• Language is a powerful form of expression.
• Language usually a means of communication.
• Feelings, moods, ideas and experiences may be
communicated by means of language.
• It has been found that language is the peculiar, unique
phenomenon that man uses to communicate with one
another.
5. THEORIES OF LANGUAGE
It is a difficult proposition to tell
with certainty how language is
originated. In fact, it is a blend of
several theories which have
been put forward from time to
time. A few of them are as
follows :
6. THE ‘DIVINE-GIFT’ THEORY
The 'Divine-Gift' Theory : The Indian
philosophy believes that language is the
divine gift of God. Lord Krishna says in the
Bhagavad Geeta,"I am the sacred 'OM in all
the Vedas." According to this theory 'OM’
which is the combination of A + O + M (अ +
ओ + म) is the root of all the sounds. The
hymns with similar sounds also confirm this
view.
7. THE ‘TONGUE-TIED’ THEORY
The Tongue-Tied Theory: According to
this theory, the tongue of a human
being is coordinated with the body by
subtle bonds. This theory believes that
our action of hands, arms, legs and
other organs of the body are tongue-
tied. Whatever is done by our body
organs, is readily picked up by our
speech organ - the tongue.
8. THE ‘BOW-WOW/ONOMATOPOEIC’ THEORY
The 'Bow-wow' or Onomatopoeic
Theory : This theory says that the first
form of language resembled the cries
of animals, of joy, pain or terror and
chattering-bustling of leaves and
branches or trees. It assumes that some
birds and animals are named after the
sounds that they produce.
9. OTHER THEORIES
There are other theories also,
namely:
The Divine-gift Theory
Yo heave – Ho Theory
Bow-wow/ Onomatopoeic Theory
The Natural Sound Source Theory
Ding Dong Theory
The Ta-Ja Theory
The Babble-luck Theory
10. CONCLUSION
In the end, I would like to conclude that a language is very
essential for our daily life to fulfill our needs by
communicating. We express our wants through language
and in return we get satisfied by getting our needs.
11. BIBLIOGRAPHY
I took the content for my presentation from the following:
ONLINE :- Google
BOOK :- Language across the curriculum
(DR. J.E. VALLABI)
Page no.: 01
Teaching of English (P.K. GUPTA)
Page no.: 05, 11, 12 and 17.
