Hockett's language features are a set of 16 properties that define human language and distinguish it from animal communication according to linguist Charles Hockett. The features include using the vocal-auditory channel, being able to broadcast sounds to many listeners but also receive sounds directionally, having words and sounds that rapidly fade, being able to interchange and copy each other's speech, providing total feedback while speaking to monitor oneself, specializing in communication rather than biological functions like animal sounds, having words that relate to specific meanings, being arbitrary with no inherent connection between words and meanings, consisting of discrete words and units, being able to talk about things that are not present, being productive to form new sentences, being learned through social interaction

1. HOCKETT’S LANGUAGE
FEATURES

2. WHAT ARE HOCKETT’S LANGUAGE FEATURES?
A set of rules, chosen by Charles F. Hockett, that defines human
communication and set it apart from animal communication.
In other words, the features help us differentiate between human
language and animal communication.

3. WANNA KNOW THE FEATURES?
LET’S GET STARTED…

4. 1. Vocal-auditory channel
The human language usually occurs vocally. The main idea of
the human language is hearing/speaking.

5. 2. Broadcast transmission and directional reception
When one is speaking, the sounds he produces
are being transmitted to all directions. However,
listeners perceive the sounds from the direction
the sounds come from.
We can see it with signs too. When one is
signing, he signs to anyone within the line of
sight, and they can all see him signing.

6. 3. Transitoriness (Rapid fading)
Once we speak, the sound doesn’t exist anymore. The sound waves we
create while speaking vanish quickly after we stop using speech
language.
How sound fades:

7. 4. Interchangeability
Humans are not limited to a certain type of signal. They can send and
perceive identical linguistic signals.
For example: Tom and Perry are having a little talk. Tom says, “I’m a
very funny man”. Perry can also say, “I’m a very funny man”.

8. 5. Total feedback
A speaker can control, modify and feel what he says, as he says it. It
goes for signals as well.

9. 6. Specialization
Human sign each other in order to communicate, not to perform a
biological task.
An example: A dog pants sometimes to communicate with its owner,
however dog pants in order to cool itself, so he has a biological
purpose.

10. 7. Semanticity
Specific signals that match specific meanings.
An example: ‘er’ at the end of a word is usually a sign for a man with a
certain proffesion, such as: painter, writer, photographer.

11. 8. Arbitrariness
Mostly there is no connection between the sign and it’s meaning.
In other words, the words we use don’t match the objucts they
represent.

12. 9. Discreetness
There are basic units of speech, which can be categorized. The words
are perceived categorizingly, and not continuesly.

13. 10. Displacement
Humans can talk about things that are not currently happening, such as
future, past and objects. The human speech is not limited to here and
now.
An example: “The singer will visit Dublin on May 2019, last time he
visited was last June.”

14. 11. Productivity
Through speech language a speaker is able to form a new sentence.

15. 12.Traditional transmission
Although language capabilities is innate, language is learned by social
settings. Children learn to speak through interacting with language
speaker.

16. 13. Duality of patterning
Meaningful words are combined of small meaningful units that are
combined of small meaningless units.

17. 14.Prevarication
The ability to lie and deceive using speech language.

18. 15. Reflexiveness
Humans can use speech language in order to talk
about language.
Example: The whole field of researching
Linguistics is reflexive.

19. 16. Learnability
Language is both teachable, and learnable. It can be taught, and it
could be learned.