Language is a system of symbols used by people to communicate, comprised of a lexicon of words and expressions, sounds to pronounce words, and rules for combining words into sentences. Language has semantic meaning derived from words and how they are arranged, with denotation being the dictionary definition and connotation being implicit associated meanings. Pragmatic meaning comes from interpreting messages in their conversational context, while sociolinguistic meaning varies by culture and can lead to misunderstandings when different norms are used.