Language is used only by humans
Language is a special tool that only humans use. Of course, animals also communicate with each other through sounds and gestures. For example, dogs bark to signal danger, and cats meow to convey their state. However, these forms of communication are different from the language humans use. Human language is complex and sophisticated, capable of expressing various meanings and emotions. Animal communication methods are instinctive and convey limited meanings. Therefore, it's more appropriate to refer to animal communication as a means of communication rather than language.
Language is a social convention
Why do we call a 'pencil' a 'pencil'? The word 'pencil' itself doesn't have any special meaning. If I were to call a pencil 'unping,' no one would understand what I meant. This is because Korean speakers have socially agreed to use the word 'pencil.' Language is thus based on the social agreements among its users. The words we use and the meanings they hold are results of these agreements.
Language changes over time
Language changes over time. For instance, words that were used in the past might disappear, or new words might be created. The pronunciation of words can change, and their meanings can shift. For example, the word '사랑' (love) used to primarily mean love between parents or siblings, but now it more often refers to romantic love. In this way, language continuously evolves over time. The words we use today might change in a few decades.
Language has a systematic structure
Language is not just a random collection of words. It has a systematic structure called grammar. For example, in the sentence "나는 밥을 먹는다" (I eat rice), there are grammatical elements like the subject, object, and verb arranged in a specific order. The subject '나는' (I), the object '밥을' (rice), and the verb '먹는다' (eat) illustrate this. Changing this order can make the sentence awkward or change its meaning. Thus, language follows specific rules and structures.
Additionally, certain elements occupy specific positions in a sentence only if they perform the same function. For instance, in "나는 밥을 먹는다" (I eat rice), '나' (I) can be replaced by other subjects like '지유' (Jiyu) or '그녀' (she). However, adjectives like '까다롭-' (picky) or adverbs like '빠르게' (quickly) cannot occupy the subject position. In this way, words are positioned according to their function, and only words with the same function can occupy the same positions. These rules enable us to understand sentences and convey meanings accurately.
Language can be segmented into smaller units
When we speak or hear a sentence, it might sound like a continuous stream, but it can be broken down into smaller units. For example, the sentence "나는 밥을 먹는다" (I eat rice) can be divided as follows:
- Sentence: "나는 밥을 먹는다"
- Phrase: "나는 / 밥을 먹는다"
- Words: "나/는 / 밥/을/먹는다"
- Morphemes: "나/는 / 밥/을/먹/는다"
- Syllables: "나/는 / 밥/을 / 먹/는/다"
- Consonants and Vowels: "ㄴㅏ/ ㄴㅡㄴ/ ㅂㅏㅂ/ ㅇㅡㄹ/ ㅁㅓㄱ/ ㄴㅡㄴ/ ㄷㅏ"
Although a sentence may seem like a continuous flow, language users perceive and understand it by dividing it into smaller units like words, morphemes, syllables, and consonants and vowels according to certain principles. This process allows us to easily comprehend complex sentences.
A Linguistic Approach to Pronunciation, Words, Sentence Structure, and Meaning"
But how can we approach a more specific and in-depth understanding of these languages? To approach this linguistically, we need to understand the methods of pronunciation, the individual words, the structure of sentences (grammar), and the meanings. There are subfields of linguistics that specialize in each of these aspects. The field that deals with pronunciation is phonetics/phonology, the field that deals with individual words is morphology, the field that deals with sentence structure is syntax, and the field that deals with meaning is semantics.