Natural language
A language emerging organically in a human community.
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A natural language is any spoken or signed language that emerges organically in a human community without conscious premeditation.[1] Such languages are subject to replication across generations, regional expansion or contraction, and gradual internal and structural changes.[1] Excluded from this definition are artificial languages, formal logic languages, and non-human communication systems.[2]
Quick Facts
- Includes
- Standard and nonstandard dialects
- Excludes
- Constructed languages
- formal logic languages
- animal communication
- Examples
- Standard French, Haitian Creole
- Key feature
- Evolves through fluctuations in vocabulary and syntax
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
A core feature of human language is that a relatively fixed and stable syntax enables the dynamic generation of an indefinite number of new sentences.[3] According to linguistic theory first articulated by John Austin, languages not only describe the world but also include “performative” utterances used to carry out actions.[3] Stephen Anderson, Professor of Linguistics at Yale University, argues that honeybee dance communication is genetically fixed rather than learned through environmental interactions.[3] Anderson also notes that honeybee communication lacks a syntax in which the order of communicative elements impacts meaning.[3]
The honeybee waggle dance is symbolic and abstract, and in terms of information capacity is second only to human language.[3] Human communities use spoken or signed languages that arise spontaneously and are passed down through generations, undergoing gradual structural shifts and regional changes.[1] Constructed international languages like Esperanto and Interlingua are excluded from the category of natural languages, though an exception is sometimes made for individuals who acquire them as a first language.[4] According to scholarly agreement, certain essential characteristics mean that animal communication systems cannot be considered languages.[2]
What the cited sources add
The Norris article notes that Eileen Crist makes a case that the waggle dance embodies many attributes of a true language.[3] A key dimension of a true language is its complexity, as a communication system based on just a few rules is unlikely to qualify.[3] James Gould, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, summarized that some resistance to calling honeybee dance a language arises from a conviction that insects are too small and phylogenetically remote for complex behavior.[3] The symbolic nature of the waggle dance has led to its being called a language.[3]
Not everyone agrees that the waggle dance constitutes a true language.[3] The Norris article concludes that the waggle dance and human language are vastly different communication systems.[3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Natural language" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: MacKay, Ian R. A. "Sounds of North American English." Phonetics and Speech Science. Cambridge University Press, 2023. p 8.: "Natural human language refers to la (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Natural language" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lyons, "Natural Language and Universal Grammar", Cambridge University Press, 1991, p. 68–70; Norris, "The Honeybee Waggle Dance – Is it a Language?", AnimalWise, 25 August 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Norris, "The Honeybee Waggle Dance – Is it a Language?", AnimalWise, 25 August 2011. facts only, no text reused. animalwise.org
- Wikipedia, "Natural language" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gopsill, F. P., "A historical overview of international languages". In International languages: A matter for Interlingua. Sheffield, England: British Interlingu (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Natural language (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Natural language (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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