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Using the definition of communication given above, we can define
language as follows:
Language = a social convention-based system of communication
for the sharing of complex information, using vocal, gestural or written
symbols. For other definitions of language, Bloch and Trager (1942)
and Everett (2012).
Among languages, so-called natural languages are especially
important and can be defined as means of communication for sharing
of complex information between people, using vocal, gestural or
written symbols that have developed naturally, i.e. without extensive
human planning and construction.
Natural languages, thus, contrast with artificial languages, like
computer languages, chemical formulae, mathematical formulae
and Morse code, but also with intentionally constructed auxiliary
languages, like Volapük, Esperanto, Ido and Klingon.
Natural languages have probably been part of human evolution
for at least 200000 years and have in this way acquired physical,
biological, psychological and social properties, which are combined
in complex systems with systemic properties both on an individual
and on a collective level.
In general, when we study language and communication, it is
useful to distinguish the “expressions”, “contents” and “contexts” of
language as three aspects that continuously influence, constrain and
reinforce each other.
The “expressions” of language include sound (linguistic sounds),
visible behavior (gestures) and artifacts (writing and texts). The three
correspond to the three primary expressive modes of language—
speech, gesture and writing. While speech and gesture in face-
to-face communication have probably evolved together with the
development of humans from higher primates, writing is a later
cultural development.
All linguistic expressions, whether they are spoken, gestural or
written, have a “content”, which has cognitive, emotive and conative
aspects; the cognitive aspects involve factual information (from
everyday topics to more specialized topics), the emotive aspects
involve affective-epistemic attitudes and the conative aspects involve
intentions and acts of will. The content also includes features related to
social identity and personality and features related to “communication
management”. For more discussion of the content of communication,
see Sections 4 and 6.
The expressions with their content are used in different “contexts”,
that is, settings or situations that have properties that influence both
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