Language
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2 Non-human animal language 3 Formal languages 4 Information about language on wikipedia 5 See also 6 External links |
Human languages
Making a principled distinction between one human language and another is often not possible. One major issue is the dialect continuum phenomena, where the boundaries between named language groups are necessarily arbitrary. For instance, there are dialects of German very similar to Dutch which are not mutually intelligible with other dialects of (what we call) German.
Note that there are parallels to biology, where it is not always possible to make a principled distinction between one species and the next. In either case (at least given the standard view on the evolution of the species), the ultimate difficulty stems from both languages and species descending from one another, with modification. (See dialect or August Schleicher for a longer discussion.)
The concepts of Ausbausprache, Abstandsprache, and Dachsprache are used to make finer distinctions about the degree of difference between languages or dialects.
Linguistics examines different theoretical perspectives on human language in detail.
The world languages can be grouped into families, of languages which have close interconnections. Major groups are the Indo-European languages, the Afro-Asiatic languages and the Sino-Tibetan languages
One of the most prominent artificial languages called Esperanto was created by L. L. Zamenhof. It is a compilation of various elements of different languages with the goal of being an easy to learn language.
Some linguists, such as J.R.R. Tolkien, have created fantasy languages, often for literary purposes. One of his languages is called Quenya, which is a form of Elvish. It includes its own alphabet and pronunciations in addition to being able to be spoken by humans.
While the term "Non-Human Animal Languagess" is widely used, most researchers agree that they are not as complex or expressive as the human language. They argue that there are significant differences separating human language from animal communication even at its most complex, and that the underlying principles are not related.
Other researchers argue that an evolutionary continuum exists between the communication methods these animals use and human language. Everybody agrees that human language is more complex than communication between animals. For more on communication among non-human animals, see The Animal Communication Project.
Mathematics and computer science use artificial entities called formal languages (including programming languages), which may or may not count as "true" languages. Formal languages are simply sets of valid strings, generally produced by a relatively simple formal grammar.
Linguistics
Main article: Linguistics Language taxonomy
Main article: Language families and languages Constructed languages
Main article: Constructed language Non-human animal language
Main article: Non-Human Animal Language Formal languages
Main article: Formal languages Information about language on wikipedia
See also
External links