BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES - Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie

constructed communication systems such as those used for computer
programming can also be called languages. A language in this sense is a
system of signs for encoding and decoding information. The English word
derives from Latin lingua, "language, tongue." This metaphoric relation
between language and the tongue exists in many languages and testifies to
the historical prominence of spoken languages. When used as a general
concept, "language" refers to the cognitive faculty that enables humans to
learn and use systems of complex communication.
Language is thought to have originated when early hominids first
started cooperating, adapting earlier systems of communication based on
expressive signs to include a theory of other minds and shared
intentionality. This development is thought to have coincided with an
increase in brain volume. Language is processed in many different
locations in the human brain, but especially in Broca’s and Wernicke’s
areas. Humans acquire language through social interaction in early
childhood, and children generally speak fluently when they are around
three years old. The use of language has become deeply entrenched in
human culture and, apart from being used to communicate and share
information, it also has social and cultural uses, such as signifying group
identity, social stratification and for social grooming and entertainment.
Many spoken languages are written. Written communication is
divided into three revolutionary stages called Information Communication
Revolutions. During the 1st stage written communication first emerged
through the use of pictographs. The pictograms were made in stone; hence
written communication was not yet mobile. During the 2nd stage writing
began to appear on paper, papyrus, clay, and wax (etc). Common alphabets
were introduced and allowed for the uniformity of language across large
distances. A leap in technology occurred when the Gutenberg printingpress
was invented in the 15th century. The 3rd stage is characterized by
the transfer of information through controlled waves and electronic
signals.
However, even today, there are many world languages that can be
spoken but have no standard written form. Such languages can be
expressed in writing using the International Phonetic Alphabet. Spoken
language is much richer than written language; for example, transcripts of
actual speech show numerous hesitancies which are usually left out of
written forms of 'speech' such as screenplays.
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