All human beings communicate by means  of language and the use of language is the basis of all human activities including education.

    The word ‘language’ is derived from the latin word ‘lingua’ which means ‘tongue’. Thus, language realtes to something that is spoken or for which the tongue is used.

    The American Collins Dictionary defines language as: 
      “A system of vocal sounds and combinations of such sounds to which meaning is attributed, used for the expression or communicate of thoughts and feelings.” This can be in the form of human speech or in the written form.

      The American Linguists Bernard Bloch and George L. Trager define language as:

       “A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group cooperates.”

         The Danish philologist and the author of Modern English Grammar, O. H. Jespersen has defined language as:

           “Language is a set of human habits, the purpose of which is to give expression to thoughts and feelings. It is, therefore, a purposeful activity”.

             Thus based on the above definitions, one can see that language is vocal activity which, a society as a whole, has attributed some meaning to and which is used by the members of that society to communicate with each other, It is a complex system and is made up of various sub-systems and it serves the purpose of giving expression to one's thoughts and feelings.

Characteristics of language:

1. language is learnt: No person is born knowing a language; he acquires it from the society.
2. language is a system: Every language is a unique systems which consists of sounds, structures and vocabulary.
3. language is also a system of systems: Each language, which is a system by itself, consists of varoius sub-systems.
4. language consists of symbols: Each language works through symbols. Different words used in a language are the symbols.
5. symbols of language are vocal: Different symbols are used in a single language. These symbols are vocal. Language is primarily used in speech.
6. symbols of language are arbitrary: Here, by arbitrary symbols we meant that there is no visual relationship between the language item and the object for which it stands.
7. language is culture: Every language is shaped by the society.
8. language is species specific: Animals communicate mainly through the use of sounds, odour or body movement.
9. language is for communication

In this way, language is means to connect past, present and future. Thank you, for reading this blog.