Language

D

Written and Spoken Language

When individual languages have a written as well as a spoken form, it is often the case that the writing system does not represent all the distinctive sounds of the language. The writing system of one language may make use of symbols from the writing system of another language, applying them to sounds, syllables, or morphemes for which they were not originally intended. Written and spoken forms of the same language can be compared by studying the “fit” between the writing system and the spoken language.

Many kinds of writing systems exist. In Chinese, a written character is used for every morpheme. The written form of the Cherokee language has a symbol for every consonant-and-vowel syllable. Japanese is also written with such a system, which is called a syllabary. In writing systems using an alphabet, such as the Latin alphabet, each symbol theoretically stands for a sound in the spoken language. The Latin alphabet has 26 letters, and languages written with it generally use all 26, whether their spoken form has more or fewer sounds. Although it is used for written English, the Latin alphabet does not have symbols for all the sounds of English. For example, for some sounds, combinations of two letters (digraphs), such as th, are used. Even so, the combination th does not indicate the spoken distinction between th in “thin” and th in “this”.

The written form of a language is static, unchanging, reflecting the form of the language at the time the alphabet, syllabary, or character system was adopted. The spoken form is dynamic, always changing; eventually, the written and spoken forms may no longer coincide. One of the problems with the English written language is that it still represents the pronunciation of the language several centuries ago. The word light, for example, is today pronounced “lite”; the spelling “light” reflects the former pronunciation. In languages with writing systems that have been recently developed (such as Swahili) or reformed (such as Hebrew), the written and spoken forms are more likely to fit.

Unlike speech, writing may ignore pitch and stress, omit vowels, or include punctuation and capitalization. The written and spoken forms of a language also differ in that writing does not incorporate spoken dialect differences. Speakers of mutually unintelligible Chinese languages or dialects, for example, can read one another's writing even though they cannot communicate through speech. Similarly, speakers of the different German dialects all write in High German, the accepted standard form of the language. See also Writing.

E

Standard and Non-standard Language

The written form of a language may have more prestige than the spoken form, and it also may have a more complex grammar and a distinctive vocabulary. A standard written literary language thus tends to influence the speech of educated people. In certain circumstances they will try to imitate it when they talk, and they may relegate the unwritten form to situations where prestige is less important. In Arabic-speaking countries, for example, educated people sometimes use classical Arabic in speech as well as in writing, whereas uneducated people speak only colloquial Arabic. The use of two such varieties of a single language by the same speaker in different situations is called diglossia. People who use the spoken form of a standard literary dialect in public and their native regional dialect when they are with friends (as do many German-speaking Swiss) are said to be diglossic.

A standard language is that one of the language's dialects that has become dominant. Often, such dominance is due to governmental policy whereby one dialect is given prestige over others, and various regulations or customs ensure that it is used. A standard variety is not in any way inherently superior to other dialects and is, itself, just another dialect with its own individual grammar, vocabulary, and accent (while the standard can—and is—spoken in many accents, there is usually one accent that is held as more prestigious than others, as in Received Pronunciation in the UK). The standard language (such as High German) is frequently the dialect used in writing; that is, it is the literary language of a speech community, or at least a dialect that has an existing orthography and a body of material written in it.

Few people actually speak such a standard language; rather, they approximate it with their own regional variations. The standard dialect is the one that is used when a language is taught to nonnative speakers; the learners then speak it, but do so with an accent, or variation carried over from their first language and region. The standard language also provides a common means of communication among speakers of regional dialects (as in the examples given above for German). Standard languages are thus highly useful in efforts to unite people and create a sense of national spirit.

F

Dialect, Argot, and Jargon

A dialect is a variety of a language that differs consistently from other varieties of the same language used in different geographical areas or by different social groups. For example, Boston residents who speak the New England dialect of American English drink tonic and frappés, whereas people in Los Angeles sip sodas and milkshakes. Within groups of people who speak the same geographical or social dialect, other language variations exist that depend on specific situations. People who have activities in common or share a profession or trade may have a special “language” called an argot that identifies them as distinct from outsiders. Teenagers, thieves, and prostitutes have an argot separating them from parents, police, and other authorities. Such a specialized informal argot is called slang. An argot or specialized terminology, as shared by members of a profession, without any connotation of slang, is called a jargon. Professional groups with distinct jargons include doctors, lawyers, clergy, linguists, and art critics. (The use of the terms argot, jargon, and slang, however, varies somewhat from writer to writer).

G

Pidgins and Creoles

Just as a language may develop varieties in the form of dialects and argots, languages as a whole may change (Latin, for example, evolved into the different Romance languages). Sometimes rapid language change occurs as a result of contact between people who each speak a different language. In such circumstances a new language, called a pidgin may arise (see Pidgins and Creoles). Pidgins are based on one language from which they take much of their vocabulary but are also influenced by at least one other language; they have relatively small sound systems, reduced vocabularies, and simplified and altered grammars, and they rely heavily on context in order to convey meaning. Pidgins are often the result of contact by traders with island and coastal peoples. A pidgin has no native speakers; when speakers of a pidgin have children who learn the pidgin as their first language, that language is then called a creole. Once the creole has enough native speakers to form a speech community, the creole may expand into a fuller language. This is the case with Krio, a language with many speakers in Sierra Leone in West Africa. Krio arose from what was originally an English-based pidgin and has influences from Yoruba among other languages.

H

International Languages

In the midst of world linguistic diversity, a number of international languages have been proposed as a means for solving world problems thought to be caused by misunderstandings of communication. Sometimes, existing natural languages are advanced to fill this role. These so-called LWCs (Languages of Wider Communication)—such as English or French, already spoken by many people as a second language as well as by many native speakers—have proponents who hold that everyone should know one or the other. More often, efforts have been made to construct artificial languages for everyone to learn. A number of artificial languages have enjoyed a period of vogue, then fallen into disuse. One artificial language, Esperanto, has had a relatively high success rate because it has a regular grammar, an “easy” pronunciation, and a vocabulary based on Latin and ancient Greek and on the Romance and Germanic languages. To speakers of languages of other families, however, Esperanto seems less international and is harder to speak and learn. One new language proposed for international use is LOGLAN (standing for logical language), a laboratory-created language that is claimed to be culture-free and to allow people to speak their thoughts clearly and unambiguously. It has a small sound system and few grammatical rules, and its vocabulary is drawn from the eight most widely spoken languages in the world today, including Hindi, Japanese, Chinese, as well as Russian and other Indo-European languages.

Even if a perfect international language could be devised and adopted, however, it is by no means certain that it could minimize global communication problems. Moreover, the thought processes that relate languages to the ideas that people express with them are still not understood. Even if everyone did learn Esperanto or LOGLAN and used these languages in international or public dealings, it is probable that processes of language change would soon take over. The world would then have dialects of Esperanto or some other international language, leading eventually to even further differentiation or to pidginization, creolization, and so forth. Indeed, English and French in different parts of the world have already become differentiated; Indian English, for example, is different both from American English and from British English.