Speaking, listening, reading, and writing {language}| use grammar and convey meaning. Language relates to mind, meaning, implications {implicature}, purposes, contexts, rules, social situations {pragmatics, language}, and physical world. Language syntactic and logical structures differ from generating and understanding language. Language has motives or intentions, carries information in a stable semantic system, and uses phonemic/phonetic/phonological, lexical, and syntactic codes. Reciprocal communications aid cooperation and define societies. Communication is necessary for social behavior. Communication changes behavior probabilities in other species members, in adaptive ways. Languages and tools have subtask hierarchies.
grammar and semantics
Language involves following rules and thinking rationally. Societies have common languages and thinking. Linguistic units have contexts and rules. Rules differ at phonological, syntactical, grammatical, and meaning levels. Semantic relations are more important than grammatical, which are more important than phonological.
primary language
Spoken language {primary language} always comes before written language. Writing systems depend on spoken-language units. Written language typically does not affect spoken language.
aspects
Externalized language {E-Language} is actual spoken words about concepts. Internalized language {I-Language} is coded brain information for concepts.
number of languages
There have been 4500 to 7000 languages, with many in Africa. Jungles have isolated regions and so many languages.
purposes
Language refers to objects and events, expresses human emotions, commands action, uses metaphors in poetry and for sacred and mysterious, has stock phrases and expressions to further social relations and politeness {phattic communication, society}, and has meta-linguistic meanings.
Speech has situations with speakers and listeners. Speech happens only if speaker intends to affect audience. Speakers and listeners use information about what they believe and want in current context.
purposes: assistance
Speech often involves asking for help or information. People ask themselves questions and get answers.
purposes: information
Language can access declarative information. Humans talk to themselves, both sotte voce and silently, as well as others. However, talking is sequential and slow compared to unconscious cognition. Talking depends on current thoughts.
purposes: survival
Language can aid group survival, but it also can cause instability or not be important.
brain
Broca's area, left inferoparietal, left parieto-occipital, left posterior hemisphere, planum temporale, right hemisphere, and Wernicke's area relate to language.
posture
Speech depends on upright posture, which allows tongue position shifts and pharyngeal-tract lengthening.
handedness
Humans starting 300,000 years ago probably had cerebral dominance, because skulls are asymmetric and people inherit brain and skull shape. Human skulls mold to brain. Right-handedness first appeared in Lower Old Stone Age, when tool making became common [Jaynes, 1976]. Language is typically in left hemisphere.
memory
Memory may require language. Language production and comprehension require short-term memory. Memory involves sense of self and change {extended consciousness}. Self depends on sense qualities, proprioception, and sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems [Damasio, 1999].
consciousness
Using language requires sensation and perception for feedback. Automatic speech does not require awareness. People without language ability can still be conscious, so consciousness does not need symbols, syntax, and grammar. Image creation does not need language, memory, or reasoning [Damasio, 1999].
self-consciousness
Only humans are self-conscious and have feelings, because only they have language [Macphail, 1999] [Quine, 1953] [Quine, 1974] [Quine, 1990].
Subjects use words {nomenclature}|.
Translations {translation, language} can be word for word {literal translation}. Translations {free translation} can emphasize meaning, not detail.
Languages {American Sign Language} (ASL) can use signs that stand for whole words and phrases, unlike spoken or written languages.
phonology
Sign language has phonology, because signs have components: hand shapes, body locations, hand and arm movements, and hand orientation.
morphology
Sign language has morphology, because tense has distinct spatial patterns.
syntax
Sign language has syntax of word orders, space locations, and movement directions. Sign order is not important in American Sign Language. Different objects are in different space regions to distinguish them. Signs can have different directions to show relations. Spatial processing in sign language is separate from other visual-spatial brain abilities.
biology
Deaf children who see sign language from birth first sign at five or six months old. Sign language production and comprehension use same brain regions as spoken language. Left hemisphere is dominant. Brain-region damage leaves similar production and comprehension deficits.
Indo-European, Semitic, Finno-Ugric, and most languages {finite-form language} use definite or indefinite subjects. Other languages {infinite-form language} use no person distinction.
In computer languages {formal language, grammar}, signs have unique meanings, references, and senses. Languages that contain demonstratives, such as "that", allow signs to have different senses and so cannot be formal languages.
Fundamental vocabulary {logical language} can have only tautologies {logical locution} or observations {observation predicate}.
Languages {radical language} can have words that are radicals, so grammar and syntax use word order.
Languages {subordinating language} can group around main word and can have particles or words that can express grammar or semantic relations.
Languages {verb language} can use verb sentences.
Languages {tone language} can have meaning that comes from pitch changes.
Guanches people use Silbo Gomera language {whistling language} on Gomera Island in Canary Islands.
Bantu language {classificatory language} nouns have classes. Class prefixes precede all words associated with nouns.
Latin and Greek {inflecting language} {flexional language} can have words with suffixes. Suffixes represent several morphemes, so morphemes are not separate.
Languages {juxtaposing language} can use prefixes as classifiers to show grammatical relations.
Proto-Indo-European guttural k sound has changed to k sound in Greek, Italian, Celtic, Germanic, Hittite, and Tokharian {centum language}.
Proto-Indo-European guttural k sound has changed to sibilant s in Balto-Slavic, Albanian, Armenian, and Indo-Iranian languages {satem language}.
Languages {agglutinating language} can have words that use morpheme sequences, so words have separate morphemes. Turkish and most languages are agglutinating languages.
Languages {amalgamating language} can have fused roots and affixes, not separate and independent word parts, so words do not have separate morphemes.
Vietnamese and most Chinese language {analytic language} {isolating language} words are invariable. Words can represent different morphemes in different sentence contexts.
logogram
Written Chinese characters represent meanings, not sounds. Chinese symbols are meaning units {logos, alphabet} {logographic script}. First logograms were indicators {indicative sign}, such as stick-figure pictures {pictorial sign} or counting strokes. Logograms are now invariable monosyllables. Plurals and tense are optional monosyllables.
combination
Symbols can combine with other symbols to make polysyllabic words. If two logograms combine, meanings combine. Compound characters use one part {determinative} {signific} {radical part} for main meaning, which is the basis for arranging characters in dictionaries. Compound characters use another part {borrowed character} for extra sound {phonetic, Chinese}. Phonetic compounds are 95% of Chinese characters. Phonetic compounds with same borrowed character can differ in pronunciation, because phonetic meaning is more important than sound.
Asian languages
Japanese and Korean, languages unrelated to Chinese, use Chinese characters.
Languages {synthetic language} can have words that are morpheme combinations, so inflections show grammar. Languages {polysynthetic language} can have words that represent whole sentences, such as verbs combined with morphemes.
Languages can replace another language {substratum, language} as dominant language. Substratum changes the newly dominant language {substratum theory}.
Languages {superstratum} can replace another language.
Perhaps, language replaced grooming {grooming} as social groups became larger [Dunbar, 1996].
Perhaps, imitation abilities associate with larger brains and language {imitation and language} [Blackmore, 1999].
Human language probably evolved from primate graded calls {vocalization}. In Homo habilis, advanced vocal cords and brain language areas allowed better communication.
Before words existed, context gave meaning to sounds {metaphorical stage}. Later, sounds carried meaning without context.
Before protolanguage, there were words for objects and events {word origin}. Perhaps, words originate by onomatopoeia or sound-symbolism [Smith, 1985].
Before language {prelanguage}, brains must have ideas of number, case, gender, noun, verb, modifier, tense, gerund, infinitive, particle, preposition, and article. Before language, brains must have spatial and temporal ideas, such as line, group, boundary, figure, background, movement, ascending, descending, association, attraction, and repulsion.
Before language, there were semi-semantic and semi-syntactic word-association rules {protolanguage}. Rules order words into subject-verb-object, make broader categories from objects, use categories to specify objects, and combine words and gestures. Later, word associations evolved to associate words and speech-part categories and then make complete sentences [Corballis, 2002]. Probably, language first described situations. Then language described speaker thoughts. Then language described hearer characteristics and thoughts.
Language came from protolanguage {ursprache}.
Earliest language was essentially natural, poetic, and creative {creative language}. Later languages were more logical, artificial, and precise.
Social convention adopts words {word, convention} {convention, word} [Bloom, 2000].
Perhaps, words express attitudes and try to cause attitudes {boo-hoorah theory}.
Perhaps, manual gestures can have meaning and syntax {gestural theory}, and brain language centers control first arm movements and then vocal tract. Speech frees hands and arms and allows communication at night [Browman and Goldstein, 1991].
Perhaps, human speech began as reactions to pains or emotions {interjectional theory} [Bickerton, 1981] [Bickerton, 1990] [Bickerton, 1995] [Chagnon, 1992] [Smith, 1985].
Perhaps, human speech began as sound imitations {onomatopoeia} {onomatopoeic theory} [Bickerton, 1981] [Bickerton, 1990] [Bickerton, 1995] [Chagnon, 1992] [Smith, 1985].
Perhaps, human speech began from meaningless chants {sing-song theory} [Bickerton, 1981] [Bickerton, 1990] [Bickerton, 1995] [Chagnon, 1992] [Smith, 1985].
Perhaps, words began from sounds used in physical activities, sound quality or tone changes, and sound metaphors {sound-symbolism} [Smith, 1985].
Angular gyrus and TPO connect vision and hearing sense qualities to cause synesthesia. Hand and mouth motor areas are adjacent and move similarly {synkinesia}. Visual areas link to Broca's motor area. Emotional vocalizations start from right hemisphere and anterior cingulate. Perhaps, visual-auditory, hand-mouth, and mouth-visual brain areas evolve to work together {synesthetic bootstrapping theory}. Perhaps, tool-making steps became syntax and nested phrases {hierarchic embedding} [Ramachandran, 2004].
Perhaps, human speech began from spontaneous work grunts {yo-he-ho theory} [Bickerton, 1981] [Bickerton, 1990] [Bickerton, 1995] [Chagnon, 1992] [Smith, 1985].
People read one word at a time {reading}. Learned eye movements do not relate to other tasks.
Reading starts with transforming letters into sounds {phonological, word} and building rules {sounding out}.
Reading includes remembering words {lexical} as wholes {look-and-say} {whole-word recognition}.
Current and ancient language words, grammar, and morphology differences {comparative method} can indicate preceding languages, back to Indo-European.
Word differences allow calculating language-divergence dates {glottochronology}.
Languages {language family} derived from proto-languages in different regions. Japanese, Korean, Andamanese, Bithynia, Cappadocia, Crete, Cyprus, Elam, Etruria, Lydia, Sumeria, North Australian, and South Australian aboriginal languages do not relate to other languages. Korean and Japanese languages are similar to Altaic and Turkish.
mixed European languages {Esperanto language}.
Afro-Asiatic {Afro-Asiatic language family}, in north Africa and Arabia, includes Semitic languages in Arabia and five other branches in north Africa.
Bantu {Bantu language family} started in east Nigeria and Cameroon in west Africa [-3000] and spread to equatorial and south Africa, and includes Swahili in east Africa, Zulu in southeast Africa, Congo, Luba-Lulua, Luganda or Ganda, Nyanja or Nyasa, Kafir, and 80 to 100 more languages. In Bantu classificatory languages, nouns have classes, and noun classes have prefixes, which precede all words associated with noun.
Hamito-Semitic {Hamito-Semitic language family}, in Arabia and northwest Africa, includes Semitic and Hamitic.
Semitic
Semitic includes East Semitic and West Semitic. East Semitic includes only Akkadian. West Semitic includes Southern Semitic and Northern Semitic.
Southern Semitic includes North Arabic, South Arabic, and Ethiopic. Ethiopic includes Ethiopic or Ge'ez, Tigrina or Tigray, Tigie, Amharis, Atgobba, Gafat, Gurage, and Harani.
Northern Semitic includes Maltese, Canaanite, and Aramaic. Canaanite includes Hebrew, Phoenican, and Moabite. Aramaic includes Eastern Aramaic and Western Aramaic. Eastern Aramaic includes Syriac in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran; extinct Babylonian Judeo-Aramaic; Mandaean; and Harranian. Western Aramaic includes extinct Old Aramaic, Biblical Aramaic, Palestinian Aramaic, and Samaritan.
Hamitic
Hamitic includes Egyptian, Libyo-Berber, and Kushitic. Egyptian includes Egyptian and Coptic. Libyo-Berber includes Berber and extinct Libyan. Berber includes Tuareg, Kabyl, Shluh, Zenaga, Zenete, and extinct Guanehe. Kushitic includes Somali and Galla in Ethiopia. Perhaps, Kushitic belongs to Afro-Asiatic language family.
Hottentot-Bushman or Khoin {Hottentot-Bushman language family}, in southwest Africa, includes Nama or Hottentot and San or Bushman.
Khoisan {Khoisan language family}, in south Africa, includes Khoi, San, Hadza, and Sandawe in Tanzania.
Niger-Congo {Niger-Congo language family}, in west-central Africa, includes Nigerian and Congan languages as one branch and Bantu as eastern branch. Xhosa is in south Africa.
Nilo-Saharan {Nilo-Saharan language family}, in upper Nile River and Sahara Desert in Africa, includes Ethiopian, Libyan, and west Sahara languages.
Sudanese-Guinean {Sudanese-Guinean language family}, in central and west-central Africa, includes Ewe in Togoland and Gold Coast, Efik, Hausa in Sudan and Nigeria, Mandingo, Mende, Masai, Nubian, Twi, Yoruba, Fon in Dahomey, Ibo or Bo in southeast Nigeria, and Ubangi. Ubangi includes Banda, Mitlu, and Zande.
Americas languages {Americas languages} are in Central, North, and South America.
Mayan {Mayan language family} includes Mayan.
Zapotec {Zapotec language family} includes Zapotec.
Algonquian {Algonquian language family}, in north USA, includes Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Hitwan or Californian Algonquian, Central Algonquian, and Eastern Algonquian. Central Algonquian includes Fox, Illinois, Kickapoo, Miami, Menomini, Montagnais, Ojibway or Chippewa, Sank, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Cree.
Athapascan {Athapascan language family}, in west-central USA, includes Apache-Navajo, Dene, and Hupa-Matole.
Hokan {Hokan language family} was in California.
Iroquois {Iroquois language family}, in northeast USA, includes Iroquois, Cherokee, Huron or Wyandot, Tuscarora, Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca.
Muskogee {Muskogee language family}, in southeast USA, includes Muskogee or Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole.
Na-Dene {Na-Dene language family}, in Alaska, northwest Canada, and southwest USA, includes Dene.
Natchez-Muskogean {Natchez-Muskogean language family}, in southeast USA, includes Muskogee or Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole. Perhaps, it is in Amerind language family.
Perhaps, Oto-Manguean {Oto-Manguean language family}, in Mexico and southwest USA, is in Amerind language family.
Penutian {Penutian language family} was in California.
Shoshonean {Shoshonean language family}, in south USA and north Mexico, includes Shoshone, Comanche, Pueblo, and Ute. Perhaps, it is in Uto-Aztecan family.
Sioux {Sioux language family}, in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Dakotas in USA, includes Assiniboin, Biloxi, Crow, Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Katawba, Mandan, Missouri, Ogalala, Omaha, Osage, Oto, Ponka, Teton, Wahpeton, Winnebago, and Yankton.
Uto-Aztecan {Uto-Aztecan language family}, in Mexico and west USA, includes extinct Aztec or Nahuatl. Perhaps, it is in Amerind language family.
Yukian {Yukian language family} was in California.
Araucan {Araucan language family}, in Chile, includes Araucan.
Arawak {Arawak language family}, in Caribbean and northwest South America, includes extinct Arawak. Perhaps, it is in Amerind language family.
Aymara {Aymara language family}, in Ecuador and Bolivia, includes Aymara.
Carib {Carib language family}, in Caribbean, includes Carib. Carib replaced Arawak.
Quechua or Kechua {Quechua language family}, in Peru, includes Inca.
Tupi-Guarani {Tupi-Guarani language family}, in Brazil and Paraguay, includes Tupi in Brazil and Guarani in Paraguay.
Asia languages {Asia languages} are in Caucasia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Balto-Slavic or Slavic {Balto-Slavic language family}, Indo-European language in east Europe, includes East Slavic, West Slavic, and South Slavic. East Slavic includes Russian or Great Russian, Ukrainian or Little Russian, and White Russian. West Slavic includes Polish, Lithuanian, Lettish or Latvian, Czech, Lusatian or Wend or Sorbian, Kaszub, and extinct Polabian. South Slavic includes Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovene, Church Slavonic or Old Bulgarian or Old Slavonic, and extinct Old Slavic.
Celtic {Celtic language family}, Indo-European language in England, includes Goidelic, Brythonic, and extinct Gaulish. Goidelic includes Irish or Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, and Manx. Brythonic includes Welsh, Breton, and Cornish.
Germanic or Teutonic {Germanic language family}, Indo-European language in Germany, includes West Germanic, North Germanic, and East Germanic. West Germanic includes Dutch, German, Flemish, Afrikaans, and Anglo-Friscian. Anglo-Friscian includes English and has Friscian in Netherlands. North Germanic includes Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, and Gotlandic or Gutnian. East Germanic includes extinct Gothic, Burgundian, and Vandal.
Proto-Germanic and other Indo-European languages {Germanic sound shift} separated before 1. High German and Low German separated from -100 to 800.
Iberian {Iberian language family}, in Spain, includes Basque and extinct Aquitanian.
Indo-European languages {Indo-European language family} started in Ukraine and Anatolia, near Black Sea and Caucasus Mountains, as Proto-Indo-European [-4000] and had same complexity as current languages. Indo-European has inflection, is synthetic, and has three genders.
Indo-European includes Germanic, Italic, Indo-Iranian, Celtic, Balto-Slavic, extinct Thraco-Phrygian, extinct Hittite, Greek, Albanian, Illyrian, Tokharian in Chinese Turkestan, Armenian, North Caucasian, and South Caucasian.
Proto-Indo-European has two main branches.
branch: 4000 years ago
Hittite and Luvian [-2000] came directly from one Proto-Indo-European branch.
branch: 5200 years ago
Tocharian A and Tocharian B [-500] branched [-3500] from the other Proto-Indo-European branch.
Later branch [-3200] branched [-2500] into Welsh and Old Irish [-500] and into Latin [-1000] and Umbrian and Oscan [-500].
Later branch [-3000 to -2500] branched [-2000] into Albanian and into Gothic [1] and later Old English and Old High German [500]. Later branch [-3000] branched [-1800] into Ancient Greek and Classical Armenian. Later branch [-2500] branched [-1800] into Vedic and Old Persian and into Prussian [1000] and Latvian and Lithuanian [1300].
Indo-Iranian {Indo-Iranian language family}, Indo-European language in Iran and India, includes Iranian and Indic.
Iranian
Iranian includes Iranian or Farsi or Persian, Urdu, Kurdesh, Pushtu or Afgani, Ossetic, Baluchi, extinct Avestan, Khotanese, and Old Sakian.
Indic
Indic includes Apabhramsa, Hindustani, Bengali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Bhili, Khandesi, Assamese, Sinhalese in Ceylon, Kashmiri, Nepali or Gurkhali, Romani or Gypsy, Gujarati, Oriya, Sindhi, Pahari in lower Himalayas, Marathi, Bihari, and extinct Old Indic or Sanskrit.
Hindustani includes Urdu and Hindi.
Hindi includes Western or standard Hindi and Eastern Hindi.
Marathi includes Konkani dialect.
Bihari includes Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Magahi.
scripts
India has 14 major languages. Urdu and Kashmiri use modified Arabic scripts. Hindi, Sanskrit, and Marathi use Devanagari script. Punjabi uses Gurmukhi script. Bengali uses Bengali script. Script symbols can be syllables.
Italic {Italic language family}, Indo-European language in Italy, includes Latino-Faliscan, Osco-Umbrian, and Sabellian. Latino-Faliscan includes Latin. Latin includes Romance languages West Romance and East Romance. West Romance includes French, North Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Provençal, Sardinian, and Rumansch or Rhetian. East Romance includes Romanian, South Italian, and extinct Dalmatian. Osco-Umbrian includes Oscan and Umbrian. Sabellian includes Marsian, Sabine, and Volscian.
North Caucasian {North Caucasian language family}, Indo-European language in Caucasus, includes Eastern Caucasian or Checheno-Lesghian and Western Caucasian or Abasgo-Kerketian.
South Caucasian or K'art'velian or K'art'uli'ena {South Caucasian language family}, Indo-European language in Caucasus, includes Georgian, Laz, Mingrelian, and Svanian.
Thraco-Phyrgian {Thraco-Phyrgian language family}, Indo-European language in north Greece, includes extinct Thracian, extinct Old Phyrgian, and extinct New Phrygian.
Dravidian {Dravidian language family}, started in India [-2000], includes Tamil-Kurukh, Kui-Gondi, Telugu in east and southeast India, and Brahui. Tamil-Kurukh includes Tamil in Ceylon and south India, Malayaan, Tulu, Kurukh, and Kanarese. Kui-Gondi includes Kui, Gondi, Bhili, Kolimi, and Naiki.
Elamo-Dravidian {Elamo-Dravidian language family}, started in Iran [-6000] and then went to India, includes Elamite and Dravidian.
Man {Man language family}, in north Burma, southwest China, and north Indochina, includes Man.
Ural-Altaic or Turanian {Ural-Altaic language family}, started in Ural Mountains [1000] and includes Finno-Ugrian or Uralic and Altaic.
Ural
Finno-Ugrian or Uralic includes Finnish-Lapponic, Ugric, Ob-Ugrian, Permian, and Samoyedic. Finnish-Lapponic includes Lapp, Cheremiss, Mordvin, Finnish, Estonian, Karelian, Ingrian, Livonian, Ludian or Ludish, Olonetzian, Vepsian, and Votian. Ugric includes Hungarian or Magyar. Hungarian reached Hungary [892], from Ural Mountains. Ob-Ugrian includes Ostyak and Vogal. Permian includes Votyak and Zyrican. Samoyedic includes Samoyed, Yurak, Kamessian, and Tugvy.
Altaic
Altaic includes Turkish, Manchu-Tungus, and Mongol. Altaic [1000 to 1300] came from central Asia steppes to Europe and Turkey. Turkish includes Eastern Turkish or Altaic, Western Turkish, Central Turkish, and Southern Turkish. Eastern Turkish or Altaic includes Altaic, Abakan, Baraba, Karagas, Soyonian, Uighur, and Tartar. Western Turkish includes Bashkir, Chuvash, Irtysh, and Kirghiz. Central Turkish includes Chagatai, Kashgar, Sart, Taranchi, Uzbeg, and Yarkand. Southern Turkish includes Osmanli, Azerbaijani, Anatolian, Balkar, Kumik, and Turkoman. Manchu-Tungus includes Manchu and Tungus. Mongol includes Western Mongol, Northern Mongol, Eastern Mongol, Tangut, Shara, Afghan Mongol, and Yakut. Western Mongol includes Kalmuk. Northern Mongol includes Buryat. Eastern Mongol includes Khalkha.
Eskimo-Aleut {Eskimo-Aleut language family}, in Arctic northeast Asia and northwest North America, includes Eskimo and Aleut.
Hyperborean or Paleo-Asiatic {Hyperborean language family}, in northeast Asia, includes Chukchi-Kamchadal, Ainu, and Gilyak. Ainu and Gilyak do not relate to Chukchi-Kamchadal, except by location. Chukchi-Kamchadal includes Chukchi, Kamchadal, and Koryak.
Miao-Yao or Hmong-Mien {Miao-Yao language family}, started in China and Vietnam [-1000], includes Red Miao, White or Striped Miao, Black Miao, Green or Blue Miao, and Yao. Spread from south China over southeast Asia. Vietnamese Hmong speak it.
Sino-Tibetan or Indochinese {Sino-Tibetan language family} started in China [-4000], spread from north China to south China and southeast Asia, and includes Chinese, Tibeto-Burmese, Lo-lo-Bodo-Naga-Kachin, extinct Pyu, and Thai or Tai-Kadai [-1000 to 1500].
Chinese
Chinese includes written Wen-li, national standard Kuo-yu, North Mandarin in Beijing, Wu along Yangtse river, Chinese, Cantonese or Yueh in Kwangtung, and Min in Fukien.
Burma
Tibeto-Burmese includes Tibeto-Himalayan and Arakan-Burmese. Tibeto-Himalayan includes Tibetan or Bhotian, literary Balti, and Himalayan. Himalayan includes Toto, Lepcha or Kong, and Gurung. Arakan-Burmese includes Arakanese, Burmese or Maghi, Kuki-Chin, and Old Kuki.
Kachin
Lo-lo-Bodo-Naga-Kachin includes Lo-lo-Mo-so, Kachine or Singhpho, and Naga-Kuki. Lo-lo-Mo-so includes Lo-lo and Mo-so.
Thai
Thai includes Siamese, Karen in Burma, and Shan dialects. Shan or Siamese includes Khamti, Lao Lu, Khun, and Ahom. Alternatively, Tai-Kadai includes Thai and Laotian.
Austro-Asiatic or Southeast Asiatic {Austro-Asiatic language family}, started in southeast Asia and India [-3000], includes Mon-Khmer, Annamese-Muong, and Munda or Kolarian. It spread from southeast China over southeast Asia and India. Mon-Khmer includes Khmer or Cambodian, Mon, and Cham. Annamese-Muong includes Annamese or Vietnamese and Muong. Munda or Kolarian includes North Munda and South Munda.
Austronesian {Austronesian language family}, in South Pacific Islands [-3000], has mainly Malayo-Polynesian, as well as Melanesian, Micronesian, and Indonesian or Malayan language families. Austronesian has three other families on Taiwan, which spread from Taiwan to Indonesia and Polynesia.
Polynesian
Polynesian is in Hawaii, Samoa, and Tahiti, and among New-Zealand Maori. Bali is in Bali. Batak is in Samoa. Buginese is in Celebes. Dayak is in Borneo. Malagasy is in Malagasy. Malay is in Malaysia. Sundanese is in Sundan Islands. Javanese is in Java. Indonesian is in Indonesia. Tagalog is in Philippines. Bicol, Bontok, Ilocano, Macassar, and Maduran are other Polynesian languages. Western Malayo-Polynesian and Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian also exist. Language similar to Manyan is in Madagascar.
Melanesian
Melanesian is in Fiji, Solomon, and New Hebrides.
Micronesian
Micronesian is in Caroline, Gilbert, Marshall, Marianne, and Yap.
Indonesian
Indonesian or Malayan includes Bisaya or Visaya in Philippines and Formosan in Taiwan.
Papuan {Papuan language family}, in New Guinea, Bougainville, and New Britain includes Papuan.
Tasmanian {Tasmanian language family}, in Tasmania, is extinct.
At regional boundaries {isogloss}, languages can differ in one feature only.
Geographic regions {isograph} can have uniform general language features.
Some languages {language isolate} do not relate to other languages.
Regions can contain several languages {polyglot}|.
Spoken-language or writing-system transcriptions can use Roman script {Romanization}.
Sweet's phonetic-transcription system {Romic} uses Romanization.
Language pronunciation {dialect}| depends on social class and geographic region.
Irish and Scottish English have dialects {brogue}|.
Individuals have language {idiolect}.
Close-knit groups in closed areas surrounded by larger areas can use dialects {koine}.
Colonists and settlers can use home-country language {mother tongue}.
Languages {patois}| can be local dialects.
Regions have local dialects {provincialism}.
Communities have languages {sociolect}.
Educated people use formal language {standard language}.
Language {King's English} can be exact, standardized English.
Groups can use language {nonstandard language} in informal ways.
Simplified colonizer languages {creole}| become trade or contact languages and can become the only colony language.
Speakers of several languages can use mixed language {lingua franca}| in shared geographic region. Italian, with some Arabic and Greek, was in Mediterranean area.
Contact vernaculars {lingua general brazilica} can be in Brazil.
Style {High} can be from highlands or be a literary form.
Style {Low} can be from lowlands or after higher "Golden Age".
Language {cant}| can repeat set expressions.
Language {cliché}| can repeat too often to be informative.
Language {colloquialism}| can be common regional expressions.
Language {gobbledygook} can be unclear and wordy, intentionally by politicians.
Dialects {baby talk} {motherese} can be high-pitched and singsong, with lengthened vowels and high inflection.
Words can be in common use {parlance}|.
Language {slang} can be popular terms that quickly fade from use.
Language {vernacular}| can be in common use.
Common activities use common speech {vulgar speech} {common speech} {non-literary speech}, while writing and rituals used formal speech.
Language {vulgarity} can be obscene.
Language {argot}| can be jargon of underworld or lower social classes.
Language {jargon}| can be professional vocabulary.
Journalists have jargon {journalese}|.
Religious services can use language {liturgical language}.
Perhaps, meaning comes from dialogues {dialogism} {dialogic}, which have social and cultural settings. Settings use different languages {heteroglossia}, such as legal, political, economic, and personal languages. Persons result from social dialogues [Bakhtin, 1983] [Bakhtin, 1986].
Words can cause emotions {emotive meaning} {evaluative meaning} {prescriptive meaning} or carry cognitions {descriptive meaning}. Language can be about facts or about values {fact-value distinction} [Stevenson, 1963].
Perhaps, all thoughts use the same language {language of thought} {mentalese}, which differs from actual languages. Brain concepts are in languages, software programs, or virtual machines. Software is not physiological, mechanical, or phenomenological but has information content.
logic
Logical forms are probably not the language of thought.
statements
Perhaps, concepts and propositions are language-of-thought contents.
syntax
Phonology, phonetics, morphology, word-order rules, syntactic-redundancy rules, and parsing rules are not necessarily in the language of thought. Syntactic-redundancy rules are for pronouns, agreement, and case. Perhaps, language of thought has syntax and all proposition types.
token
Perhaps, qualities are tokens in language of thought.
Consciousness, complex behavior, complex mental processes, and language depend on ability to use tools and signs {significative behavior}. Words start as emotion expressions, then designate concrete objects, and later have abstract meaning. People have potential capacities {potential development zone} {zone of potential development} that develop in societies.
language development
Techniques {Vygotsky-Sakharov technique} {Vygotsky-Hanfman-Kasanin test} can track language development. Language develops from sign use into sign system. Semantics develops, and sign meanings change. Children think by memorizing, but adults memorize by thinking. People gain ability to solve problems by themselves and with aid from teacher or parent {social prompting}.
goals
In situations, tools and signs reach goals, usually with feedback.
culture
Higher mental processes require social settings to develop. Socialization processes lead to consciousness. Human conscious behavior relates subject of experience to social environment. Phenomena are large and complex relation-network parts {ascending to the concrete}, not irreducible personal experiences [Vygotsky, 1930].
Language is about situations and about relations among communicators {situation semantics} [Barwise and Perry, 1983].
Language develops from first gestures and then grooming and other physical interactions [Mead, 1934]. Creativity, self, and reason arise from social life, which uses language reflexively. Language and symbolic interaction {symbolic interactionism} can cause humans to be self-conscious.
In first-order languages, sentence truth {truth, expression} is provable from sentence-part semantic relations. All languages can transform into first-order languages, so speakers can have truth-theory. In first-order languages, meaning depends on truth-conditions. Beliefs and other intentions are mental states with contrasts. Speakers speak intentionally [Davidson, 1980].
Fundamental language-element meanings rely on subjective experiences. More-complex language meanings derive from language element meanings, using verification methods. Statement meanings depend on verification methods. Statements are meaningful only if observations and calculations can verify them {verification principle} {verifiability principle} [Ayer, 1936] [Ayer, 1940] [Ayer, 1963].
methods
Science facts can be verifiable by observation or experiment. Analytic logic and mathematics statements can be true by language rules. Ethical statements convey emotion or attitude and are not verifiable or analytic. Other statements are meaningless.
Perhaps, consciousness is a personal language {private language}, with syntax and grammar, for communicating with oneself. However, internal language independent of human social life cannot describe mental contents [Hunter, 1973] [Wittgenstein, 1953], because language presupposes public rules and symbols.
Languages are for shared-things communication. Private worlds can have no language, and private words have no meaning {private language argument}. In private languages, knowing and not knowing are meaningless [Hunter, 1973] [Wittgenstein, 1953]. Words about conscious states can only be about observable inclinations to behave, not about subjective experience. Public terms must be publicly verifiable. Languages must be public and about public things.
If people have private worlds, minds are like small boxes with moving objects inside {beetle in a box} [Wittgenstein, 1953].
Language has many functions {language game}. For example, language can state facts and define contexts.
Referents can be constant only in contexts. Contexts give referent features and functions, which supply meaning. Referents can be similar in some ways {family resemblance}.
Physiology differences cause speech to be variable {mechanistic theory}.
Mental differences cause speech to be variable {mentalistic theory}.
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Date Modified: 2022.0225