What does language mean?

According to the definition, language is a sound (image) instruction with unified coding and decoding standards formulated by similar creatures for communication needs. Substantive definition language is an instruction system with sound/symbol as the material shell and meaning as the connotation, which is composed of vocabulary and grammar and can express human thoughts. Phonetics, gestures and expressions are the embodiment of language on human body, and text symbols are the visual symbols of language.

Broadly speaking, language is a set of communication instructions with the same processing rules, which will be conveyed by vision, sound or touch. Strictly speaking, language refers to the instruction used by human communication-natural language. All people acquire language ability through learning, and the purpose of language is to exchange ideas, opinions and ideas.

Linguistics is developed from the study of language classification and rules by human beings. Experts who study languages are called linguists. When humans discovered that some animals could communicate in some way, the concept of animal language was born. By the time the computer was born, human beings needed to send instructions to the computer. This "one-way communication" has become a computer language.

Language expression refers to the way people use language. There are two main ways people use language, human behavior and speech.

People's body behavior is the main form of language use, and oral pronunciation, gestures and expressions are the embodiment of people's body behavior. Spoken language is the most important way for human beings to use behavior for language communication.

The application of symbols is mainly manifested in characters, which is the largest application category of modern human language. Characters record languages by recording phonetics (phonography) or information expressed by phonetics (ideographic characters) (Reference definition: Language and characters are the bridge and tools between human beings and the objective world, and belong to methodology. Generalized language also includes notes, pictures, mathematical symbols and so on. The simplest and most basic language in the universe is binary language. )

Extended data

Language is a way of communication between people, and communication between people cannot be separated from language. Although people's thoughts can be conveyed through pictures, actions and expressions, language is the most important and convenient medium. However, people all over the world use different languages, so it is difficult or even impossible to talk to each other directly.

Even the same language has different dialects, and their differences are different. Some dialects can basically understand each other, while others are quite different, as if they were another language. A good example is that Beijingers don't understand Cantonese.

Not only are there different languages and dialects in different regions, but people of different social classes and different ages in the same region will have special words to express their unique feelings, which makes it difficult for people of another class or different ages to understand.

After mastering a language in a language environment, although you can learn another or several other languages or dialects, it is difficult to completely change the accent of the original language or dialect and always leave a certain degree of original language accent. People who are familiar with this language can often distinguish the hometown, identity and professional characteristics of the speaker from these subtle differences.

Language is an important part of culture. It can even be said that there is no culture without language. Only through language can culture be passed down from generation to generation. Language is an important means to maintain lifestyle, and almost every cultural group has its own unique language.

Language is produced for the needs of life in a specific environment, so a specific environment will inevitably brand the language with a specific brand. In addition, language is a medium for people to exchange ideas, so it will inevitably have an impact on politics, economy and society, science and technology, and even culture itself.

Language, a cultural phenomenon, is constantly developing, and its present spatial distribution is also the result of past diffusion, change and development. Therefore, only in the space-time environment can we fully and profoundly understand its relationship with the natural environment and human environment. Language is also a bridge between different species.