Language is a communication tool used by everyone in their daily life as a means to convey information
and arguments to others. In this case, the language cannot be separated from culture because language
represent its nation and has close relation to the attitude or behavior of groups of speakers of the
languages. Language significantly influence culture and way of
thinking of people living within. In the communication, language used by people is influence their culture
or vice versa.
Language as a system, which means that formed by a number of components
that are fixed and can be patterned. As a system, in addition to the systematic language
are also systemic. Systematic meaning, language arranged according to a certain pattern,
not arranged randomly or arbitrarily. While systematic means that language is a single
system, but rather consists of several subsystems that differ from other languages.
Language subsystem consists of phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon ( Lexicon. – A sound-system (or phonological component). A set of vocabulary items (the “lexicon”). A grammatical system (“morphology”) which puts meaningful elements together into ‘words’. A syntax, or set of rules to state what the order of elements is in larger utterances, such as ‘sentences. )
Therefore the language also commonly considered unique but universal at the same
time. Unique means having the characteristics or properties not possessed by other
languages, while universal means having the same traits that exist in all languages.
When compared with animals that have a variety of forms of communication, so
people just use the language. Basically there are two types of animal communication
systems: first, communication systems found in the bees. The second all communication
systems exist in monkeys and birds. Human languages have something similar to this
communication, but has a major difference compared to both . Bees can
communicate the presence of nectars to their group members, like the distance of the
nectars, direction to the location, and the number of nectar found by using a particular
dance. Gee called the bee dance to communicate the presence of the nectar as point-bypoint system. In addition to bees, monkeys and birds also have a way to communicate.
Vervet African apes are capable to produce 36 kinds of sound for various situations
Among them was a different sound for the same situation, so vervet communication
system able to deliver 22 kinds of messages. In addition, the birds also have a way to
communicate even only consist of a very limited vocabulary to deliver messages.
Furthermore, Chaer and Agustina (2004:26-29) suggests 16 kinds of distinctive
human language, as follows:
1) The language uses vowel auditory pathway. In this case, there are similarities
between communication systems owned by many animals, including crickets,
frogs, and birds.
2) Language can be spread in all directions; yet receptions are directed. Spoken
language sounds can be heard in all directions due to noise or sounds of
language that propagates through the air, but the receiver or listener can tell
exactly from which direction the sounds of language came.
3) The language symbol in the form of sound that can be disappear once
pronounced. This is in contrast with another symbol, such as the footprints of
animals and heroic statues that can last for long time. Because of the rapid loss,
people always trying to preserve this symbol of language sounds into written
form and sound recordings.
4) Participants in the communication with language can communicate to each
other. This means that a speaker can be a symbol sender and as symbol recipient
at the same time.
5) The language symbol can be a complete feedback. The speaker as the sender can
hear their own language symbols. Whereas, in some kinetic communication
(movement) and visual (sight) as the bee dance, the sender information is not
able to see the important parts of the dance.
6) Communication languages has its own specialty. Humans can talk without
having to do physical movements to support the communication process.
Whereas communication in bees they physically forced to dance in order to
deliver messages they intended to.
7) Sound symbols in communication language means and refers to certain things.
For example the word of horse refers to a type of quadrupeds that can be ridden.
Sentence “Chaedar kick the ball” mean someone named Chaedar doing actions
that hit the ball with his leg.
8) The relationship between language symbol with its meaning is not determined
by the presence of a bond between the two, but is determined by agreement or
convention between the speakers of the language.
9) language as a tool of human communication can be separated into certain unit,
i.e sentences, words, morphemes, and phonemes.
10) Reference or something being discussed in the language not always be at the
present place and time. Human language can be used for something in the past,
in the future, or are in distant places. Even that only in fantasy.
11) Language is open. It means, symbols of speech can be made according to the
human needs. While the language of animals is closed, unchanged from the first.
12) Skill and finesse to master the rules and customs of human language derived
from learning process, not through genes inborn. Animal language generally be
congenital.
13) The language can be learned. Someone who was born and raised in a particular
language community will be able to learn other languages that not used in their
community.
14) Language can be used to express the true and not true, or logically meaningless.
Humans can use language to say the right things and that is not true. Only people
who can use language to lie or deceive others.
15) Language has two subsystems namely the sound subsystem and meaning
subsystems that enable language to have economic function. The economics
diverse occurred by functional sound units that can be grouped and regrouped
into meaningful units, e.g. phonemes into words.
16) The language can be used to talk about language itself.