← Other Forms of Language

← Sign Language

Sign languages are the native languages of most members of

deaf communities. Linguists have only recently begun to
appreciate the levels of complexity and expressiveness found
in sign languages. In particular, as in oral languages, sign
languages are generally arbitrary in their use of signs: In
general, no reason exists, other than convention, for a certain
sign to have a particular meaning. Sign languages also
exhibit dual patterning, in which a small number of
components combine to produce the total range of signs,
similar to the way in which letters combine to make words in
English. In addition, sign languages use complex syntax and
can discuss the same wide range of topics possible in spoken
languages.
← Body Language

Body language refers to the conveying of messages through body movements other than those
movements that form a part of sign or spoken languages. Some gestures can have quite specific
meanings, such as those for saying good-bye or for asking someone to approach. Other gestures more
generally accompany speech, such as those used to emphasize a particular point. Although there are
cross-cultural similarities in body language, substantial differences also exist both in the extent to
which body language is used and in the interpretations given to particular instances of body language.
For example, the head gestures for “yes” and “no” used in the Balkans seem inverted to other
Europeans. Also, the physical distance kept between participants in a conversation varies from culture
to culture: A distance considered normal in one culture can strike someone from another culture as
aggressively close.

← Nonoral Language (Writing)

Language, although primarily oral, can also be represented in other media, such as writing. Under
certain circumstances, spoken language can be supplanted by other media, as in sign language among the
deaf. Writing can be viewed in one sense as a more permanent physical record of the spoken language.
However, written and spoken languages tend to diverge from one another, partly because of the
difference in medium. In spoken language, the structure of a message cannot be too complex because of
the risk that the listener will misunderstand the message. Since the communication is face-to-face,
however, the speaker has the opportunity to receive feedback from the listener and to clarify what the
listener does not understand. Sentence structures in written communication can be more complex because
readers can return to an earlier part of the text to clarify their understanding. However, the writer usually
does not have the opportunity to receive feedback from the reader and to rework the text, so texts must be
written with greater clarity. An example of this difference between written and spoken language is found
in languages that have only recently developed written variants. In the written variants there is a rapid
increase in the use of words such as because and however in order to make explicit links between
sentences links that are normally left implicit in spoken language.
← References

● Dinneen, F. (1967). An Introduction to General Linguistics. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. INC. New
York. U.S.A.

● Fromkin, V. y Rodman, R. (1994) An Introduction to Language. Rinehart and Winston. New York.
U.S.A.

● Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia. Copyright © (1994, 1995) Compton’s NewMedia, Inc

● Encyclopaedia Britannica Copyright (c) (1996), Inc. All Rights Reserved:

- J.Lyo. Sir John Lyons. Master of Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. Professor of
Linguistics, University of Sussex, Brighton, England, 1976-84. Author of Introduction to Theoretical
Linguistics; Language and Linguistics; and others.
- J.Ly. John Lyman (d. 1977). Professor of Oceanography; Marine Sciences Coordinator,
University of North. Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1968-73. Coauthor of Ocean Science.

● Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia. (1993-1996) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

- Bernard Comrie from "Language"
● Yule, G. (1998). The Study of Language. Cambridge University Press. England.