The Structure of Language
Chapter 9
THE CO-EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE AND HUMAN CULTURE
Culture is heavily dependent on the structure, understanding, and creation of language. Language helps us understand each other, and allows us to do daily tasks and activities. In understanding the relationship between different cultures and their languages we must understand the basic structure of language (Matsumoto & Juang, 2013).
The five critical features of language:
Lexicon- the vocabulary or words of the language.
Syntax and Grammar- the system of rules for words forms that make meaningful sentences.
Phonology- the system of rules of how words should sound, or are pronounced.
Semantics- the meaning of the words
Pragmatics- the system of rules for words that tells us how language is used and the meaning in different social context.