What is language?This question can be set to different people and get unexpected answers.But it is unlikely someone once say about the natural and formal languages.Definition and examples of such systems rarely come to mind in this regard.And yet - what is this classification?And then what is the language?
about the history of the study of languages and their
main science dealing with the study of systems of communication, is a linguistics.There are also related disciplines that studies the signs - semiotics.Both science originated several thousand years ago, so the story of the origin of language, obviously, people are interested in a long time.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that with the birth of the first systems was a long time, is now difficult to say how it happened.There are a lot of hypotheses, speaking as a development language from more primitive systems of communication, and its almost accidental occurrence as a unique phenomenon.Of course, the first option is more followers and is almost universally accepted.
About the same arguments about why today there are so many languages.Someone thinks that they are all descended from a single system, while others insist on the development of several independent foci.But in this case it is only about natural languages, examples of which are familiar to everyone.They are used for human communication.But there are other, dissimilar to them.And then there is the question "What is the language."
essence
communicating with each other, not many people are thinking about what a language that you can reckon to this category, and what not.The fact that there are still sign systems, partially fulfilling the same function, and the differences are rather conventional.Therefore, the question arises, what is the essence of language.
There are several concepts on this topic.Some linguists consider language as a biological phenomenon, while others - like the psychic.According to another popular belief, it belongs to the sphere of interest to sociologists.Finally, there are researchers who perceive it only as a particular system of signs.Be that as it may, it is clear that in this case refers to a natural language.Examples of concepts that would include also the formal category, do not yet exist, linguistics actually ignores them.
tasks and functions
What is your preferred language?Linguists distinguish a number of basic functions:
- nominative, that is nominative.The language used to name the different objects, events, phenomena and so on. D.
- Communicative, that is the function of communication.This refers to the implementation of the purpose of transferring information.
- expressive.That is, language is also used to express the speaker's emotional state.
Obviously, in this case, again, do not count the two categories: natural and formal languages - it is only the first.However, the two functions are retained and the second, falling only expressive.This is understandable, if you know what the formal language.
Classification
In general linguistics distinguishes between two categories: formal and natural languages.Further division occurs in a number of other features.Sometimes isolated and the third category - the language of animals as a natural usually only understand the system in which people communicate.There is a further division into smaller groups and subtypes, but not so deep into linguistics to understand the difference between these two major categories, there is no need.
So you need to figure out the differences between natural and formal languages.Definition and examples can be understood by examining them in more detail.
Natural
systems that allow people to understand each other when communicating, that is operating on a communicative function, fall into this category.Now it is difficult to imagine how it would be possible without them.
All this largest category is divided into three major parts:
- natural languages, examples of which include all dialects, emerged and developed by the most common (English, German, Russian, Chinese, Urdu, and others.);
- artificial (Esperanto Intelingua, elf, Klingon, and so on. D.);
- gestural (the language of the deaf).
All of them have their own characteristics and application.But there is another major category, for which the majority of people is difficult to find examples.
Formal Languages, which require clarity in the record and can not be interpreted subjectively, there is also a very long time.They are distinguished by impeccable logic and uniqueness.And they, too, are different.But they all share two fundamental principles: abstraction and severity of judgments.
natural and formal languages primarily differ in their complexity.Most of the systems in the first category - a multi-layered and complex.Examples of the latter can be both complex and relatively simple.It has its own grammar, punctuation, and even word-formation.Serious only difference is that there are these systems are usually only in writing.
What are some examples?Formal languages include "Queen of Sciences" mathematics, followed by the chemistry, physics and biology part.Whatever nationality nor were the scientists, but the formula and recording the reactions they always understand.And mathematics is not important, which means this or that number: the number of apples on the tree or molecules in a gram of substance.Just as with the calculation of the friction force physics do not take into account the color of the object or some other non-essential in reality properties.So it appears abstraction.
With the advent of electronics has become extremely important and the question of communication between man and machine, which understands only zeros and ones.Since the adoption of this system, a person would be too inconvenient and would have made the work too difficult, it was decided to create an interim system of communication.So there were programming languages.Of course, they also need to learn, but they are greatly facilitate understanding between people and electronics.Unfortunately, for this function is not suitable multi-valued, though more familiar natural languages.
Examples
again to talk about the natural language simply makes no sense, linguistics studies them for a long time and has advanced in this enough.At the same time the researchers bypassed the formal category.Only recently, they have become very topical, began to appear the first scientific work on them, the theory and simple examples.Formal languages are created artificially and generally have an international dimension.They can be highly specialized and comprehensible to all, or at least the majority.
Perhaps the simplest example - musical notation.There alphabet, punctuation rules, and so on. D. This is really a language, albeit with some points of view of musical notation can be equated to only sign systems.
course, here is the already mentioned mathematics, recording rules which are extremely strict.All the sciences, too, can be roughly ranked in this category.Finally, this programming language.And of them, probably, is to talk more.
use
What pushes forward the development and study of formal languages - it is definitely technical progress.Computer systems, electronic devices - today, nearly every thing is a miniature computer.And if they understand only the binary code, then people tend to perceive only the natural languages.Examples of different ways and attempts to find a compromise resulted in the idea of creating an intermediate communication system.Over time, they appeared quite a lot.So today, the programming - it is actually the work of an interpreter from the computer to the human and vice versa.
But people continue to use natural and artificial languages, examples of which allow you to make sure that is too loose rules of grammar and syntax seriously hamper computer interpretation statements.It is unlikely that linguistic evolution comes to a serious tightening.So one of the most promising areas - the system of natural language understanding.They allow machines to process requests that are written without any special rules.The first step towards this technology probably began the search engines.They develop and now, so perhaps the future is near.
