flowrish
27-06-2009, 02:02 AM
[Hockett’s 13 Design Features of Language
Charles Hockett proposed identifying descriptive characteristics
Hockett’s 13 Design Features used to compare animal communication to human communication
–Is human communication unique?
1. Vocal-Auditory Channel
– humans communicate via speech, out of mouth, into ear
– advantages compared with other forms: touch, odor, visual
• able to use hands while talking
• able to hear speech in the dark
2. Broadcast Transmission & Directional Reception
– anyone in broad range can hear speech
– also get information regarding direction and timing of sound
3. Rapid Fading
– speech signal is transitory, so gone quickly
– this is generally a disadvantage
– writing and recording are strategies to assist this
4. Interchangeability
– any human can say what any other human can say
• animal communication sometimes has gender constraints
5. Total Feedback
– hear and feel our speech, so able to adjust
– compensate for loss of hearing or motor speech skill
6. Specialization
– Communication mode (speech) is only used for communication
– unique structures
7. Semanticity
– human language is able to convey very specific, detailed messages
– words have stable relationships to the objects/events they represent
8. Arbitrariness
– words don’t refer directly to objects
– nothing about a “pen” requires that it be called a “pen”
9. Discreteness
– language is limited to a small number of sounds
– relatively small differences between sounds
– speakers aren’t able to perceive or produce nonnative sounds
10. Displacement
– ability to talk about things remote in place and time
• example of history lessons or science fiction
11. Productivity
– human language is creative, able to say things never said before
– create new words
– say old things in new ways (metaphors, poetry)
– yet the message is still understandable
12. Duality of Patterning
– a finite number of units combine in infinite ways to create meaning
– sounds combine to form morphemes which combine to form utterances, etc.
– meaning cannot be predicted from the bottom levels
13. Traditional Transmission
– capacity for language appears to be innate
– some aspects are learned, because you learn the language of the environment
Charles Hockett proposed identifying descriptive characteristics
Hockett’s 13 Design Features used to compare animal communication to human communication
–Is human communication unique?
1. Vocal-Auditory Channel
– humans communicate via speech, out of mouth, into ear
– advantages compared with other forms: touch, odor, visual
• able to use hands while talking
• able to hear speech in the dark
2. Broadcast Transmission & Directional Reception
– anyone in broad range can hear speech
– also get information regarding direction and timing of sound
3. Rapid Fading
– speech signal is transitory, so gone quickly
– this is generally a disadvantage
– writing and recording are strategies to assist this
4. Interchangeability
– any human can say what any other human can say
• animal communication sometimes has gender constraints
5. Total Feedback
– hear and feel our speech, so able to adjust
– compensate for loss of hearing or motor speech skill
6. Specialization
– Communication mode (speech) is only used for communication
– unique structures
7. Semanticity
– human language is able to convey very specific, detailed messages
– words have stable relationships to the objects/events they represent
8. Arbitrariness
– words don’t refer directly to objects
– nothing about a “pen” requires that it be called a “pen”
9. Discreteness
– language is limited to a small number of sounds
– relatively small differences between sounds
– speakers aren’t able to perceive or produce nonnative sounds
10. Displacement
– ability to talk about things remote in place and time
• example of history lessons or science fiction
11. Productivity
– human language is creative, able to say things never said before
– create new words
– say old things in new ways (metaphors, poetry)
– yet the message is still understandable
12. Duality of Patterning
– a finite number of units combine in infinite ways to create meaning
– sounds combine to form morphemes which combine to form utterances, etc.
– meaning cannot be predicted from the bottom levels
13. Traditional Transmission
– capacity for language appears to be innate
– some aspects are learned, because you learn the language of the environment