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InThinking Revision Sites

INTHINKING REVISION SITES

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Language

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At the heart of the Language A: Language and literature course is the term 'language'. What exactly though does 'language' mean?

A language is a system of communication that is mutually intelligible among all members of a community. How is this different from a dialect? In fact, all languages are dialects. A dialect gains 'language' status when it gains official acceptance as the standard to which all other varieties are compared. This is a rather linguistic approach to defining 'language'.

In the Language A: Language and Literature course, you will notice that the word 'language' is used in another sense. You may be asked to comment on the use of 'language' in a particular text. In this sense we are referring to style, diction or even tone. In other words, 'how has the author carefully selected his or her words and syntax?' 

The study of language is not an exact science. In the Language A: Language and Literature classroom, we constantly come back to the question: "What is the effect of this language on its audience?" There can be as many effects as there are audiences. In brief, the effects of language are difficult to measure. Nevertheless, engaging in textual analysis and close reading increase our understanding of language and its effects. 

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