Language Units Human speech is a means of communication,

Human speech is a means of communication, and language is the specific pattern of that communication, the pattern by which we convey meaning to one another. There are many languages as different peoples have developed their specific means of communicating. Human speech is different from the written language. Oral communication is not entirely by spoken language. It also includes gestures and physical attitudes included as non-verbal language. Among the forms of non-linguistic representation are gestures, bodily signification such as costume or tattoos, vocalization, and physical/environmental signification as seen in architecture or the landscape.

Myths have been developed to explain the origin of language, often assuming that there was once a single proto-language from which all other languages developed. One theory is that words developed as humans imitated nature and tried to sound like what they were describing. The Tower of Babel is a mythological representation of the shift from one language to many. The advent of writing contributed to language standardization, though language continues to change.

The impetus for communication is considerable, and different languages, dialects, and vernaculars developed among different populations as they communicated specialized material or simply developed their own way of communicating with one another. This process is ongoing, and we can see in our own communication how new words come into being and how we use

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rate in a literacy society are at a disadvantage. The change has been from specialized knowledge held by a few to a society that is so geared to the dissemination of knowledge that we call this the information age. Yet we are also returning in a different way to admiration for those with specialized knowledge because we have such a vast store of knowledge that specialization is necessary. In addition, as Olson notes, the dissemination of information through the written word includes a number of types of duplicity because we have learned from the written word how to be ambiguous and less than truthful. On the whole, though, literacy has been a positive influence that continues to make our culture richer and to preserve both the good and the bad--and we have to admit that sometimes we may not know which is which for a long time. UNIT 5 Literacy is a vital socializing force in contemporary society, and it is difficult for an individual to function in our society if he or she cannot read. This is true at the practical level, since everything from street signs to instructions for a gadget we might buy require literacy. On a broader level, literacy opens up worlds of information and education that are closed to those who cann

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