Types of Language (with examples)

The language is a complex system of human communication, made up of signs and sound sequences, which allows them to people express emotions and thoughts, that is, it serves to transmit information about everything type.

It should be clarified that language is only one part of communication, since it also includes emotional aspects, cultural and contextual components, among others.

The faculty of language in the human being is congenital and universal, since it is presented in the same way in any person, regardless of the place or historical context in which they were born.

Classification and examples of language types

Language can be classified in different ways, considering criteria such as naturalness, the type of message, the recipient, among others.

According to the ease or difficulty with which it is acquired.

This criterion refers to whether it is a form of language that is natural to the user or whether they must be trained to learn to use it.

1. natural language. It consists of everyday speech and
   instagram story viewer
   colloquial, which is acquired spontaneously in childhood, in the process of learning the language and, later, as a result of social interaction in a given environment and culture. It includes the use of the mother tongue and non-verbal or gestural language. For example: any everyday conversation between two or more people who share a context and a culture of belonging.
2. artificial language. It refers to a language created and used to fulfill a specific objective. It implies expressing oneself in a different way than the ordinary one, in cases where a certain specificity is required for which natural language is not enough. It is not spontaneous and learning is necessary to acquire it, which sometimes takes a long time.
   • literary language. It is used in literary works and combines cultured language with creativity poetics, use of metaphors and unconventional figures, among others. How ideas are expressed matters as much as what is expressed. In addition to communicating, it is a language that creates beauty and fictional plots. For example: the language used in novels, poetry or short stories.
   • Scientific-technical language. It is made up of various jargons of speech in a specific professional field. It is normative and precise, which is why it differs from natural language, since a particular use of language is required. each term and the modes of enunciation can be systematic and guided to avoid errors of process. For example: the language of medical reports or procedure manuals.
   • formal language. It is impersonal and distant, and is used in written and oral, professional or academic texts. It does not admit colloquialisms, the pronouns you or you neither terms vulgar or too informal. It gives solemnity and importance to a communicative context, which makes the act something to be respected. For example: official speeches, legal texts or those addressed to relevant institutions.
   • Mathematical Language. It is a system of symbols and signs used specifically to express concepts of this science. It is composed of alphanumeric signs and symbols that represent mathematical operations (+,-,/,%,= and others). For example: the statements of equations, multiplications, subtractions.
   • Programming language. It is the system of signs used to create the instructions thanks to which the components of computers work. A binary code composed of the values ​​1 and 0 is mostly used. For example: javascript, C++, Perl.
   • Musical language. It is a written language that allows to compose, interpret or read musical compositions. This system has its own read and write code. For example: the sheet music of a piece of music.

According to the way used to communicate.

This criterion allows to differentiate the types of language, considering the elements that are used in the communicative exchange.

1. Nonverbal language. It is the one that is often used unconsciously and in which the person communicates without the use of words, through the look, the body posture, gait, gestures, and other involuntary movements that express emotions or personality traits transmitter.

• • face language. It refers to all the movements that are made with the muscles of the face in a communicative interaction and that convey information that complements or even calls into question what the person says through language verbal. For example: frowning in anger, or rolling your eyes to indicate being fed up.
  • kinesthetic language. It refers to all the movements, gestures and even smells that the body emits and that offer information about the state of mind and attitude of the individual in question. For example: when a person denies or nods his head or shrugs his shoulders to indicate that he does not know something.
  • Haptic. It refers to the types of language based on the stimuli that are received through touch. That is, sensations, textures, differences in temperature, movement and pressure. For example: the use of braille, very common among blind people.
  • Proxemics. It refers to a type of language related to the use of the personal space of each individual. It fundamentally involves the way in which the person manages the distance that separates them from their interlocutor, although it also includes a series of gestures, the posture adopted and the involuntary movements that occur in the interaction with another or others. It is closely linked to beliefs and cultural aspects that make its interpretation vary. For example: in Latin American countries, the proximity between speakers can be interpreted as warm and appropriate, while in other cultures it can indicate aggression or invasion of one's own space.
  • paralanguage. It refers to the characteristics of the voice at the time of oral verbal communication. Consider tone, volume, accent, pauses used, use of interjections Y onomatopoeia. It does not contemplate the message that is emitted, but the way of communicating it. For example: use a low tone of voice as a sign of shyness, or too high to express anger.

1. verbal language. It is the one in which words are used to interact with others. Can be oral or written, and also involves shouting and other changes in intonation, acronym and graphic marks.

• • Written language. It refers to the one who uses graphic signs that represent sounds and words; and that requires an analog or digital support such as paper or the computer. It has its own enunciation rules, such as the proper use of punctuation and spelling rules, to organize the information correctly and avoid misinterpretations when reading the text. message. For example: an email, a text message or a handwritten note.
  • Oral language. It refers to spoken language, in which sounds are combined with which words are formed using the voice. It is one of the most primitive types of human language. For example: a telephone conversation between two friends.
  • iconic language. It refers to the use of symbols that represent indications or words, and that can be combined according to specific rules of use for this type of language. For example: traffic signs or safety and industrial hygiene.

According to whether or not there is a recipient.

This criterion considers the objective with which a message is issued.

1. egocentric language. In children, especially when they begin to develop language, it is a form of communication with oneself. The purpose in this case is not the interaction with other people, but to organize the thought and activities that you intend to do. In adulthood, it is often replaced by the "inner voice." For example: the child describing what he is doing or repeating the words he hears from her parents.
2. social language. It is that employee with the purpose of interacting with another or other people. Here there is a concrete communicative intention. For example: Verbal, non-verbal, natural, oral or written languages ​​are forms of social language.
3. vernacular language. It is the language of the region in which it is spoken, without considering the cases of languages ​​imposed in an area, but which are not native to the place. For example: the Basque language, which is spoken in the Basque Country, or Guarani, which is spoken in Paraguay.

Other forms of language

1. Pictograms or emojis. It refers to a very new and highly used type of language today. It is about the exchange of images or drawings that refer emotions or moods between speakers who interact through the internet or social networks. For example: send a heart to indicate affection.

It can serve you: