The question, "What is language can have several different answers, and all of them may be acceptable. For our present purpose, however, let us look at language as: skill, tool, form, and function.
First, language Is a sot of skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. They are often known as the four language skills. Of these four skills, the listening skill ls the first to develop. It develops during the first olghtoon months of babyhood. The speaking skill develops at about tho age of one and a half years or so. By about four or five years of age, tho child is able to use his or her mother tongue quilting fluently. It Is only when the child goes to school that he or she learns to read and write.
Here, we should note that listening and speaking work-together as a pair of skill reading and writing work together as another pair. We should fore turtler that when we are listening or reading, we aro not producing language; we are rocolving language. That is why these two skils are often known as roceptive skills. When we are speaking or writing, however, we are producing language. Thus, speaking and writing are often known as productive skills.
Second, language is a tool for communication. This means that we use language to speak to someone, or to write to someone. To speak, we use vocal symbols; to write, we use written symbols. What is interesting here is that when we speak, we use gestures such as the movement of our arms, hands, heads, and also facial expressions to help the listener understand us better. When we write, however, we use Graphics such as pictures., photographs, charts, tables, etc. to help the reader understand better. Thus, we may say that speaking and gestures go hand in hand, just as writing and graphics do.
Third, communication may be in one the forme: verbal communication, and non-verbal communication. In verbal communication, we use words and sentences. They may be spoken or written. In non-verbal communication, on the other hand, we use gestures and graphics.
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