Psychology

Language is the arrangement of words to bring a perceived meaning. The human language can be discussed in various disciplines. A language helps in communication by arranging words to have some meaning. Communication can also be achieved through symbols and sounds. Language helps in presentation of ideas or thoughts. There are various forms of language written and oral language. Body language helps in presenting ideas by use of expressions. There are several languages which are defined by culture, boundary and demographics. The diversity of culture in a nation, leads to the rise of a unique language. A unique language is adopted in every country despite of using the same language such as English. Those nations which use English as their language have unique trends defined by accents, mannerisms and worlds. These language features defines the unique style of language in each country or region. The evolution of language has led to the rise of many dialects within a country.

Evaluate the key features of language
There are various key features of language. Interchangeability is a language feature in which case language signal can both be received and broadcasted by a speaker. The speaker in this case is in a position of receiving as well as broadcasting the received signal. This language feature is distinctive in various animals, for instance the signals of the sticklefish are distinctive in that they are not interchangeable. The issue of gender dominates in their signals.

Arbitrariness is another key feature in which the signal form is varied to the thing of reference, for instance, using a respectable word in referring to arrogant person. Words which refer to the same thing in different languages can be used to refer to the thing. There are some words whose pronunciation rhyme with the sound made, for instance meow. Arbitrariness also occurs in some languages, for instance not all the languages relate dogs to backing. There are things which are referred to names which does not have connection, for instance a kettle does not make noise similar to its name. Arbitrariness occurs when there is no connectivity in language. The form of a language can be related to the meaning. This makes language to be iconic. Nonarbitrariness can be traced in onomatopoeia. In this case the words take sounds of pronunciation. Examples of onomatopoetic words include bang or meow. There is no motivation in language.

Human languages are perceived through hearing the sounds made by mouth. Human languages are vocal. This presents the vocal auditory channel through sounds are produced. It is not all languages that are vocal. Sign and writing languages are exceptional. These are conveyed through manual illustration channel. The basic of expression for most human languages is the vocal auditory channel. The deaf make use of the auditory channel in communication.

The specific meanings of language can be attached to the specific signals. This defines semanticity in language, for instance the words used can relate to the signal. Feedback defines the manner language is monitored from the speaker to the performance. This is not the case in some languages such as traffic lights. The signal of a human language is not unidirectional. It spreads out in all directions but it is perceived in a specified direction. This defines the feature of language transmission and reception. Signal reception is directional. Speech realized by a speaker can be heard by the audience (Emonds, 2000). The signal seems to be coming from a specified direction.

Displacement is a language features which allows for various happenings, for instance, referring to things which are absent. A speaker can refer to either past, present and even the future. Speaker can also refer to physical things which are far away, for instance the moon. Imaginary things can also be put in to perspective. Discreteness on the other hand relates units of speech in to distinct groups. Other features of language include stimulus freedom, patterning, open-endedness, productivity and specialization. Specialization is the feature which relates various to specific origin.  Human language is also concerned with invented things. Invented things include the revelation of non existing products. This brings in new knowledge.

Describe the four levels of language structure and processing
The four levels of language define the structure and the manner in which language is processed. Sound forms the basis of language processing. Phonology and phonetics defines sound as used in language. The stimulus of sound can be highlighted in two distinct ways. Firstly, the way it is produced and secondly, the way it is perceived. There are rules which enables grouping of sounds to obtain sensible sequences. This is dealt in phonology. Processing of language begins in the onset of voice. Sound can be used to denote various meanings. The range in sounds gives different meanings in various languages (Emonds, 2000). Language processing occurs from the range in sounds which bring about different meanings. Language perception depends on the processing criteria.

Language meaning is another level of concern. This includes semantics and morphology. Lexical semantics are dealt with in semantics. The words forming up a sentence can be used to deduce the meaning. The structuring of the words is tackled in morphology. The morpheme is a structure for the words in a sentence. The processing begins at production and ends with perception.

Analyze the role of language processing in cognitive psychology
Language processing is crucial in human cognition. Human cognition is dealt in cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology elaborates on the mental abilities. Mental abilities include human activities such as understanding, perceiving, reasoning, learning and thinking. Human cognition involves acquisition of knowledge.   The acquisition and application of knowledge is dealt with in cognitive psychology.

Language processing is essential in cognitive psychology. Language processing involves formulation of meaning from words. The meaning of a sentence is obtaining by referring to the words which makes up a sentence. The acquisition of information can possible when the meaning of a signal is received. This is highlighted in language processing. Reasoning and understanding can only be achieved through language processing. Cognitive psychology is based on several assumptions. Firstly, there is the assumption that the processes that occur in the mind are based on some rules which form algorithm in language processing. It is also based on the assumption that mental processes are easily identifiable.

In conclusion, a language involves the arrangement of words to obtain a meaning. This facilitates communication. Language facilitates presentation of ideas and thoughts. There are various key features of language. These include displacement, auditory-channel, arbitrariness, semantics, interchangeability, specialization and open-endedness. These features define language production and perception. Language processing begins with sound. The words of a sentence are grouped to obtain a meaning. Mental processes are handled in psychology cognition. The mental abilities include understanding, thinking and reasoning. Human cognition deals with the acquisition of knowledge and its application.