Communicative competence is a linguistic term for the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a language to form correct utterances, but also to know when to use these utterances appropriately. The term was coined by Dell Hymes in 1966, reacting against the inadequacy of Noam Chomsky's distinction between competence and performance.

According to a 1980 paper by Canale and Swain which has become canonical in applied linguistics, communicative competence consists of four components:

   1. grammatical competence: words and rules
   2. sociolinguistic competence: appropriateness
   3. discourse competence: cohesion and coherence
   4. strategic competence: appropriate use of communication strategies

A more recent survey of communicative competence by Bachman (1990) divides it into the broad headings of "organizational competence," which includes both grammatical and discourse (or textual) competence, and "pragmatic competence," which includes both sociolinguistic and "illocutionary" competence.

Through the influence of communicative language teaching, it has become widely accepted that communicative competence should be the goal of language education. This is in contrast to previous views in which grammatical competence was commonly given top priority. The understanding of communicative competence has been influenced by the field of pragmatics and the philosophy of language concerning speech acts as described in large part by John Searle and J.L. Austin.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicative_competence
 

Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international language. The name derives from Doktoro Esperanto, the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof first published the Unua Libro in 1887. Zamenhof's goal was to create an easy and flexible language as a universal second language to foster peace and international understanding.

Although no country has adopted the language officially, it has enjoyed continuous usage by a community estimated at between 100,000 and 2 million speakers and it is estimated that there are more than a thousand native speakers.

Today, Esperanto is employed in world travel, correspondence, cultural exchange, conventions, literature, language instruction, television (Internacia Televido) and radio broadcasting. Some state education systems offer elective courses in Esperanto; there is evidence that learning Esperanto is a useful preparation for later language learning.

Esperanto was developed in the late 1870s and early 1880s by Dr. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof. After some ten years of development, which Zamenhof spent translating literature into the language as well as writing original prose and verse, the first Esperanto grammar was published in Warsaw in July 1887. The number of speakers grew rapidly over the next few decades, at first primarily in the Russian empire and Eastern Europe, then in Western Europe and the Americas, China, and Japan. In the early years speakers of Esperanto kept in contact primarily through correspondence and periodicals, but in 1905 the first world congress of Esperanto speakers was held in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Since then world congresses have been held on five continents every year except during the two World Wars, and have been attended by up to 6000 people (typically 2000-3000).

Esperanto has no official status in any country, but is an elective part of the curriculum in several state systems. There were plans at the beginning of the 20th century to establish Neutral Moresnet as the world's first Esperanto state, and the short-lived artificial island micronation of Rose Island used Esperanto as its official language in 1968. In China, there was talk in some circles after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution about officially replacing Chinese with Esperanto as a means to dramatically bring the country into the twentieth century, though this policy proved untenable. In the summer of 1924, the American Radio Relay League adopted Esperanto as its official international auxiliary language, and hoped that the language would be used by radio amateurs in international communications, but actual use of the language for radio communications was negligible. Esperanto is the working language of several non-profit international organizations such as the Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda, but most others are specifically Esperanto organizations. The largest of these, the World Esperanto Association, has an official consultative relationship with the United Nations and UNESCO. The Oomoto religion encourages the use of Esperanto among their followers. The Bahá'í Faith encourages the use of an auxiliary international language, and, while endorsing no specific language.

Esperanto as having great potential in this role.
Esperanto is often used to access an international culture, including a large corpus of original as well as translated literature. There are over 25,000 Esperanto books (originals and translations) as well as over a hundred regularly distributed Esperanto magazines. Many Esperanto speakers use the language for free travel throughout the world using the Pasporta Servo. Others like the idea of having pen pals in many countries around the world using services like the Esperanto Pen Pal Service. Every year, 1500-3000 Esperanto speakers meet for the World Congress of Esperanto (Universala Kongreso de Esperanto).

Historically most of the music published in Esperanto has been in various folk traditions; in recent decades more rock and other modern genres has appeared.

To some extent there are also shared traditions, like the Zamenhof Day, and shared behaviour patterns, like avoiding the usage of one's national language at Esperanto meetings unless there is good reasons for its use.

Two films were produced with dialogue entirely in Esperanto. The films were Angoroj in 1964 and Incubus starring William Shatner in 1965. The futuristic film Gattaca uses Esperanto to deliver announcements over public address systems.

It is frequently criticized that "Esperanto has no culture". However, Esperanto is intentionally culturally neutral: It was intended to be a facilitator between cultures, not the carrier of any one culture.

Goals of the Esperanto movement
Zamenhof's intention was to create an easy-to-learn language to foster international understanding. It was to serve as an international auxiliary language, that is, as a universal second language, not to replace ethnic languages. This goal was widely shared among Esperanto speakers in the early decades of the movement. Later, Esperanto speakers began to see the language and the culture that had grown up around it as ends in themselves, even if Esperanto is never adopted by the United Nations or other international organizations.

Those Esperanto speakers who want to see Esperanto adopted officially or on a large scale worldwide are commonly called finvenkistoj, from fina venko, meaning "final victory". Those who focus on the intrinsic value of the language are commonly called raŭmistoj, from Rauma, Finland, where a declaration on the near-term unlikelihood of the "fina venko" and the value of Esperanto culture was made at the International Youth Congress in 1980. These categories are, however, not mutually exclusive.

The Prague Manifesto (1996) presents the views of the mainstream of the esperanto movement and of its main organisation, the World Esperanto Association (UEA).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto
 

Ethnography (from the Greek ethnos = nation and graphein = writing) refers to the qualitative description of human social phenomena, based on fieldwork. Ethnography is a holistic research method founded in the idea that a system's properties cannot necessarily be accurately understood independently of each other. The genre has both formal and historical connections to travel writing and colonial office reports. Several academic traditions, in particular the constructivist and relativist paradigms, claim ethnography as a valid research method.

Techniques

   1. Direct, firsthand observation of daily behavior. This can include participant observation.
   2. Conversation with different levels of formality. This can involve small talk to long interviews.
   3. The genealogical method. This is a set of procedures by which ethnographers discover and record connections of kinship, descent and marriage using diagrams and symbols.
   4. Detailed work with key consultants about particular areas of community life.
   5. In-depth interviewing.
   6. Discovery of local beliefs and perceptions.
   7. Problem-oriented research.
   8. Longitudinal research. This is continuous long-term study of an area or site.
   9. Team research.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography
 

Language delay is a failure to develop language abilities on the usual developmental timetable. Language delay is distinct from speech delay, in which the speech mechanism itself is the locus of delay. Thus, language delay refers specifically to a delay in the development of the underlying knowledge of language, rather than its implementation.

The difference between language and speech can be understood by considering the relationship between a computer program and an output device like a printer. The software running on the computer (a word processing program, for example) is designed to allow a user to create content that is stored in the computer. In order to actually create a physical copy of the file, the computer requires another device: a printer. The printer takes the file and transforms it into a series of commands which control the movement of a print head, thereby making marks on paper.

This two-stage process is something like the distinction between language (computer program) and speech (printer). When we want to communicate something, the first stage is to encode the message into a set of words and sentence structures that convey our meaning. These processes are collectively what we refer to as language. In the second stage, language is translated into motor commands that control the articulators, thereby creating speech. Speech refers to the actual process of making sounds, using such organs and structures as the lungs, vocal cords, mouth, tongue, teeth, etc.

Because language and speech are two independent stages, they may be individually delayed. For example, a child may be delayed in speech (i.e., unable to produce intelligible speech sounds), but not delayed in language. In this case, the child would be attempting to produce an age-appropriate amount of language, but that language would be difficult or impossible to understand. Conversely, a child with a language delay typically has not yet had the opportunity to produce speech sounds, it is therefore likely to have a delay in speech as well.

Language delay is commonly divided into receptive and expressive categories. Receptive language refers to the process of understanding what is said to us. Expressive language refers to the use of words and sentences to communicate what we think, need, and want.

Language delay is a risk factor for other types of developmental delay, including social, emotional, and cognitive delay. One particularly common result of language delay is delayed or inadequate acquisition of reading skills. Reading depends upon an ability to code and decode script (i.e., match speech sounds with symbols, and vice versa). If a child is still struggling to master language and speech, it is very difficult to then learn another level of complexity (writing). Thus, it is crucial that children have facility with language in order to be successful readers.

In 2005, researchers found a connection between expressive language delay and a genetic abnormality: a duplicate set of the same genes that are missing in sufferers of Williams-Beuren syndrome.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_delay
 

Communication is the process of exchanging information, usually via a common protocol. "Communication studies" is the academic discipline focused on communication forms, processes and meanings, including speech, interpersonal and organizational communication. "Mass communication" is a more specialized academic discipline focused on the institutions, practice and effects of journalism, broadcasting, advertising, public relations and related mediated communication directed at a large, undifferentiated or segmented audience.

Communication barriers
Anxiety associated with communication is known as communication apprehension. Such anxiety tends to be influenced by one's self-concept. Besides apprehension, communication can be impaired via bypassing, indiscrimination, and polarization. Failing to share a common language is also a significant barrier in many parts of the world.

Apart from that there may be following barriers in communication

   1. Language
   2. Time lag
   3. Politics
   4. Physical (such as background noise)
   5. Emotional


Examples of communication

    * jungle drums
    * smoke signals
    * Non Verbal Acts: hand signals and Body Language
    * semaphores (use of devices to increase the distance "hand" signals can be seen from by increasing the size of the movable object)
    * vocalization (also called speech when occurring between humans)
    * territorial marking (animals such as dogs - stay away from my territory)
    * Pheromones communicate (amongst other things) "I'm ready to mate" - well known example is moths where the pheromones are put into traps to attract them
    * Gold-plated disk (sent on Voyager 1 into interstellar space)
    * writing
    * telecommunications - use of technology to aid and enhance distance communications
          o Digital telecommunications
                + encoding and decoding
                + compression and encryption (as they relate to enhancing or specifying communications) for example the use of encryption to turn a one to many into a one to one communication.
                + Digital Transmission Media including telegraphy and computer network
          o analog telecommunications
                + telephone
                + radio
                + TV
                + Photography
                + Art (including Theatre Arts)


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication
 

Cultural pluralism exists when all groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities. In a pluralist culture, unique groups not only coexist side by side, but also consider qualities of other groups as traits worth having in the dominant culture. For example, a community center in the United States may offer classes in Indian yoga, Chinese calligraphy, and Latin salsa dancing. That city may also house a synagogue, mosque, and Buddhist temple, as well as several churches of various Christian denominations.

The existence of such institutions and practices is possible because the cultural communities responsible for them are protected by law and accepted by the larger society in a pluralist culture. Cultural pluralism is a necessary consequence of a flourishing and peaceful democratic society, because of its tolerance and respect for cultural and ethnic diversity.

The term cultural pluralism was coined by the American philosopher Horace Kallen. Another thinker who helped shape this notion include Randolph Bourne.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_pluralism
 

Pluralism is, in the general sense, the affirmation and acceptance of diversity. The concept is used, often in different ways, in a wide range of issues. In politics, the affirmation of diversity in the interests and beliefs of the citizenry, is one of the most important features of modern democracy. In science, the concept often describes the view that several methods, theories or points of view are legitimate or plausible. This attitude may arguably be a key factor to scientific progress. The term pluralism is also used, in several different senses, in the context of religion and philosophy.

Pluralism in politics
In democratic politics, pluralism is a guiding principle which permits the peaceful coexistence of different interests, convictions and lifestyles. Unlike totalitarianism or particularism, pluralism acknowledges the diversity of interests and considers it imperative that members of society accommodate their differences by engaging in good-faith negotiation.

One of the earliest arguments for pluralism came from James Madison in The Federalist Papers 10. Madison feared that faction would lead to in-fighting in the new American republic and devotes this paper to questioning how best to avoid such an occurence. He posits that in order to avoid faction it is best to have many competing factions to prevent any one dominating the political system. This relies, to a degree, on a series of disturbances changing the influences of groups so as to avoid institutional dominance and ensure competition.

There are some objections to this model of pluralism however. Critics argue that groups need a high level of resources and the support of patrons in order to be able to contend for influence and this observation formed the basis for the theory of elite pluralism which was advanced by writers such as Elmer Eric Schattschneider who wrote that 'all groups sing with an upper-class bias'.


Pluralism and the common good
Pluralism is connected with the hope that this process of conflict and dialogue will lead to a definition and subsequent realization of the common good that is best for all members of society. This implies that in a pluralistic framework, the common good is not given a priori. Instead, the scope and content of the common good can only be found out in and after the process of negotiation (a posteriori).

Consequently, the common good does not, according to pluralists, coincide with the position of any one cohesive group or organization.

Still, one group may eventually manage to establish its own view as the generally accepted view, but only as the result of the negotiation process within the pluralistic framework. This implies that, as a general rule, the "operator" of a truly pluralistic framework, i.e. the state in a pluralistic society, must not be biased: it may not take sides with any one group, give undue privileges to one group and discriminate against another one.

Proponents of pluralism argue that this negotiation process is the best way to achieve the common good: Since everyone can participate in power and decision-making (and can claim part of the ownership of the results of exercising power) there can also be widespread participation and a greater feeling of commitment from society members, and therefore better outcomes. By contrast, an authoritarian or oligarchic society, where power is concentrated and decisions are made by few members, forestalls this possibility.

Proponents in contemporary political philosophy of such a view include Isaiah Berlin, Stuart Hampshire and William Galston. Political pluralism was also a strong current in the formation of modern social democracy, with theorists such as Harold Laski and G. D. H. Cole, as well as other leading members of the British Fabian Society.

However others, such as Charles Blattberg, have argued that negotiation can at best compromise rather than realise the common good. Doing the latter is said to require engaging in "conversation" instead, room for which is made within what Blattberg calls a 'patriotic', as distinct from pluralist, politics.


Conditions for pluralism
For pluralism to function and to be successful in defining the common good, all groups have to agree to a minimal consensus regarding shared values, which tie the different groups to society, and shared rules for conflict resolution between the groups:

The most important value is that of mutual respect and tolerance, so that different groups can coexist and interact without anyone being forced to assimilate to anyone else's position in conflicts that will naturally arise out of diverging interests and positions. These conflicts can only be resolved durably by dialogue which leads to compromise and to mutual understanding.

As to the shared rules, the most important ones are non-violence and other terms of negotiations and arbitration.


Pluralism and Subsidiarity
However, the necessary consensus on rules and values should not unnecessarily limit different groups and individuals within society in their value decisions. According to the principle of subsidiarity, everything that need not be regulated within the general framework should be left to decide for subordinate groups and, in turn, to individuals so as to guarantee them a maximum amount of freedom.

In ultimate consequence, pluralism thus also implies the right for individuals to determine values and truths for themselves instead of being forced to follow the whole of society or, indeed, their own group.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralism
 

Baby talk, motherese, parentese, caretaker- or child-directed speech (CDS) is a nonstandard form of speech used by adults, particularly mothers, in talking to children. It is usually delivered with a "cooing" pattern of inflection which is different from normal adult speech: high in pitch, and with many glissando-like rises and falls in pitch which are exaggerated by comparison with normal speech. Baby talk is also used by pet owners when talking to their pets, and between adults as a form of affectionate intimacy.

    * "Baby talk" is a long-established and universally understood traditional term.
    * "Motherese" is a term, more precise than "baby talk," which is very amenable to computer searches. The word motherese is disliked by child development professionals (and by critics of gender stereotyping) because all caregivers, not just mothers, use distinct speech patterns and vocabulary when talking to young children. Alternatives such as parentese have not caught on.
    * Child-directed speech or CDS is the term preferred by researchers, psychologists, and child development professionals.

Researchers such as Rima Shore (1997) believe that baby talk is an important part of the emotional bonding process, and contributes to mental development. It plays a role in teaching the child the basic function and structure of language. Studies have shown that even replying to babble with meaningless babble aids language acquisition, because even though the babble itself conveys no logical meaning, the interaction teaches infants that speech is bidirectional communication. Some experts advise that parents should not talk to infants and young children solely in baby talk, but include some normal adult speech as well.

Other researchers have pointed out that "motherese" is not universal among the world's cultures, and that its role in "helping children learn grammar" has been overestimated. In some societies (such as certain Samoan tribes; see first reference) adults do not speak to their children at all until they have reached a certain age. In others, it is more usual to speak to children as one would speak to anyone else, with some vocabulary simplifications. Furthermore, even where baby-talk is used, it is full of complicated grammatical constructs, mispronounced or non-existent words, and tends to refer only to objects and events in the immediate vicinity. Baby-talk often has the parent repeating the child's utterances back to him/her, and since children employ a wide variety of phonological simplifications (mostly alliteration) in learning to speak, this results in "classic" baby-words like "na-na" for "grandmother" or "din-din" for "dinner", where the child has seized on a stressed syllable of the input and then repeated it to make a word.

In any case, the child normally acquires the local language without difficulty, regardless of the degree or type of exposure to baby-talk.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_talk
 

Morphology is a sub discipline of linguistics that studies word structure. While words are generally accepted as being the smallest units of syntax, it is clear that in most (if not all) languages, words can be related to other words by rules. For example, any English speaker can see that the words dog, dogs and dog-catcher are closely related. English speakers can also recognize that these relations can be formulated as rules that can apply to many, many other pairs of words. Dog is to dogs just as cat is to cats, or encyclopædia is to encyclopædias; dog is to dog-catcher as dish is to dishwasher. The rule in the first case is plural formation; in the second case, a transitive verb and a noun playing the role of its object can form a word. Morphology is the branch of linguistics that studies such rules across and within languages.

History
The history of morphological analysis dates back to the ancient Indian linguist Pāṇini who formulated the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology in the text Aṣṭādhyāyī. The Grecoroman grammatical tradition also engaged in morphological analysis.

The term morphology itself was coined by August Schleicher in 1859: Für die Lehre von der Wortform wähle ich das Wort "Morphologie" ("for the science of word formation, I choose the term 'morphology'", Mémoires Acad. Impériale 7/1/7, 35).

Models of morphology
There are three major families of approaches to morphology, which try to capture the distinctions above in different ways. These are:

    * Morpheme-based morphology, which makes use of an Item-and-Arrangement approach.
    * Lexeme-based morphology, which normally makes use of an Item-and-Process approach.
    * Word-based morphology, which normally makes use of a Word-and-Paradigm approach.

Please note that while the associations indicated between the concepts in each item in the list is very strong, it is not absolute.

Source and for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphology_(linguistics)
 

Baby Sign involves using sign language to communicate with infants and toddlers.

Children of an early age have a desire to communicate their needs and wishes, but lack the ability to do so clearly. This often leads to frustration and tantrums. In some cases children actually start to learn to speak, only to lose that ability once their larynx descends. Hand-eye coordination is easier than the coordination of speech, which requires coordinating the lips, tongue, breath, and vocal chords simultaneously. By using simple signs for common words such as "eat", "sleep", "more", "hug", "play", "cookie", "teddy bear", etc., infants can learn to express their needs before they are able to produce comprehensible speech.

Babies in Deaf families, immersed in a signing environment, use simple signs from as early as 6 weeks. It has been estimated that 90% of a baby's linguistic observations are observations of interactions between others, not interactions between self and others. It follows, then, that babies will strive towards the communication form they are immersed in, and use of sign among other family members is at least as important as use of sign to the baby, if early use of sign language is desired. Some parents feel that they don't have enough time to teach their baby sign language, but by using sign with each other in front of the baby, they will need to spend little time in actual instruction.

Use of Baby Sign is growing, but still not widespread. This is at least partially due to the fear that children who sign will not learn to speak properly later on. However, all available evidence suggests that hearing children who sign as infants go on to develop particularly rich spoken vocabularies, as well as a tendency to solve problems through communication rather than tantrums. They may also teach sign to younger siblings after they themselves have switched to speaking with their parents.

Baby Sign may be recommended by speech and occupational therapists for toddlers with developmental delays and speech difficulties due to physical disabilities other than hearing impairment. These children often have the mental ability necessary for language development, but are hampered by skeletal, muscular, or other limiting problems, such as hypotonia. Baby Sign allows them to communicate their needs despite their disabilities.

Parents who have some enthusiasm for sign language may already know the local adult signs for "eat", "sleep", "more", "play", but may find it more natural and productive to use simpler "baby" versions of these words. Some may gradually introduce adult signs as the infant grows. It is, however, common for parents to teach their babies non-simplified signs from adult sign language such as American Sign Language rather than specific Baby Sign.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Sign