The 9 types of language (human and nature)

The communication capacity that human beings have to communicate through complex language is surprising, but in nature there are many types of language as well. Relating is one of the three main life functions, along with nurturing and replicating.

That in biology an organism that is not capable of relating cannot be described as a living being speaks by itself of the vital importance of the communicative act. That is why today we are going to talk about the types of language that exist in nature and in humans.

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Types of language in nature

In nature there are different forms of communication in which a language is used. All living organisms have some degree of interaction between them, and the language that occurs in them is studied in zoosemiotics. This discipline bases its study on cellular and animal biological communication.

Thus, the study of the exchange of signals that occur between animals of different species takes into account the different physical substrates through which communication is possible.

Different living beings use different types of language that nature gives them to communicate, existing the different possibilities thanks to the senses:

• Smell
• Sight
• Touch
• Hearing
• Taste

Next we are going to see the different types of language that exist in nature.

1. Chemical

Chemical language can depend on both the sense of smell and the sense of taste. Specific chemicals known as pheromones are transmitted, which are used as a form of language to communicate between individuals. It depends a lot on the environmental conditions, especially on the air currents, so that they can have more or less range.

An example of living beings that use this type of language as an essential form of communication are bees, but pheromones also perform specific functions in other living beings. One of the most prominent functions of pheromones in many animals is related to sexual attraction, even in the case of humans.

2. Visual

In nature there are visual signs that warn of dangers, potential partners, etc., being a very important way of communicating. Many animals have a developed sense of sight that allows them to decipher messages that the environment is giving them.

There are colors that warn of dangers, such as very striking colors of toxic frogs or the characteristic colors of bees and scooters. Also certain shapes or sizes can express aggressiveness, such as when a cat swells up or a bear stands up. Another example could be that of the male peacock, which uses visual language for courtship; by unfolding its tail an individual expresses that it is a healthy specimen to mate with.

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3. Tactile

Living beings can also transmit messages through touch in different ways. Primates and other animals, especially mammals, can express many things like us by touching the skin, from love to rejection.

Other existing forms of tactile language are those that use vibrations and those of electrical transmission. Examples of this are crocodiles or eels. The former can generate vibrations inside their bodies to attract females, while the latter use vibrations for courtship but also to orient themselves and for aggression.

4. Sonorous

Many animals use the emission and reception of sound waves as a language to communicate. With the sound language, a lot of information can be transmitted, and there is a great range of height and intensity that can vary quickly. The main type of communication of human beings is sound thanks to our vocal cords, giving rise to verbal language.

Many animals such as birds, amphibians, and mammals also have a communicative way in which they use strings or vocal sacs. Also reptiles can emit sounds, like the crocodiles about to be born that warn the mother. Insects such as crickets or cicadas make sounds, but produced in other parts of the body. Another strategy is that of bats, dolphins and sperm whales, which use echolocation to interact as well as hunt.

The uniqueness of human language

The language for the human being is usually identified as the language, in which a type of sound information is used above all. Anyway, while we speak we also express visual language through our face for example. The human being is capable of communicating in the 4 previous ways, although chemistry in a very limited way (especially through pheromones).

The human language allows the use of a complex code that allows it to express concepts, thoughts and meanings. The explanation of how capable beings we are capable of using language is not yet accurate. There are schools of thought that affirm that it is an innate ability, that man speaks by nature. Others, on the contrary, conclude that it is an acquisition process, characteristic of our capacity for adaptation and development.

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Complex human language types

Below we show the different types of language that humans are capable of using. Shapes that have already been explained and that are characteristic of other animals, such as tactile or chemical shapes, will not be found here. From now on, those complex forms of language stand out. that they use mainly the sight and the hearing.

5. Verbal

The ability to have such a complex verbal language has been one of the attributes that as humans has made us unique on planet Earth.. It is an unlimited resource in terms of communication possibilities that has been decisive in our history as a species.

Each word can represent a meaning, represented by a combination of sounds that we are able to produce thanks to our vocal cords.

The following fundamental elements intervene in a communicative act at the verbal level:

• Sender: who produces the message

• Recipient: who receives the message

• Message: the meaning, what the sender wants to communicate

• Code: the specific language that is being used (for example, the Spanish language)

• Reference: what is being talked about

• Context: the situation in which the communicative act takes place

• Channel: the medium that transmits the message

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6. Gestural

Gestural language is based on the communication of the human body through expressions (gaze, facial mimicry, etc.), gestures (such as raising an arm or hands) or movements (sitting down, crossing arms, etc.).

In fact, it can be extrapolated even in actions such as dancing. Dance as such can also represent a form of gestural language, as it can express courtship, security, affection, etc.

7. Iconic-visual

The iconic-visual language is built through the image, and is very important in the society in which we live.. For marketing and television it is essential, as they use it to convince us of the need for certain products. But the history of the human being has always been linked to this way of communicating, with architectural language and pictorial language being clear representatives of it.

8. Written

It is actually a variant of verbal language, since oral language is still something abstract, and through the representation of it in words it can be encoded. This allows oral language, which is inherently part of the human being, to be unequivocally expressed.

Thanks to the standardization of languages, confusion regarding the representation of language in writing has gradually disappeared. This has helped something that has been fundamental in recent human history, and that is that the knowledge of one generation can be transmitted to the future in an intact and permanent way.

9. Formal

Formal languages ​​are used in mathematics, physics, chemistry, programming, etc. These are artificial constructions that make sense to humans, since its structures are based on the human language of other previous types. This allows your analysis to start from that used for natural human language.

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Bibliographic references

• Benveniste, E. (1982). Animal communication and human language, in Problems of general linguistics. Mexico: XXI century.

• Klopfer, P. (1974), Linguistics: Perspectives in Zoosemiotics. Thomas A. Sebeok. American Anthropologist, 76, 939.

• Lyons, John (1984). Language and linguistics, Madrid: Teide.

• Nelson, D.L. and Cox, M.M. (2001) Lehninger. Principles of biochemistry. Barcelona: Omega Editions