Final answer:
Language is a communication system using sounds and symbols, like words, to convey thoughts, ideas, and feelings, and is an element that is unique to humans. It involves complex rules and helps in cultural transmission. It distinguishes human communication from other species, as it allows for more detailed and systematic exchange of information.
Step-by-step explanation:
We understand language as a form of communication using sounds and symbols according to specified rules. It allows us to form the basic building blocks of thinking and communicate our thoughts, ideas, and feelings.
Language is a system that uses symbols with which people communicate and through which culture is transmitted. It can include letters forming words, pictographs, and hand gestures that all combine to create a means for humans to convey messages and social norms to each other. Moreover, in a broader scope, language is integral to human identity and interaction, enabling us to articulate complex ideas and emotions.
While language is unique to human beings, communication in a broader sense is not. Other species also communicate through postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, but language distinguishes itself by the complex and systematic organization of words and rules that facilitate the transmission of detailed information and cultural heritage.
From the ancient cuneiform script to modern day languages and sign languages, it is clear that different societies have evolved various systems of symbols, yet they all share the common need for language to understand and interpret the world around them.