Natural Factors Determining Language Structure
Abstract
The research is aimed at revealing the relationship between the properties of verbal language determined by natural factors (such as the anatomical structure of the human vocal and auditory apparatus, the capacity of human memory, etc.) and those properties that are caused by sociocultural factors (cognitive patterns that have been developed through sociocultural and historic evolution). The author finds out that the natural factors in verbal language primarily determine the basic features in the plane of expression, while culture primarily determines the basic features in the plane of content, but language semantics, too, is influenced by human natural characteristics. The author discusses the issue of innate, genetically programmed patterns that contain a priori knowledge about the world and are fixed in language. The conclusion is made that not only humans themselves, but also all the achievements of collective intellect, all forms of social consciousness mythology, religion, morality, art, and human-made sign systems – are characterized by natural and sociocultural dualism. In verbal language, the sociocultural and natural aspects closely intertwine and interact. Since the essence of humans is inherent in language, researchers studying this phenomenon will contribute to deeper understanding of the specificity of human being as an intelligent creature.