Natural language

A natural language is a system of communication used organically by a human community. These languages emerge without conscious premeditation or planning. They are the native tongues for many members of a group known as a speech community. Most languages found across the world fall into this category. Natural languages include standard dialects, which often hold high social prestige. They also include vernacular or nonstandard dialects used in daily life. Even official languages like Standard French are classified as natural languages. This is because their rules are not restrictive enough to be called constructed or controlled.

Natural languages are characterized by constant change over time. Linguists describe this state as being in flux. This means that even with the efforts of grammarians, these languages are never truly stable or unchanging. They evolve through fluctuations in vocabulary and syntax, which is the arrangement of words. These incremental changes help humans improve their ability to communicate with one another. While writing is often a static visual representation of a language, it is not immune to change. In many highly literate modern societies, writing itself undergoes the same natural processes as spoken language.

Some natural languages form through the meeting of different groups. When two or more pre-existing natural languages synthesize, they can create something new. This process often begins with a pidgin. A pidgin is a temporary system used for communication, but it is not considered a full language. If the system becomes stable, it develops into a creole language. A creole has its own unique grammar, vocabulary, and literature. Haitian Creole is a prominent example of this process. It is spoken by over 10 million people worldwide. It also serves as one of the two official languages of the Republic of Haiti.

Not all human communication is considered a natural language. Some systems are created for specific, intentional purposes. For instance, computer programming uses languages of formal logic. Others are constructed specifically for works of fiction. These are known as artificial or constructed languages. There are also human communication systems used in cross-cultural contexts that have no native speakers. Because these lack a community of native users, they are excluded from the definition of natural language.

Scientists also distinguish human language from non-human communication systems. Examples of non-human systems include whale vocalizations or the waggle dance of honey bees. There is an academic consensus that animal communication lacks certain key features required to be called a language. Furthermore, some languages are intentionally limited to reduce complexity. These are called controlled natural languages. They are subsets of natural languages where grammars and dictionaries are restricted. This is done to reduce ambiguity and make processing easier for computers or non-native speakers.

One well-known example of a controlled language is Simplified Technical English. This was originally developed for use in aerospace and avionics industry manuals. By decreasing the use of irregular verbs or adverbial forms, the language becomes more precise. This differs significantly from international auxiliary languages. These are constructed languages designed to help people from different backgrounds communicate. Esperanto is a famous example of this type. It was created by the Polish ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in the late 19th century.

While Esperanto is a constructed language, it has a small community of native speakers. As of 1996, there were 350 attested families with at least one native speaker. Another international auxiliary language was called Latino sine flexione. However, that language is no longer widely spoken today. These constructed languages exist in contrast to natural languages, which grow and change through the organic interactions of their speakers. Understanding the distinction between these systems helps linguists study how humans share meaning and how those systems evolve over centuries.