Whats this thing called Language?

Language is a common commodity. Unfortunate individuals with some form of pathology, and
those religious figures who have ____________ (to take) vows of silence aside, humanity is assailed
by language. Our lives, as the American linguist Deborah Tannen (1991) once ____________ (to
remark), are lived as a series of conversations. With relatively few exceptions, we all manage to
acquire one (and often more than one language) in the first few years of life. Having acquired it, we
use it until shortly before we draw our last breath. In short, language is the phenomenon that
defines us as humans.

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The main thing distinguishing humans from other animals is language. Of course, many animals also
____________ (to communicate) in quite efficient ways, as the dance of the bees, the sounds of
dolphins, and the concerted actions of armies of ants demonstrate. But we humans feel that
language is at the very core of our existence, that it defines us and shapes our being more than any
other assets we possess []. Language ____________ (to build) and cements our social relationships,
____________ (to help) us to think and ____________ (to allow) us to reflect, is used first to educate
us and subsequently by us to educate others. Without it no war can be declared, nor peace
announced, and neither ships nor baby can be named. Clearly, language is a vital area of study for a
better understanding of ourselves and the improvement of our situation. (van Lier, 1995 :1)
Language is ubiquitous, it is all around us and we all possess it, and yet at the same time it is the
most complex of all human phenomena and its acquisition borders on the miraculous. [] So what
is this thing called language?

Whats this thing called Language ?, David Nunan. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

WORKSHEET
A Conjugate the missing verbs in the text.
B Fill in the blanks with the following words:
a commodity

a vow of silence
to manage to

an improvement
ubiquitous (adj.)

efficient (adj.)
to border on

assets

1. Wealth, riches, something of value that you own: _________________________

2. To make better, to develop: to make _________________________
3. Something useful or valued that is used to make exchanges: _________________________
4. Something that is everywhere at the same time, omnipresent: _________________________
5. Productive: _________________________
6. A promise to not speak: _________________________
7. To be very close to: _________________________
8. To succeed in doing: _________________________
C In 3 to 4 sentences, write your own definition for Language.