Traditional transmission is a design feature of language that the anthropologist Charles F. Hockett developed to distinguish the features of human language from those of animal communication. He discovered thirteen features that all human languages have. Animals might communicate with some of the thirteen basic design features of language but never with all of them. Traditional transmission is exemplified by the fact that language is learned in social groups. Although there is disagreement about how much linguistic capability humans are born with the only way that humans learn language and refine its use as they grow is in social settings.
Famous quotes containing the word traditional:
“The community and family networks which helped sustain earlier generations have become scarcer for growing numbers of young parents. Those who lack links to these traditional sources of support are hard-pressed to find other resources, given the emphasis in our society on providing treatment services, rather than preventive services and support for health maintenance and well-being.”
—Bernice Weissbourd (20th century)