1. Arbitrariness: The relationship between a word and its meaning is arbitrary. There's no inherent reason why "cat" should represent a feline creature, it's simply a convention agreed upon by speakers of that language.
2. Displacement: Language allows us to communicate about things that are not present in the immediate environment, including past events, future plans, and abstract concepts. We can talk about dinosaurs, the moon, or even imaginary worlds.
3. Productivity: Language is an open system, meaning we can create an infinite number of new sentences and expressions by combining existing words and grammatical rules. This allows for flexibility and constant innovation in language use.
4. Duality of Patterning: Language operates on two levels: sounds (phonemes) and meaning (morphemes). We combine sounds into meaningful units (words), and then combine words into sentences to convey complex ideas.
5. Cultural Transmission: Language is learned, not innate. We acquire language through interaction with others, and its specific form varies widely across cultures.
6. Recursion: Language allows for embedding phrases and clauses within other phrases and clauses, creating a hierarchical structure. This allows for complex and nuanced expression.
Beyond these six:
It's important to note that there are other important properties of language, such as:
* Semanticity: Words and sentences have meaning.
* Pragmatics: The way language is used in context, taking into account social factors.
* Structure Dependence: The meaning of a sentence is determined by its grammatical structure, not just the order of words.
Ultimately, the "six unique properties" can be debated, but these key features highlight the complexity and power of human language.