The fundamental function of language underpins most everything that the 21st-century learner engages in; including, multimodal mediums such as; visual, written, symbolic, and oral representations; language is consequently seen and heard. The contextual components of language cement meaning and understanding for the diversity of participants, while the malleability of language has witnessed the growth of dynamic capabilities (Emmitt, 2010, p. 54). The ever-evolving nature of language has been heavily influenced by a variety of different forces, in particular, human migration, social discourses, and more recently, digital technology. However, there are standards in the basic fundamentals of language that remain static and are universal …show more content…
Consider the deaf community, a world of silence, where language can only be seen and not heard; language is visual, gestural, signs and symbols. Now imagine losing the sense of sight. A world void of facial expressions, gestures, body language; the world of the blind community. It is within this world that language becomes largely oral, therefore, more sensitive to the characteristics of speech. Both the deaf and blind communities have distinct and complex language and communication systems that include sign language and braille; such exclusive communication systems are not limited to these two communities. Green (2006, pp. 2-3) explores the environments within which language and communication are occurring, and concludes that language is always contextual and is understood or misinterpreted depending on the sociocultural foundations and practices of the participants; these language environments are referred to as discourses. Classrooms, sporting groups, social groups, fields of employment, for example, all have their own unique discourses that can include or exclude participants based on the utilized language