To some people of Africa, a newborn child is a kintu, a “thing,” not yet a muntu, a “person.” It is only by the act of learning language that the child becomes a human being. To understand our humanity, we must understand the nature of language that makes us human. (Fromkin et al. 2013,9.)
What is language? You have already written your own definition or if you had difficulty coming up with a definition, you’re in good company because linguists spent years in order to define and redefine it.
Also, coming up with a single definition of language is unlikely as there are two perspectives 'language as a system' and 'language as communication'.
During the times that we started to learn English, as far as we remembered, we are forced to learn the system of language more than the communication purpose of the language. To make it clear, we think that the rules of the language might be seen easier to be taught by teachers or lecturers because it did not require them to ponder over extra activities in class. Thus, the communication purpose of the language was behind the curtains until we build a strong foundation with the system of the language.
The first one, language as a system, views language as a system of sounds, symbols, and structure, grammar and pronunciation. Language as a system tells us that the sentence “he brown eyes has” is not possible in English. It also tells us that 'woman' and 'women' are two different sound sets with different meanings.
The second one, language as communication, makes us understand 'could you please open the window?' is a request rather than a yes or no question.
Language as a system required for communication makes us different from other beings as understood from the quotation above. In addition, from our point of view and based upon our previous readings and experiences related to language, we can state that language, having its own rules and developing only within the framework of its rules, is a communication system between people, and it is made up of complicated rules, voices, signs and written symbols. Thus, we cannot separate language as a system or communication within the boundaries of English language teaching. What is more, two views are intertwined in teaching and learning English language. For this reason, our definition focused on the use of the system of language to communicate.
As for the scope of English language learning and teaching, the system view of language focuses on the rules of the language, and it puts stress on its rules in the journey of language teaching. Thus, heavy - grammar teaching become an essential part of language teaching and learning activities. This is needed at the beginning of this teaching and learning journey. However, if one’s Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas function properly, he/she wants to connect his/her inner world to the outer world: communicate. Therefore, the system should be used for appropriate communication at the end.
In short, language consists of systems required for appropriate and meaningful communication. Thus, language teaching and learning require an understanding of its structure, meaning and its appropriate use in specific contexts also keeping in mind that language consists of and carries cultural norms and values too.
So, what is language?
References
Fromkin. V, Rodman, R. &Hyams, N, (2013). Introduction To Language, LA: Cengage Learning.