title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: User needs were given a high priority in the cockpit's design; both layout and functionality was developed with feedback and assessments from military pilots and a specialist testing facility. The aircraft is controlled by means of a centre stick (or control stick) and left hand throttles, designed on a Hand on Throttle and Stick (HOTAS) principle to lower pilot workload. Emergency escape is provided by a Martin-Baker Mk.16A ejection seat, with the canopy being jettisoned by two rocket motors. The HMSS was delayed by years but should have been operational by late 2011. Standard "g"-force protection is provided by the "full-cover anti-"g" trousers" (FCAGTs), a specially developed "g" suit providing sustained protection up to nine "g". German and Austrian Air Force pilots wear a hydrostatic "g"-suit called "Libelle" ("dragonfly") Multi G Plus instead, which also provides protection to the arms, theoretically giving more complete "g" tolerance.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In the event of pilot disorientation, the Flight Control System allows for rapid and automatic recovery by the simple press of a button. On selection of this cockpit control the FCS takes full control of the engines and flying controls, and automatically stabilises the aircraft in a wings level, gentle climbing attitude at 300 knots, until the pilot is ready to retake control. The aircraft also has an Automatic Low-Speed Recovery system (ALSR) which prevents it from departing from controlled flight at very low speeds and high angle of attack. The FCS system is able to detect a developing low-speed situation and to raise an audible and visual low-speed cockpit warning. This gives the pilot sufficient time to react and to recover the aircraft manually. If the pilot does not react, however, or if the warning is ignored, the ALSR takes control of the aircraft, selects maximum dry power for the engines and returns the aircraft to a safe flight condition. Depending on the attitude, the FCS employs an ALSR "push", "pull" or "knife-over" manoeuvre.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Typhoon Direct Voice Input (DVI) system uses a speech recognition module (SRM), developed by Smiths Aerospace and Computing Devices. It was the first production DVI system used in a military cockpit. DVI provides the pilot with an additional natural mode of command and control over approximately 26 non-critical cockpit functions, to reduce pilot workload, improve aircraft safety, and expand mission capabilities. An important step in the development of the DVI occurred in 1987 when Texas Instruments completed the TMS-320-C30, a digital signal-processor, enabling reductions in the size and system complexity required. The project was given the go-ahead in July 1997, with development carried out on the Eurofighter Active Cockpit Simulator at Warton. The DVI system is speaker-dependent, requiring each pilot to create a template. It is not used for safety-critical or weapon-critical tasks, such as weapon release or lowering of the undercarriage. Voice commands are confirmed by visual or aural feedback, and serves to reduce pilot workload. All functions are also achievable by means of a conventional button-press or soft-key selections; functions include display management, communications, and management of various systems. EADS Defence and Security in Spain has worked on a new non-template DVI module to allow for continuous speech recognition, speaker voice recognition with common databases (e.g. British English, American English, etc.) and other improvements.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: BAE Systems has been awarded a contract to develop new touch screen displays in the cockpit and enhance data processing capability for Eurofighter Typhoon.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Navigation is via both GPS and an inertial navigation system. The Typhoon can use Instrument Landing System (ILS) for landing in poor weather. The aircraft also features an enhanced ground proximity warning system (GPWS) based on the TERPROM Terrain Referenced Navigation (TRN) system used by the Panavia Tornado. MIDS provides a Link 16 data link.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The aircraft employs a sophisticated and highly integrated Defensive Aids Sub-System named Praetorian (formerly Euro-DASS) Praetorian monitors and responds automatically to air and surface threats, provides an all-round prioritised assessment, and can respond to multiple threats simultaneously. Threat detection methods include a Radar warning receiver (RWR), a missile warning system (MWS) and a laser warning receiver (LWR, only on UK Typhoons). Protective countermeasures consist of chaff, flares, an electronic countermeasures (ECM) suite and a towed radar decoy (TRD). The ESM-ECM and MWS consists of 16 antenna array assemblies and 10 radomes.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Traditionally each sensor in an aircraft is treated as a discrete source of information; however this can result in conflicting data and limits the scope for the automation of systems, hence increasing pilot workload. To overcome this, the Typhoon employs sensor fusion techniques. In the Typhoon, fusion of all data sources is achieved through the Attack and Identification System, or AIS. This combines data from the major on-board sensors along with any information obtained from off-board platforms such as AWACS and MIDS. Additionally the AIS integrates all the other major offensive and defensive systems (e.g. DASS & communications). The AIS physically comprises two essentially separate units: the Attack Computer (AC) and the Navigation Computer (NC).


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: By having a single source of information, pilot workload should be reduced by removing the possibility of conflicting data and the need for cross-checking, improving situational awareness and increasing systems automation. In practice the AIS should allow the Eurofighter to identify targets at distances in excess of 150 nmi and acquire and auto-prioritise them at over 100 nmi. In addition the AIS offers the ability to automatically control emissions from the aircraft, so called EMCON (from EMissions CONtrol). This should aid in limiting the detectability of the Typhoon by opposing aircraft further reducing pilot workload.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In 2017 a RAF Eurofighter Typhoon demonstrated interoperability with the F-35B using its Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL) in a two-week trial known as Babel Fish III, in the Mojave Desert. This was achieved by translating the MADL messages into Link 16 format, thus allowing an F-35 in stealth mode to communicate directly with the Typhoon.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Euroradar Captor is a mechanical multi-mode pulse Doppler radar designed for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The Eurofighter operates automatic Emission Controls (EMCON) to reduce the electro-magnetic emissions of the current CAPTOR mechanically scanned radar. The Captor-M has three working channels, one intended for classification of jammer and for jamming suppression. A succession of radar software upgrades have enhanced the air-to-air capability of the radar. These upgrades have included the R2P programme (initially UK only, and known as T2P when 'ported' to the Tranche2 aircraft) which is being followed by R2Q/T2Q. R2P was applied to eight German Typhoons deployed on Red Flag Alaska in 2012.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Captor-E is an AESA derivative of the original Captor radar, also known as CAESAR (from Captor Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar) being developed by the Euroradar Consortium, led by Selex ES.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Synthetic Aperture Radar is expected to be fielded as part of the AESA radar upgrade which will give the Eurofighter an all-weather ground attack capability. The conversion to AESA will also give the Eurofighter a low probability of intercept radar with improved jam resistance. These include an innovative design with a gimbal to meet RAF requirements for a wider scan field than a fixed AESA. The coverage of a fixed AESA is limited to 120° in azimuth and elevation. A senior EADS radar expert has claimed that Captor-E is capable of detecting an F-35 from roughly 59 km away.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The first flight of a Eurofighter equipped with a "mass model" of the Captor-E occurred in late February 2014, with flight tests of the actual radar beginning in July of that year. On 19 November 2014 the contract to upgrade to the Captor-E was signed at the offices of EuroRadar lead Selex ES in Edinburgh, in a deal worth €1bn. Kuwait became the launch customer for the Captor-E active electronically scanned array radar in April 2016. Germany has announced the intention to integrate the AESA Captor-E into their Typhoons, beginning in 2022.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The AESA radar program for Eurofighter is now split into three European Common Radar System (ECRS) variants:


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Passive Infra-Red Airborne Track Equipment (PIRATE) system is an infrared search and track (IRST) system mounted on the port side of the fuselage, forward of the windscreen. Selex ES is the lead contractor which, along with Thales Optronics (system technical authority) and Tecnobit of Spain, make up the EUROFIRST consortium responsible for the system's design and development. Eurofighters starting with Tranche1 block5 have the PIRATE. The first Eurofighter Typhoon with PIRATE-IRST was delivered to the Italian Aeronautica Militare in August 2007. More advanced targeting capabilities can be provided with the addition of a targeting pod such as the Litening pod.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: When used with the radar in an air-to-air role, it functions as an infrared search and track system, providing passive target detection and tracking. The system can detect variations in temperature at a long range. It also provides a navigation and landing aid. PIRATE is linked to the pilot's helmet-mounted display. It allows the detection of both hot exhaust plumes of jet engines and surface heating caused by friction; processing techniques further enhance the output, giving a near-high resolution image of targets. The output can be directed to any of the Multi-function Head Down Displays, and can also be overlaid on both the Helmet Mounted Sight and the Head Up Display.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Up to 200 targets can be simultaneously tracked using one of several different modes; Multiple Target Track (MTT), Single Target Track (STT), Single Target Track Ident (STTI), Sector Acquisition and Slaved Acquisition. In MTT mode the system will scan a designated volume space looking for potential targets. In STT mode PIRATE will provide tracking of a single designated target. An addition to this mode, STT Ident allows for visual identification of the target, the resolution being superior to CAPTOR's. When in Sector Acquisition mode PIRATE will scan a volume of space under direction of another onboard sensor such as CAPTOR. In Slave Acquisition, off-board sensors are used with PIRATE being commanded by data obtained from an AWACS or other source. When a target is found in either of these modes, PIRATE will automatically designate it and switch to STT.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Once a target has been tracked and identified, PIRATE can be used to cue an appropriately equipped short range missile, i.e. a missile with a high off-boresight tracking capability such as ASRAAM. Additionally the data can be used to augment that of Captor or off-board sensor information via the AIS. This should enable the Typhoon to overcome severe ECM environments and still engage its targets. PIRATE also has a passive ranging capability although the system remains limited when providing passive firing solutions, as it does not have a laser rangefinder.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Eurofighter Typhoon is fitted with two Eurojet EJ200 engines, each capable of providing up to 60 kN (13,500 lbf) of dry thrust and >90 kN (20,230 lbf) with afterburners. Using the "war" setting, dry thrust increases by 15% to 69 kN per engine and afterburners by 5% to 95 kN per engine and for a few seconds, up to 102 kN thrust without damaging the engine. The EJ200 engine combines the leading technologies from each of the four European companies, using advanced digital control and health monitoring; wide chord aerofoils and single crystal turbine blades; and a convergent / divergent exhaust nozzle to give high thrust-to-weight ratio, multimission capability, supercruise performance, low fuel consumption, low cost of ownership, modular construction and growth potential.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Typhoon is capable of supersonic cruise without using afterburners (referred to as supercruise). "Air Forces Monthly" gives a maximum supercruise speed of Mach 1.1 for the RAF FGR4 multirole version, however in a Singaporean evaluation, a Typhoon managed to supercruise at Mach 1.21 on a hot day with a combat load. Eurofighter states that the Typhoon can supercruise at Mach 1.5. As with the F-22, the Eurofighter can launch weapons while under supercruise to extend their ranges via this "running start". In 2007, the EJ200 engine had accumulated 50,000 Engine Flying Hours in service with the four Nation Air Forces (Germany, UK, Spain and Italy).


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The EJ200 engine has the potential to be fitted with a thrust vectoring control (TVC) nozzle, which the Eurofighter and Eurojet consortium have been actively developing and testing, primarily for export but also for future upgrades of the fleet. TVC could reduce fuel burn on a typical Typhoon mission by up to 5%, as well as increase available thrust in supercruise by up to 7% and take-off thrust by 2%. Clemens Linden, Eurojet TURBO GmbH CEO, speaking at the 2018 Farnborough International Air Show, said "15 per cent more thrust would allow pilots to operate with a heavily loaded aircraft in the battlespace with the same performance levels as they have today. The technology insertion also provides more persistence – giving aircraft longer range or longer loitering time. To achieve more thrust we would increase the airflow and pressure ratios of the high and low pressure compressors and run higher temperatures in the turbines by using the latest generation single crystal turbine blade materials. And with higher aerodynamic efficiencies we can achieve a lower fuel burn. A third area of improvement would be the engine exhaust nozzle which would be upgraded with the installation of a 2-parametric version allowing independent and optimized adjustment of the throat and exit area at all flight conditions, providing fuel burn advantages. The technologies for the different components are at a Technology readiness level of between 7and 9. The nozzle has been at ITP in Spain on a test bed for 400 hours."


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Typhoon's combat performance, compared to the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighters and the French Dassault Rafale, has been the subject of much discussion. In March 2005, United States Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. Jumper, then the only person to have flown both the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Raptor, said:


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In the 2005 Singapore evaluation, the Typhoon won all three combat tests, including one in which a single Typhoon defeated three RSAF F-16s, and reliably completed all planned flight tests. In July 2009, Former Chief of Air Staff for the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, said that "The Eurofighter Typhoon is an excellent aircraft. It will be the backbone of the Royal Air Force along with the JSF."


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In July 2007, Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighters participated in the "Indra-Dhanush" exercise with the RAF's Typhoon. This was the first time the two fighters had taken part in such an exercise. The IAF did not allow their pilots to use the MKI's radar during the exercise to protect the highly classified Russian N011M Bars. The IAF pilots were impressed by the Typhoon's agility. In 2015, Indian Air Force Su-30MKIs again participated in a "Indra-Dhanush" exercise with RAF Typhoons.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Typhoon is a multi-role fighter with maturing air-to-ground capabilities. The initial absence of air-to-ground capability is believed to have been a factor in the type's rejection from Singapore's fighter competition in 2005. At the time it was claimed that Singapore was concerned about the delivery timescale and the ability of the Eurofighter partner nations to fund the required capability packages. Tranche1 aircraft could drop laser-guided bombs in conjunction with third-party designators but the anticipated deployment of Typhoon to Afghanistan meant that the UK required self-contained bombing capabilities before the other partners. In 2006 the UK embarked on the £73m Change Proposal 193 (CP193) to give an "austere" air-to-surface capability using GBU-16 Paveway II and Rafael/Ultra Electronics Litening III laser designator for Tranche1 Block5 aircraft. Aircraft with this upgrade were designated Typhoon FGR4 by the RAF.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Similar capability was added to Tranche 2 aircraft on the main development pathway as part of the Phase1 Enhancements. P1Ea (SRP10) entered service in 2013 Q1 and added the use of Paveway IV, EGBU16 and the cannon against surface targets. P1Eb (SRP12) added full integration with GPS bombs such as GBU-10 Paveway II, GBU-16 Paveway II, Paveway IV and a new real-time operating system that allows multiple targets to be attacked in a single run. This new system will form the basis for future weapons integration by individual countries under the Phase2 Enhancements. The Storm Shadow and KEPD 350 (Taurus) cruise missiles, together with the Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile flight trials had been successfully completed by January 2016. The Storm Shadow and Meteor firings are part of the Phase2 Enhancement (P2E) programme which introduced a range of new and improved long range attack capabilities to Typhoon. In addition to Meteor and Storm Shadow, the first live firing of MBDA's Brimstone air-to-surface missile, part of the Phase3 Enhancements (P3E) programme, was successfully completed in July 2017.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: An anti-ship capability has been studied but has not yet been contracted. Weapon options for this role could include Boeing Harpoon, MBDA Marte, "Sea Brimstone", and RBS-15.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Typhoon also carries a specially developed variant of the Mauser BK-27 27 mm cannon that was developed originally for the Panavia Tornado. This is a single-barrel, electrically fired, gas-operated revolver cannon with a new linkless feed system is located in the starboard wing root, and is capable of firing up to 1700 rounds per minute. There was a proposal on cost grounds in 1999 to limit UK gun-armament fit to the first 53 batch-1 aircraft and not used operationally, but this decision was reversed in 2006.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In addition to its air to ground armament; the Typhoon can carry a mixture of air to air weaponry to fulfill its role as an air superiority fighter. This includes the ASRAAM, IRIS-T, and the AIM-9 Sidewinder heat seeking missiles; and the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the MBDA Meteor beyond visual range radar guided missiles. Under Tranche 2, Block 15 EOC (Enhanced Operational Capability) 2; the Meteor was integrated into the Typhoon's arsenal. This similar capability was achieved in the RAF under "Project Centurion"; with 107 Tranche 2 and 3 Typhoons modified to be capable to use the Meteor along with Brimstone and Storm Shadow air to ground missiles.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In 2002, Austria selected the Typhoon as its new air defence aircraft, it having beaten the F-16 and the Saab Gripen in competition. The purchase of 18 Typhoons was agreed on 1 July 2003, however this was reduced to 15 in June 2007. The first aircraft ("7L-WA") was delivered on 12 July 2007 to Zeltweg Air Base and formally entered service with the Austrian Air Force. A 2008 report by the Austrian government oversight office, the Rechnungshof, calculated that instead of getting 18 Tranche2 jets at a price of €109million each, as stipulated by the original contract, the revised deal agreed by Minister Darabos meant that Austria was paying an increased unit price of €114million for 15 partially used, Tranche1 jets. In July 2008, the Luftstreitkräfte assigned the Eurofighter to Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties, by the end of the year they had been scrambled 73 times.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Austrian prosecutors are investigating allegations that up to €100million was made available to lobbyists to influence the original purchase decision in favour of the Eurofighter. By October 2013, all Typhoons in service with Austria had been upgraded to the latest "Tranche1" standard. In 2014, due to defence budget restrictions, there were only 12 pilots available to fly the 15 aircraft in Austria's Air Force. In February 2017, Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil accused Airbus of fraudulent intent following a probe that allegedly unveiled corruption linked to the order of Typhoon jets.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In July 2017, the Austria Defence Ministry announced that it would be replacing all its Typhoon aircraft by 2020. The ministry said continued use of its Typhoons over their 30-year life span would cost about €5billion with the bulk being for maintenance. By comparison it is estimated that buying and operating a new fleet of 15 single-seat and three twin-seat fighters would save €2billion over that period. Austria plans to explore a government-to-government sale or lease agreement to avoid a lengthy and costly tender process with a manufacturer. Possible replacements include the Gripen and the F-16.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 20 July 2020, a letter written by Indonesia's defence minister, Prabowo Subianto, was published by Indonesian news outlets expressing interest in acquiring Austria's entire fleet of Typhoon jets.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 4 August 2003, the German Air Force accepted its first series production Eurofighter ("30+03") starting the replacement process of the Mikoyan MiG-29s inherited from the East German Air Force. The first Luftwaffe Wing to accept the Eurofighter was "Jagdgeschwader 73" "Steinhoff" on 30 April 2004 at Rostock–Laage Airport. The second Wing was "Jagdgeschwader 74" (JG74) on 25 July 2006, with four Eurofighters arriving at Neuburg Air Base, beginning the replacement of JG74's McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom IIs.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The "Luftwaffe" assigned their Eurofighters to QRA on 3 June 2008, taking over from the F-4F Phantom II.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 28 October 2014, while deployed to Ämari Air Base in Estonia as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission, German Eurofighters scrambled and intercepted seven Russian Air Force aircraft over the Baltic Sea.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Luftwaffe once again provided Baltic Air Policing at Ämari Air Base between 31 August 2020 and April 2021, having taken over from Dassault Mirage 2000-5Fs of the French Air and Space Force.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 16 December 2005, the F-2000 Typhoon reached initial operational capability (IOC) with the Italian Air Force ("Aeronautica Militare"). Its F-2000 Typhoons were put into service as air defence fighters at the Grosseto Air Base, and immediately assigned to QRA at the same base.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 17 July 2009, Italian Air Force F-2000A Typhoons were deployed to protect Albania's airspace. On 29 March 2011, Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons began flying combat air patrol missions in support of NATO's Operation Unified Protector in Libya.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Between January and August 2015, four "Aeronautica Militare" F-2000A Typhoons (from 36º and 37º "Stormo") were deployed to Šiauliai Air Base in northern Lithuania as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 11 September 2015, Eurofighter confirmed that an agreement had been reached to supply Kuwait with 28 aircraft. On 1March 2016, the Kuwaiti National Assembly approved the procurement of 22 single-seat and six twin-seat Typhoons. On 5April 2016, Kuwait signed a contract with Leonardo valued at €7.957billion ($9.062billion) for the supply of the 28 aircraft, all to tranche 3 standard. The Kuwaiti aircraft will be the first Typhoons to receive the Captor-E AESA radar, with two instrumented production aircraft from the UK and Germany currently undergoing ground-based integration trials. The Typhoons will be fitted with Leonardo's Praetorian defensive aids suite and PIRATE infrared search and track system. The contract involves the production of aircraft in Italy and covers logistics, operational support and the training of flight crews and ground personnel. It also encompasses infrastructure work at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, where the Typhoons will be based. Aircraft deliveries will begin in 2020.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: From January 2011 the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) evaluated the Typhoon, alongside the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, the Dassault Rafale, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, to replace its then inventory of Dassault Mirage 2000-5s. On 30 April 2015 Qatar announced that it would order 24 Rafales.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In December 2017 a deal for Qatar to buy 24 jets and a support and training package from BAE was announced, scheduled to begin in 2022. In September 2018, Qatar made the first payment for the procurement of 24 Eurofighter Typhoons and nine BAE Systems Hawk aircraft to BAE.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The UK's first Typhoon Development Aircraft (DA-2) "ZH588" made its maiden flight on 6April 1994 from Warton. On 1September 2002, No. XVII (Reserve) Squadron was reformed at Warton as the Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit (TOEU), receiving its first aircraft on 18 December 2003. The first RAF production aircraft to take to the air was "ZJ800" (BT001) on 14 February 2003, completing a 21-minute flight. The next Typhoon squadron to be formed was No. 29 (R) Squadron which formed as the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit (OCU). The first operational RAF Typhoon squadron to be formed was No.3 (Fighter) Squadron on 31 March 2006, when it moved to RAF Coningsby.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: No. 3 (F) Squadron Typhoon F2s took over QRA responsibilities from the Panavia Tornado F3 on 29 June 2007, initially alternating with the Tornado F3 every month. On 9August 2007, the UK's MoD reported that No. XI (F) Squadron of the RAF, which stood up as a Typhoon squadron on 29 March 2007, had taken delivery of its first two multi-role Typhoons. Two of No. XI (F) Squadron's Typhoons were sent to intercept a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 approaching British airspace on 17 August 2007. The RAF Typhoons were declared combat ready in the air-to-ground role by 1July 2008. The RAF Typhoons were projected to be ready to deploy for operations by mid-2008.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In late 2009, four RAF Typhoon FGR4s were deployed to RAF Mount Pleasant, replacing the Tornado F3s of No. 1435 Flight defending the Falkland Islands. No.6 Squadron stood up at RAF Leuchars on 6September 2010, making Leuchars the second RAF base to operate the Typhoon.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 20 March, ten Typhoons from RAF Coningsby and RAF Leuchars arrived at the Gioia del Colle airbase in southern Italy to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya alongside Panavia Tornado GR4s. On 21 March, RAF Typhoons flew their first-ever combat mission while patrolling the no-fly zone. On 29 March, it was revealed that the RAF was having to divert personnel from Typhoon training to meet the shortfall in pilots available to fly the required number of sorties over Libya.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 12 April 2011, a RAF Typhoon and a Tornado GR4 dropped precision-guided bombs on ground vehicles operated by Gaddafi forces. The RAF said that each aircraft dropped one GBU-16 Paveway II 454 kg (1,000 lb) laser-guided bomb which struck "very successfully and very accurately [and this] represented] a significant milestone in the delivery of multi-role Typhoon." Target designation was provided by the Tornados with their Litening III targeting pods due to the lack of Typhoon pilots trained in air-to-ground missions.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The National Audit Office observed in 2011 that the distribution of the Eurofighter's parts supply and repairs over several countries has led to parts shortages, long timescales for repairs, and the cannibalisation of some aircraft to keep others flying. The UK's then Defence Secretary Liam Fox admitted on 14 April 2011 that Britain's Eurofighter Typhoon jets were grounded in 2010 due to shortage of spare parts. The RAF "cannibalised" aircraft for spare parts in a bid to keep the maximum number of Typhoons operational on any given day. The MoD warned that the problems were likely to continue until 2015.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 15 September 2012, No.1 (F) Squadron stood up at RAF Leuchars, joining No.6 Squadron as the second Typhoon unit to operate in Scotland. On 22 April 2013, No. 41 (R) Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) began operating the Typhoon from RAF Coningbsy.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: By July 2014, a dozen RAF Tranche 2 Typhoons had been upgraded with Phase1 Enhancement (P1E) capability to enable them to use the Paveway IV guided bomb; the Tranche1 version had used the GBU-12 Paveway II in combat over Libya, but the Paveway IV can be set to explode above or beneath a target and to hit at a set angle.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: No. II (AC) Squadron became the fifth RAF Typhoon squadron on 12 January 2015 at RAF Lossiemouth. In July 2015, it was reported that Typhoons from No. II (AC) Squadron were training with Type 45 destroyers in an Air-Maritime Integration (AMI) role, conceding that the service had recently neglected the role following the decommissioning of the Nimrod Maritime Patrol aircraft. In the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the UK decided to retain some of the Tranche1 aircraft to increase the number of front-line squadrons from five to seven and to extend the out-of-service date from 2030 to 2040 as well as implementing the Captor-E AESA radar in later tranches. In 2015 Typhoons were deployed to Malta as security for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 3December 2015, six Typhoon FGR4s deployed to RAF Akrotiri to support operations against ISIL. The following evening the Typhoons, accompanied by Tornados, attacked targets in Syria.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In October 2016, four Typhoon FGR4s from No. II (AC) Squadron, supported by an Airbus Voyager KC3 aerial tanker and a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, deployed to Misawa Air Base in Japan for the first bilateral exercises with non-US forces hosted by the JASDF.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 14 December 2017, it was announced No. 12 (B) Squadron would stand as a joint RAF/Qatari Air Force squadron, with the Qatari crew temporarily operating Typhoons to prepare them for their own Typhoon deliveries in 2022. On 29 January 2018, the RAF announced that 16 twin-seat Typhoons would undergo the Return to Produce (RTP) process in an effort to save £800million, with each airframe producing £50m of spare parts. This move also reflected the switch from two-seat trainer to single-seat pilot training and greater use of training simulators. In addition, the two-seat airframes were primarily from Tranche1 and could not be equipped with Tranche3 and later upgrades such as Captor-E.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 1 April 2019, No. IX (B) Squadron officially converted from the Tornado GR4 to the Typhoon FGR4, becoming an aggressor and air defence squadron at Lossiemouth. In April, four Typhoons of No. XI (F) Squadron deployed from RAF Coningsby to Ämari Airbase, Estonia, to undergo a four month long NATO Baltic policing mission (Op AZOTIZE). Five Typhoons of No.6 Squadron participated in the Arctic Challenge Exercise (ACE) in Sweden from 22 May to 4June. No. 12 Squadron were assigned their first Typhoon FGR4 in July 2019. The 160th, and last, Typhoon ("ZK437") was delivered to the RAF on 27 September 2019.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Between April and September 2020, No. 6 Squadron deployed to Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania, as part of Operation Azotize. While deployed the squadron participated in Exercise BALTOPs 2020. In July 2020, No. 12 Squadron began operating as a joint RAF-QEAF unit at RAF Coningsby.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 22 March 2021, the 2021 Defence Command Paper announced the retirement of all Tranche 1 Typhoons by 2025, with the remaining fleet being upgraded.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Also in 2021, the UK launched the P3Ec package, due for delivery in 2024, including several upgrades, including replacing the MFDs with a Large Area Display (LAD).


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 14 December 2021, the RAF executed its first operational air-to-air engagement with a Typhoon, shooting down a small hostile drone with an ASRAAM near the Al-Tanf coalition base in Syria.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 7 September 2022 during the joint UK/US SinkEx 'Atlantic Thunder' a 41 Squadron Typhoon successfully hit the ex-USS Boone with Paveway IVs, becoming the first RAF Typhoon to strike a naval target with live ordnance.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: During the 2008 Farnborough Airshow it was announced that Oman was in an "advanced stage" of discussions to order Typhoons as a replacement for its SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft. On 21 December 2012, the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) became the Typhoon's seventh customer when BAE and Oman announced an order for 12 Typhoons to enter service in 2017. The first of the Typhoons (plus Hawk Mk 166) ordered by Oman were "formally presented to the customer" on 15 May 2017. This included a flypast by a RAFO Typhoon.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In August 2006, Saudi Arabia confirmed it had agreed to purchase 72 Typhoons for The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). In December 2006, it was reported in "The Guardian" that Saudi Arabia had threatened to buy Rafales because of a UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the Al Yamamah defence deals which commenced in the 1980s.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 14 December 2006, Britain's attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, ordered that the SFO discontinue its investigation into BAE Systems' alleged bribery of senior Saudi officials in the Al-Yamamah contracts, citing "the need to safeguard national and international security". "The Times" raised the possibility that RAF production aircraft would be diverted as early Saudi Arabian aircraft, with the RAF forced to wait for its full complement of aircraft. This arrangement would mirror the diversion of RAF Tornados to the RSAF. "The Times" also reported that such an arrangement would make the UK purchase of its Tranche3 commitments more likely. On 17 September 2007, Saudi Arabia confirmed it had signed a GB£4.43 billion contract for 72 aircraft. 24 aircraft would be at the Tranche2 build standard, previously destined for the UK RAF, the first being delivered in 2008. The remaining 48 aircraft were to be assembled in Saudi Arabia and delivered from 2011, however following contract renegotiations in 2011, it was agreed that all 72 aircraft would be assembled by BAE Systems in the UK, with the last 24 aircraft being built to Tranche3 capability.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 29 September 2008, the United States Department of State approved the Typhoon sale, required because of a certain technology governed by the ITAR process which was incorporated into the MIDS of the Eurofighter.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 22 October 2008, the first RSAF Typhoon made its maiden flight at Warton. Since 2010, BAE has been training Saudi Arabian personnel at Warton.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: By 2011, 24 Tranche 2 Eurofighter Typhoons had been delivered to Saudi Arabia, consisting of 18 single-seat and six two-seat aircraft. After that, BAE and Riyadh entered into discussions over configurations and price of the rest of the 72-plane order. On 19 February 2014, BAE announced that the Saudis had agreed to a price increase. BAE announced that the last of the original 72 Typhoons had been delivered to Saudi Arabia in June 2017.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: RSAF Typhoons are playing a central role in the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen. In February 2015, Saudi Typhoons attacked ISIS targets over Syria using Paveway IV bombs for the first time.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 9March 2018, a memorandum of intent for the additional 48 Typhoons was signed during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the United Kingdom, however the deal has not been completed due to German arms sanctions implemented in November 2018 in response to the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The first Spanish production Eurofighter Tifón to fly was "CE.16-01" (ST001) on 17 February 2003, flying from Getafe Air Base. The Spanish Air and Space Force assigned their Typhoons to QRA responsibilities in July 2008.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: A Spanish Air and Space Force Typhoon, on a training exercise near Otepää in Estonia, released an AMRAAM missile by mistake on 7August 2018. There were no casualties, but the ten-day search operation for missile remains was unsuccessful and the unknown status of the missile, whether it self-destructed in the air or landed unexploded, left a hazardous situation for the public. The pilot was disciplined for negligence, but received only the minimum penalty in the light of undisclosed mitigating circumstances.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Eurofighter Typhoon was one of the contenders to replace Belgium's fleet of ageing F-16A/B MLU's by 2023. Other contenders include the SAAB Gripen-E/F, Dassault Rafale, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35A Lightning II.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: On 25 October 2018, Belgium officially selected the offer for 34 F-35As to replace the current fleet of around 54 F-16s. Government officials said the decision to select the F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon came down to price, stating that "The offer from the Americans was the best in all our seven valuation criteria." The total purchasing price for the aircraft and its support until 2030 totaled €4billion, €600million cheaper than the initially budgeted €4.6billion.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Royal Danish Air Force held a competition to replace its ageing fleet of F-16s in which the Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet and the F-35 Lightning II were assessed. Denmark is a level-3 partner in the Joint Strike Fighter programme, and had already invested $200million. On 12 May 2016 the Danish government recommended that 27 F-35A fighters, instead of 34 Typhoons, should be procured.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In 2005 the Eurofighter was a contender for Singapore's next generation fighter requirement competing with the Boeing F-15SG and the Dassault Rafale. The Eurofighter was eliminated from the competition in June 2005.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: In 2002, the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) chose the F-15K Slam Eagle over the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Sukhoi Su-35 for its 40 aircraft F-X Phase I fighter competition. During 2012–13, the Typhoon competed with the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle and the F-35 for the ROKAF's F-X Phase III fighter competition. In November 2013, it was announced that the ROKAF will purchase 40 F-35As.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: According to "Eurofighter World" magazine, Bangladesh, Egypt, Finland and Switzerland were among countries interested in acquiring the Eurofighter Typhoon. In mid-2021, it was reported that the Lockheed Martin F-35 was selected in Switzerland's $6.5 billion fighter competition, beating bids from Eurofighter, Dassault, and Boeing.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: Finland was offered partner status in the Eurofighter Typhoon programme as part of the consortium's bid for Finland's HX Fighter Program competition, reported British magazine "Janes" on 6 July 2021. As part of Finland's HX offering, BAE Systems proposed a new Large Area Display (LAD) to replace the three multi-function head-down displays (MHDDs). On 10 December 2021 Finland officially selected the F-35A as the country's next fighter.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Eurofighter is produced in single-seat and twin-seat variants. The twin-seat variant is not used operationally, but only for training, though it is combat capable. The aircraft has been manufactured in three major standards; seven Development Aircraft (DA), seven production standard Instrumented Production Aircraft (IPA) for further system development and a continuing number of Series Production Aircraft. The production aircraft are now operational with the partner nation's air forces.


title: Eurofighter Typhoon

text: The Tranche 1 aircraft were produced from 2000 onwards. Aircraft capabilities are being increased incrementally, with each software upgrade resulting in a different standard, known as blocks. With the introduction of the block5 standard, the R2 retrofit programme began to bring all Tranche1 aircraft to that standard.


title: Language

text: Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of methods, including spoken, sign, and written language. Many languages, including the most widely-spoken ones, have writing systems that enable sounds or signs to be recorded for later reactivation. Human language is highly variable between cultures and across time. Human languages have the properties of productivity and displacement, and rely on social convention and learning.


title: Language

text: Estimates of the number of human languages in the world vary between and . Precise estimates depend on an arbitrary distinction (dichotomy) established between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken, signed, or both; however, any language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual, or tactile stimuli – for example, writing, whistling, signing, or braille. In other words, human language is modality-independent, but written or signed language is the way to inscribe or encode the natural human speech or gestures.


title: Language

text: Depending on philosophical perspectives regarding the definition of language and meaning, when used as a general concept, "language" may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and use systems of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules that makes up these systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules. All languages rely on the process of semiosis to relate signs to particular meanings. Oral, manual and tactile languages contain a phonological system that governs how symbols are used to form sequences known as words or morphemes, and a syntactic system that governs how words and morphemes are combined to form phrases and utterances.


title: Language

text: The scientific study of language is called linguistics. Critical examinations of languages, such as philosophy of language, the relationships between language and thought, etc., such as how words represent experience, have been debated at least since Gorgias and Plato in ancient Greek civilization. Thinkers such as Rousseau (1712–1778) have argued that language originated from emotions, while others like Kant (1724–1804) have argued that languages originated from rational and logical thought. Twentieth century philosophers such as Wittgenstein (1889–1951) argued that philosophy is really the study of language itself. Major figures in contemporary linguistics of these times include Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky.


title: Language

text: Language is thought to have gradually diverged from earlier primate communication systems when early hominins acquired the ability to form a theory of mind and shared intentionality. This development is sometimes thought to have coincided with an increase in brain volume, and many linguists see the structures of language as having evolved to serve specific communicative and social functions. Language is processed in many different locations in the human brain, but especially in Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Humans acquire language through social interaction in early childhood, and children generally speak fluently by approximately three years old. Language and culture are codependent. Therefore, in addition to its strictly communicative uses, language has social uses such as signifying group identity, social stratification, as well as use for social grooming and entertainment.


title: Language

text: Languages evolve and diversify over time, and the history of their evolution can be reconstructed by comparing modern languages to determine which traits their ancestral languages must have had in order for the later developmental stages to occur. A group of languages that descend from a common ancestor is known as a language family; in contrast, a language that has been demonstrated to not have any living or non-living relationship with another language is called a language isolate. There are also many unclassified languages whose relationships have not been established, and spurious languages may have not existed at all. Academic consensus holds that between 50% and 90% of languages spoken at the beginning of the 21st century will probably have become extinct by the year 2100.


title: Language

text: The English word "language" derives ultimately from Proto-Indo-European "tongue, speech, language" through Latin , "language; tongue", and Old French . The word is sometimes used to refer to codes, ciphers, and other kinds of artificially constructed communication systems such as formally defined computer languages used for computer programming. Unlike conventional human languages, a formal language in this sense is a system of signs for encoding and decoding information. This article specifically concerns the properties of natural human language as it is studied in the discipline of linguistics.


title: Language

text: As an object of linguistic study, "language" has two primary meanings: an abstract concept, and a specific linguistic system, e.g. "French". The Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, who defined the modern discipline of linguistics, first explicitly formulated the distinction using the French word for language as a concept, as a specific instance of a language system, and for the concrete usage of speech in a particular language.


title: Language

text: When speaking of language as a general concept, definitions can be used which stress different aspects of the phenomenon. These definitions also entail different approaches and understandings of language, and they also inform different and often incompatible schools of linguistic theory. Debates about the nature and origin of language go back to the ancient world. Greek philosophers such as Gorgias and Plato debated the relation between words, concepts and reality. Gorgias argued that language could represent neither the objective experience nor human experience, and that communication and truth were therefore impossible. Plato maintained that communication is possible because language represents ideas and concepts that exist independently of, and prior to, language.


title: Language

text: During the Enlightenment and its debates about human origins, it became fashionable to speculate about the origin of language. Thinkers such as Rousseau and Herder argued that language had originated in the instinctive expression of emotions, and that it was originally closer to music and poetry than to the logical expression of rational thought. Rationalist philosophers such as Kant and Descartes held the opposite view. Around the turn of the 20th century, thinkers began to wonder about the role of language in shaping our experiences of the world – asking whether language simply reflects the objective structure of the world, or whether it creates concepts that it in turn impose on our experience of the objective world. This led to the question of whether philosophical problems are really firstly linguistic problems. The resurgence of the view that language plays a significant role in the creation and circulation of concepts, and that the study of philosophy is essentially the study of language, is associated with what has been called the linguistic turn and philosophers such as Wittgenstein in 20th-century philosophy. These debates about language in relation to meaning and reference, cognition and consciousness remain active today.


title: Language

text: One definition sees language primarily as the mental faculty that allows humans to undertake linguistic behaviour: to learn languages and to produce and understand utterances. This definition stresses the universality of language to all humans, and it emphasizes the biological basis for the human capacity for language as a unique development of the human brain. Proponents of the view that the drive to language acquisition is innate in humans argue that this is supported by the fact that all cognitively normal children raised in an environment where language is accessible will acquire language without formal instruction. Languages may even develop spontaneously in environments where people live or grow up together without a common language; for example, creole languages and spontaneously developed sign languages such as Nicaraguan Sign Language. This view, which can be traced back to the philosophers Kant and Descartes, understands language to be largely innate, for example, in Chomsky's theory of Universal Grammar, or American philosopher Jerry Fodor's extreme innatist theory. These kinds of definitions are often applied in studies of language within a cognitive science framework and in neurolinguistics.


title: Language

text: Another definition sees language as a formal system of signs governed by grammatical rules of combination to communicate meaning. This definition stresses that human languages can be described as closed structural systems consisting of rules that relate particular signs to particular meanings. This structuralist view of language was first introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure, and his structuralism remains foundational for many approaches to language.


title: Language

text: Some proponents of Saussure's view of language have advocated a formal approach which studies language structure by identifying its basic elements and then by presenting a formal account of the rules according to which the elements combine in order to form words and sentences. The main proponent of such a theory is Noam Chomsky, the originator of the generative theory of grammar, who has defined language as the construction of sentences that can be generated using transformational grammars. Chomsky considers these rules to be an innate feature of the human mind and to constitute the rudiments of what language is. By way of contrast, such transformational grammars are also commonly used in formal logic, in formal linguistics, and in applied computational linguistics. In the philosophy of language, the view of linguistic meaning as residing in the logical relations between propositions and reality was developed by philosophers such as Alfred Tarski, Bertrand Russell, and other formal logicians.


title: Language

text: Yet another definition sees language as a system of communication that enables humans to exchange verbal or symbolic utterances. This definition stresses the social functions of language and the fact that humans use it to express themselves and to manipulate objects in their environment. Functional theories of grammar explain grammatical structures by their communicative functions, and understand the grammatical structures of language to be the result of an adaptive process by which grammar was "tailored" to serve the communicative needs of its users.


title: Language

text: This view of language is associated with the study of language in pragmatic, cognitive, and interactive frameworks, as well as in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. Functionalist theories tend to study grammar as dynamic phenomena, as structures that are always in the process of changing as they are employed by their speakers. This view places importance on the study of linguistic typology, or the classification of languages according to structural features, as it can be shown that processes of grammaticalization tend to follow trajectories that are partly dependent on typology. In the philosophy of language, the view of pragmatics as being central to language and meaning is often associated with Wittgenstein's later works and with ordinary language philosophers such as J.L. Austin, Paul Grice, John Searle, and W.O. Quine.


title: Language

text: A number of features, many of which were described by Charles Hockett and called design features set human language apart from communication used by non-human animals.


title: Language

text: Communication systems used by other animals such as bees or apes are closed systems that consist of a finite, usually very limited, number of possible ideas that can be expressed. In contrast, human language is open-ended and productive, meaning that it allows humans to produce a vast range of utterances from a finite set of elements, and to create new words and sentences. This is possible because human language is based on a dual code, in which a finite number of elements which are meaningless in themselves (e.g. sounds, letters or gestures) can be combined to form an infinite number of larger units of meaning (words and sentences). However, one study has demonstrated that an Australian bird, the chestnut-crowned babbler, is capable of using the same acoustic elements in different arrangements to create two functionally distinct vocalizations. Additionally, pied babblers have demonstrated the ability to generate two functionally distinct vocalisations composed of the same sound type, which can only be distinguished by the number of repeated elements.


title: Language

text: Several species of animals have proved to be able to acquire forms of communication through social learning: for instance a bonobo named Kanzi learned to express itself using a set of symbolic lexigrams. Similarly, many species of birds and whales learn their songs by imitating other members of their species. However, while some animals may acquire large numbers of words and symbols, none have been able to learn as many different signs as are generally known by an average 4 year old human, nor have any acquired anything resembling the complex grammar of human language.


title: Language

text: Human languages differ from animal communication systems in that they employ grammatical and semantic categories, such as noun and verb, present and past, which may be used to express exceedingly complex meanings. It is distinguished by the property of recursivity: for example, a noun phrase can contain another noun phrase (as in "<nowiki>the chimpanzee]'s lips]</nowiki>") or a clause can contain another clause (as in "<nowiki>[I see [the dog is running</nowiki>"). Human language is the only known natural communication system whose adaptability may be referred to as "modality independent". This means that it can be used not only for communication through one channel or medium, but through several. For example, spoken language uses the auditive modality, whereas sign languages and writing use the visual modality, and braille writing uses the tactile modality.


title: Language

text: Human language is unusual in being able to refer to abstract concepts and to imagined or hypothetical events as well as events that took place in the past or may happen in the future. This ability to refer to events that are not at the same time or place as the speech event is called "displacement", and while some animal communication systems can use displacement (such as the communication of bees that can communicate the location of sources of nectar that are out of sight), the degree to which it is used in human language is also considered unique.


title: Language

text: Theories about the origin of language differ in regard to their basic assumptions about what language is. Some theories are based on the idea that language is so complex that one cannot imagine it simply appearing from nothing in its final form, but that it must have evolved from earlier pre-linguistic systems among our pre-human ancestors. These theories can be called continuity-based theories. The opposite viewpoint is that language is such a unique human trait that it cannot be compared to anything found among non-humans and that it must therefore have appeared suddenly in the transition from pre-hominids to early man. These theories can be defined as discontinuity-based. Similarly, theories based on the generative view of language pioneered by Noam Chomsky see language mostly as an innate faculty that is largely genetically encoded, whereas functionalist theories see it as a system that is largely cultural, learned through social interaction.


title: Language

text: Continuity-based theories are held by a majority of scholars, but they vary in how they envision this development. Those who see language as being mostly innate, such as psychologist Steven Pinker, hold the precedents to be animal cognition, whereas those who see language as a socially learned tool of communication, such as psychologist Michael Tomasello, see it as having developed from animal communication in primates: either gestural or vocal communication to assist in cooperation. Other continuity-based models see language as having developed from music, a view already espoused by Rousseau, Herder, Humboldt, and Charles Darwin. A prominent proponent of this view is archaeologist Steven Mithen. Stephen Anderson states that the age of spoken languages is estimated at 60,000 to 100,000 years and that: Researchers on the evolutionary origin of language generally find it plausible to suggest that language was invented only once, and that all modern spoken languages are thus in some way related, even if that relation can no longer be recovered ... because of limitations on the methods available for reconstruction.


title: Language

text: Because language emerged in the early prehistory of man, before the existence of any written records, its early development has left no historical traces, and it is believed that no comparable processes can be observed today. Theories that stress continuity often look at animals to see if, for example, primates display any traits that can be seen as analogous to what pre-human language must have been like. Early human fossils can be inspected for traces of physical adaptation to language use or pre-linguistic forms of symbolic behaviour. Among the signs in human fossils that may suggest linguistic abilities are: the size of the brain relative to body mass, the presence of a larynx capable of advanced sound production and the nature of tools and other manufactured artifacts.


title: Language

text: It was mostly undisputed that pre-human australopithecines did not have communication systems significantly different from those found in great apes in general. However, a 2017 study on "Ardipithecus ramidus" challenges this belief. Scholarly opinions vary as to the developments since the appearance of the genus "Homo" some 2.5 million years ago. Some scholars assume the development of primitive language-like systems (proto-language) as early as "Homo habilis" (2.3 million years ago) while others place the development of primitive symbolic communication only with "Homo erectus" (1.8 million years ago) or "Homo heidelbergensis" (0.6 million years ago), and the development of language proper with anatomically modern "Homo sapiens" with the Upper Paleolithic revolution less than 100,000 years ago.


title: Language

text: Chomsky is one prominent proponent of a discontinuity-based theory of human language origins. He suggests that for scholars interested in the nature of language, "talk about the evolution of the language capacity is beside the point." Chomsky proposes that perhaps "some random mutation took place [...] and it reorganized the brain, implanting a language organ in an otherwise primate brain." Though cautioning against taking this story literally, Chomsky insists that "it may be closer to reality than many other fairy tales that are told about evolutionary processes, including language."


title: Language

text: The study of language, linguistics, has been developing into a science since the first grammatical descriptions of particular languages in India more than 2000 years ago, after the development of the Brahmi script. Modern linguistics is a science that concerns itself with all aspects of language, examining it from all of the theoretical viewpoints described above.


title: Language

text: The academic study of language is conducted within many different disciplinary areas and from different theoretical angles, all of which inform modern approaches to linguistics. For example, descriptive linguistics examines the grammar of single languages, theoretical linguistics develops theories on how best to conceptualize and define the nature of language based on data from the various extant human languages, sociolinguistics studies how languages are used for social purposes informing in turn the study of the social functions of language and grammatical description, neurolinguistics studies how language is processed in the human brain and allows the experimental testing of theories, computational linguistics builds on theoretical and descriptive linguistics to construct computational models of language often aimed at processing natural language or at testing linguistic hypotheses, and historical linguistics relies on grammatical and lexical descriptions of languages to trace their individual histories and reconstruct trees of language families by using the comparative method.


title: Language

text: The formal study of language is often considered to have started in India with Pāṇini, the 5th century BC grammarian who formulated 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology. However, Sumerian scribes already studied the differences between Sumerian and Akkadian grammar around 1900 BC. Subsequent grammatical traditions developed in all of the ancient cultures that adopted writing.


title: Language

text: In the 17th century AD, the French Port-Royal Grammarians developed the idea that the grammars of all languages were a reflection of the universal basics of thought, and therefore that grammar was universal. In the 18th century, the first use of the comparative method by British philologist and expert on ancient India William Jones sparked the rise of comparative linguistics. The scientific study of language was broadened from Indo-European to language in general by Wilhelm von Humboldt. Early in the 20th century, Ferdinand de Saussure introduced the idea of language as a static system of interconnected units, defined through the oppositions between them.


title: Language

text: By introducing a distinction between diachronic and synchronic analyses of language, he laid the foundation of the modern discipline of linguistics. Saussure also introduced several basic dimensions of linguistic analysis that are still fundamental in many contemporary linguistic theories, such as the distinctions between syntagm and paradigm, and the Langue-parole distinction, distinguishing language as an abstract system ("langue"), from language as a concrete manifestation of this system ("parole").


title: Language

text: In the 1960s, Noam Chomsky formulated the generative theory of language. According to this theory, the most basic form of language is a set of syntactic rules that is universal for all humans and which underlies the grammars of all human languages. This set of rules is called Universal Grammar; for Chomsky, describing it is the primary objective of the discipline of linguistics. Thus, he considered that the grammars of individual languages are only of importance to linguistics insofar as they allow us to deduce the universal underlying rules from which the observable linguistic variability is generated.


title: Language

text: In opposition to the formal theories of the generative school, functional theories of language propose that since language is fundamentally a tool, its structures are best analyzed and understood by reference to their functions. Formal theories of grammar seek to define the different elements of language and describe the way they relate to each other as systems of formal rules or operations, while functional theories seek to define the functions performed by language and then relate them to the linguistic elements that carry them out. The framework of cognitive linguistics interprets language in terms of the concepts (which are sometimes universal, and sometimes specific to a particular language) which underlie its forms. Cognitive linguistics is primarily concerned with how the mind creates meaning through language.


title: Language

text: Speaking is the default modality for language in all cultures. The production of spoken language depends on sophisticated capacities for controlling the lips, tongue and other components of the vocal apparatus, the ability to acoustically decode speech sounds, and the neurological apparatus required for acquiring and producing language. The study of the genetic bases for human language is at an early stage: the only gene that has definitely been implicated in language production is FOXP2, which may cause a kind of congenital language disorder if affected by mutations.


title: Language

text: The brain is the coordinating center of all linguistic activity; it controls both the production of linguistic cognition and of meaning and the mechanics of speech production. Nonetheless, our knowledge of the neurological bases for language is quite limited, though it has advanced considerably with the use of modern imaging techniques. The discipline of linguistics dedicated to studying the neurological aspects of language is called neurolinguistics.


title: Language

text: Early work in neurolinguistics involved the study of language in people with brain lesions, to see how lesions in specific areas affect language and speech. In this way, neuroscientists in the 19th century discovered that two areas in the brain are crucially implicated in language processing. The first area is Wernicke's area, which is in the posterior section of the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere. People with a lesion in this area of the brain develop receptive aphasia, a condition in which there is a major impairment of language comprehension, while speech retains a natural-sounding rhythm and a relatively normal sentence structure. The second area is Broca's area, in the posterior inferior frontal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere. People with a lesion to this area develop expressive aphasia, meaning that they know what they want to say, they just cannot get it out. They are typically able to understand what is being said to them, but unable to speak fluently. Other symptoms that may be present in expressive aphasia include problems with word repetition. The condition affects both spoken and written language. Those with this aphasia also exhibit ungrammatical speech and show inability to use syntactic information to determine the meaning of sentences. Both expressive and receptive aphasia also affect the use of sign language, in analogous ways to how they affect speech, with expressive aphasia causing signers to sign slowly and with incorrect grammar, whereas a signer with receptive aphasia will sign fluently, but make little sense to others and have difficulties comprehending others' signs. This shows that the impairment is specific to the ability to use language, not to the physiology used for speech production.


title: Language

text: With technological advances in the late 20th century, neurolinguists have also incorporated non-invasive techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electrophysiology to study language processing in individuals without impairments.


title: Language

text: Spoken language relies on human physical ability to produce sound, which is a longitudinal wave propagated through the air at a frequency capable of vibrating the ear drum. This ability depends on the physiology of the human speech organs. These organs consist of the lungs, the voice box (larynx), and the upper vocal tract – the throat, the mouth, and the nose. By controlling the different parts of the speech apparatus, the airstream can be manipulated to produce different speech sounds.


title: Language

text: The sound of speech can be analyzed into a combination of segmental and suprasegmental elements. The segmental elements are those that follow each other in sequences, which are usually represented by distinct letters in alphabetic scripts, such as the Roman script. In free flowing speech, there are no clear boundaries between one segment and the next, nor usually are there any audible pauses between them. Segments therefore are distinguished by their distinct sounds which are a result of their different articulations, and can be either vowels or consonants. Suprasegmental phenomena encompass such elements as stress, phonation type, voice timbre, and prosody or intonation, all of which may have effects across multiple segments.


title: Language

text: Consonants and vowel segments combine to form syllables, which in turn combine to form utterances; these can be distinguished phonetically as the space between two inhalations. Acoustically, these different segments are characterized by different formant structures, that are visible in a spectrogram of the recorded sound wave. Formants are the amplitude peaks in the frequency spectrum of a specific sound.


title: Language

text: Vowels are those sounds that have no audible friction caused by the narrowing or obstruction of some part of the upper vocal tract. They vary in quality according to the degree of lip aperture and the placement of the tongue within the oral cavity. Vowels are called "close" when the lips are relatively closed, as in the pronunciation of the vowel (English "ee"), or "open" when the lips are relatively open, as in the vowel (English "ah"). If the tongue is located towards the back of the mouth, the quality changes, creating vowels such as (English "oo"). The quality also changes depending on whether the lips are rounded as opposed to unrounded, creating distinctions such as that between (unrounded front vowel such as English "ee") and (rounded front vowel such as German "ü").


title: Language

text: Consonants are those sounds that have audible friction or closure at some point within the upper vocal tract. Consonant sounds vary by place of articulation, i.e. the place in the vocal tract where the airflow is obstructed, commonly at the lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, palate, velum, uvula, or glottis. Each place of articulation produces a different set of consonant sounds, which are further distinguished by manner of articulation, or the kind of friction, whether full closure, in which case the consonant is called "occlusive" or "stop", or different degrees of aperture creating "fricatives" and "approximants". Consonants can also be either "voiced or unvoiced", depending on whether the vocal cords are set in vibration by airflow during the production of the sound. Voicing is what separates English in "bus" (unvoiced sibilant) from in "buzz" (voiced sibilant).


title: Language

text: Some speech sounds, both vowels and consonants, involve release of air flow through the nasal cavity, and these are called "nasals" or "nasalized" sounds. Other sounds are defined by the way the tongue moves within the mouth such as the l-sounds (called "laterals", because the air flows along both sides of the tongue), and the r-sounds (called "rhotics").


title: Language

text: By using these speech organs, humans can produce hundreds of distinct sounds: some appear very often in the world's languages, whereas others are much more common in certain language families, language areas, or even specific to a single language.


title: Language

text: Human languages display considerable plasticity in their deployment of two fundamental modes: oral (speech and mouthing) and manual (sign and gesture). For example, it is common for oral language to be accompanied by gesture, and for sign language to be accompanied by mouthing. In addition, some language communities use both modes to convey lexical or grammatical meaning, each mode complementing the other. Such bimodal use of language is especially common in genres such as story-telling (with Plains Indian Sign Language and Australian Aboriginal sign languages used alongside oral language, for example), but also occurs in mundane conversation. For instance, many Australian languages have a rich set of case suffixes that provide details about the instrument used to perform an action. Others lack such grammatical precision in the oral mode, but supplement it with gesture to convey that information in the sign mode. In Iwaidja, for example, 'he went out for fish using a torch' is spoken as simply "he-hunted fish torch", but the word for 'torch' is accompanied by a gesture indicating that it was held. In another example, the ritual language Damin had a heavily reduced oral vocabulary of only a few hundred words, each of which was very general in meaning, but which were supplemented by gesture for greater precision (e.g., the single word for fish, "l*i", was accompanied by a gesture to indicate the kind of fish).


title: Language

text: Secondary modes of language, by which a fundamental mode is conveyed in a different medium, include writing (including braille), sign (in manually coded language), whistling and drumming. Tertiary modes – such as semaphore, Morse code and spelling alphabets – convey the secondary mode of writing in a different medium. For some extinct languages that are maintained for ritual or liturgical purposes, writing may be the primary mode, with speech secondary.


title: Language

text: When described as a system of symbolic communication, language is traditionally seen as consisting of three parts: signs, meanings, and a code connecting signs with their meanings. The study of the process of semiosis, how signs and meanings are combined, used, and interpreted is called semiotics. Signs can be composed of sounds, gestures, letters, or symbols, depending on whether the language is spoken, signed, or written, and they can be combined into complex signs, such as words and phrases. When used in communication, a sign is encoded and transmitted by a sender through a channel to a receiver who decodes it.


title: Language

text: Some of the properties that define human language as opposed to other communication systems are: the arbitrariness of the linguistic sign, meaning that there is no predictable connection between a linguistic sign and its meaning; the duality of the linguistic system, meaning that linguistic structures are built by combining elements into larger structures that can be seen as layered, e.g. how sounds build words and words build phrases; the discreteness of the elements of language, meaning that the elements out of which linguistic signs are constructed are discrete units, e.g. sounds and words, that can be distinguished from each other and rearranged in different patterns; and the productivity of the linguistic system, meaning that the finite number of linguistic elements can be combined into a theoretically infinite number of combinations.


title: Language

text: The rules by which signs can be combined to form words and phrases are called syntax or grammar. The meaning that is connected to individual signs, morphemes, words, phrases, and texts is called semantics. The division of language into separate but connected systems of sign and meaning goes back to the first linguistic studies of de Saussure and is now used in almost all branches of linguistics.


title: Language

text: Languages express meaning by relating a sign form to a meaning, or its content. Sign forms must be something that can be perceived, for example, in sounds, images, or gestures, and then related to a specific meaning by social convention. Because the basic relation of meaning for most linguistic signs is based on social convention, linguistic signs can be considered arbitrary, in the sense that the convention is established socially and historically, rather than by means of a natural relation between a specific sign form and its meaning.


title: Language

text: Thus, languages must have a vocabulary of signs related to specific meaning. The English sign "dog" denotes, for example, a member of the species "Canis familiaris". In a language, the array of arbitrary signs connected to specific meanings is called the lexicon, and a single sign connected to a meaning is called a lexeme. Not all meanings in a language are represented by single words. Often, semantic concepts are embedded in the morphology or syntax of the language in the form of grammatical categories.


title: Language

text: All languages contain the semantic structure of predication: a structure that predicates a property, state, or action. Traditionally, semantics has been understood to be the study of how speakers and interpreters assign truth values to statements, so that meaning is understood to be the process by which a predicate can be said to be true or false about an entity, e.g. "<nowiki>[x [is y]]" or "[x [does y]]</nowiki>". Recently, this model of semantics has been complemented with more dynamic models of meaning that incorporate shared knowledge about the context in which a sign is interpreted into the production of meaning. Such models of meaning are explored in the field of pragmatics.


title: Language

text: Depending on modality, language structure can be based on systems of sounds (speech), gestures (sign languages), or graphic or tactile symbols (writing). The ways in which languages use sounds or signs to construct meaning are studied in phonology.


title: Language

text: Sounds as part of a linguistic system are called phonemes. Phonemes are abstract units of sound, defined as the smallest units in a language that can serve to distinguish between the meaning of a pair of minimally different words, a so-called minimal pair. In English, for example, the words "bat" and "pat" form a minimal pair, in which the distinction between and differentiates the two words, which have different meanings. However, each language contrasts sounds in different ways. For example, in a language that does not distinguish between voiced and unvoiced consonants, the sounds and (if they both occur) could be considered a single phoneme, and consequently, the two pronunciations would have the same meaning. Similarly, the English language does not distinguish phonemically between aspirated and non-aspirated pronunciations of consonants, as many other languages like Korean and Hindi do: the unaspirated in "spin" and the aspirated in "pin" are considered to be merely different ways of pronouncing the same phoneme (such variants of a single phoneme are called allophones), whereas in Mandarin Chinese, the same difference in pronunciation distinguishes between the words 'crouch' and 'eight' (the accent above the á means that the vowel is pronounced with a high tone).


title: Language

text: All spoken languages have phonemes of at least two different categories, vowels and consonants, that can be combined to form syllables. As well as segments such as consonants and vowels, some languages also use sound in other ways to convey meaning. Many languages, for example, use stress, pitch, duration, and tone to distinguish meaning. Because these phenomena operate outside of the level of single segments, they are called suprasegmental. Some languages have only a few phonemes, for example, Rotokas and Pirahã language with 11 and 10 phonemes respectively, whereas languages like Taa may have as many as 141 phonemes. In sign languages, the equivalent to phonemes (formerly called cheremes) are defined by the basic elements of gestures, such as hand shape, orientation, location, and motion, which correspond to manners of articulation in spoken language.


title: Language

text: Writing systems represent language using visual symbols, which may or may not correspond to the sounds of spoken language. The Latin alphabet (and those on which it is based or that have been derived from it) was originally based on the representation of single sounds, so that words were constructed from letters that generally denote a single consonant or vowel in the structure of the word. In syllabic scripts, such as the Inuktitut syllabary, each sign represents a whole syllable. In logographic scripts, each sign represents an entire word, and will generally bear no relation to the sound of that word in spoken language.


title: Language

text: Because all languages have a very large number of words, no purely logographic scripts are known to exist. Written language represents the way spoken sounds and words follow one after another by arranging symbols according to a pattern that follows a certain direction. The direction used in a writing system is entirely arbitrary and established by convention. Some writing systems use the horizontal axis (left to right as the Latin script or right to left as the Arabic script), while others such as traditional Chinese writing use the vertical dimension (from top to bottom). A few writing systems use opposite directions for alternating lines, and others, such as the ancient Maya script, can be written in either direction and rely on graphic cues to show the reader the direction of reading.


title: Language

text: In order to represent the sounds of the world's languages in writing, linguists have developed the International Phonetic Alphabet, designed to represent all of the discrete sounds that are known to contribute to meaning in human languages.


title: Language

text: Grammar is the study of how meaningful elements called "morphemes" within a language can be combined into utterances. Morphemes can either be "free" or "bound". If they are free to be moved around within an utterance, they are usually called "words", and if they are bound to other words or morphemes, they are called affixes. The way in which meaningful elements can be combined within a language is governed by rules. The study of the rules for the internal structure of words are called morphology. The rules of the internal structure of phrases and sentences are called "syntax".


title: Language

text: Grammar can be described as a system of categories and a set of rules that determine how categories combine to form different aspects of meaning. Languages differ widely in whether they are encoded through the use of categories or lexical units. However, several categories are so common as to be nearly universal. Such universal categories include the encoding of the grammatical relations of participants and predicates by grammatically distinguishing between their relations to a predicate, the encoding of temporal and spatial relations on predicates, and a system of grammatical person governing reference to and distinction between speakers and addressees and those about whom they are speaking.


title: Language

text: Languages organize their parts of speech into classes according to their functions and positions relative to other parts. All languages, for instance, make a basic distinction between a group of words that prototypically denotes things and concepts and a group of words that prototypically denotes actions and events. The first group, which includes English words such as "dog" and "song", are usually called nouns. The second, which includes "think" and "sing", are called verbs. Another common category is the adjective: words that describe properties or qualities of nouns, such as "red" or "big". Word classes can be "open" if new words can continuously be added to the class, or relatively "closed" if there is a fixed number of words in a class. In English, the class of pronouns is closed, whereas the class of adjectives is open, since an infinite number of adjectives can be constructed from verbs (e.g. "saddened") or nouns (e.g. with the -like suffix, as in "noun-like"). In other languages such as Korean, the situation is the opposite, and new pronouns can be constructed, whereas the number of adjectives is fixed.


title: Language

text: Word classes also carry out differing functions in grammar. Prototypically, verbs are used to construct predicates, while nouns are used as arguments of predicates. In a sentence such as "Sally runs", the predicate is "runs", because it is the word that predicates a specific state about its argument "Sally". Some verbs such as "curse" can take two arguments, e.g. "Sally cursed John". A predicate that can only take a single argument is called "intransitive", while a predicate that can take two arguments is called "transitive".


title: Language

text: Many other word classes exist in different languages, such as conjunctions like "and" that serve to join two sentences, articles that introduce a noun, interjections such as "wow!", or ideophones like "splash" that mimic the sound of some event. Some languages have positionals that describe the spatial position of an event or entity. Many languages have classifiers that identify countable nouns as belonging to a particular type or having a particular shape. For instance, in Japanese, the general noun classifier for humans is "nin" (人), and it is used for counting humans, whatever they are called:


title: Language

text: In linguistics, the study of the internal structure of complex words and the processes by which words are formed is called morphology. In most languages, it is possible to construct complex words that are built of several morphemes. For instance, the English word "unexpected" can be analyzed as being composed of the three morphemes "un-", "expect" and "-ed".


title: Language

text: Morphemes can be classified according to whether they are independent morphemes, so-called roots, or whether they can only co-occur attached to other morphemes. These bound morphemes or affixes can be classified according to their position in relation to the root: "prefixes" precede the root, suffixes follow the root, and infixes are inserted in the middle of a root. Affixes serve to modify or elaborate the meaning of the root. Some languages change the meaning of words by changing the phonological structure of a word, for example, the English word "run", which in the past tense is "ran". This process is called "ablaut". Furthermore, morphology distinguishes between the process of inflection, which modifies or elaborates on a word, and the process of derivation, which creates a new word from an existing one. In English, the verb "sing" has the inflectional forms "singing" and "sung", which are both verbs, and the derivational form "singer", which is a noun derived from the verb with the agentive suffix "-er".


title: Language

text: Languages differ widely in how much they rely on morphological processes of word formation. In some languages, for example, Chinese, there are no morphological processes, and all grammatical information is encoded syntactically by forming strings of single words. This type of morpho-syntax is often called isolating, or analytic, because there is almost a full correspondence between a single word and a single aspect of meaning. Most languages have words consisting of several morphemes, but they vary in the degree to which morphemes are discrete units. In many languages, notably in most Indo-European languages, single morphemes may have several distinct meanings that cannot be analyzed into smaller segments. For example, in Latin, the word "bonus", or "good", consists of the root "bon-", meaning "good", and the suffix -"us", which indicates masculine gender, singular number, and nominative case. These languages are called "fusional languages", because several meanings may be fused into a single morpheme. The opposite of fusional languages are agglutinative languages which construct words by stringing morphemes together in chains, but with each morpheme as a discrete semantic unit. An example of such a language is Turkish, where for example, the word "evlerinizden", or "from your houses", consists of the morphemes, "ev-ler-iniz-den" with the meanings "house-plural-your-from". The languages that rely on morphology to the greatest extent are traditionally called polysynthetic languages. They may express the equivalent of an entire English sentence in a single word. For example, in Persian the single word "nafahmidamesh" means "I didn't understand it" consisting of morphemes "na-fahm-id-am-esh" with the meanings, "negation.understand.past.I.it". As another example with more complexity, in the Yupik word "tuntussuqatarniksatengqiggtuq", which means "He had not yet said again that he was going to hunt reindeer", the word consists of the morphemes "tuntu-ssur-qatar-ni-ksaite-ngqiggte-uq" with the meanings, "reindeer-hunt-future-say-negation-again-third.person.singular.indicative", and except for the morpheme "tuntu" ("reindeer") none of the other morphemes can appear in isolation.


title: Language

text: Many languages use morphology to cross-reference words within a sentence. This is sometimes called "agreement". For example, in many Indo-European languages, adjectives must cross-reference the noun they modify in terms of number, case, and gender, so that the Latin adjective "bonus", or "good", is inflected to agree with a noun that is masculine gender, singular number, and nominative case. In many polysynthetic languages, verbs cross-reference their subjects and objects. In these types of languages, a single verb may include information that would require an entire sentence in English. For example, in the Basque phrase "ikusi nauzu", or "you saw me", the past tense auxiliary verb "n-au-zu" (similar to English "do") agrees with both the subject (you) expressed by the "n"- prefix, and with the object (me) expressed by the – "zu" suffix. The sentence could be directly transliterated as "see you-did-me"


title: Language

text: Another way in which languages convey meaning is through the order of words within a sentence. The grammatical rules for how to produce new sentences from words that are already known is called syntax. The syntactical rules of a language determine why a sentence in English such as "I love you" is meaningful, but "*love you I" is not. Syntactical rules determine how word order and sentence structure is constrained, and how those constraints contribute to meaning. For example, in English, the two sentences "the slaves were cursing the master" and "the master was cursing the slaves" mean different things, because the role of the grammatical subject is encoded by the noun being in front of the verb, and the role of object is encoded by the noun appearing after the verb. Conversely, in Latin, both "Dominus servos vituperabat" and "Servos vituperabat dominus" mean "the master was reprimanding the slaves", because "servos", or "slaves", is in the accusative case, showing that they are the grammatical object of the sentence, and "dominus", or "master", is in the nominative case, showing that he is the subject.


title: Language

text: Latin uses morphology to express the distinction between subject and object, whereas English uses word order. Another example of how syntactic rules contribute to meaning is the rule of inverse word order in questions, which exists in many languages. This rule explains why when in English, the phrase "John is talking to Lucy" is turned into a question, it becomes "Who is John talking to?", and not "John is talking to who?". The latter example may be used as a way of placing special emphasis on "who", thereby slightly altering the meaning of the question. Syntax also includes the rules for how complex sentences are structured by grouping words together in units, called phrases, that can occupy different places in a larger syntactic structure. Sentences can be described as consisting of phrases connected in a tree structure, connecting the phrases to each other at different levels. To the right is a graphic representation of the syntactic analysis of the English sentence "the cat sat on the mat". The sentence is analyzed as being constituted by a noun phrase, a verb, and a prepositional phrase; the prepositional phrase is further divided into a preposition and a noun phrase, and the noun phrases consist of an article and a noun.


title: Language

text: The reason sentences can be seen as being composed of phrases is because each phrase would be moved around as a single element if syntactic operations were carried out. For example, "the cat" is one phrase, and "on the mat" is another, because they would be treated as single units if a decision was made to emphasize the location by moving forward the prepositional phrase: "[And] on the mat, the cat sat". There are many different formalist and functionalist frameworks that propose theories for describing syntactic structures, based on different assumptions about what language is and how it should be described. Each of them would analyze a sentence such as this in a different manner.


title: Language

text: Languages can be classified in relation to their grammatical types. Languages that belong to different families nonetheless often have features in common, and these shared features tend to correlate. For example, languages can be classified on the basis of their basic word order, the relative order of the verb, and its constituents in a normal indicative sentence. In English, the basic order is SVO (subject–verb–object): "The snake(S) bit(V) the man(O)", whereas for example, the corresponding sentence in the Australian language Gamilaraay would be "d̪uyugu n̪ama d̪ayn yiːy" (snake man bit), SOV. Word order type is relevant as a typological parameter, because basic word order type corresponds with other syntactic parameters, such as the relative order of nouns and adjectives, or of the use of prepositions or postpositions. Such correlations are called implicational universals. For example, most (but not all) languages that are of the SOV type have postpositions rather than prepositions, and have adjectives before nouns.


title: Language

text: All languages structure sentences into Subject, Verb, and Object, but languages differ in the way they classify the relations between actors and actions. English uses the nominative-accusative word typology: in English transitive clauses, the subjects of both intransitive sentences ("I run") and transitive sentences ("I love you") are treated in the same way, shown here by the nominative pronoun "I". Some languages, called ergative, Gamilaraay among them, distinguish instead between Agents and Patients. In ergative languages, the single participant in an intransitive sentence, such as "I run", is treated the same as the patient in a transitive sentence, giving the equivalent of "me run". Only in transitive sentences would the equivalent of the pronoun "I" be used. In this way the semantic roles can map onto the grammatical relations in different ways, grouping an intransitive subject either with Agents (accusative type) or Patients (ergative type) or even making each of the three roles differently, which is called the tripartite type.


title: Language

text: The shared features of languages which belong to the same typological class type may have arisen completely independently. Their co-occurrence might be due to universal laws governing the structure of natural languages, "language universals", or they might be the result of languages evolving convergent solutions to the recurring communicative problems that humans use language to solve.


title: Language

text: While humans have the ability to learn any language, they only do so if they grow up in an environment in which language exists and is used by others. Language is therefore dependent on communities of speakers in which children learn language from their elders and peers and themselves transmit language to their own children. Languages are used by those who speak them to communicate and to solve a plethora of social tasks. Many aspects of language use can be seen to be adapted specifically to these purposes. Owing to the way in which language is transmitted between generations and within communities, language perpetually changes, diversifying into new languages or converging due to language contact. The process is similar to the process of evolution, where the process of descent with modification leads to the formation of a phylogenetic tree.


title: Language

text: However, languages differ from biological organisms in that they readily incorporate elements from other languages through the process of diffusion, as speakers of different languages come into contact. Humans also frequently speak more than one language, acquiring their first language or languages as children, or learning new languages as they grow up. Because of the increased language contact in the globalizing world, many small languages are becoming endangered as their speakers shift to other languages that afford the possibility to participate in larger and more influential speech communities.