Hockett's Design Features are a set of features that characterize human language and set it apart from animal communication. They were defined by the linguist Charles F. Hockett in the 1960s. He called these characteristics the design features of language. Hockett originally believed there to be 13 design features. While primate communication utilizes the first 9 features, Hockett believed that the final 4 features (displacement, productivity, cultural transmission, and duality) were reserved for humans. Hockett later added prevarication, reflexiveness, and learnability to the list as uniquely human characteristics. He asserted that even the most basic human languages possess these 16 features.
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Design features of language in the context of Displacement (linguistics)
In linguistics, displacement is the capability of language to communicate about things that are not immediately present (spatially or temporally); i.e., things that are either not here or are not here now.
In 1960, Charles F. Hockett proposed displacement as one of 13 design features of language that distinguish human language from animal communication systems (ACSs):
View the full Wikipedia page for Displacement (linguistics)Design features of language in the context of Reflexiveness
Reflexiveness is one of Charles Hockett's 16 Design features of language which states that in a language the speaker can use their language to talk about language. Speakers of a language are able to have knowledge about their language and be able to reflect upon it.
View the full Wikipedia page for Reflexiveness