Identify and define the various components of spoken language, and discuss which would be the most difficult to program and interpret. Explain why.

Oral language is made up of four components including phonology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics. Semantics is the meaning of the words used. Syntax is the grammar and rules used to combine words to make sentences. Both of these components are easier to program. They are concrete in nature and follow very specific rules and patterns.
Phonology is the sound of our language. Phonology does not always follow the same rule set and, thus, is much more difficult to program. This is most easily observed when using a car’s navigation system. The street names are often mispronounced by the system.
Pragmatics is also difficult to program. Pragmatics is the social rules for how we use language, which varies by culture and even region. Therefore, specific rules that are easily programmed do not exist. It also changes over time. This is easily observed by looking at how people spoke in the 1800s compared to modern times.
Although computers can be programmed to understand the semantics and syntax of our language, phonology and pragmatics are still difficult for a computer programmer to master and duplicate in a robotic form. All of these components combine to make oral language extremely complex.