This article presents a comprehensive analysis of language as both an evolutionary and sociocultural phenomenon that plays a fundamental role in shaping human cognitive activity. The author examines language not merely as a tool of communication but as a profound system for interpreting reality – one that integrates biological, mental, and cultural components. The article outlines core features of language, including semanticity, openness, cultural transmission, displacement, discreteness, prevarication, and reflexivity, all of which collectively enable language to structure knowledge, model representations of the world, and facilitate reflective thought. The link between linguistic reflexivity and the development of higher-order mental processes is explored, highlighting the unique role of language in the evolution of human consciousness. Special attention is given to comparing the human linguistic system with communicative signals in animals, revealing fundamental distinctions between biologically pre-programmed systems and consciously regulated speech. The author argues that language evolved not only from physiological mechanisms – such as the anatomy of the larynx and vocal tract – but also as a sociocultural achievement shaped through learning, interaction, and the transmission of experience. The study emphasizes the formative role of cultural context in shaping linguistic worldviews and points to the cognitive flexibility that allows language to adapt to new meanings, contexts, and communicative demands. Thus, language is presented as the product of multidimensional development in which biological evolution, mental capacities, and sociocultural dynamics are inextricably intertwined in the formation of human cognition. The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical substantiation and analytical overview of human language as the basis of cognition, with special attention to its anatomical, cognitive and socio-cultural foundations. The tasks of the article are focused on identifying a set of key linguistic properties that determine the linguistic potential of language, as well as on substantiating the unbroken link between the development of language and the formation of human thinking. Conclusion. The study concludes that language functions not merely as a medium of communication, but as a fundamental instrument for knowledge acquisition and conceptualization. Unlike animal signaling systems, human speech is marked by its flexibility, productivity, and intentional use, enabling the articulation of abstract meanings, the construction of complex utterances, the expression of volitional and emotional states, the development of scientific models, and reflection on one’s own linguistic activity. Given the sociocultural context in which linguistic ability emerges, the study emphasizes the significance of environment, tradition, and education as key factors shaping each community’s linguistic worldview. Additionally, the findings highlight the essential role of anatomical and neurophysiological conditions – such as breath control, articulatory mobility, and the capacity for voluntary speech – in the development of linguistic competence. Thus, language is presented as a multidimensional phenomenon in which biological evolution, mental processes, and sociocultural influences are intricately intertwined, collectively enabling the growth of human cognition, the structuring of thought, and the transmission of experiential knowledge, thereby fulfilling the stated objectives of the study.