Heidegger: ‘Being’ and ‘language’

Topic 1
In his later writings, Heidegger frequently stresses the importance of language for philosophy and for everyday life. For example, he claims that
In its essence language is not the utterance of an organism; nor is it the expression of a living thing. Nor can it ever be thought in an essentially correct way in terms of its symbolic character, perhaps not even in terms of the character of signification. Language is the lighting- concealing advent of Being itself. (‘Letter on Humanism’, p. 206)
He also contends that language (as he defines it) is a definitive feature of human beings, and points to its special status for understanding what he calls ‘Being’:
But man is not only a living creature who possesses language along with other capacities. Rather, language is the house of Being in which man ek-sists by dwelling, in that he belongs to the truth of Being, guarding it. (‘Letter on Humanism’, p. 213)
Write an essay in response to the following points:
(1) What does Heidegger mean by ‘Being’ and ‘language’? Explain these terms with reference to texts or examples.
(2) According to Heidegger, why is language of fundamental concern for philosophy?
(3) As stated in ‘Letter on Humanism’, what is philosophy ‘about’? What is its subject?
(4) Does Heidegger offer a compelling view of philosophy? Why or why not?