1+Sociolinguistics Flashcards
psycholinguistics
scientific study of language as it is represented in the mind/brain
Universal Grammar
the idea that certain aspects of our knowledge and understanding are innate, part of our biological endowment, genetically determined, on a par with the elements of our common nature that causes us to grow arms and legs rather than wings; language is an organ of the body
poverty of stimulus
quality of information available in the input is too meagre to account for the rich system of language that children acquire
globules
a word is a pool of meaning atoms or a bundle of features
semantic primitives
semantic concepts that are argued to be innately understood by all people but impossible to express in simpler terms
lexeme
phonological form
lemma
semantic and syntactic info
neighborhood effect
words that have a lots of connections are accessed earlier
associative network
In associative network models, memory is construed as a metaphorical network of cognitive concepts (e.g., objects, events and ideas) interconnected by links
lexical bias effect
tendency for phonological substitution errors to result in existing words at a rate higher than would be predicted by chance
theory of mind
capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind). This includes the knowledge that others’ mental states may be different from one’s own state
implicatures
something the speaker suggests or implies
pragmatics vs semantics
semantics is meaning of language; pragmatics is use of those meanings
language module or language faculty
hypothetical structure in the human brain which is thought to contain innate capacities for language
generative grammar
considers grammar as a system of rules that generates exactly those combinations of words that form grammatical sentences in a given language
Semantic satiation
is a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener
locus
the place where something happens or the central area of interest in something being discussed
gating
presenting increasingly long fragments of speech and measuring when listeners can interpret speech appropriately
shadowing
subjects repeat speech at a delay to the onset of hearing the phrase; how long does the brain take to process and produce speech
standard language
is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage
negative concord
double negatives, is a phenomenon in which more than one negative element occurs in a sentence, but the sentence is interpreted as only being negated once.
indexical field
constitute a field of potential meanings
indexicality
phenomenon of a sign pointing to (or indexing) some object in the context in which it occurs
Code-switching
speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation
diglossia
situation in which two dialects or languages are used (in fairly strict compartmentalization) by a single language community.
pidgin
a language that has developed from a mixture of two languages. It is used as a way of communicating by people who do not speak each other’s languages.
creole
a language that has developed from a mixture of languages:
Home sign
Home sign (or kitchen sign) is a gestural communication system, often invented spontaneously by a deaf child who lacks accessible linguistic input.
iconicity
is the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign (linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning
structuralism
schools or theories in which language is conceived as a self-contained, self-regulating semiotic system whose elements are defined by their relationship to other elements within the system
Semiotics
study of sign processes (semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something, usually called a meaning, to the sign’s interpreter
Formalism
A theory, a rule, a definition, or the like is to be called formal when no reference is made in it either to the meaning of the symbols (for example, the words) or to the sense of the expressions (e.g. the sentences), but simply and solely to the kinds and order of the symbols from which the expressions are constructed
Glossematics
is an early mathematical methodology for the analysis of language which was subsequently incorporated into the analytical foundation of current models of functional—structural grammar
Distributionalism
general theory of language and a discovery procedure for establishing elements and structures of language based on observed usage. It can be seen as an elaboration of structuralism but takes a more computational approach.
Functional linguistics
approach to the study of language characterized by taking systematically into account the speaker’s and the hearer’s side, and the communicative needs of the speaker and of the given language community.
Cognitive grammar
In this system, grammar is not a formal system operating independently of meaning. Rather, grammar is itself meaningful and inextricable from semantics.
Usage-based linguistics
assumes a profound relation between linguistic structure and usage.It challenges the dominant focus, in 20th century linguistics on considering language as an isolated system removed from its use in human interaction and human cognition.
Systemic functional linguistics
considers language as a social semiotic system. central theoretical principle is then that any act of communication involves choices. Language is above all a system; SFL maps the choices available in any language variety using its representation tool of a “system network”.
Syntagmatic analysis
is analysis of syntax or surface structure (syntagmatic structure) as opposed to paradigms (paradigmatic analysis). one element selects the other element either to precede it or to follow it. For example, the definitive article “the” selects a noun and not a verb.
Paradigmatic analysis
is the analysis of paradigms embedded in the text rather than of the surface structure (syntax) of the text which is termed syntagmatic analysis.
commutation tests
i.e. analysis by substituting words of the same type or class to calibrate shifts in connotation
Semiosis
or sign process, is any form of activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, including the production of meaning. A sign is anything that communicates a meaning, that is not the sign itself, to the interpreter of the sign.
Semiosphere
is an idea in biosemiotic theory proposing that, contrary to ideas of nature determining sense and experience, the phenomenal world is a creative and logical structure of processes of semiosis where signs operate together to produce sense and experience.
thinking for speaking
idea that a particular language forces its
speakers to pay attention to certain aspects of scenes
of experience for purposes of semantic and grammatical encoding in the native language in question. In
other words, language is one form that cognition
takes, and the ideas we wish to express must conform
to the linguistic conventions of a given language
shell noun
abstract noun that, in a particular context, conveys or refers to a complex idea. A shell noun can be identified on the basis of its behavior in an individual clause, not on the basis of its inherent lexical meaning. Also called container noun and carrier noun.
