8.10-8.15: Language: A Tool for Thinking and Sharing Thoughts

Question 1

A shared system of symbols, including spoken, written, and signed words and gestures, and a set of rules for how to combine those symbols to communicate meaning

Answer 1

Language

Question 2

The smallest unit of language, such as the individual sounds that make up speech

Answer 2

Phoneme

Question 3

The smallest unit of language that carries bits of meaning. They include words and also word parts like prefixes and suffixes that change a word’s meaning

Answer 3

Morpheme

Question 4

A system of rules that governs the way that language parts are put together so that people can understand each other

Answer 4

Grammar

Question 5

Grammatical rules that govern how words and phrases combine into well-formed sentences

Answer 5

Syntax

Question 6

Rules that govern the practical aspects of language use, such as taking turns, using intonation and gestures, and talking to different types of people

Answer 6

Pragmatics

Question 7

Benjamin Whorf’s proposal that different languages impose different ways of understanding the world that can shape our thinking

Answer 7

Linguistic determinism hypothesis

Question 8

The production of speech sounds by infants, usually beginning around 6 or 7 months of age

Answer 8

Babbling

Question 9

A language error made by children that involves extending rules of word formation. These errors reveal children’s understanding of grammar

Answer 9

Overregularization error

Question 10

An innate mechanism that linguist Noam Chomsky proposed to explain the process of language acquisition to children. Chomsky argued that it is activated by language exposure and guides language development with little to no explicit teaching from adults

Answer 10

Language acquisition device

Question 11

An early period in the life of an organism during which it is especially sensitive to and able to learn from specific information in its environment

Answer 11

Sensitive period