Basics

Question 1

morphology

Answer 1

units of meaning in a language and their patterns of occurrence

Question 2

phonetics

Answer 2

sounds used in speech production

Question 3

phonology

Answer 3

sounds that occur in languages and the rules governing their usage

Question 4

generative grammar

Answer 4

idea that a finite set of rules or constraints can generate an infinite number of utterances
- rules + lexicon, rather than specific sentences

Question 5

syntax

Answer 5

construction of sentences
- linear order (eg subject verb object vs subject object verb)
- relationship between parts of sentence

Question 6

semantics

Answer 6

study of meaning

Question 7

pragmatics

Answer 7

meaning in contest

Question 8

diachronic

Answer 8

study of language across time

Question 9

synchronic

Answer 9

study of language at a specific point in time

Question 10

pidgin

Answer 10

a language with a simplified grammar and lexicon, used among speakers who don’t share a native language
- typically not anyone’s native language

Question 11

creole

Answer 11

a pidgin that has been expanded to fulfill all the functions of a human language and has become some group of speakers’ native language