Basics Flashcards
What is linguistics, universal properties, semiotics
What are pragmatics?
study of meaning by the speaker at the moment -> what a speaker implies
What are semantics?
Study of meaning of words, phrases, sentences + the study of the properties of meaning - widely accepted meaning of words + definition in a dictionary -> referential meaning
What is the definition of universal properties of language?
what makes language language -> it’s characteristics
Meta-property of language?
reflexivity
humans talk & think about language, animals can’t do that
What is Displacement?
A universal property of human language that allows users to talk about things and events not present in the immediate environment -> spatial, temporal, fictional
spatial, temporal, fictional
Spatial: “Do you know where the bank is?” – “Just take the next left, and then walk about 100 meters until you see it.”
Temporal: “Remember the time when we ran around my grandpa’s backyard when we were kids?”
Fictional: “I think Faeries do exist and no one can convince me otherwise!”
What is Arbitrariness?
a universal property of language describing the fact that there is no natural connection between a linguistic form and its meaning
lots of languages have a word for objects, culturally created
What is Cultural transmission?
universal property of language; The process whereby knowledge of a language is passed from one generation to the next (=children learn language because of their caregivers)
animals have an instinct to produce sounds, if in a familiar place
What is Productivity, Creativity?
keep producing new units, having the ability to develop a new idea, that has never been done before, it’s adaptable, we create new words;
A universal property of language that allows users to create new expressions, also called ‘open-endedness’
because of it we have variability -> language use varies according to users (idiolect, regiolect) and uses (register, jargon) -> AE & BE
What is Duality?
A universal property of language whereby linguistic forms have two simultaneous levels of sound production and meaning, also called ‘double articulation’ -> phonology & meaning
number of sounds (=phonomes) & toolbox to combine (=morphemes)
sound-layer has no meaning; world-layer is a combo of sounds & has meaning
What is Discreteness?
universal property of language; Discrete means “separate” or “distinct”, so the uniqueness of sounds in a language -> ability to perceive flows of sounds as separate units
map-lap; almost sounds the same but completely different things
What are the two signals, one should consider?
communicative & informative
tellings someone something = communicating; someone sneezes while talking to me = I’m informed that he might have a cold
What is Glossolalia?
speaking in tongues, has no communicative purpose
What does using language mean?
that you can develop a complex system of sounds & structures which aren’t always regular
What is Prevarication in Linguistics?
language signals can be false or used to lie/deceive
What did the chimpanzees Washoe and Nim learn?
Sign Language
Though there is controversy, a lot of people argue that they didn’t understand the meaning of “please” and just used it like a machine to form sentences that they seemed fit.
