Ch 1 - Language: a preview

Question 1

linguistics

Answer 1

the study of how language works – how it is used, acquired, changes over time, represented in brain, etc

Question 2

native speakers

Answer 2

those who have acquired a language as children in a natural setting

Question 3

creativity

Answer 3

the characteristic of human language that allows novelty and innovation in response to new thoughts, experiences and situations

Question 4

linguistic competence

Answer 4

speakers’ knowledge of their language, which allows them to produce and understand an unlimited number of utterances, including many that are novel

Question 5

grammar

Answer 5

the mental system of rules and categories that allows humans to form and interpret the words and sentences of their language

Question 6

descriptive grammar

Answer 6

actual language and its grammar that exists in the minds of the speakers

Question 7

prescriptive grammar

Answer 7

the way language supposedly should be written