Ch. 1 Vocab & Terminology

Question 1

linguistic competence

Answer 1

what we know when we know a language; the unconscious knowledge that a speaker has about his or her native language

Question 2

linguistic performance

Answer 2

the observable use of language; the actualization of one’s linguistic competence

Question 3

performance error

Answer 3

errors in language production or comprehension, including hesitations and slips of the tongue

Question 4

speech communication chain

Answer 4

system used to communicate, information source, transmitter, signal, receiver, and destination

Question 5

speech communication chain steps

Answer 5

one acts as the information source and the transmitter, sending a signal to another person, who acts as a receiver and the destination

Question 6

noise

Answer 6

interference in the communication chain

Question 7

lexicon

Answer 7

a mental repository of linguistic information about words and other lexical expressions, including their form, meaning, morphological, and syntactic properties

Question 8

mental grammar

Answer 8

mental representation of grammar; the knowledge that a speaker has about the linguistic units and rules of his native language

Question 9

language variation

Answer 9

the property of languages having different ways to express the same meanings in different contexts according to factors such as geography, social class, gender, etc.

Question 10

descriptive grammar

Answer 10

objective description of a speaker’s knowledge of a language based on their use of the language

Question 11

evidence that writing and language are not the same (list 4 reasons)

Answer 11

(1) archaeological evidence indicates that writing is a later historical development than spoken language
(2) writing does not exist everywhere that spoken language does
(3) writing must be taught, whereas spoken language acquired naturally
(4) neurolinguistic evidence demonstrates that the processing and production of written language is overlaid on the spoken language centers in the brain
(5) writing can be edited before it is shared with others in most cases, while speech is usually much more spontaneous

Question 12

reasons some people believe writing to be superior to speech (list 3 reasons)

Answer 12

(1) writing can be edited, and so the product of writing is usually more aptly worded and better organized, containing fewer errors, hesitations, and incomplete sentences that are found in speech
(2) writing must be taught and is therefore intimately associated with education and educated speech
(3) writing is more physically stable than spoken language, which consists of nothing more than sound waves traveling through the air and is therefore ephemeral and transient

Question 13

prescriptive grammar

Answer 13

a set of rules designed to give instructions regarding the socially embedded notion of the “correct” or “proper” way to speak or write

Question 14

prescribe

Answer 14

prescribe rules about the use of language like doctors

Question 15

Charles Hockett’s nine design features (necessary for a communication system to be considered a language) (list)

Answer 15

(1) mode of communication
(2) semanticity
(3) pragmatic function
(4) interchangeability
(5) cultural transmission
(6) arbitrariness
(7) discreteness
(8) displacement
(9) productivity

Question 16

mode of communication

Answer 16

refers to the means by which these messages are transmitted and received

Question 17

semanticity

Answer 17

property requiring that all signals in a communication system have a meaning or function (knowing what pizza is )

Question 18

pragmatic function

Answer 18

communication systems must serve some useful purpose

Question 19

interchangeability

Answer 19

refers to the ability of individuals to both transmit and receive messages

Question 20

cultural transmission

Answer 20

property of a communication system referring to the fact that at least some aspects of it are learned through interaction with other users of the system

Question 21

arbitrariness

Answer 21

refers to the fact that a word’s meaning is not predictable from its linguistic form, nor is its form dictated by its meaning

Question 22

linguistic sign

Answer 22

the combination of a linguistic form and meaning

Question 23

convention

Answer 23

something that is established, commonly agreed upon, or operating in a certain way according to common practice

Question 24

nonarbitrariness

Answer 24

direct correspondence between the physical properties of a form and the meaning that the form refers to

Question 25

iconic

Answer 25

relationship between form and meaning such that the form of a word bears a resemblance to its meaning

Question 26

onomatopoeia

Answer 26

iconic use of words that are imitative of sounds occurring in nature or that have meanings that are associated with such sounds

Question 27

conventionalized

Answer 27

something that is established, commonly agreed upon, or operating in a certain way according to common practice. when an arbitrary relationship of a linguistic sign and its meaning is conventionalized, the linguistic sign bears a constant relationship only because people consistently use that linguistic sign to convey that meaning

Question 28

sound symbolism

Answer 28

certain sounds occur in words not by virtue of being directly imitative of some sound but rather simply by being evocative of a particular meaning

Question 29

discreteness

Answer 29

the property of language that allows us to combine together discrete units in order to create a larger communicative units

Question 30

displacement

Answer 30

ability of a language to communicate about things, actions, and ideas that are not present in space or time while speakers are communicating

Question 31

productivity

Answer 31

refers to a language’s capacity of novel messages to be built up out of discrete units

Question 32

modality

Answer 32

a mode of communication

Question 33

myths about signed languages (list 4)

Answer 33

(1) signed language derive from spoken languages
(2) signed language do not have any internal structure
(3) the words in a signed language are completely iconic
(4) there is only one signed language that is used by deaf speakers all over the world

Question 34

differences between codes and languages (list 4)

Answer 34

a code is an artificially constructed system for representing a natural language; it has no structure of its own
codes never have native speakers

signed language evolve naturally and independently of spoken languages
learned by hearing and deaf people