Chapter 1

Question 1

Linguistic Competence

Answer 1

what we know when we know a language; unconscious knowledge that a speaker has about their 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 (like hesitations or slips of the tongue)

Question 4

speech communication chain

Answer 4

process through which information is communicated. Consists of: information source, transmitter, signal, receiver and destination.

Question 5

Speech Communication Chain steps

Answer 5

1. Think of idea you want to communicate
2. Pick words to express idea
3. Put words together in a certain order following rules
4. Figure out how to pronounce these words
5. Send pronunciations to your vocal anatomy
6. Speak (send sounds through the air)
7. Perceive (listener hears the sounds)
8. Decode: Listener interprets sounds as language
9. Connect: listener receives communicated idea

Question 6

noise

Answer 6

interference in the communication chain

Question 7

lexicon

Answer 7

mental repository of linguistic information about words and other lexical expressions (form, meaning, morphology, syntactic properties)

Question 8

mental grammar

Answer 8

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

Question 9

language variation

Answer 9

property of languages having different ways to express the same meanings in different contexts according to factors like geography, social class and gender

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

Answer 11

1. Archeological evidence shows that writing developed later than spoken language
2. Writing does not exist everywhere but spoken language does (56% of languages unwritten)
3. Writing has to be taught whereas spoken language is acquired naturally
4. neurolinguistic evidence shows that the processing and production of written language is overlaid on the spoken language centers in the brain.

Question 12

reasons some people believe writing is superior to speech

Answer 12

1. Writing can be edited
2. Writing must be taught
3. Writing is more physically stable, it tends to last

Question 13

prescriptive grammar

Answer 13

socially embedded notion of the correct or proper ways to use a language

Question 14

prescribe

Answer 14

advise and authorize the use of a certain thing (medicine, treatment)

Question 15

Charles Hockett’s nine design features

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

means through which a message is transmitted for any given communication system

Question 17

semanticity

Answer 17

property of having signals that convey a meaning, shared by all communication systems

Question 18

pragmatic function

Answer 18

the useful purpose of any given communication system

Question 19

interchangeability

Answer 19

property of communication systems that allows individuals to both transmit and review messages

Question 20

cultural transmission

Answer 20

at least some aspects of language are learned through interaction with other users of the system

Question 21

arbitrariness

Answer 21

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

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 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

Question 28

sound symbolism

Answer 28

phenomenon by which certain sounds are evocative of a particular meaning

Question 29

discreteness

Answer 29

property of communication systems by which complex messages me be built up out of smaller units

Question 30

displacement

Answer 30

property that allows communication systems to be used to communicate about things, actions and ideas that are not present at the place or time where communication is taking place

Question 31

productivity

Answer 31

capacity of a communication system for novel messages built out of discrete units to be produced and understood

Question 32

modality

Answer 32

means through which a message is transmitted (i.e. auditory-vocal language, visual-gestural language)

Question 33

myths about signed languages

Answer 33

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

Question 34

differences between codes and languages

Answer 34

1. codes have no structure of their own, just borrow from the natural language they represent
2. codes don’t have native speakers
3. true language is much more efficient at transmitting a message
4. codes are artificially constructed