Chapter 1

Question 1

linguist

Answer 1

tease apart the patterns of various aspects of human language in order to discover how it words

Question 2

linguistic competence

Answer 2

hidden knowledge of language

Question 3

linguistic performance

Answer 3

way they produce and comprehend language

Question 4

performance errors

Answer 4

unable to remember a word, mispronouncing something, jumbling words

Question 5

communication chain

Answer 5

process of communication of info, information source, transmitter, signal, receiver, and destination

Question 6

noise

Answer 6

interference in the chain of communication

Question 7

phonetics

Answer 7

the study of the minimal units of language

Question 8

morphology

Answer 8

study of how words are constructed into a morpheme(smallest linguistic unit that has a meaning or grammatical function)

Question 9

grammatical

Answer 9

a term used to describe a sentence that is in accordance with the descriptive grammatical rules of some language, especially syntactic rules

Question 10

semantics

Answer 10

study of linguistic meaning

Question 11

lexicon

Answer 11

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

Question 12

mental grammar

Answer 12

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

Question 13

language variation

Answer 13

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

Question 14

descriptive grammar

Answer 14

objective description of a speakers knowledge of a language based on their use of the language

Question 15

prescriptive grammar

Answer 15

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

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

useful purpose of any given communication system

Question 19

interchangeability

Answer 19

all individuals have ability to both transmit and receive messages (as opposed to systems where some can only send or receive)

Question 20

cultural transmission

Answer 20

fact that at least some aspects of it are learned through interaction with other users of the system

Question 21

arbitrariness

Answer 21

words meaning is not predictable from its linguistic form, nor is its form dictated by its meaning

Question 22

linguistic sign

Answer 22

combo or 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

non-arbitrariness

Answer 24

direct correspondence between the physical properties of a form and the meaning 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

discreteness

Answer 27

property of communication systems by which complex messages may be built up out of smaller parts

Question 28

displacement

Answer 28

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

Question 29

productivity

Answer 29

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

Question 30

modality

Answer 30

mode of communication (means through which a message is transmitted for any given communication system)

Question 31

evidence that writing and language are not the same

Answer 31

1 writing does not exist everywhere that spoken language does
2 writing must be taught whereas spoken language is acquired naturally
3 writing can be edited before it is shared
4 neurolinguistic evidence spoken language involves several distinct areas of the brain, writing uses these areas and others as well

Question 32

myths about signed languages

Answer 32

1 signed languages derived from spoken languages
2 signed languages don’t consist of words at all but rather involve signers using hands to draw pictures in air or act out
3 only one sign language for all deaf people

Question 33

communication chain steps

Answer 33

1 think of what you want to communicate
2 pick out words to express the idea
3 put these words together in a certain order following rules
4 figure out how to pronounce these words
5 send those pronunciations to your vocal anatomy
6 speak: send the sounds through the air
7 perceive: listener hears the sounds
8 decode: listener interprets sounds as language
9 connect: listener receives communicated idea

Question 34

prescribe

Answer 34

is the practice of elevating one variety or manner of language use over another. It may imply some forms are incorrect

Question 35

conventionalized

Answer 35

to make conventional (conforming or adhering to accepted standards)

Question 36

sound symbolism

Answer 36

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 37

differences between codes and languages

Answer 37

1 a code is artificially constructed
2 a code represents another language
3 a code borrows its structure from a language
4 a code never has a native speaker

Question 38

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

Answer 38

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

Question 39

reasons some people believe writing to be superior to speech

Answer 39

1 writing can be edited
2 writing must be taught
3 writing is more physically stable