Chapter 12: Language Structure Flashcards
Competence
Book definition: “A term in linguistics that refers to a person’s abstract knowledge of a language, which is not always manifested in performance. (p. 285)”
Grammar
Language universal
Book definition: “A property that all natural languages satisfy. (p. 309)”
Also called linguistic universals, this refers to patterns that occur systematically across all natural languages - i.e. all languages spoken by human beings. Examples of language universals include “all languages have nouns and verbs” or “all spoken languages have vowels and consonants”.
Linguistic determinism
Book definition: “The proposal that the structure of one’s language strongly influences the way in which one thinks. (p. 295)”
Linguistics
Book definition: “The study of the structure of language. (p. 8, 283)”.
Modularity
Book definition: “The proposal that language is a component separate from the rest of cognition. It further argues that language comprehension has an initial phase in which only syntactic considerations are brought to bear. Contrast with interactive processing. (p. 299)”
Natural language
Book definition: “A language that can be acquired and spoken by humans. (p. 309)”
Natural languages are in contrast to artificial languages (such as Python in coding), constructed languages (such as Esperanto) and other natural communication systems (such as the dance of a bee or the song of a whale).
Parameter setting
Book definition: “The proposal that children learn a language by learning the setting of 100 or so parameters that define a natural language. (p.311)”
Performance
Book definition: “A term in linguistics that refers to the way a person speaks. This behavior is thought to be only an imperfect manifestation of the person’s linguistic competence. (p. 285)”
Phonology
Book definition: “The study of the sound structures of languages. (p. 284)”
Phrase structure
Book definition: “The hierarchical organization of a sentence into a set of units called phrases, sometimes represented as a tree structure. (p. 286)”
Productivity
Book definition: “Refers to the fact that natural languages have an infinite number of possible utterances. (p. 283)”
Regularity
Book definition: “Refers to the fact that natural languages have systematic rules that determine the possible forms of utterances. (p. 283)”
Semantics
Book definition: “The meaning structure of linguistic units. (p. 284)”
The two main areas of semantics are logical semantics, concerned with sense, reference and implication, and lexical semantics, concerned with the analysis of word meanings and interrelations.
In fluent aphasia (also known as Wernicke’s aphasia) the semantic processing of language is impaired, leading to a disconnect between the words heard or spoken and the meaning behind those words.
In comparison, syntax deals with word order and inflectional structure.
Syntax
Book definition: “Grammatical rules for specifying correct word order and inflectional structure in a sentence. (p. 284)”
In non-fluent aphasia (also known as Broca’s aphasia) the impairment in syntactic production and comprehension can result in ‘telegraphic speech’ or problems interpreting syntax in messages - e.g. switching subject and object (hearing “The dog bit the man” but interpreting it as “The man bit the dog”).
Syntax is in comparison to semantics, which deals with the meaning of language.
