Chapter 7 Thinking, Language and Intelligence: Module 22

Question 1

Language

Answer 1

The communication of information through symbols arranged according to systematic rules.

Question 2

Grammar

Answer 2

System of rules that determine how our thoughts can be expressed.

Question 3

Phonology

Answer 3

The study of the smallest units of speech, called phonemes.

Question 4

Phonemes

Answer 4

The smallest units of speech.

Question 5

Syntax

Answer 5

Ways in which words and phrases can be combined to form sentences.

Question 6

Semantics

Answer 6

The rules governing the meaning of words and sentences.

Question 7

Babble

Answer 7

Meaningless speechlike sounds made by children from around the age of 3 months through 1 year.

Question 8

Telegraphic speech

Answer 8

Sentences in which words not critical to the message are left out.

Question 9

Overgeneralization

Answer 9

The phenomenon by which children apply language rules even when the application results in an error.

Question 10

Learning-theory approach

Answer 10

The theory suggesting that language acquisition follows the principles of reinforcement and conditioning.

Question 11

Nativist approach

Answer 11

The theory that a genetically determined, innate mechanism directs language development.

Question 12

Universal grammar

Answer 12

Noam Chomsky’s theory that all the world’s languages share a common underlying structure.

Question 13

Language-acquisition device

Answer 13

A neural system of the brain hypothesized by Noam Chomsky to permit understanding of language.

Question 14

Interactionist approach

Answer 14

The view that language development is produced through a combination of genetically determined predispositions and environmental circumstances that help language.

Question 15

Linguistic-relativity hypothesis

Answer 15

The notion that language shapes and may determine the way people in a particular culture perceive and understand the world.