Chapter 8.3

Question 1

Language

Answer 1

Largely arbitrary system of communication that combines systems (such as words and gestural signs) in rule-based ways to create meaning

Question 2

Phoneme

Answer 2

Category of sounds our vocal apparatus produces

Question 3

Morpheme

Answer 3

Smallest meaningful unit of speech

Question 4

Syntax

Answer 4

Grammatical rules that govern how words are composed into meaningful strings

Question 5

Extra linguistic information

Answer 5

Elements of communication that aren’t part of the content of language but are critical to interpreting its meaning

Question 6

Semantics

Answer 6

Meaning derived from words and sentences

Question 7

Dialect

Answer 7

Language variation used by a group of people who share geographic proximity or ethnic background

Question 8

Metalinguistic

Answer 8

Awareness of how language is structured and used

Question 9

Homesign

Answer 9

System of signs invented by children who are deaf and born of hearing parents and therefor receive no language input

Question 10

Generative

Answer 10

Allowing an infinite number of unique sentences to be created by combining words in novel ways

Question 11

Nativism

Answer 11

Account of language acquisition that suggests children are brim with some basic knowledge of how language works

Question 12

Language acquisition device

Answer 12

Hypothetical organ in the brain in which nativists believe knowledge of syntax resides

Question 13

Social pragmatics

Answer 13

Account of language acquisition that proposes that children infer what words and sentences mean from context and social interactions