Components, Characteristics, & Structure of Language

Question 1

Definition of language

Answer 1

Not fully defined as a concept, as language is seamlessly passed down through generations and has no existence outside of human existence

Question 2

Phonemes

Answer 2

A unit of sound

Question 3

Syllables

Answer 3

A unit of sound containing one vowel sound

Question 4

Morphemes

Answer 4

The smallest possible unit of sound that holds a meaning

Question 5

Words

Answer 5

A distinct, meaningful element of speech that combines phonology (sound) and semantics (meaning)

Question 6

Phrases/Clauses

Answer 6

A group of words that form a conceptual unit

Question 7

Syntax

Answer 7

Arrangement of words that forms sentences (meaningful set of words containing a subject and predicate)

Question 8

Lexicon

Answer 8

Stored vocabulary –> form of a word

Question 9

Semantics

Answer 9

Meaning of words

Question 10

Lemma

Answer 10

A mental representation that incorporates semantic and syntactic information

Question 11

Role of language in culture and knowledge

Answer 11

All human culture depends on language, makes the cultural culmination of complex concepts and reasoning possible

Question 12

What is the paradox of language?

Answer 12

Complex, but rapidly understood and produced –> complex phonological and syntactic rules, most sentences are novel

Question 13

Specific languages

Answer 13

• Abstract (natural) language VS. Specific languages (5-6k exist in the world)
• Specific languages vary in linguistic structure yet neurolinguistics has a universal biological basis across languages and the human experience is perceptually similar

Question 14

What is psycholinguistics?

Answer 14

• Scientific study of the relationship between language and the human brain; uses biology, neuroscience, cognitive science
• Developed in the 1960s in response to Noam Chomsky’s work (who thought the ability to acquire language was innate
• Combines linguistics (rationalist) with psychology (empiricist)

Question 15

What is the purpose of language?

Answer 15

Language is an intentional system for words and the rules to combine them into sentences –> relation between sound, meaning, and appearance is artbitrary
The means by which we:
- Formulate and convey thoughts
- Plan, reason, problem solve
- Hold our memories and beliefs
- Imagine theoretical things
- Ultimately transcends individual memory because it is shared

Question 16

What is the purpose of speech?

Answer 16

Synthesizes thought formation, word choice, and formation of words –> most efficient means of communication

Question 17

Grammar

Answer 17

Structure and rules for language

Question 18

Prescriptive grammar

Answer 18

Arbitrary rules to follow if you wish to speak proper “queens” English

Question 19

Descriptive grammar

Answer 19

Systematic rules that determine how people actually speak

Question 20

Function of grammar

Answer 20

1. Order of words in a sentence
2. Agreement of words in a sentence (e.g. number)
3. Case marking (shows the role of the noun in the sentence)

Question 21

Hockett’s Design Features

Answer 21

1. Semanticity (conveying meaning)
2. Arbitrariness (words themselves aren’t necessarily similar to what they represent)
3. Discreteness (many phoneme categories on a spectrum)
4. Displacement (spatial/temporal aspect of speech)
5. Duality of patterning (morphemes that have meaning are made up of phonemes that do not have meaning)
6. Generativity (creativity and novelty)

Question 22

What is recursion?

Answer 22

The ability to place a component inside another component of the same type e.g. a sentence inside another sentence –> allows complex sentences expression & removes upper limit on sentence length