Dudes and Their Theories, Part 2 Flashcards
Corballis (2003), Pinker (1994)
Language as an adaptation for survival.
Ability to strategize, collectively think, problem solving, pass on knowledge.
Cost: crowded teeth, wisdom teeth, choking
Chomsky
LAD: Language Acquisition Device
Linguistic nativism: hard wired set of rules for acquiring grammar, allows children to learn language with efficiency
Austin
Speech act theory: All language is performative, allows people to perform/ achieve action. Three characteristics of utterances: locution, illocution, perlocution
Searle
Argued it is sufficient to use indirect language to convey meaning.
Grice
Theory of conversational implicature: speakers are cooperative when they talk, communication means more than they say, mutually adhere to cooperative principle. Four maxims of communication: Quantity Quality Relation Manner
Brown & Levinson
Politeness strategies: theory of politeness phenomena, what is said and what is implied is based on politeness, and saving face.
Positive face: be liked
Negative face: Be left alone
Whorf
Language determines thoughts, people who speak different languages see the world in different ways.
Bond
Cultural frame switching: values and personalities shift based on which language is used
Ng
Masculine generic language, lens-like power of langage
Echterhoff, Higgins
Saying is believing
Giles
Speakers who deviate from received pronunciation are deemed lower class
Giles & Smith
Speech accommodation theory: Speech style adapts to each conversation. Renamed communication accommodation to include non-verbal behaviours
Atkinson, Kilby & Roca
Pragmatics
“The distinction between what a speaker’s words (literally) mean and what the speaker might mean by his words
Krauss & Chiu
Language permits us to communicate more easily about aspects of our environment that are important, but does not determine thought
Inferring personality from speech
Scherer
Perceived dynamism, extraversion – associated with high variability in ‘fundamental frequency’ (i.e., vocal pitch)
perceived competence – linear relationship with speech rate
Lakoff
Social pitch as indicator of social status. Women’s higher register. Even higher in cultures where women have less status roles, observed change as cultures change (ex. Japan)
De Paulo and Friedman
Non verbal communication, dynamic, mostly face-to-face exchange of information through cues other than words
Argyle and Dean
People reach an equilibrium and maintain it by responding in compensatory ways to any changes in their partner’s behaviour
