final Flashcards
what is the asbolute universal
properties in all languages eg. all langauges have vowels and consonants
what is a statistical universal
statistical tendencies eg. in the vast majority of languages, the subject usually precedes the object
what is an implicational universal
if language has A, language has B eg. if a language has voiced fricatives, it also has voicless fricatives
what is an unconditioned universal?
simple statements with no specified conditions eg. All languages have nouns and verbs
what are the most common vowels?
i, a, u
what are three vowel universals?
- all languages make a distinction between close and open vowels
- all languages make a distinction between front and back vowels
- the number of close vowels is greater than the number of open vowels
is a level tone marked or unmarked?
unmarked
is a contour tone marked or unmarked?
marked
what is closer to the root, the derivation or the inflection?
derivation
what are the two universals for affix order?
- if a language has inflection, it always has derivation
- if both the derivation and inflection follow/percede the root, the derivation is always closer to the root
what are the four types of languages?
isolating, agglutinating, fusional, polysynthetic
what is isolating?
every word=single morpheme
what is agglutinating?
word= many affixes, one affix= one piece of information
what is fusional?
one word= many affixes
one affix= many pieces of information
what is polysynthetic?
one word=many roots
what universal can you form with this data:( SOV: 565 SVO: 488)
- most languages have a word order starting with subject
formulate a universal: (SOV: 564, SVO:488, VSO: 95)
- objects usually follows subject (even if its not directly next to eachother)
create a universal: (SOV: 565, SVO: 488, OSV: 4)
in most languages, verb tends to follow subject
why do languages prefer subject to be first in word order?
subject= topic of the conversation
subject= new information
what is it called when obejct abd verb are next to eachother?
- tight unit
- special meaning
eg. raining (verb) cats and dogs (object)
if VO then…
preposition noun
if OV then…
postposition noun
if V in word order is left where is the pre/postposition?
the preposition is on the left
if V in word order is right where is the pre/postposition?
the postposition is on the right
Speech community
group of people sharing special conventions about language use
sociolinguistic norms
conventions shared by a speech community
Sociolinguistic markers
noticeable features marking speech of a particular speech community
dialects are…
mutually intelligble
where is the oldest nort american colony
newfoundland
where are the settlers in newfoudnland from?
Southwestern England and Ireland
where are the settlers from in US New England?
Settlers from East Anglia
where are the settlers from in US Southern Coastal Region
settlers from South of England
what are the three things of dialect levelling
- keeping the home dialect intact
- using ‘random’ linguistic options available
- diversity pof options is levelled out: more frequent variants remain
what is linguistic insecurity
don’t want to make mistakes infront of others, so they overcompensate
when sounds are substituted in languages what level is the linguistic structure?
phonological
many dialects of English have multiple negation as in ‘I didn’t see nobody take no pictures” (whats the linguistic structure
syntax
what is language contact and what are the two ways it happens
contact of two or more distinct languages.
1. through the written form/other media
2. through social contact between speakers
what is lexical borrowing
borrowing and adopting individual vocabulary items called ‘loans/loanwords’
what is structural borrowing?
borrowing of phonological, morphological, or syntactic grammatical structure
what is the intensity of contact determined by?
the deuration of the contact and the level of interaction
what is low intensity
SHORTER duration of contact and LOW level of social interaction
what is high intensity
LONGER duration of contact and HIGH level of social interaction
what are the 4 outcomes of lamguage contact
- language convergence
- language shift
- language death
- arising of pidgins and creole
what is language convergence?
adstratum languages become more similar due to contact
what is language shift
speaker adopt features of one language and abandon native language
what is language death
speaker stops using their language
where do pidgin languages arise
in the setting where two or more people come together for the purpose of trade
where do creole languages arise?
in situations where speakers in contact are in need of a common primary means of communication
what is a myth about pidgin?
that it is a broken language. nothing is broken it is just because we think theres no grammar
what is an essential chatracteristic of pidgin?
if there is no established grammar, then there is no pidgin
what are phonological features of pidgin?
consonant clusters are reduced and preference for the universal CV syllable type
what are the morphological features of pidgin?
absence of affixes.
expanded pidgins have complex morphology
what are the syntax features of pidgin?
basic word order: SVO
use of prepositions
how was creole developed?
developed by slaves in plantations. wnated to communicate with other slaves.
SIMILARITIES OF PIDGIN AND L1 ACQUISITION
Active construction of grammar theory (invent rules of grammar themselves) both seen in L1 and Pidgin
Pidgin has simplified grammar and vocabulary the same way children do (L1 acquisition)
- errors people make when l,earning a foreign language is a reflection of the same thing in L1 acquisition
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PIDGIN AND L2 ACQUISITION
- Second language syntax (null subjects= ability to drop the subject) we can understand with context. Seen in both pidgin/creole and L2 acquisition
- Both pidgin and L1 acquisition go through interlanguage
- some suggest that universal startegies of L2 play a role in Pidgin formation
what are the most common stops
p t k
whats the most common fricative?
s
if a language has at least one nasal what would it be
/n/
what are differences between pidgin and creole
Pidgin is just used for trade
Creole used in dire need of communication
Creole developed in context of slavery
what are conventions
agreed upon rules
features of creole hypothesis?
these properties reflect innate properties of the juman mind = bioprogram
