introduction Flashcards
what is language
A structure system of communication. A cognitive mechanism for producing/interpreting utterances.
Attested words are the same as possible words
No.
Some things can’t be describe through language
False. Language is creative. (Linguistic productivity)`
Recursiveness proves language creativity
True
Words in other languages can’t be translated into English
False. But there might be no equivalence.
Linguistic competence is directly accessible.
It is not. It is a cognitive mechanism for producing/interpreting utterances.
Linguistic performance is a product of linguistic competence.
True. It is what we see, a particular utterance
What is spoonerism
It’s an error in performance, when speaker transpose the initial sounds of 2 or + words
Name the 5 theoretical areas of linguistics
Phonetics - articulation and perception of speech sounds, phonology - patterning of speech sounds, morphology - word formation, syntax - sentence formation, semantics - interpretation of words/sentences.
What is historical linguistics
Its language changing over time
What is sociolinguistics
Its the variation between people and social groups
What is psycholinguistics
Its language processing in the mind, neurolinguistics, language acquisition (L1,L2)
What is Computational linguistics?
Application of language in technology or vice versa
Prescriptivism is motivated linguistically.
False, its historical and social. It’s telling people how to speak
Descriptivism is learning how people speak
True. It also explain why they speak the way they do
Give an example of don’t split an infinitive
I want to go home quickly - not - i want to quickly go home.
Can we end with a preposition?
Yes but it is against prescriptivism.
What do we say instead of can i go to the toilet?
May I.
What is the prescriptive rule about double negation/negative concord?
Two negatives in one sentence must have a positive meaning. (He doesn’t see anything)
Is negative concord grammatical in some varieties of English?
Yes. It’s also common cross-linguistically (slovak, early modern english)
Is singular they acceptable
It is correct or incorrect for prescriptivists and descriptivists.
