Introduction to Linguistics

Question 1

Linguistics

Answer 1

• scientific study of language
• observe verifiable facts about human languages,
• figure out important regularities,
• describe human languages,
• explain the facts and regularities in their structure
• descriptive, not prescriptive

Question 2

Language

Answer 2

• method of communication through speech, writing and signing
• specific to our species
• natural (natural language).
• evolves unconsciously.
• subject to change over time
• arbitrary relation between signifier and signified

Question 3

Language creativity

Answer 3

• languages are creative, productive.

- We can generate and understand infinite number of novel sentences and expressions without former experience with them

Question 4

Grammar

Answer 4

-set of structural principles, rules and constraints that constitutes a language.

Question 5

Linguistic competence

Answer 5

-knowledge that a speaker of a language has to tell about the grammaticality of utterances of the language

Question 6

Phonological competence

Answer 6

Knowledge of possible/impossible combinations of sounds

Question 7

Morphological competence

Answer 7

Knowledge of possible/impossible composition of words

Question 8

Syntactic competence

Answer 8

Knowledge of possible/impossible sequence of words in a sentence

Question 9

Semantic competence

Answer 9

Knowledge of possible/impossible meaning (i.e., interpretations) of sentences

Question 10

Generative Grammar

Answer 10

develop a fully explicit and complete theory of grammar to account for the knowledge that a speaker of a language has

Question 11

i-language

Answer 11

language as a mental capacity, or a system in the mind of a speaker
capture what is grammatical in the language + explain what is not grammatical