Language

Question 1

Phonemes

Answer 1

Discrete sounds that make up words that have no meaning

i.e. “ee’, “p”, or “sh”

Question 2

Morphemes

Answer 2

Made up of phonemes; the smallest units of meaning in language. Words or parts of words that have meaning are morphemes: “boy”, “-ing”

Question 3

Phrase

Answer 3

A group of words that when put together function as a single syntactic part of a sentence.

Question 4

Syntax

Answer 4

The arrangement of words into sentences as prescribed by a particular language

Question 5

Grammar

Answer 5

The overall rules of the interrelationship between morphemes and syntax that make up a certain language

Question 6

Morphology

Answer 6

Grammar rules; how to group morphemes

Question 7

Prosody

Answer 7

Tone inflections, accents, and other aspects of pronunciation that carry meaning

Question 8

Noam Chomsky

Answer 8

Father of transformational grammar, which differentiates between surface structure and deep structure in languagr

Question 9

Surface structure

Answer 9

The way that words are organized. The following all have the SAME surface structure:

1. I studied the material for hours
2. The material was studied for hours by me
3. For hours, I studied the material

Each has the same kernel structure (subject = I, verb = studied, object = material)

Question 10

Deep structure

Answer 10

Underlying meaning of a grouping of words

- involves analysis of kernel structure (subject, verb, object)

Question 11

Language acquisition device (LAD)

Answer 11

Chomsky proposed that humans have an inborn ability to adopt generative grammar rules of the language that they hear

• Controversial because of its nativist/genetic interpretation
• Chomsky beleived that children need only be exposed to a language in order to apply the LAD; they do not memorize or learn though conditioning

Question 12

Over-regularization

Answer 12

The over-application of grammar rules

• “I founded the toy”
• Learning that plural adds an “s”, children mistakingly applying this to all nouns, creating words like “sheeps”

Question 13

Over-extension

Answer 13

Generalizing with names for things

- e.g., calling all furry things “doggie”

Question 14

Telegraphic speech

Answer 14

Speech without articles or extras

-e.g. “Me go”

Question 15

Holophrastic speech

Answer 15

When a young child uses one word (holophrases) to convey a whole sentence
e.g. “Me” may mean “give that to me”

Question 16

Language learning sex differences

Answer 16

Girls learn language faster and more accurately than boys

Question 17

Bilingualism

Answer 17

Bilingual children are slower at language learning

Question 18

Which articles of speech do children use first?

Answer 18

Nouns, then verbs
“Me want” (1 noun, 1 verb)
“Mommy shirt” (2 nouns)

Question 19

4 Language acquisition milestones?

Answer 19

1 year: speaks first word(s)
2 years: >50 spoken words, usually in two- (and then three-) word phrases
3 years: 1,000 word vocabulary, but use has many grammatical errors
4 years: grammar problems are random exceptions

Question 20

Whorfian hypothesis

Answer 20

Through studies of the Hopi language (Uto-Aztecan), Whorf posited that language influences a culture’s perspective.
- has been used as an argument for non-sexist language

Question 21

Argument against Whorfian hypothesis

Answer 21

cultures that don’t have words for certain colours can still recognize them, so it is unclear to what extent language affects our perceptions

Question 22

William Labov

Answer 22

Studied “black” English (Ebonics) and found that it has its own complex internal structure

Question 23

Vygotsy and Luria

Answer 23

Asserted that language is a tool involved in the development of abstract learning

Question 24

Pragmatics

Answer 24

• the study of the practical aspects of human action and thought.
• the study of the use of linguistic signs, words and sentences, in actual situations.

Question 25

Charles Osgood

Answer 25

Studied semantics (word meanings) and created semantic differential charts

• Results showed that people with similar backgrounds and interests plotted words similarly
• Words have similar connotations for cultures or subcultures