language and communication Flashcards
communication
transfer of meaningful information from one person to another
language
a system of sounds that convey meaning because of shared grammatical and semantic rules
direct
facial expressions
stance
gesture
tone of voice
indirect
writing
math
music
painting
signs
referent
concept or things the symbol represents
communicative property
language permits us to communicate with one or more people who share our language
arbitrarily symbolic property
language creates an arbitrary relationship between symbol and what it represents
regular structures property
language has a structure only patterned arrangement of symbols have meaning and different arrangement yields different meaning
structured at multiple levels property
the structure of language can be analysed at more than one level
generative/productive property
within the limits of a linguistic structure, language users can produce novel utterances
phoneme
in language, the smallest distinctive unit of sound
morpheme
in a langue, the smallest unit that carries meaning. may be a word or part of a word
semantic
having to of with the meaning of words or language
syntax
the arrangement of words and phrases to create well formed sentences in a language
language production
brocas area
production of spoken or written language
language comprehension
wernikes area
processing and understanding of language
Vygotsky
language develops through interaction between child and parent
private speech allows children to plan activities and strategies to aid development
later language abilities become internalised as thought and inner speech
Bruner
language is important for the ability to deal with abstract concepts
infant is an intelligent and active problem solver from birth
Skinner
language emerges as the result of imitation and reinforcement
a learned behaviour
Chomsky
language is a inherent human quality and children are born with a language acquisition device allowing them to produce language once they have learned the necessary vocab
Gardner
people use language to induce actions in other people
a tool to help people remember things
transfer knowledge
reflect upon language itself
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
the structure of language influences the manner in which we view and understand the world
linguistic determinism
the language we use determines the way in which we view and think about the world
linguistic relativity
the distinctions notes in one language may be unique to that language
Pinker
all languages are roughly as complex as each other
although language differs in the number o words they posses allure roughly equivalent in terms of the sophistication in their structure
sensitive period
as with imprinting language seems to have a critical period
0-6
the sexual selection hypothesis
language is far more complex than it needs to be for information exchange, cooperation or social grooming
we don’t need a wide range of vocab
but we have it anyway, this indicates a healthy brain and good genes to potential mates
gender differences
females use more emotion words and first person singulars, and they mention more psychological and social process
meals use more swear words, object references
age
youngest groups (13-18) - use of slang, emoticons and internet speak topics
aged 19 - drunk topics
aged 23-29 - work topics
projection of school, college, work and family across all age groups
personality
extraverts - mention social words
introverts - mention words relating to solidarity activities
high neuroticism - mentioned ‘sick of’ not just ‘sick’
low neuroticism - enjoyable social activities that foster greater social stability
a life cycle
language has different functions at different life stages
- young babies: babbling increases parental investment
- adolescents: language used for making friends, courtship
- parents: pass on vital skills to children
facial expression
6 basic emotions associated with distinct facial expression
- happiness
- sadness
- surprise
- fear
- disgust
- anger
later adding contempt
