Language, it's main features

Question 1

Linguistics

Answer 1

Scientific study of language in general

Question 2

Science needs to solve a theoretical problem…

Answer 2

1. accumulate accurate data 2. create theory 3. make predictions 4. test theory 5. make better theory

Question 3

What is a theory?

Answer 3

Key concept - highest level of knowledge, set of propositions (sentence that is either true or not but not both)

Question 4

Arbitrariness

Answer 4

There is not a direct link between a word and its meaning, we have to be told/learn what the word means. Without arbitrariness, no languages would be needed - only one.

EXCEPTION: Onomatopoeic words (coined on the ground of sound motivation)

Question 5

Duality

Answer 5

Elements together = words

Primary level: Units
Secondary level: Elements (meaningless without being pushed together)

Question 6

Productivity

Answer 6

Elements -> Units -> Clauses -> Sentences

Question 7

Discreteness

Answer 7

new element = new word = new meaning

MISSPORONOUNCING a word does not create a new one

Question 8

Displacement

Answer 8

We can talk about past, present, future, abstract things…

Question 9

Specialization

Answer 9

Language can be used to substitute an expression for physical activity = we don’t need to act it out, just say it

Question 10

Cultural transmission

Answer 10

Process of passing language from one generation to another
English = “lingua franka”

Question 11

What language do we LEARN?

Answer 11

Foreign language

Question 12

What language do we ACQUIRE?

Answer 12

Mother tongue

Question 13

Lingua franca

Answer 13

“universal language” = language we use when communicating with someone who doesn’t speak our mother tongue and vice versa

Question 14

Reflexitivity

Answer 14

Metalanguage - we can talk about language using language

Question 15

Learnability

Answer 15

To acquire mother tongue, to learn foreign language

Question 16

Prevarication

Answer 16

Ability to make sentences with the aim to mislead information

Question 17

Divergent development

Answer 17

English differentiated into diverse geographical varieties

Question 18

Convergent development

Answer 18

Due to media and culture, English language is now integrated

Question 19

Tendency towards monosyllabism

Answer 19

Forms become reduced = meanings become wider

Question 20

English words are semantically vague and can be easily converted from one word class to another

Answer 20

polysemy, conversion

Question 21

Sanskrit

Answer 21

Pre-historic Proto-Indo-European language

Question 22

Explicit type

Answer 22

Expresses meaning of the word explicitly

Question 23

Condensed type

Answer 23

basic semantic components are expressed by word-formation phonemes

Question 24

Sentence patterns

Answer 24

SV, SVO, SVOO, SVA, SVOA, SVC, SVOC

Question 25

Phonological typology

Answer 25

Consonantic prevail - consonantic
Vowels prevail - vocalic

Question 26

Morphological typology: Change is made inside the word

Answer 26

Introflectional e.g. man -> men

Question 27

Morphological typology: Individual morphemes are put together

Answer 27

Agglutinative e.g -> faith-ful-ness

Question 28

Morphological typology: complex word forms function as sentences

Answer 28

Polysynthetic

Question 29

Polysemy

Answer 29

Many meanings of a word
e.g ISSUE

Question 30

Conversion

Answer 30

Word gets new meaning without changing the grammatical form/order
e.g. a bus -> a bus station

Question 31

Nominal Tendency

Answer 31

e.g To have breakfast
verb + noun

Verb HAVE has a very broad meaning, when there’s a NOUN ADDED it gives a more specific meaning

Question 32

Gender

Answer 32

Not grammatical - It’s natural, mostly used with pronouns

Question 33

Distinctive function

Answer 33

e.g. sound /p/ and /t/ can make a difference:
p + e + n = pen
t + e + n = ten

In this case, p and t can distinguish one word from another, so they have a distinctive function