Lecture 20 Flashcards
Language
A symbolic system of communication unique to humans, involving the use of spoken, signed, or written symbols.
Symbols
Arbitrary signs or sounds that have specific meanings agreed upon by a group (e.g., words).
Displacement
The ability of language to refer to things not present in time or space (e.g., past, future, imaginary).
Productivity
The capacity to create an infinite number of new and understandable messages using a finite set of rules.
Duality of Patterning
The organization of language at two levels: meaningful units (morphemes) formed by meaningless units (sounds or phonemes).
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish meaning.
Morpheme
The smallest unit of meaning in a language (e.g., “un-“, “-ed”).
Syntax
The rules governing the structure of sentences (word order and arrangement).
Semantics
The study of meaning in language—how words and sentences convey meaning.
Pragmatics
How context influences the interpretation of meaning in language.
FOXP2 Gene
A gene associated with speech and language; mutations affect language ability, providing insight into language evolution.
Broca’s Area
A region of the brain associated with speech production. Damage can lead to difficulties in forming grammatically correct sentences.
Wernicke’s Area
A brain region associated with language comprehension. Damage can cause fluent but nonsensical speech.
Aphasia
A disorder resulting from damage to language centers in the brain, affecting communication.
Koko & Kanzi
Famous apes that learned forms of symbolic communication (sign language or lexigrams), but lacked full syntax.
Critical Period
A developmental window during which language acquisition occurs most easily and fully.
Cultural Transmission
The process by which language and behaviors are passed from one generation to the next through learning.
Arbitrariness
The lack of inherent connection between the sounds of words and their meanings.
Call Systems
Limited vocal communication systems found in non-human primates, typically involving specific sounds for specific stimuli.
Linguistic Relativity (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)
The idea that the structure of a language affects its speakers’ worldview or cognition.
Descriptive Linguistics
The study of the structure and features of language as it is actually used.
Historical Linguistics
The study of language change over time, including the development of language families.
