Lesson 21: Language and Language Processing I Flashcards
How do children and adults differ in learning and using language?
- Children learn to speak early and intuitively, while learning to read is more challenging.
- Adults use language constantly, often unconsciously.
What is duality of patterning?
Language has two patterns:
- Form: Sounds, visual marks, hand movements.
- Meaning: Social interaction and performing actions with words (e.g., “I promise…”).
Reference: Hockett (1960).
What is the focus of linguistics?
- Describes language at various levels:
~ Sounds (phonology), words, phrases, sentences, and discourse. - Explores the relationship between form and meaning, often arbitrary.
What is the psychological perspective on language?
Language relies on mental information storage and mechanisms for rapid use.
What are phonemes and phones?
- Phonemes: Smallest sound units that change meaning (e.g., /p/ in “pin” vs. “bin”).
- Phones: Specific realizations of phonemes (e.g., aspirated /p/ in “pin”).
What does phonology study?
- Sound patterns and sequences in language.
Example: “scratch” is valid in English, but “sbratch” is not. - Includes suprasegmental features like rhythm, intonation, and stress.
How do alphabetic systems differ?
English has irregular phoneme-to-letter correspondence, unlike Spanish or Finnish.
What are syllabaries and logographs?
- Syllabaries: Represent syllables (e.g., Japanese kana).
- Logographs: Represent meanings (e.g., Chinese characters).
How are sign languages distinct?
Fully fledged languages with unique grammar and structure, separate from spoken languages.
What are morphemes?
Smallest meaningful language units.
- Free Morphemes: Can stand alone (e.g., “cat”).
- Bound Morphemes: Attach to other words (e.g., “-s” for plural).
How do inflectional and derivational morphemes differ?
- Inflectional: Add grammatical information (e.g., “cats”).
- Derivational: Change meaning or word class (e.g., “happy” → “happiness”).
How are sentences structured hierarchically?
- Words → Phrases → Clauses → Sentences.
Example: “Stanley polished the big brown table.”
How are relations expressed in discourse?
Cause and effect can be signaled explicitly (e.g., “because”) or implicitly through context.
What are story grammars?
Structures for narratives, such as Propp’s morphology of folktales or Campbell’s hero’s journey.
What is the principle of compositionality?
- The meaning of a phrase depends on the meanings of its parts and their structure.
Example: “British left waffles on Falklands” has multiple interpretations.
