Linguistics Flashcards
Prosody
The systematic structure of a spoken or signed utterance.
The function of Prosody
- provides cues about the goals of a speaker (to persuade, teach, inquire, entertain, etc.);
- signals conversational turn-taking;
- conveys urgency and intensity, mood, and tone;
- arranges utterances in a way that supports meaning and clarity (syntax)
- chunks information (for organization, ease of memory, and understanding); and
- provides flow and rhythm.
It is through the speaker’s ______ _______that we know it is either expected that we take our turn now, or hold our remarks until the speaker signals that s/he is opening the floor to others.
prosodic proficiency
In the absence of prosody…
we are left wondering what a speaker’s intent is.
Linguistics
The scientific study of language
Linguists are interested in…
discovering and describing the rules that govern language.
The Major subfields of Linguistics (12)
1) Anthropological Linguistics
2) Applied Linguistics
3) Historical Linguistics
4) Morphology
5) Neurolinguistics
6) Phonetics
7) Phonology
8) Pragmatics
9) Psycholinguistics
10) Semantics
11) Sociolinguistics
12) Syntax
1) Anthropological Linguistics
the study of inter-relationship between language and culture (particularly in the context of non-Western cultures and societies).
2) Applied Linguistics
the application of the methods and results of linguistics to such areas as language teaching; national language policies; lexicography; translation; and language in politics, advertising, classrooms, courts, and the like.
3) Historical Linguistics
the study of how languages change through time; the relationships of languages to each other.
4) Morphology
- the study of the way in which words are constructed out of smaller meaningful units.
- the study of the smallest meaningful units in language and of how those units are used to build new words or signs.
- it is the study of word formation, of how a language uses smaller units to build larger units.
5) Neurolinguistics
the study of the brain and how it functions in the production, perception and acquisition of language.
6) Phonetics
the study of speech sounds; how they are articulated (articulatory phonetics); their physical properties (acoustic phonetics); how they are perceived (auditory/perceptual phonetics).
7) Phonology
the study of the sound system of language; how the particular sounds used in each language form an integrated system for encoding information and how such systems differ form one language to another.
8) Pragmatics
how the meaning conveyed by a word or sentence depends on aspects of the context in which it is used (such as time, place, social relationship between speaker and hearer, ans speaker’s assumptions about the hearer’s beliefs).
9) Psycholinguistics
the study of the interrelationship of language and cognitive structures; the acquisition of language.
10) Semantics
the study of meaning; how words and sentences are related to the (real or imaginary) objects they refer to and the situations they describe.
11) Sociolinguistics
the study of the interrelationship of language and social structure; linguistic variation; attitudes towards language.
12) Syntax
the study of the way in which sentences are constructed; how sentences are related to each other.
Phonology
- the study of the smallest contrastive units
- ASL the study of how signs are structured and organized.
- ASL signs have 5 basic parts (HOLME)
5 basic parameters
1) Handshape
2) Palm Orientation
3) Location
4) Movement
5) Expression (nonmanual signs)
Languages
rule-governed communication systems
Symmetry Condition
states that in a two-handed sign, if both hands move, then they will have the same handshape and type of movement. Ex. DRAMA, MAYBE
Dominance Condition
states that in a two-handed sign, if each hand has a different handshape,then only the active hand can move, the passive, or weak hand serves as a base and does not move. EX. MONEY, WORD