Linguistics Review Flashcards
Historical linguistics
The study of how languages change over time and the relationship among different languages
Synchronic linguistics
The study of a language at a given point in time
Diachronic linguistics
Another name for historical linguistics
Language family
A group of languages derived from the same ancestral language
Proto-language
An ancestral language from which it is assumed that many languages were derived
Relatedness hypothesis
The hypothesis that languages are derived from a mother language
Regularity hypothesis
The idea that numerous similarities in languages indicate that the languages derive from a mother language
Cognates
Similar words in two or more different languages that were derived from a similar root language and may have similar meanings
Comparative method
A procedure that involves looking at similarities in languages to determine the degree of relationship between those languages and to reconstruct ancestral (proto-) languages
Wave model (Schmidt)
A model of language relatedness which attempts to deal with some of the weakness of the family tree model. (Think of a meme)
Diffusion
The process whereby a cultural item moves from one geographic area to another
Phonology
The study of the sound system of a language (what sounds and the rules that guide them)
Morphology
The study of the structure and classification of words and the units that make up words
Syntax
The set of rules a person uses to form units of language larger than words and the study of those rules
Semantics
The study of the meaning of linguistics expressions, such as morphemes, words, phases, clauses, and sentences
Unconditioned sound changes
A sound change that appears to have happened spontaneously and everywhere (with few exceptions) in the language
Conditioned sound change
A type of sound change that takes place only in certain phonological environments
Analogy
A process by which one form of a word (or other linguistic phenomenon) is used as the model for constructing another word or structure
Lexicostatistics
A technique of developing hypotheses about the historical relationship between languages and dialects
Glottochronology
The study of the amount of time that sister languages have been separated from their mother language
Grimm’s law
A principle proposed by Jakob Grimm which described a systematic phonological change from certain Proto-Indo-European consonants to different consonants in daughter languages
Great vowel shift
An unconditioned sound change that altered all Middle English long vowels
Innateness hypothesis
The hypothesis proposes that children have the innate capacity to differentiate phonemes, extract words from the stream of language, and process grammar
Language acquisition device
The theoretical area of hardwiring in the brains of children that propels them to acquire language
Universal grammar (UG)
The system involving phonemic differences, word order, and phrase recognition that is that basic for the theory of the innateness of language acquisition
Critical period hypothesis
This hypothesis proposes that the language acquisition device ceases to function, and the ability to acquire language with native fluency declines as childhood progresses, disappearing after the age of puberty
Imitation hypothesis
The hypothesis proposes that children acquire language by imitating the people around them
Reinforcement hypothesis
The hypothesis postulates that children acquire language by positive reinforcement when they produce a grammatical utterance and by being corrected when they don’t
Interactionist hypothesis
The hypothesis postulates that children acquire language by their innate language abilities to extract the rules of the language from their environment and construct the phonology, semantics, and syntax of their native language
Babbling stage
The verbalization made by babies beginning at four to six months of age, which alternate consonants and vowels
Holophrastic stage
The stage of language acquisition in which the child uses one-word utterances to express an entire sentence
Telegraphic speech
Occurs as children begin adding more words to their two-word sentences
Unitary system hypothesis
A hypothesis proposes that infants, exposed to two or more languages, begin by constructing one lexicon and one set of semantic rules to encompass both languages
Separate system hypothesis
Proposes that infants, exposed to two or more languages, differentiate the languages from the very beginning, constructing different phonological systems, lexicons, and semantic systems
Productive vocabulary
Consists of the words that a person is able to use
Receptive vocabulary
The words that a person is able to understand
