Module 1 Chapter 1 Vocab Terms

Question 1

linguistic competence

Answer 1

What we know when we know a language; the unconscious knowledge that a speaker has about his native language

Question 2

linguistic performance

Answer 2

The observable use of language. The actualization of one’s linguistic competence

Question 3

performance error

Answer 3

Errors in language production of comprehension, including hesitations and slips of the tongue

Question 4

speech communication chain

Answer 4

The process through which information is communicated, consisting of an information source, transmitter, signal, receiver and destination

Question 5

speech communication steps

Answer 5

1-think of what you want to communicate
2-pick out word to express idea
3-put these words together in certain order following rules
4-figure out how to pronounce these words
5-send those pronunciations to your vocal anatomy
6-speak-send the sounds through the air
7-perceive-listener hears the sounds
8-decode-listener interprets sound as language
9-connect-listener receives communicated idea

Question 6

noise

Answer 6

interference in the communication chain

Question 7

lexicon

Answer 7

a mental repository of linguistic information about words and other lexical expressions, including their form, meaning, morphological, and syntactic properties. As a part of a descriptive, not mental, grammar, the lexicon is the representation of the mental lexicon, consisting of lexical entries that capture the relevant properties of lexical expressions(personal dictionary)

Question 8

mental grammar

Answer 8

The mental representation of grammar. The knowledge that the speaker has bout the linguistic units and rules of his native language.

Question 9

language variation

Answer 9

The property of languages having different ways to express the same meanings in different contexts according to factors such as geography, social class, gender.

Question 10

descriptive grammar

Answer 10

Objective description of speaker’s knowledge of a language (competence) based on their use of the language (performance)

Question 11

evidence that writing and language are not the same

Answer 11

1-archeological evidence-writing 1st used 6,000 years ago-spoken language used for hundreds of thousands of years
2-writing does not exist everywhere-56% of languages are unwritten
3-writing must me taught
4-neurolinguistic evidence-writing uses additional areas of the brain compared to speech
5-writing can be edited

Question 12

reasons some people believe writing to be superior to speech

Answer 12

1-writing can be edited
2-writing must be taught
3-writing is more physically stable

Question 13

prescriptive grammar

Answer 13

A set of rules designed to give instructions regarding the socially embedded notion of the correct or proper way to speak or write

Question 14

prescribe

Answer 14

the act of prescriptive grammar telling you what is good or bad. Trying to mold your language to a norm.

Question 15

Charles Hockett’s nine design features necessary for a communication system to be considered a language

Answer 15

1-mode of communication
2-semanticity
3-pragmatic function
4-interchangeablitiy
5-cultural transmission
6-arbitrariness
7-discreteness
8-displacement
9-productivity

Question 16

mode of communication

Answer 16

Means through with a message is transmitted for any given communication system

Question 17

semanticity

Answer 17

Property of having signals that convey a meaning, shared by all communication systems

Question 18

pragmatic function

Answer 18

The useful purpose of any given communication system

Question 19

interchangeability

Answer 19

The property of a communication system by which all individuals have the ability to both transmit and review messages (opposed to systems where some can only send messages and others only receive)

Question 20

cultural transmission

Answer 20

The property of a communication system referring to the fact that at least some aspects of it are learned through interaction with other users of that system

Question 21

arbitrariness

Answer 21

refers to the fact that a word’s meaning is not predictable from its linguistic form, nor is its form dictated by its meaning

Question 22

linguistic sign

Answer 22

The combination of linguistic form and meaning

Question 23

convention

Answer 23

something established, commonly agreed upon, or operating in a certain way according to common practice-certain groups of sounds goes with a particular meaning

Question 24

nonarditrariness

Answer 24

direct correspondence between the physical properties of a form and the meaning that form refers to

Question 25

iconic

Answer 25

relationship between form and meaning such that the form of a word bears a resemblance to its meaning

Question 26

onomatopoeia

Answer 26

Iconic use of words that are imitative of sounds occurring in nature or that have meanings that are associated with such sounds

Question 27

conventionalized

Answer 27

when something has been established, commonly agreed upon, or operating in a certain way according to common practice. EX-English speakers conventionalized the sound that roosters make as kakaduddu

Question 28

sound symbolism

Answer 28

Phenomenon by which certain sounds are evocative of particular meaning EX- e sound synonymous with meaning little

Question 29

discreteness

Answer 29

The property of communication systems by which complex messages may be built up out of smaller parts

Question 30

displacement

Answer 30

The property of communication systems what allows them to be used to communicate about things, actions, an ideas that are not present at the place or time where communication is taking place. Unique to human language

Question 31

productivity

Answer 31

The capacity of a communication system for novel messages built out of discrete units to be produced and understood-unique to human language

Question 32

modality

Answer 32

.s a mode of communication-tells us how a language is produced and how it is perceived

Question 33

myths about signed languages

Answer 33

1-that signed languages derive from spoken language- they are actually languages in their own right
2-that signed languages are manual codes-not true
3-that there is only one signed language used by deaf speakers all over the world-not true. There are more than 150 documented sign languages.
4-all deaf people or people with hearing loss choose to communicate with a signed language-not true

Question 34

differences between codes and languages

Answer 34

1-codes are artificially constructed systems representing naturals languages (languages are not)
2-codes have not structure-a codes borrows its structure from the natural language that it represents (language has structure)
3-codes never have native speakers because they are artificial systems (languages have native speakers)
4-codes have increased rate of transmission when compared to languages
5-codes are based on languages rather than being languages themselves