Module 1, Week 2 Vocabulary

Question 1

linguistic competence

Answer 1

Hidden knowledge of language

Question 2

linguistic performance

Answer 2

The way one produces and comprehends language

Question 3

performance error

Answer 3

Being unable to remember a word, mispronouncing a word, or jumbling words in a sentence.

Question 4

speech communication chain

Answer 4

A way to communicate an idea from your mind to the mind of someone else.

Question 5

speech communication chain steps

Answer 5

1. Think of what is to be communicated
2. Pick out words to express the idea
3. Put these words together in a certain order following rules.
4. Figure out how to pronounce these words.
5. Send those pronunciations to your vocal anatomy.
6. Speak - Send those sounds through the air.
7. Perceive - Listener hears the sounds
8. Decode - Listener interprets sounds as language
9. Connect - Listener receives communicated idea.

Question 6

noise

Answer 6

Interference in the chain

Question 7

lexicon

Answer 7

The collection of all words known.

Question 8

mental grammar

Answer 8

The collection of all rules one knows in their head.

Question 9

language variation

Answer 9

Occurs among speakers of different languages and dialect groups and even speakers of the same dialect. No two speakers have the same mental grammar.

Question 10

descriptive grammar

Answer 10

A collection of generalizations

Question 11

evidence that writing and language are not the same (list 4 reasons)

Answer 11

1. Writing must be taught: Spoken language is acquired naturally while writing systems must be taught.
2. Writing can be edited: Speech is usually more spontaneous.
3. Writing does not exist everywhere that spoken language does. Many communities do not use written forms of language.
4. Neurolinguistic evidence demonstrates the processing and production of written language is overlaid on the spoken language centers of the brain.

Question 12

reasons some people believe writing to be superior to speech (list 3 reasons)

Answer 12

1. Writing can be edited and product of writing is more aptly worded and organized.
2. Writing must be taught and is more intimately associated with education and educated speech.
3. Writing is more physically stable than spoken language.

Question 13

prescriptive grammar

Answer 13

A set of rules about how language is based on how people think language should be used.

Question 14

prescribe

Answer 14

How to speak or write according to someone’s ideas of what is good or bad.

Question 15

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

Answer 15

1 . mode of communication

2. semanticity
3. pragmatic function
4. interchangeability
5. cultural transmission
6. arbitrariness
7. discreteness
8. displacement
9. productivity

Question 16

mode of communication

Answer 16

The means in which messages are transmitted and received.

Question 17

semanticity

Answer 17

Properly requiring that all signals in a communication system have a meaning or function.

Question 18

pragmatic function

Answer 18

Communication system must serve some useful purpose.

Question 19

interchangeability

Answer 19

Refers to the ability of individuals to both transmit and receive messages.

Question 20

cultural transmission

Answer 20

Aspects of languages that is acquired through communicative interaction with other users of the system.

Question 21

arbitrariness

Answer 21

Words of a language represent a connection between a group of sounds or signs which give the word its form and meaning.

Question 22

linguistic sign

Answer 22

Form and meaning

Question 23

convention

Answer 23

A certain group of sounds goes with a particular meaning.

Question 24

nonarbitrariness

Answer 24

The opposite of arbitrariness; there are some non arbitrary aspects of language

Question 25

iconic

Answer 25

“picture-like”

Question 26

onomatopoeia

Answer 26

Words that are imitative of natural sounds or have meanings that are associated with sounds of nature.

Question 27

conventionalized

Answer 27

Different languages can have different onomatopoetic words for the same sounds.

Question 28

sound symbolism

Answer 28

Certain sounds occur in words not by virtue of being directly imitative of some sound but rather simply being evocative of a particular meaning.

Question 29

discreteness

Answer 29

The property of language that allows us to combine together discrete units in order to create larger communicative units.

Question 30

displacement

Answer 30

Ability of a language to communicate about things, actions, and ideas that are not present in time or space while speakers are communicating.

Question 31

productivity

Answer 31

Refers to a language’s capacity of novel messages to be built up out of discrete units.

Question 32

modality

Answer 32

Mode of communication

Question 33

myths about signed languages (list 4)

Answer 33

1. Signed language vs manual code - Sign language is derived from spoken language, rather being languages in their own right.
2. Signed language vs pantomime - Sign language does not have any internal structure.
3. Signed language vs pantomime - Words in sign language are completely iconic.
4. Universality of Sign languages - There is only one sign language that is used by deaf speakers all over the world.

Question 34

differences between codes and languages (list 4)

Answer 34

1. Code is an artificially constructed system representing a natural language with no structure of its own.
2. Sign language are learned natively by both hearing and deaf people
3. Sign language evolve naturally and independently of spoken language.
4. Code is based on natural language rather than being a language themselves.