Module 2

Question 1

linguistic competence

Answer 1

the unconscious knowledge that a speaker has about her or 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 or 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 chain steps

Answer 5

1. Think about what you want to communicate
2. Pick out words to express the idea
3. Put these words together in certain order following rules
4. Figure out how to pronounce these words
5. Send those pronunciations to our vocal anatomy
6. Speak send the sounds through the air
7. Listener hears the sounds
8. Listener interrupts sounds as language
9. 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 others lexical expressions, including their form, meaning, morphological and synaptic meaning

Question 8

mental grammar

Answer 8

the mental representation of grammar; the knowledge that a speaker has about the linguistic units and rules of his native language

Question 9

language variation

Answer 9

any form of language characterized by systematic features; varieties can change from idiolects to dialects to distinct languages

Question 10

descriptive grammar

Answer 10

objective description of a speakers knowledge of a language based on the use of the language

Question 11

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

Answer 11

1. Archaeological evidence
2. Writing does not exist everywhere
3. Writing must be taught
4. Writing can be edited

Question 12

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

Answer 12

1. Neurolinguistics evidence
2. Writing must be taught
3. Writing is more physically stable

Question 13

prescriptive grammar

Answer 13

asset 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

perspective rules that tell you how to speak or write according to someone’s idea 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

means through which 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

Question 20

cultural transmission

Answer 20

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

Question 21

arbitrariness

Answer 21

in relation to the language refers to the fact that a words 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 a linguistic form and meaning

Question 23

convention

Answer 23

tells us that a certain group of sounds goes with a particular system

Question 24

nonarbitrariness

Answer 24

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

Question 25

iconic

Answer 25

the form represents the meaning directly

Question 26

onomatopoeia

Answer 26

iconic use of words that are imitative of sounds occurring in nature or have meaning s that are associated with such sounds

Question 27

conventionalized

Answer 27

something that is established, commonly agreed upon, or operating in a certain way according to common practice

Question 28

sound symbolism

Answer 28

phenomenon by which certain sounds are evocative of a particular meaning

Question 29

discreteness

Answer 29

the property of communication systems by which complex messages might be built up of smaller

Question 30

displacement

Answer 30

the property of some communication systems that allows them to be used to communicate about things, actions, and ideas that are not present at the place or time where the communication is taking place

Question 31

productivity

Answer 31

the capacity of a communication system for novel messages built out of discrete units to be produced and understood

Question 32

modality

Answer 32

a mode of communication

Question 33

myths about signed languages (list 4)

Answer 33

1. Signed languages derive from spoken language.
2. Signed languages don’t consist of words at all but rather involve signers using their hands to draw picture in the air.
3. That there is only one signed language.
4. Words in a signed language are completely iconic

Question 34

differences between codes and languages (list 4)

Answer 34

1. Code is the procedure and language is the structure.
2. The second set of symbols ends with an apostrophe instead of a quotation mark.
3. The second string parses into understandable human language (conveying an idea),
4. While the first string just conveys symbols.