Module 2 Flashcards
linguistic competence
the part of our knowledge of language that is hidden.
linguistic performance
the way people produce and comprehend language
performance error
being unable to remember a word, mispronouncing something, or jumbling words in a sentence. error in speaking.
speech communication chain
the numerous steps that must be carried out in order to communicate an idea from one person to another.
speech communication chain steps
information source (transmitter) -> signal -> receiver -> destination.
noise
interference in the chain that prevents the success of communication
lexicon
collection of all the words an individual knows
mental grammar
rules we know about our language
language variation
mental grammars vary among different speakers. no two people will form the same two sentences
descriptive grammar
contains rules that someone has deduced based on observing speakers linguistic performances
evidence that writing and language are not the same
- writing must be taught
- writing can be edited
- neurolinguistic evidence
- archeological evidence
reasons some people believe writing to be superior to speech
- writing can be edited therefore “perfected”
- writing must be taught
- writing is more physically stable (can be saved for long periods of time)
prescriptive grammar
socially embedded notion of the “correct” or “proper” ways to use language
prescribe
rules that tell you how to speak or write. something that is given to you like a prescription from a doctor you are told to take it
Charles Hockett’s nine design features (necessary for a communication system to be considered a language)
- mode of communication
- semanticity
- pragmatic function
- interchangeability
- cultural transmission
- arbitrariness
- discreteness
- displacement
- productivity
mode of communication
means by which messages are transmitted
semanticity
property requiring that all signals in a communication system have a meaning or function
pragmatic function
communication must serve some useful purpose
interchangeability
ability of individuals to both transmit & receive messages
cultural transmission
there are aspects of language that can only be acquired through communication interaction with other users of the system
arbitrariness
connection between form and meaning
linguistic sign
combination between word and meaning
convention
a certain group of sounds goes with a particular meaning
nonarbitrariness
form represents meaning directly
iconic
picture like
onomatopoeia
words that are imitative of natural sounds or have meanings that are associated with such sounds of nature (ex. Splat)
conventionalized
form is not an exact copy but sounds similar to the natural noise
sound symbolism
certain sounds occur in words not by virtue of being directly imitative of some sounds but by being evocative of a particular meaning
discreteness
the property of a language that allows us to combine together discrete units in order to create larger communicative units
displacement
ability of a language to communicate about things, actions, and ideas that aren’t present in space or time while speakers are communicating. (talking about the color red while not looking at it)
productivity
languages capacity for novel messages to be built up out of discrete units (has to have recombinable units)
modality
mode of communication which every language must have
myths about signed languages
- signed language is not derived from spoken languages
- sign languages are manual codes
- there is only one sign language that is used all over the world
- sign language doesn’t have an internal structure
differences between codes and languages
- a code is an artificially constructed system for representing a natural language it borrows it’s structure from the natural language it represents
- signed languages evolve naturally and independently of spoken languages
- codes are structurally distinct from each other and from spoken languages
- codes never have native speakers
