Module 2: Language & Communication Flashcards
What is phonology?
Phonology is the rules governing how words should sound
What are phonemes?
They are the most basic units of sound in a language
What is a lexicon (vocabulary)?
They are words
What is syntax grammar?
rules governing word forms & how words should be strung together to form utterances
What are semantics?
They are the meaning of words
What are morphemes?
They are the smallest & most basic units of meaning in a language
What are pragmatics?
They are rules governing how language is used & understood in given social context
What is “Willy-nilly” talk?
“Willy-nilly” talk is reduplication
What is reduplication?
- “flim-flam” (both words have no meaning) (jibber jabber)
- “fiddle-faddle”, “money-schmoney” (one of the words has meaning)
- “flip-flop” (both words have meaning)
- Tuvan (Siberia)
- halyr (to run); halyr-halyr (to run repeatedly)
- kyzyl (red); kyzyl-kyzyl (intensely red)
- Rotokas (New Guinea)
- kopi (a dot); kopikopi (spotted)
- kavau (to bear a child); kavakavau (to bear many children)
- Man-talk, woman talk
How do number systems differ across cultures?
- Languages with no or few numbers
- Piraha & Munduruku people (in Amazonia) - no numbers & no counting
- Limit their ability to exact quantities when set sizes exceed 2 or 3 items
- Not rely on counting, but estimating
- Yanoama (in Amazonia) - lack words for any numbers higher than 3
- Can detect small differences among quantities
- “number sense” without being able to count above three
- Distinction between counting & the number sense
- Piraha & Munduruku people (in Amazonia) - no numbers & no counting
How do base units/ building block for number combinations differ across cultures?
- No language with large inventory of numbers assign a unique, simple name to every one of them (e.g. in English: “blark” means 487 and “frep” means 488)
- The world is now dominated by base 10 systems
What are the cognitive benefits of having a transparent counting system?
- East Asian languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Korean)
- E.g. Japanese – numbers based on words for 1 through 10 (e.g. 11 = ten-one “ju-ichi”; 20 = two-ten “ni-ju”)
- Welsh - E.g. “12” = un deg dau (one ten two)
- Cognitive benefit of transparent counting system with obvious mathematical operations
- High math achievement in East Asian countries e.g. Chinese children grasp the idea of a base & how to break larger numbers (e.g. 14) down into smaller ones (e.g. 10 plus something) more readily
- Welsh children able to grasp how numbers are built of bases more quickly than do their monolingual English peers
How does honorific speech used in Japan reflect its culture (semantics)?
- Self-other referents - what we call ourselves & others
- English: “I”, “we” vs. “you”
- Japanese: what you call yourself & others dependent on relationship between you & the other person (“honorific speech”)
- Examples:
- Teachers use the word “teacher” (sensei) to refer to themselves while talking to students
- Several pronoun equivalents of “I” (watashi, watakushi, boku)
- Importance of status and group orientation
What are the pragmatic rules in collectivistic cultures?
- Some drop personal pronouns in conversation
- Greater social penetration (e.g. personalization, disclosure) when communicating with in-group members (e.g. coworkers)
What are the pragmatic rules of American and Japanese apologies?
- Americans prefer
- Indirect, less extreme forms
- Explanation
- Japanese prefer
- Direct, more extreme forms
- Compensation
What is linguistic relativism/determinism?
- A nonjudgemental approach to language that focuses on how it is actually spoken and written – it contrasts with linguistic prescriptivism; examples of claims of linguistic descriptivism
- “All languages are equally complex”
- “All languages are capable of expressing any idea”
- “A language which appears simple in some respects is likely to be more complex in others”
- Problematic claims, with politically-correct & noble sentiment (to avoid “ethnocentrism”), b/c hard to test empirically
What is The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (Linguistic Relativism/Determinism)?
- Speakers of different languages think differently b/c of differences in languages
- People who speak more than 1 language have different thought patterns
In Support of Sapir-Whorf:
People who speak languages that do not distinguish between blue & green – do not see differences between the 2 colours
In Support of Sapir-Whorf:
“Right” and “left” experiment:
People whose language don’t have the words “left” and “right” (egocentric coordinates) (e.g. Guugu Yimithirr) rely on cardinal coordinates in answering this question, hence they choose “a” instead of “b.”
Egocentric coordinates = right, left
Geographic (cardinal) coordinates = north, south, east, west
eg. Guugu Yimithirr - one of the Australian Aboriginal languages
In Support of Sapir-Whorf:
- Future tense & Mandarin speakers
- Mandarin has a weak future tense and verbs aren’t changed to indicate past, present, or future – therefore, the future is the present, and Mandarin speakers are more future-oriented (i.e. greater likelihood to spend less and save more)
- English has an extremely strong future tense and speakers can make a distinct difference between something they are doing now and something they plan to do
Challenging of Sapir-Whorf:
- Deaf children while lacking(spoken) language
- Abstract thinking in isolated adults growing up without language (e.g. feral children or children growing up in severe neglect)
- Pre-lingual babies do very simple forms of arithmetic
- Certain intelligent animals (e.g. elephants, dolphins, ravens) exhibit complex problem-solving (e.g. elephants & dolphins recognize themselves in a mirror, ravens can solve a novel, multistep problem in one trial)
How does bilingualism affect culture?
- Because language is a symbol system of a culture, bilinguals have:
- 2 mental representations of culture →
- 2 personalities depending on language used
- 2 ways to express/judge emotions
- 2 mental representations of culture →
How does bilingualism affect culture?
- Immigrant bilinguals
- When interacting in 1st language, will behave in ways typical of ancestor culture
- When interacting in 2nd language, will behave in ways typical of “hosting” culture
- Code-frame switching – bilinguals switch between one cultural meaning system & another when switching languages
How does culture influence non-verbal communication?
- Definition: Way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words
- Uses
- Express emotions
- Convey attitude
- Communicate personality trait
- Facilitate verbal communication
What are proxemics?
It is how people use & perceive physical space around them:
- Intimate space – embracing, touching whispering
- Personal space – among good friends
- Social space – among acquaintances
- Public space – public speaking
What are chronemics?
The use of time
- Speed of speech
- How long people are willing to listen
- Punctuality
- Movement & Body Positions
What are kinesics?
- Body movements, facial expressions, gestures
What are haptics?
- Touching
- Interpersonal:
- Professional / functional – handshakes
- Social / polite – pat on the shoulder, high fives, kissing (hand)
- Love / warmth – kissing (cheek), high fives, back slapping, holding hands
- Sexual / intimacy – kissing (cheek), holding hands, brushing an arm
- Licking / arousal – kissing (lips)
What are the five types of gestures?
- Emblems – with direct verbal translations (e.g. goodbye wave, OK sign)
- Illustrators (ionic gestures) – depict what is said verbally (e.g. turning an imaginary steering wheel to indicate driving)
- Affect display – conveys emotions (e.g. tightening fist, cover eyes)
- Regulators – control interaction
- Adaptor – facilitates release of bodily tension (e.g. quickly moving one’s legs)
What are display rules?
They are culturally determined rules about which nonverbal behaviours are appropriate to display
- Culture & Gestures
- Cultural differences in emblematic gestures
Contact cultures vs. noncontact cultures
Contact cultures (e.g. Arabic) – during interactions: - Facilitate touch - More direct orientations - Longer gaze Non-contact cultures
