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