vocab and terminology

Question 1

linguistic competence

Answer 1

Linguistic competence is the system of linguistic knowledge possessed by native speakers of a language. It is distinguished from linguistic performance, which is the way a language system is used in communication.

Question 2

linguistic performance

Answer 2

The term linguistic performance was used by Noam Chomsky in 1960 to describe “the actual use of language in concrete situations”. It is used to describe both the production, sometimes called parole, as well as the comprehension of language. An individual’s use of a language, what a speaker actually says, including hesitations, false starts, and errors.

Question 3

performance error

Answer 3

errors in language production or comprehension, including hesitations and slips of the tongue.

Question 4

speech communication chain steps

Answer 4

Intention →meaning, meaning →utterance, utterance→Articulatory plan, Articulatory plan →articulation, articulation →sound, sound →Auditory response, Auditory response → Word sequence, Word sequence → Meaning, Meaning → Understanding

Question 5

linguistic sign

Answer 5

linguistic signs are bilateral, every linguistic sign has two aspects which are inseparably connected: the sound sequence (signifier) on the level of expression, and the concept (signified) on the level of meaning.

Question 6

noise

Answer 6

an interference in the communication chain

Question 7

lexicon

Answer 7

A lexicon, word-hoard, wordbook, or word-stock is the vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language’s inventory of lexemes.

Question 8

mental grammar

Answer 8

Mental grammar is the generative grammar stored in the brain that allows a speaker to produce language that other speakers can understand.

Question 9

language variation

Answer 9

Between the speakers of any language there is variation in the way that they use their language. This variation is demonstrated by linguistic differences in terms of sound (phonetics) and structure (grammar). There might be only slight variations between forms of a language – such as minor pronunciations of words or a slight changes of grammatical structure that do not inhibit intergroup communication.The study of language variation guides language development activities. For example, when developing a writing system it is desireable for it to be useful and acceptable to the largest number of speakers of the language. Therefore, it is important to identify the most unifying features of the language.

Question 10

descriptive grammar

Answer 10

The term descriptive grammar refers to an objective, nonjudgmental description of the grammatical constructions in a language. It’s an examination of how a language is actually being used, in writing and in speech.

Question 11

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

Answer 11

(1) Age: Speech goes back to human beginnings, perhaps a million years ago. Writing is relatively recent, however; it was first invented by the Sumerians, in Mesopotamia, around 3200 B.C. Since then, the idea of writing has spread around the world and different writing systems have evolved in different parts of the world.
(2) Acquisition: People everywhere start speaking during the first two years of life; many of the abilities involved are probably inborn rather than learned. Learning to write typically builds on learning to speak.
(3) Universality: Humans everywhere can speak. But before the Sumerian invention, people were nonliterate. Even now there are many nonliterate groups (e.g. in New Guinea), and many nonliterate people in officially literate societies.
(4) Change: Spoken language, everywhere and always, undergoes continual change of which speakers may be relatively unaware. Written language, because of its permanence and standardization, shows slower and less sweeping changes; the spelling of English has changed much less than its pronunciation since Chaucer’s time. This in turn is linked to the factors of formality and prestige.

Question 12

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

Answer 12

(1) Language can be spoken by all people naturally from a young age. And, also if this language is not one which is of a mother tongue then it can still be learnt from the presence of other people speaking this
foreign language.
(2)It is a pivotal form of communication in all walks of life. Words are everything. Words give the world and life and everything in it meaning. And because people must effectively and efficiently convey meaningful information to each other, strong communication is what keeps most of the world moving in the same general direction.
(3) It utilizes one’s intelligence, education, and critical-thinking skills. To be employable, people must have two things, generally: experience and an array of practical skills. Writing just so happens to be a much-needed and highly valued skill in the working world – especially in the corporate field and private sectors – not just because most jobs require people to do it daily and weekly.

Question 13

prescriptive grammar

Answer 13

prescriptive grammar is a set of rules about language based on how people think language should be used. In a prescriptive grammar there is right and wrong language.

Question 14

prescribe

Answer 14

the attempt to lay down the rules defining preferred or “correct” use of language. These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics

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

refers to the fact that word’s meaning is not predictable from its linguistic form, nor is its form dictated by its meaning

Question 22

convention

Answer 22

is a principle or norm that has been adopted by a person or linguistic community about how to use, and therefore what the meaning is of, a specific term.

Question 23

nonarbitrariness

Answer 23

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

Question 24

iconic

Answer 24

describes a relationship between form and meaning such that the form of a word bears a resemblance to its meaning

Question 25

conventionalized

Answer 25

the adjective to describe a convention in society

Question 26

sound symbolism

Answer 26

phenomenon by which certain sounds are evocative of a certain meaning ([i] implies smallness at times)

Question 27

discreteness

Answer 27

the property of communication systems by which complex messages may be built up out of smaller parts

Question 28

productivity

Answer 28

the capacity of a communication system (unique to human language) for novel messages built out of discrete units to be produced and understood

Question 29

modality

Answer 29

modality is a feature of language that allows for communicating things about, or based on, situations which need not be actual.

Question 30

myths about signed languages (list 4)

Answer 30

1. Sign language is universal
2. Sign language only uses your hands
3. Sign languages are easy to learn
4. Sign language was invented by “hearing” people

Question 31

differences between codes and languages (list 4)

Answer 31

1. A ‘code’ is a linguistic system used for communication. Languages and dialects are codes. Linguists tend to define a language as the standardized code used in spoken and written form, whereas dialects are spoken vernacular codes without a standardized written system.
2. When a dialect(code) becomes a national language, it then becomes codified into that nation’s literary tradition and acts as an identifier or national identity.
3. linguistic codes are essentially beautifully complex dialects, some of which have been better polished and chosen to occupy a particular role and thus becomes standardized and recognized as a language.

Question 32

differences between codes and languages (list 4)

Answer 32

1. A ‘code’ is a linguistic system used for communication. Languages and dialects are codes. Linguists tend to define a language as the standardized code used in spoken and written form, whereas dialects are spoken vernacular codes without a standardized written system.
2. When a dialect(code) becomes a national language, it then becomes codified into that nation’s literary tradition and acts as an identifier or national identity.
3. linguistic codes are essentially beautifully complex dialects, some of which have been better polished and chosen to occupy a particular role and thus becomes standardized and recognized as a language.
4. Language focuses on the signs, symbols and words. Codes may sometimes lay on the emphasis of the message

Question 33

linguistic sign

Answer 33

A linguistic sign is an abstract structure whose instances participate in a linguistic system, or language.

Question 34

displacement

Answer 34

In linguistics, displacement is the capability of language to communicate about things that are not immediately present; i.e., things that are either not here or are not here now.