Week 1

Question 1

What is clinical linguistics

Answer 1

• The application of linguistic concepts and theories about how language is organized
  
  • It is concerned with language in general rather than specific languages
    Speech pathologists apply clinical linguistics to the study of language disorders

Question 2

What is sociolinguistics

Answer 2

• The study of the social aspects of language
  
  • It is interested in the way language serves and is shaped by the social nature of humans
    This included the effect of social norms, social expectations and societal structures on language

Question 3

What is literacy

Answer 3

• Is what we commonly refer to as the ability to read and write
  
  • Written language is built upon oral language, allowing humans to store and communicate language in written form
    It is considered by many as one of our species most remarkable technical achievements

Question 4

Where does language come from

Answer 4

• Modern, enlightenment accounts of the origin of language based on scientific investigation and observation
  
  • However, we lack evidence of the earliest use of language as written language emerged much later than spoken language
  • The earliest of evidence of written language dates to approx. 5500 years ago, spoken language is believed to have emerged between 35000 to 15000 years ago
  • Only recently it’s been okay to question the notion of language (before it came from god and we were not able to question it)
  • Very transient, hard to find the precise origin
  • Invention of writing is the best evidence of early language, but is fairly recent compared to spoken language

Question 5

Animal communication

Answer 5

• For most species of the animal kingdom, communication occurs in response to a stimuli; in other words it lacks displacement and abstraction
  
  • Animal communication therefore doesn’t involve tense but based on the here and now
  • Animal (non-human) communication is comparatively limited in what it can communicate about
  • This puts into perspective the remarkableness of human language
  • Communication from animals is holistic rather than individual components
  • Largely involuntary and is in response to a stimuli
  • Suggest animal communication lacks displacement and can only communicate in the here and now rather in past/future

Question 6

Our closes ancestors

Answer 6

It is believed that humans and chimpanzees diverged from a common ancestor approx. 5 million years ago
- Communication of chimpanzees typical of other animal species: Fixed, small number of signals, more so than other animals
- Scientific experiments have attempted to teach chimpanzees human language to varying degrees of success
- The human vocal apparatus as central to the origins of human language
Researchers have found that chimpanzees and bonobos involved in research have been able to use sign and computer language to respond and create novel phrases

Question 7

What could Chimpanzees do

Answer 7

• Chimpanzees were taught spoken language: Unsuccessful due to their lack of vocal apparatus to produce speech sounds in human language (flat tongues in flat mouth), even if they knew the meaning and wanted to
  
  • Chimpanzees could respond to word requests by doing or seeking something but it was through actions rather than spoken response
  • Suggests the human apparatus is critical evolutionary difference between humans and animals (central to the evolution of language)
    However, they do not learn fast and have a higher error rate

Question 8

The evolution of the vocal apparatus

Answer 8

• As humans developed the ability to walk upright, our vocal apparatus evolved to a more upright position also
  
  • Human vocal apparatus is characterized by its L shaped oral cavity and inferior position of larynx
  • The vocal apparatus of newborns resemble primate ancestors. As infants develop the larynx moves to a lower position in vocal tract
    This vocal structures of newborns serves as a safety mechanism to prevent choking

Question 9

What did evolution do to vocal structures

Answer 9

• The result of the evolution of the human vocal structures has allowed us to produce a wide range of speech sounds not possible for other primates
  
  • Later research used sign language (American) for chimpanzees, showed chimps learnt 100 signs and can combine them (e.g. open, food, drink) and came up with her own combination to signal things
  • One chimp was taught symbols on a computer
  • Baby chimp learnt signs despite being directly learnt (was teaching her mother instead) and learnt over 200 words and speech sounds

Question 10

The human brain and language

Answer 10

• As humans developed the ability to walk upright, out vocal apparatus evolved to a more upright position. This coincided with the increase in the size of the human brain
  
  • As our cognitive capabilities increased, this facilitated the capacity for language
    Our brain is bigger and enhances cognitive abilities

Question 11

What might be the evolutionary advantage of language

Answer 11

• Communication over distance and in darkness
  
  • Hands-free communication, allowing for use of tools
  • Those with better vocalization ability would have had a sectional advantage

Question 12

From speech sounds to sentences: Genetics of language

Answer 12

• The complexity and universality of human grammar systems suggests that human language is fundamentally different to animal communication, rather than an extension of the same form
  
  • Genetic evidence of language: FOX-P2 gene associated with language difficulties. This suggests there is genetic basis to language
  • FOX-P2 gene evolved into its modern form approximately 120,000 to 200,000 years ago- a time which fits with our estimations on the origin of language
  • FOX - P2 : allows language to develop
    Emergence of human language is tied to our genes

Question 13

Clues from child language development

Answer 13

• Child language development also provides us clues into the development of language or how language likely developed
  Early human language

Question 14

First words

Answer 14

• Limited syllables, consonant-vowel syllable structures (ba, mi, ni, di, no, bi)
  Single words likely denoted and nouns e.g. sun, water, trap, dig, sleep, eat

Question 15

First sentences

Answer 15

• 2 word combinations e.g. kill snake, water, cold
  
  • Addition of prepositions, location words e.g. in, on
  • Word order e.g. grammar becomes important
  • Combining phrases
    Affixes to indicate tense or plural