Week 2 Vocab

Question 1

Linguistic Competence

Answer 1

The term linguistic competence refers to the unconscious knowledge of grammar that allows a speaker to use and understand a language.

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

Question 3

Performance Error

Answer 3

Errors we make because we’re tired, or distracted, or forget and say the wrong cranberry. Which is to say, we understand what we’re supposed to do, unlike the child, and we just … screw up.

Question 4

Speech Communication Chain

Answer 4

The stages in speech communication whereby a message moves between the mind of the speaker and the mind of the listener.

Question 5

Speech Communication Chain Steps

Answer 5

• Encoding of pronunciation elements of the message as articulations (articulatory planning & execution)
• Aeroacoustic processes that generate sound from articulation (speech acoustics)
• Transmission of sound (acoustics)
• Audition of sound (hearing)
• Interpretation of auditory sensations in terms of pronunciation elements (speech perception)

Question 6

Noise

Answer 6

The variation among users of language. This can take place through shifts in spelling, grammar, or other aspects of language. Essentially, this is grammatical language that the hearer cannot understand—this can even happen with people who speak the same language.

Question 7

Lexicon

Answer 7

The vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge.

Question 8

Mental Grammar

Answer 8

Linguistics focus specifically on the mental grammar: the system that all speakers of a language have in their minds, which allows them to understand each other. The mental grammar of every language includes phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.

Question 9

Language Variation

Answer 9

Refers to regional, social, or contextual differences in the ways that a particular language is used.

Question 10

Descriptive Grammar

Answer 10

This is how native English speakers actually talk and write, and it has no concrete idea of the way it should be structured (Tamasi & Antieau, 2015, p.28). It is not saying how it should be used; however, it focuses on describing the English language as it is used. It is also not saying that there is a right or wrong way to use language.

Question 11

Writing vs Language

Answer 11

-Writing is more permanent and less easily changed.
-Except in the case of formal speeches, spoken language is more impromptu. Because of that, it often includes repetitions, interruptions, and incomplete sentences.
-Written and spoken communication use different types of language. Slang and tags, for example, are more often used when speaking.
-Spoken language involves speaking and listening skills, while written language requires writing and reading skills.

Question 12

Reasons for Writing to be Superior to Speech

Answer 12

-According to Popper’s (1972) theory regarding theories of knowledge, theories should be written rather than orally discussed, because they can be more easily examined and debated as a result.
-Writing is permanent in that information recorded on paper is available at any time and everywhere.
-A full understanding can be achieved more easily than with spoken language, in which the hearer has a single chance to understand what the speaker has uttered

Question 13

Prescriptive Grammar

Answer 13

The traditional approach of grammar that tells people how to use the English language, what forms they should utilize, and what functions they should serve.

Question 14

Prescribe

Answer 14

To lay down, in writing or otherwise, as a rule or a course of action to be followed; appoint, ordain, or enjoin.

Question 15

Charles Hockett’s Nine Design Features

Answer 15

-Vocal-auditory Channel
-Broadcast Transmission; directional reception
-Rapid fading
-Interchangeability
-Total feedback
-Specialization
-Semanticity
-Arbitrariness
-Discreteness
-Duality of Patterning

Question 16

Mode of Communication

Answer 16

The means of communicating

Question 17

Semanticity

Answer 17

Symbols used (phonemes, morphemes) have particular meanings.

Question 18

Pragmatic Function

Answer 18

The way in which children use language within social situations.

Question 19

Interchangeability

Answer 19

The quality of being capable of exchange or interchange.

Question 20

Cultural Transmission

Answer 20

The process through which cultural elements, in the form of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavioral scripts, are passed onto and taught to individuals and groups.

Question 21

Arbitrariness

Answer 21

The quality of being based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.

Question 22

Linguistic Sign

Answer 22

Anything that communicates a meaning that is not the sign itself to the interpreter of the sign.

Question 23

Convention

Answer 23

A way in which something is usually done, especially within a particular area or activity.

Question 24

Non-arbitrariness

Answer 24

The quality of not being arbitrary.

Question 25

Iconic

Answer 25

Relating to or of the nature of an icon; regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration.

Question 26

Onomatopoeia

Answer 26

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

Question 27

Conventionalized

Answer 27

Represent in a traditional or conventional way.

Question 28

Sound Symbolism

Answer 28

The partial representation of the sense of a word by its sound, as in bang, fizz, and slide.

Question 29

Discreteness

Answer 29

The state or quality of being discrete, separated or distinct.

Question 30

Displacement

Answer 30

The moving of something from its place or position.

Question 31

Productivity

Answer 31

The degree to which speakers of a language use a particular grammatical process, especially in word formation.

Question 32

Modality

Answer 32

A category of linguistic meaning having to do with the expression of possibility and necessity

Question 33

Myths about signed languages

Answer 33

• If you don’t speak sign language, you can communicate just as effectively by writing notes.
• People who speak sign language can also read lips.
• There’s only a few types of sign language, and they’re all similar.
• When interpreting, it’s important to speak to the interpreter first.

Question 34

Differences between codes and languages

Answer 34

• Code is a finite set of rules for getting specific outputs from specific inputs.
• Vagueness and indeterminacy cannot be coded.
• Code cannot exist without language.
• Though language is sometimes a rule-based activity, it is not defined by rules — it defines rules and pretty much everything else.