WEEK 5

Question 1

What are three main characteristics of intelligence?

Answer 1

1. Abstract thinking or reasoning abilities
2. Problem-solving abilities
3. The capacity to acquire knowledge

Question 2

Name some details about the development of language

Answer 2

-Within the first few months after they are born, babies can tell the difference between the sounds of their native language and those of other languages.

-Then comes the one-word stage, around 18 months of age, when children’s vocabularies expand dramatically.

-By age two they may learn several new words each day ———They also start using two-word combinations to form efficient little sentences called telegraphic speech

-By age five, children have acquired most of the grammatical rules of their native language

-Children develop language with impressive speed. The average 6-year-old already has a vocabulary of about 13 000 words

Question 3

Phonemes…

Answer 3

the smallest units of sound within speech

e.g. The word ‘cat’ has three phonemes: /c/ /a/ /t/.

Question 4

Morphemes…

Answer 4

the smallest combination of phonemes that may contain meaning (e.g. prefixes and suffixes)

e.g. the ‘S’ on the end of ‘dogs’ turns the word from singular to plural, indicating the discussion of multiple dogs

Question 5

What are the two basic elements of language?

Answer 5

symbols: used (in conjunction with a set of rules for
combining them) as a means of communicating

grammar: a set of rules for combining the symbols, such as words, used in a given language

Question 6

The rules of semantics and syntax…

Answer 6

In linguistics and the study of language, “deep structure” refers to the underlying meaning or representation of a sentence, while “surface structure” refers to the actual grammatical structure and word order of a sentence. Semantics deals with meaning, which is associated with deep structure, while syntax deals with sentence structure, which is associated with surface structure.