language files 1

While many species have the capacity to communicate, language makes us uniquely human. How does human language differ from communication in other species?

-Human systems of language are much more creative and complex than other species' methods of communication.

Cultural Transmission is the 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. Which of the following is true about cultural transmission in human communication?

1. A child learns the language that people use to interact with them. 2. A child learns the dialect that people use to interact with them. 3. Our genetic or hereditary background itself has no influence over the language we acquire.

Displacement is the ability of a language to communicate about things, actions, and ideas that are not present in space or time while speakers are communicating. One example of this would be...

1. Discussing fictional characters. 2. Talking about someone who is not present. 3. Talking about a past event.

Semantics is the study of linguistic meaning. examples of semantic competence would be...

1. Knowing when two words have same meaning, such as sofa and couch 2. Knowing when a word has two or more meanings, such as duck. 3. Knowing how to combine words together to form larger meanings.

Another misconception about signed languages is that they do not consist of words, but rather the signers draw pictures or act out what they are trying to communicate. Which of the following is evidence to suggest this is not true?

1. Signed languages are governed by the same sorts of phonological, morphological, and syntactic rules that govern spoken languages. 2. People must learn signed languages; they cannot inherently understand them if they have never been exposed to it. 3. Signers can describe abstract concepts, not just concrete ideas and events

Generally speaking, the connection between form and meaning is not direct, but there are examples of non-arbitrary aspects to language. Which of the following is an example of non-arbitrariness?

1. Sound symbolism: the phenomenon by which certain sounds are evocative of a particular meaning. 2. Onomatopoeia: words that are imitative of natural sounds or have meaning associated with such sounds of nature.

Mode of communication refers to the means by which messages are transmitted and received. Which of the following is an example of this in human language?

1. Using voices to communicate 2. Using hand and arm gestures to communicate 3. Using face and head movement to communicate

There is a common misconception that writing is more "perfect" than speech. Which of the following factors contributes to this misconception?

1. Writing can be edited, leading to fewer errors. 2. Writing must be taught and is associated with education and "educated" speech. 3. Writing is more physically stable and can be preserved through time.

Language reflects our self-identity. Which of the following is an example of how we use language to self-identify?--all are correct

1. You use a formal register when speaking with a professor. 2. You use slang when speaking with friends. 3. You speak a specific dialect of a language from where you grew up.

Productivity refers to a language's capacity for novel messages to be built out of discrete units. How does this idea differ from discreteness?

Because a language is productive, there is no fixed set of ways in which units can combine: discreetness only requires that there are re-combinable units.

One common misconception about signed language is that they are all derived from spoken languages. Which of the following is evidence to suggest this is not true?

British Sign Language and American Sign Language are unrelated.

The communication chain is the process through which information is communicated, consisting of an information source, transmitter, signal, receiver, and destination. Which of the following is true about this process?

Even if a person follows the communication chain steps correctly, the listener may not always get the correct message.

True/False: A communication system that does not exhibit all nine design features can still be classified as a language.

False

True/False: All languages change over time, but speakers completely control this change.

False

True/False: All the speakers of a language share the exact same mental grammar

False

True/False: Deaf individuals always choose to use signed languages.

False

True/False: Language systems do not have to serve a useful purpose.

False

True/False: Some languages are more logical than others.

False

True/False: Writing does not need to be taught; children can acquire writing in the same way they acquire speech.

False

True/False: There is something inherent about most words that gives them their meaning.

False (think arbitrariness)

Linguistic Competence is the unconscious knowledge that a speaker has about their native language. Linguistic Performance is the way they produce and comprehend language. How are these concepts related in terms of linguistic study?

Linguists use linguistic performance as a basis for making hypotheses and drawing conclusions about linguistic competence.

An important fact about linguistic signs is that the connection between form and meaning is arbitrary. This means that...

Meaning is not predictable from the form, nor is the form dictated by the meaning.

For a linguist, mental grammar is the knowledge that a speaker has about the linguistic units and rules of their native language. How is mental grammar acquired?

Mental grammar is not taught, but rather it is naturally learned through the process of language acquisition.

Aside from the physical principles of how languages are articulated and perceived, both visual-gestural and auditory-vocal languages have the same characteristics. What do these physical differences allow linguists to study?

Which aspects of language are universal and which aspects are modality specific

If you speak a language, one of the basic things you know are the speech sounds of that language and how they work together as a system. An example of this would be...

a. Knowing which sounds are speech sounds and which are not. b. Knowing which speech sounds are part of your language and which ones are not c. Being able to produce speech sounds in your language.

True/False: Writing is necessary for knowledge of a language.

false

True/False: The combination of linguistic form and meaning is called a linguistic sign.

True

True/False: There are two parts of linguistic competence: the lexicon, or all the words you know; and the rules you know about your language, stored in the form of mental grammar.

True

True/False: Writing does not exist everywhere; in fact, around 50% of all languages are unwritten.

True

True/False: The choice between auditory-vocal and visual-gestural modalities depends in any given circumstance on both physical and social parameters.

True

Prescriptive Grammar is a set of rules designed to give instructions regarding the socially embedded notion of the "correct" or "proper" way to speak or write. How does this concept differ from mental grammar?

Prescriptive grammar makes a value judgement on the correctness of an utterance, whereas mental grammar is the actual foundation of language and therefore cannot be "incorrect".

Linguists want to understand mental language competence using performed language, therefore they typically study the spoken form of a language. Why is this?

Speech is considered a more basic form of language than writing, making it as "close to the original" as possible.

Language is identified in terms of its design features, or descriptive characteristics. Why is it difficult to define language?

There has yet to be a definition of language which captures its fundamental nature.

True/False: Descriptive Grammar is an objective description of a speaker's or group of speakers' knowledge of a language based on their use of the language.

True

True/False: Discreteness is the property of communication systems by which complex messages may be built up out of smaller parts.

True

True/False: In the United States, the Deaf community comprises individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing who further identity themselves as Deaf and subscribe to a particular part of Deaf culture.

True

True/False: Language must have modality, or a mode of communication.

True

True/False: Morphology is the study of how words are constructed out of morphemes.

True

True/False: Semanticity is the property requiring that all signals in a communication system have a meaning or function.

True

True/False: Syntax is the name for the subfield of linguistics that studies how expressions can combine to form larger expressions.

True