Yule 7th - Study questions
What different aspects of language are studied in articulatory phonetics, acoustic phonetics and auditory phonetics?
Articulatory phonetics - how the vocal organs produce speech; Acoustic phonetics - the physical characteristics of speech, such as the duration, frequency and intensity of sounds (more laboratory study); Auditory phonetics - the perception of speech by auditory system;
Why do you think that young deaf children who become fluent in sign language would be cited in support of the innateness hypothesis?
Because the children become also fluent very early in a sign language.
When can we say the human auditory system has begun working?
Before birth - at around seven months
What was considered to be the key element in Kanzi's language learning?
Being exposed to (not taught) a means of a certain language in a very early age
What did Darwin think early human communication was first based on?
Melody - intonation ability develops earlier than language ability in a child, therefore also ability to create melody. Darwin believed early human used to express themselves through musical notes.
What is the difference between the position of the larynx in humans and other primates?
Other primates have almost no pharynx. Lower positions of larynx found in human makes it more possible to choke on food (just interesting, not really related).
Why isn't glossolalia considered to be communicative language use?
There is no speaker control nor intentional communication. "Speaking in tongues", sounds produced usually during intense religious experience.
How did the Gardners try to show that Washoe was not simply repeating signs made by interacting humans?
They argued Washoe wasn't in experimental environment and set couple of experiments - any visual cues were eliminated and Washoe actually did produce correct sign to identify objects in pictures even in the absence of any human.
What was the name of the "language" that Lana learned?
Yerkish - set of symbols on a large keyboard linked to a computer. When she wanted water, she had to press four symbols - "please machine give water"
How would you transcribe the final sound in the English word tongue?
[ŋ] = angma
What do we call the space between the vocal folds?
glottis
How do we describe the vowel in the normal pronunciation of hot?
low, back
Which English words was Viki reported to be able to say?
mama, papa, cup (poor versions)
Which of these words begins with a glottal in normal pronunciation? chip, photo, shoe, thus, who, yet
who
How many fricatives are there in the pronunciation of mechanic?
wild guess is 0
What two things did early humans need to take control of in order to produce intonation?
1. The control of the vibration of the vocal folds 2. The control of the respiratory system
What percentage of human breathing while speaking normally consists of in-breaths?
10%
When did written language develop?
About 5000 years ago. (3000 B.C.)
What is the difference between a communication system with productivity and one with fixed reference?
Communication with productivity has infinite potential number of utterances. Animals have fixed set and they fail to manipulate existent language into new words - for example bees and word up. Fixed reference - each signal is fixed in terms of purpose and occasion.
What is the basic idea behind the "bow-wow" theory of language origin?
Early human was imitating sounds he heard around himself. The theory is based on the conceps of natural sounds.
Why is this difficult to agree with Psammetichus that Phrygian must have been the original human language?
First word the infants uttered was "bekos", -os is greek ending, therefore "be". Be -> sound of a goat
How do we think the harbor seal was able to yell "Hey! Hey you!"?
Imitating sound he heard.
What kind of evidence is used to support the idea that language is culturally transmitted?
In animal world, creatures are born with a set of specific signals that are produced instinctively - kitten brought up by wolf would not bark but still meow. Humans, on the other hand, are not born with set of signals, but acquire it culturally - korean child will LOOK like a korean but when brought up by americans they will SPEAK english.
What property did Washoe's language seem to have when she used an expression such as "water bird" to refer to a swan?
Potential for productivity
What is displacement?
Referring to a different place or time through language. Unlike human, animal communication is designed to be exclusively for the here and now. Humans can refer to past and future. Bees are small exception in some version of displacement.
Where is the pharynx and how did it become an important part of human sound production?
Upright posture moved the head more directly above the spinal column and the larynx dropped in a lowed position creating longer cavity called the pharynx. Pharynx above the vocal folds - acts as a resonator for increased range and clarity of sounds produced via larynx.
Why is reflexivity considered to be a special property of human language?
We know only of humans that they can "speak about speaking", tj. talk about language and reflect on it. Dogs cannot bark about barking.
Why are interjections such as Ooh! and Yuck! considered to be unlikely sources of human speech sounds?
We produce these sounds by sudden intake of breath, whereas when regularly speak while exhaling.
With which of the seven "sources" would you associate the following quotation? "Chewing, licking and sucking are extremely widespread mammalian activities, which, in terms of casual observation, have obvious similarities with speech (MacNeilage, 1998)
physical adaptation source - lips, teeth, tongue usage
If Sarah could use a gray plastic shape to convey the meaning of the word red, which property does her "language" seem to have?
property of arbitrariness - no real connection between the plastic shape and apple for example, but she was trained to understand it
In casual speech what is the most common vowel sound?
schwa - most unstressed vowels are pronounced as such