Vocabulary and Terminology Wk2

Question 1

linguistic competence

Answer 1

grammar and vocabulary should not be taught in isolation; instead, they should be introduced within themes and topics.

edumax.com

Question 2

linguistic performance

Answer 2

is the system of linguistic knowledge possessed by native speakers of a language.

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

error is an unintended deviation from the immanent rules of a language variety made by a second language learner. Such errors result from the learner’s lack of knowledge of the correct rules of the target language variety.

Question 4

speech communication chain

Answer 4

simple model of spoken communication that highlights the transformation of an intention in the mind of the speaker to an understanding of that intention in the mind of the listener through processes that involve the Grammatical Code, the Phonological Code, articulation, sound, hearing and perception.

ucl.uk

Question 5

speech communication chain steps

Answer 5

comprises the processes of: speech production, auditory feedback to the speaker, speech transmission (through air or over an electronic communication system (to the listener), and speech perception and understanding by the listener.

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.

study.com

Question 7

lexicon

Answer 7

vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language’s inventory of lexemes

wikipedia

Question 8

mental grammar

Answer 8

the generative grammar stored in the brain that allows a speaker to produce language that other speakers can understand.

thoughtco

Question 9

language variation

Answer 9

characteristic of language: there is more than one way of saying the same thing. Speakers may vary pronunciation, word choice, or morphology and syntax.

wikipedia

Question 10

descriptive grammar

Answer 10

lay out the grammatical elements and rules of a language as it is actually used.

Question 11

evidence that writing and language are not the same (list 4 reasons)

Answer 11

1. Some animal species have language and do not write (ex. bottlenose dolphins)
2. Historically, much of certain human populations were not literate (could not read or write), but still used language
3. Sign languages can develop without strict adherence to other languages around a deaf-community. Even ASL has signs that have no relation to fingerspelling the words in English.
4. Language (spoken or signed or otherwise) developed before the writing.

Question 12

reasons some people believe writing to be superior to speech (list 3 reasons)

Answer 12

1. Writing can be more permanent, because it is often a point of reference in the future (emails, textbooks, notes).
2. Writing can appear more purposeful, thoughtful, intentional because of the extra effort required to write it down.
3. Speech has typically more informal structure than writing, which has become highly standardized.

Question 13

prescriptive grammar

Answer 13

a set of norms or rules governing how a language should or should not be used rather than describing the ways in which a language is actually used.

thoughtco

Question 14

prescribe

Answer 14

establish rules defining preferred usage of language
in practice, saying how the language should be used, often ignoring how language is actually used

Question 15

Charles Hockett’s nine design features (necessary for a communication system to be considered a language) (list)

Answer 15

Vocal-auditory channel
Broadcast transmission and directional
Transitoriness
Interchangeability
Total feedback
Specialization
Semanticity
Arbitrariness
Discreteness

Question 16

mode of communication

Answer 16

the means of communicating, i.e. the medium through which communication is processed.

leverage edu

Question 17

semanticity

Answer 17

the property of language that allows it to represent events, ideas, actions, and objects symbolically, thereby endowing it with the capacity to communicate meaning.

Question 18

pragmatic function

Answer 18

the meaning a speaker wishes to convey to the person they are speaking to (the addressee).

Question 19

interchangeability

Answer 19

the idea that humans can give and receive identical linguistic signals;

Question 20

cultural transmission

Answer 20

the process whereby a language is passed on from one generation to the next in a community. It is also known as cultural learning and socio/cultural transmission. (ThoughCo.)

Question 21

arbitrariness

Answer 21

the absence of any natural or necessary connection between a word’s meaning and its sound or form. An antithesis to sound symbolism (thoughtco.com)

Question 22

linguistic sign

Answer 22

not a link between a thing and a name, but between a concept and a sound pattern. The sound pattern is not actually a sound; for a sound is something physical. A sound pattern is the hearer’s psychological impression of a sound, as given to him by the evidence of his senses. (newlearningonline.com)

Question 23

convention

Answer 23

a principle or norm that has been adopted by a person or linguistic community about how to use, and therefore what the meaning is of, a specific term.

tandfonline.com

Question 24

non-arbitrariness

Answer 24

opposite of arbitrariness, a relation between form and meaning such that aspects of a word’s meaning or grammatical function can be predicted from aspects of its form.

Question 25

iconic

Answer 25

a relationship of resemblance or similarity between the two aspects of a sign: its form and its meaning. An iconic sign is one whose form resembles its meaning in some way (oxfordbibliographies.com)
ex. in Chinese Script or Japanese Kanj, 木 means tree, and looks like a tree.

Question 26

onomatopoeia

Answer 26

a word that makes a sound!
“a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes” (Wikipedia)
ex. crackle, beep, buzz
ex. in Japanese, どきどき doki-doki = heart beating

Question 27

conventionalized

Answer 27

aspect that has become a convention. usual and generally accepted.
ex. in speech, saying “I don’t know” is more conventionalized than “I do not have any idea”

Question 28

sound symbolism

Answer 28

the non-arbitrary mappings that exist between phonetic properties of speech sounds and their meaning
the resemblance between sound and meanings.
ex. the shapes bouba and kiki? (bubbly/soft vs pointy/spiky)

Question 29

discreteness

Answer 29

having discrete parts.
“language is produced as a “stream” it can be broken down into meaningful units (such as discrete sounds), and those units can be combined in various ways to form larger units.”
can be broken down into smaller units that can then be recombined

Question 30

displacement

Answer 30

the capability of language to communicate about things that are not immediately present (spatially or temporally); i.e., things that are either not here or are not here now. (wikipedia)

ex. Tom and I are waiting for the bus. The bus is yellow. I have seen the bus before, and know it will arrive sometime around 6:30. Because of displacement I can communicate these to Tom, even though the bus is not here currently, and it is not 6:30 yet.

Question 31

productivity

Answer 31

the degree to which speakers of a language use a particular grammatical process, especially in word formation. (wikipedia)

grammatical processes that are in frequent use to less frequently used ones

ex. historically “sing–sang–sung”, vs new English verbs using -ed for past tense “emailed” and other new verbs being “weak”

Question 32

modality

Answer 32

a category of linguistic meaning having to do with the expression of
possibility and necessity (MIT)

Question 33

myths about signed languages (list 4)

Answer 33

1. There is only one sign language.
   ASL and BSL have major differences even though they both are used in English speaking communities.
2. Only deaf people use sign language.
   A child of deaf adult, often known by the acronym “coda” would have plenty of reasons to know sign language. Communities with many deaf people may have hearing people commonly use sign language. It also is just another language, and can be learned and used by anyone.
3. Sign languages are structured exactly like spoken languages.
   Sign languages are not structured like spoken word because it is not the same. They have different structures. Signing in ASL might not see an exact translation to written or spoken English.
4. Sign languages are inferior to spoken languages.
   Sign languages are languages and just as relevant as any other language. They are used to communicate and are helpful to deaf communities and for other purposes. They have their own values and can articulate complex ideas.

Question 34

differences between codes and languages (list 4)

Answer 34

1. Code is a system of rules used to convert information from one form or representation to another. Language simply is a representation of that information, and does not need conversion innately, even if it may have rules and structure like codes.
2. Code has to be defined and created. While language can be prescribed, it often has to be described because it is a natural mode of communication. Code typically is prescribed for usage.
3. A code can also be the means by which a previously existing language is either obscured or clarified. Language has no reason to prevent understanding, but a code might exists to either extend who has access to the meaning OR restrict who understands.
4. Example. Pig-Latin is a code for English. English has syntax, specific sounds, and semantics… which Pig-Latin takes and remixes. English is not a language only because of those aspects, but because Pig-Latin is reliant upon English and those aspects of it, it is not a language but a code.