1.3 Defining meaning through contrast Flashcards
A language is arbitrary. (and adoption) 3 points
1-The is not inherent connection between a word and what it describes (inherent significa que no se pueden separarexisting as a natural and permanent quality of something or someone:
The drug has certain inherent side effects.)
2-A language not only uses different words to describe the world, they also can describe the world in different ways, Some languages use less colors than other languages
3-When we don’t have a word to describe something, sometimes we can adopt a word from a different language. déjà vu, for example.
Differences in the way languages label the world (or label experience or represent the world) (fancy for the way a language describe things) 4 points
1-some of the differences between languages can be put down to environmental factors. however, the differences cannot always be put down to the physical setting alone.
2-Some differences and variations can be quite profound, colour terms (colour names) 10 in English. Dani tribe in Papua Guinea have only two basic colours “light” and “dark”
3-another example is “we” in English could be you and I or my friend and I. We use one word for different realities, other languages use different words for different meanings.
4-each language therefore “cuts up” reality into different categories, in other words, the vocabulary of different languages categorises reality in different ways.
What would happen if you try to teach the Dani tribe the English colour brown 3-points
1-they would presumably see “brown” as “dark”
2-They would need to know what it doesn’t mean so they can distinguish it from other dark colours and then they would be able to use it correctly
3-is the same when kids are learning a language, until they realise a cat is not a dog they won’t be able to use “dog” correctly. meaning comes from contrast
What is overextending in language?
two points
1using an individual category to refer to the general category that it belongs.
2-kids do this quite often when acquiring the language (e.g. referring to all animals as dog)
What is underextending in language
2points
1-using a general category to refer to only some of the individual categories that make it up
2-kids can do this (e.g. using “dog” to refer to black Labradors, but not chihuahuas)
What is categorising in language
A process whereby reality is divided into categories, for example, using different words for things that are regarded as different from each other (e.g. “rain”, drizzle, mist, shower)
What do we mean when we say that meaning comes from contrast? 2 points
1-We don’t know the meaning of a particular word until we can contrast it with other words within the same system
2-the same principle of contrast applies to sounds in a particular language
IPA 5 points
1-The International Phonetic Alphabet
2.dictionary transcription slanted parallel lines
3.the symbols between the lines represent the phonemes (the sounds) of the word
4.the same letter can be pronounced in different ways depending on the word so these phonetic symbols to allow the reader to know how a word is pronounced
5.Its very useful when learning a language and its a good idea to learn the symbols corresponding to the sounds of the particular language you are learning
what are the main two categories in which the speech sounds of languages are divided into?
Consonants and vowels
what is a phoneme 2points
1-the smallest possible unit of sound in a language
2-Phonemes can distinguish a word from another, e.g. /kæt/ (“cat”) as opposed to /ræt/ (“rat”)
What is a vowel
A sound produced by the vibration of the vocal cords and the position of the tongue in the mouth, with no obstruction of the flow of air
What is a consonant 2points
a sound produced by obstructing the flow of air with parts of the mouth such as lips, teeth or tongue.
2-the vocal cords may vibrate (as in the consonant /m/) or not (as in the consonant /f/)
when do scientist believe that infants first begin to learn the sounds of language? 3 points
1-According to some studies, scientists believe that infants can learn sounds from their mother tongue during the last ten weeks of gestation
2-before that time, their brains are not developed enough to process the sounds.
3-previous evidence showed that children start to recognise voices and rhythms while still in the womb, but this is the first study to show that they also learn to recognize particular speech sounds.
why did the researcher study the newborns’ sensitivity to vowel sounds in particular?
Vowel sounds were chosen for the study because they are particularly prominent and can be heard even in the noise environment of the womb.
what evidence is there that babies are already sensitive to vowel sounds when they are born? 3 points
1-The proof can be seen in their reaction to the native and foreign vowel sounds
2-this was measured by how long and how much they sucked on a dummy, with the foreign language generating more sucking, 3-what suggest that babies are already used to the sounds of their own language and therefore take less notice of them.
