language Flashcards
(15 cards)
What are the key elements needed to understand and produce the sentence “The two boys saw the tiger with the binoculars”?
Lexical knowledge: Meaning of the words
Syntax: Sentence structure (Subject-Verb-Object)
Contextual knowledge: Resolving ambiguity (who has the binoculars?)
Phonological knowledge: How to produce the sounds
What is language?
A system of spoken, written, or signed words combined to communicate meaning.
What is the origin of the word “infans” and what does it mean?
Latin word “Infans” means “unable to speak.”
What are phonemes?
The smallest units of sound that can distinguish words. For example, in English, there are around 40 phonemes.
What are morphemes?
The smallest units of meaning in language.
What is a word in linguistic terms?
A symbol that stands for something without being part of it. Words are arbitrary, meaning there is no inherent connection between the word’s sound and its meaning.
What is the difference between content words and function words?
Content words: Carry meaning (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives).
Function words: Provide sentence structure and relationships between elements (e.g., articles, prepositions).
What is phonology?
The system of sounds in a language and how those sounds are produced, including the features of voicing, place of articulation, and manner of production
What is voicing in phoneme production?
Voicing refers to whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of a sound.
Example: /z/ (voiced) vs /s/ (voiceless).
What is place of articulation in speech sounds?
Where in the vocal tract airflow is restricted to produce a sound (e.g., tip of tongue, back of tongue).
What are stops and fricatives in phoneme production
Stops: Sounds produced by complete airflow blockage (e.g., /p/, /b/).
Fricatives: Sounds produced by partial restriction of airflow (e.g., /f/, /v/).
What are examples of phonemes produced at the tip of the tongue?
A: /t/ (tea), /n/ (nap), /s/ (see).
What are examples of manner of production for the phonemes /p/ and /s/?
/p/: Stop sound (e.g., “pat”)
/s/: Fricative sound (e.g., “sun”)
How do you differentiate between stops and fricatives in terms of airflow?
Stops involve complete blockage of airflow (e.g., /p/, /b/).
Fricatives involve partial restriction of airflow (e.g., /f/, /s/).
What is speech segmentation?
The process of dividing continuous speech into recognizable units or words.
