Psychology Final (Language) Flashcards
Characteristics that are common to all known languages
linguistic universals
The Language signal (i.e., vocal, written, movement) is a symbol that means something
Semanticity
There is no necessary resemblance between the language signal and what it represents (sofa vs. couch)
Arbitrariness
One sound on its own may convey one meaning, multiple sounds combined in a particular order convey a different meaning
Discreteness
The ability to communicate things other than in the present (express things in the past, present, and future)
Displacement
Combinations of units are meaningless, but become meaningful. For example (/d/,/o/,/g/) are not meaningful by themselves but become meaningful
Duality of patterning
Language is a productive and novel activity
generativity
Smallest unit of speech.
Phoneme
sounds change depending on preceding and following sounds. (thin vs then)
coarticulation
Adults use surrounding context to “fill in the gaps”
phonemic restoration effect
Continuous input perceived as discrete. (we hear the difference between “ta” and “pa”)… with sound we impart boundaries
Categorical Perception
The time between start of phoneme and vibration chords. Continuous, but perceived as categorical.
Voice onset time
Smallest component of a word that has semantic meaning
Morpheme
This category of morpheme conveys most of the meaning
content morpheme
This category of morpheme indicates additional meaning
function morpheme
