UNIT 1 Flashcards
Content related to unit 1: definitions, terminology (36 cards)
a system of systems made up of four modules that are
interrelated (since one of them takes the output of another module as its input and develops
its own output). At the same time, each of these modules or component subsystems are
made up of linguistic units that work systematically and are interdependent of each other.
Language
The property of language that implies that all languages are divided into
component subsystems or modules which are phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.
Modularity
a property of language that implies that all languages are organized into constituents, which are syntactic units that have a syntactic function such as words or phrases
Constituency
the property of language that implies that all grammatical processes can be applied repeatedly or recursively in order to produce an infinite variety of sentences or to form complex words.
Recursion
The property of language that allows speakers to recognize different units in a language, such as speech sounds, morphemes, words, etc
Discreteness
The property of language that allows speakers to coin new words in order to meet the speaker’s changing communicative needs
Productivity
The property of language that describes the unnatural relation between a
signifier (a sound pattern) and a signified (a concept).
Arbitrariness
A property that derives from arbitrariness: since there’s no natural relation between signifier and signified, the same sequence of sounds can represent different concepts (homonyms) in the same language:
eg: right; write
Duality
The property of language that helps speakers to interpret the
meaning of entire utterances. The meaning of a sentence not only depends on what it
expresses, but also on the situation in which it is uttered.
Reliance on context
The property of language that allows/implies that speakers can communicate far more than the semantic content of words.
Linguistic systems have linguistic variables, that is, at least two or more realizations (variants of the variable)
Variability
According to O’Grady, the ability that allows speakers to produce and interpret
grammatical sentences. It includes the knowledge of meaning signified by different
sound sequences and how to combine those units of meaning into words, phrases and
sentences.
Grammatical competence
According to O’Grady, the ability to use grammatical knowledge to accomplish a wide range of communicative jobs appropriately to the purpose and the context in hand.
Communicative competence
The speaker’s innate ability to produce and understand an unlimited
number of utterances and to recognize utterances that are not acceptable/ grammatical in their
language. We develop this ability as we grow, since it is partly innate, a built-in capacity, and partly acquired.
Linguistic competence
the mental system that allows humans to form and interpret the sounds, words, and
sentences of their language. It is an intrinsic system of knowledge that encompasses sound and
meaning (articulation and perception of speech sounds) as well as form and structure (formation of words and sentences)
Grammar
[Characteristics/Qualities of all languages]
All languages have a grammar, since they all must have a complex system that
encompasses sound and meaning, as well as form and structure. Although languages/grammars differ from one another, they all have a grammar
Generality
[Characteristics/Qualities of all languages]
All grammars are alike in basic ways, as there are principles and properties shared by all human languages (eg: more consonant than vowel sounds, constrains on how words can be put together to form a sentence, etc)
Universality
[Characteristics/Qualities of all languages]
The grammars of all languages are constantly changing. Some changes are minor and occur very quickly, like the coining of words, while others take place over a long period of time and have more dramatic effects on the language.
Mutability
[Characteristics/Qualities of all languages]
There are no bad or good grammars, all grammars are equal and do essentially the same thing: to tell speakers how to form and interpret words and sentences in their languages.
Parity
[Characteristics/Qualities of all languages]
The feature of language that describes the subconscious characteristic of human knowledge about grammar, which is inaccessible to introspection
Inaccessibility
Father of modern linguistics and structuralism. He studied the language synchronically.
Saussure
An abstract grammatical system that exists in the brains of a group of individuals. It is
collective because it exists within a community and establishes social bonds. An individual is
powerless to create it or modify it. The system exists only in virtue of a kind of contract agreed by the
members of a community. It is homogeneous and stable because the link between sound patterns
and the concept remains constant in the system. And it is a product passively assimilated by speakers of
a language, it is not a function of the speaker.
Langue
It is concrete as it is the actual realization of the abstract grammatical system (langue). It is
individual as every speaker realizes language differently, speech is always individual. It is accessory
because langue can exist without it. It is heterogeneous because we make choices when
communicating and is active since it is an actual and concrete function of a speaker, an individual act of the will.
Parole
It is a two-sided psychological entity where there are two elements involved, a concept and a sound pattern. They are both psychological and connected in our brains by an associative link. Each triggers the other and without one, the other cannot exist.
linguistic sign
a concept/signification/mental representation
signified
