Week 1, Introduction Part 2

Question 1

Features of language (2)

Answer 1

1. Arbitrariness
2. Creativity

Question 2

Arbitrariness

Answer 2

-the relationship between a word and its meaning is arbitrary
-this is why differnt sounds are used to name the same object across languages (even onomatopeic words like animal sounds)

Question 3

Creativity

Answer 3

-finite set of building blocks can be combined to create novel utterances that can be understood
-sentences can’t be memorized or learned by imitation
-children can produce lots of utterances that they could not have heard from an adult

Question 4

Universal Grammar

Answer 4

the set of universal properties possessed by all langauges

Question 5

What do all languages have in common?

Answer 5

-lexicon, phonetic system, morphology, syntactic systems, semantics

includes sign language

Question 6

Examples of language universals

Answer 6

-ways of forming questions
-means for negating an utterance
-means for indicating when an action takes place
-possess a set of discrete sounds

Question 7

According to the development of grammar, all children:

Answer 7

-acquire the language of their environment
-acquire language spontaneously
-exhibit linguistic creativity
-pass through similar stages of langauge development

Question 8

Stages of language development

Answer 8

1. babbling
2. single word utterances
3. two word utterances
4. overgeneralizations
5. fully acquired language by 5

these stages suggest there’s a biological component to language learning

Question 9

Descriptive grammar

Answer 9

-linguists’ description or model of the mental grammar
-what the speaker’s rules actually are
-focus on what people actually say

e.g. ain’t

Question 9

Two kinds of grammar

Answer 9

1. Descriptive grammar
2. Prescriptive grammar

Question 10

Prescriptive grammar

Answer 10

-rules of grammar
-what the speaker’s rules should be

e.g have not instead of ain’t, double negatives, not ending sentences with a preposition