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Questions and Answers
What distinguishes human language systems from animal communication systems?
What distinguishes human language systems from animal communication systems?
Which feature signifies that the meaning of a sentence is based on its structure and individual components?
Which feature signifies that the meaning of a sentence is based on its structure and individual components?
What characteristic of human language allows for the creation of complex sentences by embedding smaller sentences?
What characteristic of human language allows for the creation of complex sentences by embedding smaller sentences?
Why are rules in human languages significant, even if they do not depend on meaning?
Why are rules in human languages significant, even if they do not depend on meaning?
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How do humans leverage arbitrary word-meaning pairs in language?
How do humans leverage arbitrary word-meaning pairs in language?
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What is the primary role of animal signals compared to human utterances?
What is the primary role of animal signals compared to human utterances?
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Which feature of language indicates the fixed arrangement of sounds in animal languages?
Which feature of language indicates the fixed arrangement of sounds in animal languages?
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What is a key difference in the way humans and animals use language?
What is a key difference in the way humans and animals use language?
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What does inflectional morphology do to a word?
What does inflectional morphology do to a word?
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Which example illustrates derivational morphology?
Which example illustrates derivational morphology?
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What phenomenon describes the initial correct use followed by overgeneralization in past tense acquisition?
What phenomenon describes the initial correct use followed by overgeneralization in past tense acquisition?
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How does syntax primarily organize words?
How does syntax primarily organize words?
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What does recursion in syntax allow for in language?
What does recursion in syntax allow for in language?
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Which aspect of language is focused on the relationship between words and their meaning?
Which aspect of language is focused on the relationship between words and their meaning?
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What is the primary function of pragmatics in language use?
What is the primary function of pragmatics in language use?
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In which case does the prefix 'un-' not change the meaning of a verb?
In which case does the prefix 'un-' not change the meaning of a verb?
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Which of the following accurately represents the passive voice structure?
Which of the following accurately represents the passive voice structure?
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What are the fundamental units of meaning in language?
What are the fundamental units of meaning in language?
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What is the primary reason language is believed to have evolved according to Chomsky?
What is the primary reason language is believed to have evolved according to Chomsky?
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What distinguishes a creole from a pidgin?
What distinguishes a creole from a pidgin?
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Which of the following best describes the relationship between sounds and meanings in a language?
Which of the following best describes the relationship between sounds and meanings in a language?
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What is the role of morphology in language?
What is the role of morphology in language?
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Which statement about animal language is accurate?
Which statement about animal language is accurate?
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What does the term 'compositionality' refer to in language?
What does the term 'compositionality' refer to in language?
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In phonology, what is a minimal pair?
In phonology, what is a minimal pair?
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Which pair exemplifies how phonetic spelling can differ from pronunciation?
Which pair exemplifies how phonetic spelling can differ from pronunciation?
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What aspect of language allows users to translate complex thoughts into strings of words?
What aspect of language allows users to translate complex thoughts into strings of words?
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How many morphemes are in the word 'antidisestablishmentarianism'?
How many morphemes are in the word 'antidisestablishmentarianism'?
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Study Notes
Language as a Central Part of Human Behavior
- Many human actions, like planning trips, teaching, and socializing, rely heavily on language.
- Language functions similarly to other species' communication systems.
What is Language?
- Language is a communication system that shares functions with animal signaling systems.
- Animal communication serves purposes like mate attraction, threat displays, and warning kin.
- Human language has similar functions, used for attracting mates, threatening rivals, and alerting kin to danger.
Hockett's Design Features
- Duality of Patterning: Human language uses meaningless sounds (phonemes) that combine to create infinite meanings. Animal languages have fixed, meaningful sounds.
- Openness: Human language can create new words and express new meanings. Animal languages are closed systems.
Symbolic Systems
- Animal signals primarily manipulate animal behavior.
- Human utterances not only affect behavior but also evoke concepts in others' minds.
Combinatorial Systems
- Sentence structure, not just word order, carries meaning.
Compositionality
- Sentence meaning arises from its component parts and their combination.
- This can sometimes involve multi-word units.
Words
- The connection between words and their meanings is arbitrary (conventional).
- We learn arbitrary word-meaning associations.
Rules
- Rules dictate how words combine into more complex meanings.
- Rules are independent of meaning.
- Sentences can be grammatically correct but nonsensical.
- Sentences can be grammatically incorrect but comprehensible.
Infinite Generativity
- There are many possible words to follow any given word in an English sentence (average of 10).
- English sentences can grow ever longer by embedding them within others.
Language Evolution
- Chomsky (1988): Complex grammar likely arose as a byproduct of brain size increase.
- Corballis (1992): Language evolved to free hands for tool use and gesture, allowing simultaneous communication and tool manipulation.
- Pinker & Bloom (1990): Language enabled more efficient communication of complex thoughts. Grammar became an advantage once we could think complex thoughts.
Language Invention
- Pidgin: Simple language for communication between groups without a common language.
- Creole: A pidgin that develops into a native language for subsequent generations.
Animal Language
- Arbitrary Associations: Dogs learn new words faster than other animals.
- Compositionality: Some animals (like Alex the parrot) understand compound words like "red ball."
- “Kanzi”: Can understand sentence structures and follow novel instructions.
- Symbolic Use?: While some animals can use complex combinations of signs, there's open debate about whether animal language is truly symbolic.
How Language Works
- To express ideas, language constructs words from sounds and sentences from words following rules.
- Linguistic rules govern sequence construction (e.g., "cat," "tack").
Phonology
- Phonology studies the sounds in a language.
- Phonemes are speech sounds that distinguish words.
- Minimal pairs (e.g., "bat" and "pat") illustrate this.
- Phonemes are language-specific.
Morphology
- Morphology deals with meaningful units (morphemes).
- Example: "dogs" involves the morphemes "dog" and "s" (plural).
- Inflectional morphology changes grammatical aspects without altering word class or meaning.
- Derivational morphology alters word class or meaning (e.g., "uncover").
English Past Tense Acquisition
- Regular past tense involves adding "-ed" (walk → walked).
- Irregular past tense has unique forms (go → went).
- Children initially use irregulars correctly, then overgeneralize the regular "-ed" rule, and later use both correctly.
Syntax
- Syntax governs word order, creating constituents (e.g., noun phrases).
- Rules specify how constituents combine into sentences.
- Recursion allows rules to call themselves, resulting in infinite sentence generation.
Semantics
- Semantics studies meaning (concepts) in words and sentences.
- Children learn word meaning through context.
Pragmatics
- Pragmatics analyzes language use in context.
- Gricean Maxims (quantity, quality, relation, manner) guide effective communication.
Linguistic Representations
- Language encompasses levels like sounds, meaning units, grammatical rules, concepts, and contextual use.
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Description
Explore the intricate relationship between language and human behavior. This quiz delves into how language functions in social contexts, its similarities with animal communication, and unique features that define human language. Test your understanding of concepts like Hockett's design features and the symbolic nature of human utterances.
