The Structure of Language

Definition of Language

• Language is a system employing symbols (words) and rules (syntax) for communication.
• It is unique to humans.
• Language has a hierarchical structure, consisting of sounds, words, and sentences.

Levels of Language Structure

• Phonetics involves studying speech sounds and their production, for example, differentiating "pat" from "bat".
• Phonology studies sound patterns and rules in a language; "ng" does not start English words.
• Morphology investigates word formation using morphemes; e.g., "unhappiness" = "un-" + "happy" + "-ness".
• Syntax defines the rules governing sentence structure.
• Semantics is the study of meaning in words and sentences in context.
• Pragmatics is the study of language use considering context.

Design Features of Language

• C.F. Hockett proposed 13 design features of human language for defining it.

Vocal-Auditory Channel

• Language is typically spoken and heard.
• Sign language is an exception to the vocal-auditory channel.

Broadcast Transmission and Directional Reception

• Spoken words spread in all directions.
• The sound source is traceable.

Rapid Fading

• Speech signals are transient.
• They must be remembered.

Interchangeability

• Individuals both send and receive messages via conversation.
• Stickleback fish (males signal, females do not) are exceptions.

Total Feedback

• A speaker can hear and adjust their speech.

Specialization

• Language signals are solely for communication.

Semanticity

• Words have specific meanings linked to real-world referents like the word "dog".

Arbitrariness

• There is no inherent connection between a word and its meaning.
• Onomatopoeic words such as meow and oink are exceptions.

Discreteness

• Language consists of distinct units that do not blend.

Displacement

• Language describes beyond the present.
• Spatial displacement is talking about distant places and temporal displacement is future events.
• Animals lack true displacement unlike bees.

Duality of Patterning

• Language has two levels: meaningless phonemes and meaningful words made by combining the phonemes.

Productivity (Generativity)

• A finite set of words and rules can create infinite sentences.
• English has ~40 phonemes and 50,000+ words.

Grammar

• Language follows structured rules for forming words and sentences, like in English, "The cat sat on the mat".

Prevarication (Lying)

• Humans can create false statements like “I Saw a Unicorn.”

Learnability

• Humans acquire new languages.

Recursion in Human Language and Cognition

• Recursion involves embedding structures within similar structures.
• Recursion allows infinite generativity using finite words.
• Steven Pinker suggests recursion exists outside language such in visual cognition and music.

Simple Sentence

• Tom likes beans represents a basic sentence structure.

Recursive Sentence

• Susan thinks Tom likes beans demonstrates clause embedding.

Further Recursion

• John knows that Dave believes that Jenny hopes that Carol recognizes that Bob realizes that Susan thinks Tom likes beans; depicts multiple embeddings.
• Sentences are embedded to form a hierarchy.

Examples of Recursion in Cognition

• Fractal patterns are in nature.
• Figure-in-figure illusions exist.

Music Examples

• Nested rhythmic patterns and repeating chord progressions in classical music show recursion.

Recursive Nature of Syntax

• Recursive syntax stems from recursive human cognition.
• Humans use recursion to generate complex expressions, express nested ideas, and maintain hierarchies.

The Case of the Pirahã Language

• It is claimed to lack recursion.
• This questions the universality of recursion.

English Sentence (With Recursion) Example

• Hand me the nails that Dan bought features the embedded relative clause: "That Dan bought.'

Pirahã Equivalence (Without Recursion)

• Give me the nails; Dan bought those very nails; They are the same.
• The sentence is broken into simpler statements.

Hauser, Chomsky, & Fitch (2002) – Three Hypotheses on Language Evolution

• Faculty of Language in the Broad Sense (FLB Homologous to animal communication); Bird songs have hierarchical structures without recursion
• FLB is uniquely for a human language such children acquire language recursively, while animals do not.
• FLN (Faculty of Language in the Narrow Sense only occurs is uniquely human).

Key Takeaways

• Recursion defines human language.
• Pinker posits recursion outside language.
• The Pirahã language lacks Recursion.

Continuity Theories

• Language evolved gradually from pre-linguistic systems.
• Primates used communication abilities to gradually transform into language.

Discontinuity Theories

• Language is a human unique feature without equivalents in animals.
• A genetic mutation allowed humans to develop language quickly.
• The FOXP2 gene is linked to language development.

Gestural Theory Arguments on Language Origin

• Verbal language evolved from manual gestures, and before speech, early humans communicated through gestures.
• Sign language represents a fully developed linguistic system with grammar rules, word order, and supports abstract thought.
• Speech and gestures are closely related with examples showing hand movements in conversation to emphasize points.
• Language started largely as a manual system.

Actions in non-human Primates

Primate such as Chimpanzees request food or signaling alerts can use hand and body gesture

Vocalizations was added to facial gestures

• As vocal control improved, humans added sounds to gestures.

Experimental Paradigms in Infant Speech Perception

• Hands naturally illustrate movement, direction, and shape.

Actions in non- human Primates manual

Depicting time and space with Hands.

Voicing was added to facial gestures

• As vocal control improved, humans add sound to gesture.

Depicting time and space with hands

• Hands naturally illustrate movement, direction and shape.

Social Communication in Infants

•Early humans might have relied on sign-like gestures before vocal sounds evolved.

Infant Perception & Categorization of Phonemes

• Bipedalism involves the Australopithecus afarensis became bipedal for gesture based of communication, and brain evaluation, language that evolution key roles in the tradition

Prenatal Learning

• Motor controls such as lowering Larynx theory can produce and distinct vowel sound
• Diana Monkeys such as sounds with treats with comparison is a basic precursor to language.

Experimental Paradigms in Infant Speech Perception

• Babie Sucker (HAS) and Heart Rate Measurement ( measure fetal heart rate to familiar vs unfamiliar sounds)
• Head time - Procedures, (decasper & spence founds that fetuses recognizes

Language Learning speech and discrimination and infants

Infants can distinguished any language at birth such as English and Hindi.

The Pirahã Language

• Babies recognition prosodic features as they learn (Third timester features)

Syntactic Bootstrapping

• Children can learn such as what words and fast tapping means.

• The Pirahã Language: Children assume the words it's what they are

Linguistic abilities and new forms

Early sensitive for language and communication.

Phonetics

• Physical aspects of speech sounds.

Phonology

• How sounds function to create meaning.

Phone

• Any speech sound.

Phoneme

• Meaningful unit that can change a word.

Phoneme Inventory

• Complete set of used phonemes.

Allophones

• Variations of phonemes that don't change word meaning.

Minimal Pairs

• Words differing by only one phoneme. They help identify phonemes and sound contrast.

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

• Standarized system for transcritically speech sounds from all languages.

Structure of the Human vocal Tract

• Lungs, larynx (voice box), vocal cords tongue, teeth, lips, and palate.

Consonants: Manner with Articulation

• Production by controlling air follow in the vocal tract.
• Stops (plosives)
• Nasals
• Frictives
• Affricates
• Approximants