What Even Is Language? — Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture notes on language and linguistics.

Linguistics

The scientific study of human language.

Language

A system of communication used by humans; can refer to individual languages, modalities (spoken or signed), or related uses beyond linguistics.

Mental grammar

The unconscious, shared system in the mind that underlies knowledge of a language.

Modality

The channel through which a language is expressed (e.g., vocal-auditory or signed).

Sign language

A language modality expressed through manual signs, not primarily through speech.

Spoken language

A language modality produced with vocal sounds (larynx, tongue, lips) and heard by the ears.

Lexicon

The mental dictionary of a language—the link between word forms and meanings.

Articulatory phonetics

The study of how speech sounds are produced by the mouth and related organs.

Phonology

The system of how sounds can be combined and change in different contexts within a language.

Morphology

The study of the internal structure of words and how meaningful pieces combine.

Syntax

The rules for how words combine to form phrases and sentences.

Semantics

The study of meaning in language.

Pragmatics

The study of how context affects meaning in communication.

Literacy

Reading and writing skills; part of grammatical knowledge but not required for competence in a language.

Grammar

The mental grammar—the system of knowledge in the mind that enables language use, not just a set of rules.

Acceptability judgments

Empirical judgments about whether a sentence or structure is acceptable or grammatical.

Metalinguistic awareness

Conscious knowledge about language structure that can be reflected on.

Descriptive vs prescriptive

Descriptive describes how language is used; prescriptive prescribes how it should be used.

Standard language

The prestige form tied to power and institutions; not inherently superior, just socially privileged.

Dialect/Variety

A form of a language tied to a region or social group; not inherently better or worse.

Black English / AAVE

African American Vernacular English; a recognized variety linked to Black identity and culture.

Corpus

A large database of real-world language data used for linguistic analysis.

Generativity

The ability of a language to generate an infinite number of sentences from finite vocabulary and rules.

Generative AI / Large Language Models

Computer systems that generate text by statistical patterns learned from data; they lack true semantic understanding.