LAD - S4 Elements of Language (F C U)

Three major components of language (Bloom & Lahey 1978)

Form (Phonology; Morphology; Syntax); Content (Semantics); Use (Pragmatics).

Phonology definition

Rules governing the structure; distribution; and sequencing of speech sounds in a language.

Phoneme definition

The smallest linguistic unit of sound that can signal a difference in meaning (e.g. /p/ versus /b/ in pat versus bat).

Phone definition

Any distinct speech sound regardless of whether it distinguishes meaning (e.g. aspirated [pʰ] in pin versus unaspirated [p] in spin are different phones but same phoneme in English).

Vowel definition

Sounds produced with a relatively open vocal tract; they form the nucleus of a syllable (e.g. /i/ /æ/ /u/ /ɔ/).

Consonant definition

Sounds produced with constriction in the vocal tract; typically occur at the onset or coda of a syllable (e.g. /p/ /t/ /k/ /s/ /m/).

Consonant cluster definition

Two or more consonants together in a syllable (e.g. /spr/ in spring; /nts/ in ants).

Syllable structure notation

(C) = consonant; (V) = vowel. English: (C) to the third power V (C) to the fourth power (up to three consonants before vowel; up to four after).

English syllable structure example

CCCVCCCC as in texts (consonant cluster /t/ /k/ /s/ /t/ but careful – actually texts = /t/ /e/ /k/ /s/ /t/ so CVCCC).

Cantonese syllable structure

(C) V (C) – only one consonant before vowel and only specific consonants after (/m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /p/ /t/ /k/).

Portuguese syllable structure

(C) (C) V (C) – more restricted than English; less restricted than Cantonese.

Morphology definition

Rules governing the internal structure of words; how smallest units of meaning combine.

Morpheme definition

The smallest grammatical unit that carries meaning or grammatical function (e.g. dog = 1 morpheme; dogs = 2 morphemes dog + -s).

Free morpheme definition

A morpheme that can stand alone as an independent word (e.g. cat; run; happy; book).

Bound morpheme definition

A morpheme that cannot stand alone; must attach to a free morpheme (e.g. -s for plural; un- prefix; -ed past tense).

Inflectional morpheme definition

Changes the state or increases precision of the free morpheme; does not change core meaning or part of speech; always suffixes in English (e.g. -s plural; -ed past; -ing progressive; -er comparative; -est superlative).

Derivational morpheme definition

Creates new words; often changes meaning or part of speech; can be prefixes or suffixes (e.g. un- meaning not; re- meaning again; -er meaning one who; -ly adverb).

Example morpheme analysis of uncooked

un- (derivational bound) + cook (free) + -ed (inflectional bound).

Chinese morphology note

Chinese has no inflectional morphemes for tense; plural; or agreement; relies on word order; context; and separate particles; does have compounding (e.g. 橙 + 汁 = 橙汁 orange juice).

Syntax definition

Rules governing the structure of sentences; how words combine to form phrases; clauses; and sentences.

Mandatory sentence components

Every sentence must contain a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP).

Word order types

SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) e.g. English; Chinese; Spanish; SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) e.g. Japanese; Korean; Dutch; VSO (Verb-Subject-Object) e.g. Irish; Classical Arabic.

Garden path sentence definition

Grammatically correct sentences that lead the listener down an incorrect initial interpretation; reveal real-time parsing strategies.

Garden path sentence example

The horse raced past the barn fell. (Initial parse: horse raced past the barn seems complete; then fell forces re-parse as The horse that was raced past the barn fell).

Another garden path example

The complex houses married and single soldiers and their families. (Initial parse: complex houses as noun phrase; then houses becomes verb: The complex houses married soldiers…).

Semantics definition

Rules governing the meaning or content of words and word combinations; the system that connects language to concepts.

Two kinds of semantic knowledge

Word knowledge (mental dictionary of word meanings) and World knowledge (autobiographical and experiential memory).

Synonym definition

Words with nearly identical meanings (e.g. big and large; talk and speak).

Antonym definition

Words that are opposites (e.g. up and down; big and small).

Semantic features definition

Aspects of meaning that characterize a word (e.g. mother = +parent +female; father = +parent -female).

Selection restrictions definition

Based on semantic features; some word combinations are prohibited because they are redundant or meaningless (e.g. male mother violates features; colorless green ideas violates restrictions).

Classic syntax-semantics independence example (Chomsky)

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously – syntactically perfect (NP + VP + adverb) but semantically anomalous; demonstrates syntax and semantics are separate systems.

Pragmatics definition

The study of language use in social context to achieve communicative goals; how context influences meaning.

Key pragmatic abilities

Communication intentions and speech acts; conversational principles (turn-taking; opening; maintaining; closing; repair); role and register adjustment.

Speech act definition

Using language to do things (request; promise; threaten; apologize; declare); can be direct (Close the door) or indirect (It's cold in here isn't it).

Performative speech act example

I now pronounce you husband and wife – the utterance itself performs the action of marriage.

Grice's Cooperative Principle

Conversation works because participants assume they are cooperating to communicate effectively.

Grice's four maxims

Quantity (be as informative as required not more); Quality (be truthful); Relation (be relevant); Manner (be clear; orderly; avoid ambiguity).

Flouting a maxim

Intentionally violating a maxim for effect (e.g. sarcasm; humor; politeness) – listener understands the violation conveys additional meaning.

Theory of Mind (ToM) definition

The ability to ascribe mental states (beliefs; intentions; desires; perspectives) to others and use those states to explain and predict behavior.

Age of Theory of Mind development

Typically develops around age 4; tested with False Belief tasks (Sally-Anne task).

Why ToM matters for pragmatics

Understanding irony; sarcasm; metaphor; and indirect requests all require recognizing that others have different perspectives from one's own.

Language hierarchy (from phonetics to pragmatics)

Phonetics (raw sounds) → Phonology (sound categories) → Morphology (meaningful units) → Syntax (sentence structure) → Semantics (literal meaning) → Pragmatics (meaning in context).

Higher levels depend on lower levels but also constrain them

Pragmatic goals influence word choice (semantics) and sentence structure (syntax); bidirectional integrated system.