Linguistics Final Review

Review taken from the final exam study guide for Lin126 at Duke University.

Allosome

The two chromosomes that determine one’s biological sex. Females are XX while males are XY.

Bottom up processing

The interpretation of language that starts with the most basic, sensory-level components (like phonemes, letters, and individual words) and builds up to a complete meaning or structure.

Cardinal Articulatory Features

The three features that describe consonants. These include manner of articulation, place of articulation, and voicing.

Manner of Articulation

The way that the tongue, lips, soft palate, and nose interact with each other to make sound during speech.  These interactions are divided into obstruents and sonorants.  One of the 3 cardinal articulatory features.

Obstruents

A speech sound/type of consonant that relies on high acoustic frequencies. They are made by obstructing or constricting the flow of air from the lungs.

Sonorants

A speech sound/type of consonant that relies on low acoustic frequencies. These sounds are produced by continuous, non-turbulent airflow in the vocal tract, meaning the air can pass through without friction.

Consonants

Speech sounds made by partially or completely blocking the flow of air through the vocal tract, or the letters that represent these sounds. They are produced by constricting the air with the lips, tongue, or teeth and are classified by three categories depending on how the airflow is restricted.

Vowels

Speech sounds made without any restriction in the vocal tract that are made with an open mouth. They can be distinguished by pitch, loudness, and tongue position, and classified in two different ways. They can be described as high or low, as well as long or short.  

Low Vowels

Vowels produced with the tongue low in the mouth, creating a large open space and a more open sound. Ex. the “ah” sound in “Father”. 

High Vowels

Vowels produced with the tongue arched high and close to the roof of the mouth. Ex. the “ee” sound that the letter i makes in “machine”.

Place of Articulation

The specific location in the mouth where a speech sound is produced; The location where airflow is constricted or blocked to produce a speech sound.  One of the 3 cardinal articulatory features.

Voicing

The articulatory mechanisms of speech that create sounds/consonants. Ex. how the vocal cords vibrate and what parts/frequencies they vibrate at to create certain sounds.  One of the 3 cardinal articulatory features.

Stops/Plosives

Consonant sounds created by completely stopping the airflow in the vocal tract and then releasing it. They are produced by completely blocking the mouth or throat (the airway) followed by an "explosion" of air. Ex. The b in “bat”.

Fricatives

Consonant sounds produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. Airflow is restricted but not completely stopped, causing audible friction. Ex. the f in “family”.

Affricates 

Consonant sounds that start with a fully closed airway and are then immediately released through a constricted airway, causing audible friction.  They are a combination of stops/plosives and fricatives.  Ex. the “tch” sound in “Watch”. 

Short Vowels

Quick vowel sounds that don’t match with the name of the letter. Ex. the a in “cat”.

Long Vowels

Vowel sounds that say the name of the letter within the word. Ex. the e in “eat” or the a in “cake”.

Nasals

Speech sounds found only in consonants (in English) that are produced by airflow through the nasal cavity. They are created when airflow is blocked in the mouth and the soft pallet is lowered, allowing air to escape through the nasal passage. Ex. the n in “sing”. 

Consonant Inventories

The set of all consonant sounds used in a particular language. There is a significant positive correlation between frequency of the RU1-1 allele group of the READ1 regulatory element and this in any given language.

Vowel Inventories

The set of all vowel sounds used in a particular language.

Phoneme

The smallest sound unit that distinguishes a word. Ex. the word “cell” is created by 3 phonemes: the s sound from the c, the “eh” from the e, and the “ell” from the two ls. “Cell” differs from “fell” by one phoneme, the “fh” sound made by the f.

CNTNAP2

A gene located on chromosome 7 that is regulated by FOXP2 and is involved in language.  It encodes for a neurexin protein (helps with cell adhesion and is essential for synapse formation and function) that is prominent in language related areas of the brain.  Mutation variants of this gene have been linked to autism, seizures, and specific language impairment

ERPs/Event Related Potentials

The measure of brain activity that happens in response to specific stimuli. They are recorded using an EEG machine

Switch Cost

The processing delay that happens when a bilingual individual switches between two languages. This is used as a measurable indicator of language control.

Language Schema

A cognitive framework for organizing language, including mental blueprints for grammar, vocabulary, and how words are put together to create meaning. In bilinguals, the BDNF, COMT, and Kibra/ WWC1 genes effect this.

Language Control

The ability for bilinguals to switch between languages. It’s dependent on how much switching experience one has combined with their genome. Affected by FOXP2.

Switching Experience

How often a bilingual person switches between languages/how frequently they use both of them. The more often they switch between the languages, the more of this they will have.

Endogamous

Marriage or relationships that occur within the same community. This type of group requires its members to choose spouses from inside the group.

Exogamous

Marriage or relationships that occur between individuals of different groups/communities. This type of group requires its members to choose spouses from outside the group.

Episodic selection

When positive selection acts on a gene for a period of time and on a few lineages of an evolutionary tree, but not continuously or across the entire tree. This means that advantageous mutations, which increase the diversity of a gene, become common only during a specific evolutionary period and only on specific branches, leading to adaptation.

Expressive Vocabulary

The ability to communicate thoughts, feelings, and needs using spoken words, gestures, or writing. It involves using words to name objects, ask questions, form sentences, and tell stories.

Receptive vocabulary

The ability to understand of information provided in a variety of ways such as sounds, words, movement, gestures, signs, and symbols. It includes understanding single words, sentences, and complex concepts like prepositions and grammar.

Enclave

A group whose language and/or genetics differ from surrounding neighbors, indicating shifts or persistence. Groups can either be classified as matching or mismatching.

Matching Enclave

Populations/groups whose closest genetic and linguistic relatives are both geographically far away.

Mismatching Linguistic Enclave

Populations whose closest linguistic relatives are distant, but genetically they are similar to the local population. This suggests gene flow or genetic admixture.

Mismatching Genetic Enclaves

Populations whose closest genetic relatives are distant geographically, but are linguistically similar to local populations. This suggests a language shift.

Genetic Distance

How genetically similar/different two populations are; A measure of genetic divergence between species or populations, reflecting how different their DNA is and how recently they shared a common ancestor.

Sex-Based Migration

One sex migrates more than the other sex, which can impact spread of certain genes and cultures.

Sex-biased transmission

The uneven or preferential inheritance of genetic or cultural traits that are linked to an individual's sex. In genetics, this is often due to sex-linked chromosomes. In culture, it can occur when social structures or behaviors lead children to primarily learn language or other knowledge from their father's or mother's family

Matrilocal

A marriage pattern where a married couple lives with or near the wife's parents.

Patrilocal

A marriage pattern where a married couple lives with or near the husband’s parents.

Foreign accent syndrome

The phenomenon of waking up from a coma and having a new accent or language.

Matrilineal

Inheritance from the mother’s genetic lineage.

Patrilineal

Inheritance from the father’s genetic lineage.

RAP/Rapid Auditory Processing

The brain's ability to process two or more successive, rapidly presented sounds, and it is crucial for language acquisition and understanding speech. A deficit in this ability can make it difficult to understand speech, follow multi-step directions, or distinguish speech in noisy environments, and is associated with conditions like developmental language disorders, dyslexia, and autism spectrum disorder. 

DCDC2

A gene located on chromosome 6 that encodes for a protein necessary for neuronal migration and brain development. This gene has been linked to reading and language performance, and mutations to it have been linked to dyslexia, SLA, and speech sound disorders.

READ1

A regulatory element that is located on the second intron of DCDC2 that regulates the gene’s expression. It is associated with phonological processing and has over 40 known alleles, but the most common are RU1-1 and RU1-2.

RU1-1 Allele

A variant of READ1. These “short alleles” increase the expression of DCDC2 and enhance auditory precision/discrimination of rapid sounds. Populations with more of this allele tend to speak languages with more stops/plosives.

RU1-2 Allele

A variant of READ1. These “long alleles” result in lower expression of DCDC2, resulting in weaker phonological processing. Populations with more of this allele tend to speak languages with more nasals, as plosives require high temporal precision to achieve.

KIAHap

A risk hapolotype for DCDC2 on the KIAA0319 gene. It is deleterious, and is associated with dyslexia and other language difficulties. Synergises with deleterious READ1 alleles to reduce performance in reading, language, and IQ.

Deleterious READ1 Alleles

Longer alleles (aka RU1-2) that synergize with KIAHap to reduce performance in reading, language, and IQ.

Protective READ1 Alleles

Shorter alleles (aka RU1-1) that supress the deleterious effect of KIAHap.