top hat chapter 1

Pragmatic particles

Words that are part of the structure of communication, like 'LOL'.

Bi-dialectal/Bilingual

The ability to speak two dialects or languages, beneficial for communication.

Linguistics

The study of how languages have evolved and changed.

Language acquisition

Learning a language naturally without specific instructions.

Language learning

Learning a language with conscious instructions and steps.

Discreteness

Set of units that can be combined to communicate, such as sounds and words.

Grammar

A system of rules governing the structure of sentences in a language.

Productivity

The ability to create new messages using a language.

Displacement

The ability to talk about things not present, e.g., concepts of time.

Semanticity

The property of language that signals have meaning.

Arbitrariness

The lack of a natural connection between the signal and its meaning.

Generative grammar

Body of rules that provide outcomes for permissible sentences in a language.

Phonetics

The study of perception and expression of speech sounds.

Morphology

The study of the structure and formation of words.

Syntax

The rules governing sentence structure in a language.

Semantics

The study of meaning and interpretation of words and sentences.

Descriptivist approach

Focuses on how language is actually used in different situations.

Prescriptivist approach

Advocates for a standard or correct form of language usage.

Register

Style or manner of speaking appropriate for different situations.

Standard language

The most popular version of a language, often associated with higher social class.

What type of register is this? Ex. What y’all watching?

Informal register

What type of register is this? Ex. What are you watching?

Formal register

Remember: register is not about (blank) but about (blank).

grammaticality,appropriateness

(blank1) rules are about mandating language and (blank2) rules are about describing it (i.e. (blank2) rules tell us what speakers do and don’t do, while (blank1) rules tell us what speakers should and shouldn’t do).

prescriptive, descriptive

Language variety

a dialect of a language

“non-standard language does not mean ungrammatical language” True or False?

true

“Dialects of the same language have identical grammars”. and “A standard language is the variety of any given language spoken by the working class in a community.” True or False?

false

Linguistics Competence

Mental grammar

Linguistics Performance

Actual used language

Generality

A characteristic of grammar: all languages have their own set of rules/grammar

Parity

A characteristic of grammar: all grammars are of equal importance

Mutability

A characteristic of grammar: grammar changes overtime

Inaccessibility

A characteristic of grammar: grammatical knowledge is unconscious (mental grammar/linguistic competence)

Universality

A characteristic of grammar: all grammars are alike in basic ways

mental grammar/linguistics competence

subconscious grammar rules we follow in our head