Lecture Notes: Typology, Acquisition, Brain, Sociolinguistics

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from Typology, Acquisition, Brain, and Sociolinguistics sections.

Dialect

A regional or social variety of a language that is usually mutually intelligible with other varieties of the same language.

Language

A system of communication with shared grammar and lexicon; a set of dialects that are not mutually intelligible with other languages.

Mutual intelligibility

The degree to which speakers of two varieties understand each other; used to distinguish dialects from separate languages.

Typology

Classification of languages based on structural features (phonology, morphology, syntax) to identify universals.

Linguistic universals

Structural characteristics that occur in most or all languages; allow prediction about other languages.

Markedness

A concept where some features are less common or more complex; marked forms often accompany unmarked counterparts.

Implicational universal

If a language has feature X, then it tends to have feature Y (not necessarily vice versa).

Vowel typology

Classification of vowel systems (inventory size, front/back, rounding, nasalization).

Oral vowels

Vowels produced without nasal airflow; generally unmarked and more common.

Nasal vowels

Vowels produced with nasal airflow (velum lowered); often less common (marked).

Unmarked

Features that are more common, basic, and widespread across languages.

Marked

Features that are less common, more complex, and often less stable across languages.

Vowel inventory

The set of vowel phonemes in a language; commonly 3–9 vowels, with 5 being very typical.

Front vowels

Vowels articulated with the tongue toward the front of the mouth (e.g., /i/, /e/).

Stops

Consonants formed by a complete closure of the vocal tract (e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/); occur in all languages.

Fricatives

Consonants produced with a narrow constriction causing turbulent airflow (e.g., /s/, /f/).

Nasal stop

A stop consonant produced with nasal airflow (e.g., /n/, /m/).

Obstruents

Consonants formed with significant obstruction of the vocal tract (stops, fricatives, affricates).

Sonorants

Consonants produced with open or resonant airflow (nasals, liquids, glides).

Consonant inventories

The set of consonants in a language; about 70% obstruents and 30% sonorants is a common generalization.

Isolating (analytic) language

A morphology type with little or no affixation; near 1:1 morpheme-to-word ratio.

Agglutinating language

A morphology type where words have several affixes with clear, separate meanings.

Fusional language

A morphology type where affixes encode multiple grammatical meanings with less transparent one-to-one mapping.

Polysynthetic language

A morphology type where single words can encode what would be a whole sentence in other languages; rich morphology.

Mandarin ba

An object marker placed after the object; used to shift the sentence structure.

Word order

The arrangement of subject (S), verb (V), and object (O) in clauses (e.g., SVO, SOV, VSO).

SVO

Subject-Verb-Object word order (e.g., English, Mandarin).

SOV

Subject-Object-Verb word order (e.g., Korean, Japanese).

VSO

Verb-Subject-Object word order (appears in some languages).

OV

Object-Verb order; typical of SOV languages.

VO

Verb-Object order; typical of SVO languages.

Head final

In OV languages, heads (verbs or prepositions) tend to occur at the end of phrases.

Head initial

In VO languages, heads tend to occur at the beginning of phrases.

Morphology

The study of how words are formed from morphemes and how they change form.

Morpheme-to-word ratio

Proportion of morphemes per word; higher in agglutinative/fusional and lower in isolating languages.

Bound morpheme

A morpheme that cannot stand alone and must be attached to a stem (e.g., affixes).

Free morpheme

A morpheme that can stand alone as a word.

Derivational affixes

Affixes that create new words or change word class (e.g., teach → teacher).

Inflectional affixes

Affixes that encode grammatical information (tense, number, case) without changing the word class.

Derivational vs inflectional

Derivational affixes change meaning/word class; inflectional affixes encode grammatical information.

U-shaped learning

Development pattern where children produce a form correctly, then overgeneralize rules, then relearn correctly (e.g., drank).

Babbling stage

Early stage (around 6–12 months) where children practice speech sounds; cross-linguistic similarities observed.

Wug test

Experimental task showing children apply grammar rules to novel words, indicating internal grammar.

Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH)

There is an optimal window in early life for acquiring language; after that, language learning is harder.

Innateness

Idea that language ability is built-in; humans have an innate capacity for language.

Universal Grammar (UG)

Hypothesized set of innate grammatical principles shared by all humans.

Interlanguage

Learner’s evolving grammar system in a second language, shaped by L1 and L2; can fossilize.

Transfer

L1 features influencing L2 grammar, pronunciation, or syntax.

Fossilization

Stabilization of incorrect interlanguage forms; becomes persistent over time.

Recast

Teacher reformulates a learner’s utterance into a correct form without explicit correction.

Corrective feedback (CF)

Feedback that signals an error and provides correction, explicit or implicit.

Dichotic listening techniques

Experimental method presenting different sounds to each ear to study brain lateralization.

Right ear advantage

Typically better perception/reporting of speech sounds to the right ear, indicating left-hemisphere language dominance.

Left hemisphere

Hemisphere predominantly involved in language processing for most people.

Broca’s area

Left frontal region linked to language production; damage leads to non-fluent aphasia.

Wernicke’s area

Left temporal region linked to language comprehension; damage leads to fluent but meaningless speech.

Global aphasia

Most severe form of aphasia with limited language production and comprehension.

Aphasia

Language disorder caused by brain damage, affecting production and/or comprehension.

Sociolinguistics

Study of how language varies with social factors like gender, ethnicity, region, class.

Dialect (regional/social)

Regional or social variety of a language; can be standard or nonstandard.

Standard vs nonstandard language

Standard language is the officially accepted form; nonstandard includes dialects and vernacular.

Variation

Differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, or grammar among speakers and contexts.

Linguistic variable

A feature that varies across speakers or situations; e.g., pronunciation or word choice.

Dynamic language variation

Language variation that changes over time and across communities.

Ethnolect

A sociolect tied to a particular ethnic group.

Enclave

Ethnic neighborhood (e.g., Koreatown, Chinatown, Little Italy).

Code-switching

Alternating between languages or varieties within a discourse or clause.

Situational code-switching

Code-switching based on social setting or context.

Metaphorical code-switching

Code-switching used to express identity or stance, rather than merely context.

Integrative motivation

Desire to learn a language to integrate into the target language community.

Instrumental motivation

Practical goal-driven motivation for learning a language (career, exams).

Lakoff’s major claims

Women’s language exists, with identifiable features; reflects subordinate status and status influences perception.

Empty adjectives

Lakoff’s claim of vague adjectives used more by women in her analysis.

Accent

A feature of pronunciation indicating the speaker’s linguistic background; varies with L1.

Slang

Informal, nonstandard vocabulary that tends to be ephemeral.

Race vs ethnicity

Race: socially constructed categorization based on perceived physical traits; Ethnicity: cultural background and heritage.

Ethnolect

A sociolect tied to an ethnic group’s linguistic practices.

Enclave (ethnic neighborhood)

Geographic area with a high concentration of a particular ethnic group.

Code-switching (types)

Switching languages or varieties; Situational (context-based) and Metaphorical (identity-based).