ANTH 3 Final Exam

Structural linguistics

Analyzes language at three levels: phonology (sounds), morphology (word structure), and syntax (sentence structure).

Phonology

The study of a language's sound system, analyzing how sounds are used to differentiate meaning.

Phonetics

The objective description of all sounds in human language, focusing on the physical production and 'etic' view of sounds.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

A standardized system for representing sounds of all human languages, allowing accurate transcription regardless of orthography.

Phone

Any distinct sound used in human speech, representing physical sounds rather than mental categories that change meaning.

Phoneme

A sound that serves to differentiate meaning in a specific language, identified using minimal pairs.

Allophone

One of multiple forms of the same phoneme, such as the aspirated [ph] in 'pit' and unaspirated [p] in 'spit'.

Morphology

The analysis of word structure, examining how morphemes are combined to create meaning.

Morpheme

The smallest meaningful part of a language, which cannot be broken down further without losing its specific meaning.

Allomorph

Variant forms of a single morpheme, such as the English plural morpheme sounding like /-s/, /-z/, or /-əz/.

Compounding

The morphological process of combining two base morphemes to create a new word, like 'notebook'.

Base morpheme

A basic lexical word providing core meaning, which can be a free morpheme or a bound stem.

Free morpheme

A unit of meaning that can stand alone as a word, such as 'mat' in 'mats'.

Bound morpheme

A unit of meaning that must be attached to a base to be understood, like prefixes and suffixes.

Affixation

The process of adding a bound morpheme (affix) to a base, including prefixes, suffixes, and infixes.

Affix

A bound morpheme added to a base morpheme to modify its meaning, categorized by placement.

Prefix

An affix that precedes the base morpheme; examples include 're-' in 'replay'.

Suffix

An affix that follows the base morpheme; examples include '-ly' in 'vividly'.

Infix

An affix inserted into the middle of a base morpheme, common in languages like Tagalog.

Circumfix

A two-part affix placed both before and after a base, seen in Hebrew like 'm- -at'.

Reduplication

Repeating a segment of a base morpheme as an affix, used for plurality in languages like Indonesian.

Interweaving

A morphological process where affixes are interspersed throughout a root, characteristic of Arabic.

Portmanteau

A word formed by blending two separate morphemes together, like 'brunch' (breakfast + lunch).

Suppletion

Replacing a morpheme with a completely different form to mark a grammatical change, such as 'go' becoming 'went'.

Isolating languages

Languages where each word typically consists of a single morpheme, like Vietnamese.

Polysynthetic Languages

Languages that create long words by stringing together many distinct morphemes, like Yu’pik Inuit.

Fusional languages

Languages where multiple grammatical meanings are fused into a single morpheme, like Spanish suffixes.

Syntax

The level of grammar dealing with the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences.

Word order

The linear arrangement of subject, verb, and object, with English primarily using SVO.

Inflection

A system where grammatical relationships are marked by modifying word forms rather than strict order.

Syntactic trees

Visual diagrams showing the hierarchical structure of a sentence, grouping words into phrases.

Recursion

The syntactical property that allows rules to be repeatedly applied to generate infinitely long sentences.

Language change

A constant, natural phenomenon in languages, rejecting the idea of 'degeneration'.

Language learning

Children's language learning contributes to change by introducing variations that can become standard.

Social differentiation

When different groups use language to mark their identity, leading to linguistic shifts.

Invention

The creation of new words for new concepts, causing language change, such as portmanteaus.

Language contact

Interaction between speakers of different languages, leading to 'word borrowing'.

Speaker errors

Unintended speech variations that can become permanent language features, such as loss and additions.

Loss

A speaker error where syllables are dropped, like saying 'temperture' for 'temperature'.

Additions

Errors where extra syllables are inserted into a word, as in 'athlete' pronounced as 'athalete'.

Assimilations

Changes where features of one phoneme carry over to another, common in fast speech.

Dissimilation

The dropping of a similar sound during articulation, such as saying 'Febuary' instead of 'February'.

Metathesis

The reordering of sounds in a word, such as the shift from 'ask' to 'aks'.

Spoonerisms

A form of metathesis where sounds are exchanged between different words, like 'break a glass' to 'blake a grass'.

Blends

Errors where two words are mixed together, such as 'sparcity' from 'scarcity' and 'sparseness'.

Malapropisms

The incorrect use of a word that sounds similar to the intended one, like 'comparisons are odorous' instead of 'odious'.

Reanalysis

Assigning a new meaning to a morpheme not originally intended, like 'hamburger' for 'veggie-burger'.

Lingua franca

A third language used for communication between groups

Pidgin language

A simplified contact language with limited vocabulary and simple grammar, emerging in trade situations.

Superstrate

The language of the dominating group in a contact situation, providing the majority of vocabulary in a pidgin.

Substrate

The language of the socially subordinate group in a contact situation, influencing the grammatical structure of a pidgin.

Adstrate

A third language in a pidgin's composition that is neither dominant nor subordinate.

Creole language

An expanded language that develops from a pidgin, becoming stable and grammatically regular.

Gullah

A creole language spoken on the Sea Islands of the Southeastern United States with English and African influences.

Tok Pisin

An official creole language of Papua New Guinea, blending English, German, and indigenous languages.

Hawaiian Pidgin/Culture

A language developed in Hawaii through diverse linguistic influences, used by a large part of the population.

Sign languages

Complete linguistic systems with their own phonology and syntax, not merely gestures.

Nicaraguan Sign Language (LSN)

Developed from home signs into a standardized creole (ISN) when deaf children came together in schools.

American Sign Language (ASL)

A complete sign language with its own structure, historically influenced by French Sign Language.

Deaf culture

A cultural identity that arises from the shared language of sign among deaf individuals.

Which one denotes the medical condition of hearing lost?

deaf

Dialects

Regional or social varieties of a language that include consistent variations in phonology and grammar.

Idiolect

An individual's unique language version, influenced by personal experiences and environment.

Bilingualism

The ability to speak two languages, often influenced by colonial histories or immigration.

Individual bilingualism

A person's ability to use two languages, common among immigrants.

Societal bilingualism

A nation recognizing and maintaining multiple languages, such as Canada with French and English.

Diglossia

The use of different languages or dialects for different social contexts within a community.

Code switching

Switching between languages or dialects within the same speech act, reflecting identity.

Spanglish

A hybrid language form arising from code switching between English and Spanish, reflecting cultural identity.

African American Language (AAL)

A systematic variety of English with distinctive features like 'Zero Copula' and 'invariant be'.

Oakland Ebonics controversy

The 1996 resolution recognizing Ebonics aimed to better educate students in Standard English, controversial for its claims.

Language loss (causes)

Causes include colonialism and educational policies that erase native speakers' languages.

Extinct Languages

Languages that no longer have any living speakers, distinctly different from endangered languages.

Language revitalization

Efforts to revive or maintain languages, often grassroots and requiring community involvement.

Hebrew revitalization

Eliezer Ben-Yehudah's initiative in the late 19th century to make Hebrew a spoken language.

Wampanoag revitalization

Jessie Little Doe's campaign to revive the Wampanoag language through educational programs.