The Linguistic Facts of Life – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the notes on language theory, variation, standardization, and sociolinguistics.

Copyright law

U.S. law (Title 17) governing photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted material, with conditions under which libraries may reproduce and use such copies.

Fair use

A legal doctrine allowing limited use of copyrighted material for private study, scholarship, or research under specific conditions to avoid infringement.

FOXP2 gene

A gene linked to language ability, identified in a family with severe speech and language disorders; not a sole “grammar gene,” but related to language development.

Chomsky’s universal grammar

The theory that humans are innately wired for language and share underlying grammatical structures across languages.

Innate capacity to acquire language

The idea that humans have a biological basis or blueprint in the brain that enables rapid, universal language learning.

Mother tongue (blueprints in the mind)

The notion that children use internal mental blueprints plus environmental data to develop their first language.

Syntacticians

Linguists who study rules and structures that generate word order and sentence formation.

Cognitive grammarians

Linguists who emphasize cognitive processes in shaping grammar and language use.

Sociolinguists

Linguists who study how language variation relates to social identities, groups, and norms.

Variationists

Researchers who examine how language varies across speakers, contexts, and communities.

Anthropological linguists

Linguists who study language in its cultural and social contexts, including how language relates to identity.

Phoneticians

Linguists who analyze the production and perception of speech sounds.

Prescriptivists

People who advocate for strict language rules and standards and resist language change.

Descriptivists

Linguists who describe how language is actually used, without prescribing rules.

All living languages change

A fundamental claim that languages continuously evolve in phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.

All languages are equal in linguistic potential

The idea that no language variety is inherently superior in its capacity to convey meaning.

Grammaticality

Whether a sentence conforms to the rules of a language’s grammar as judged by speakers or linguists.

Communicative effectiveness

The extent to which an utterance achieves its intended communication, which may differ from strict grammaticality.

Written vs. spoken language

Two distinct modes with different structures, functions, and norms; writing emphasizes standardization, while speech is often more fluid and context-driven.

Standard American English (SAE)

An idealized, normative variety of English used as a reference point in discussions of language, often contrasted with regional or vernacular forms.

Singular they

The use of they/them as a gender-neutral singular pronoun; historically common and increasingly accepted in modern usage.

Taxicab Maxim

Idea that language grammar must obey its own rules while language users can bend or ignore other rules in real-life usage.

Colorless green ideas sleep furiously

Chomsky’s famous example of a sentence that is grammatical but semantically nonsensical, illustrating distinction between form and meaning.

Data (singular vs. plural)

The noun 'data' is traditionally plural (data do/are), though usage increasingly treats it as singular in ordinary speech; disagreement exists between linguists and prescriptivists.

Pidginization and creolization

Processes by which new contact languages form: pidgins emerge as simplified contact languages, creoles develop when pidgins become native to a community.

Standardization

Efforts to fix or fossilize language variation through norms in writing and teaching, often tied to power and authority over language.

Literacy myth

Belief that literacy inherently creates superior thinking or social advantage, often oversimplifying the relationship between reading/writing and cognitive skills.

Bernstein’s restricted and elaborated codes

Theory positing that home language variants (restricted codes) differ from literate-home settings (elaborated codes), influencing thought and social opportunity.

Orthography

The conventional spelling system of a language; closely tied to debates about standardization and dictionaries.

Standard Language Ideology (SLI)

Belief that there is a single ‘correct’ standard language, used to judge others and reinforce social hierarchies.