Ling

Are some languages grammatically more complex than others?

Yes, some of the world’s languages are grammatically more complex than others.

Do parents and caregivers teach young children their language?

No, children acquire language naturally; parents and caregivers do not explicitly teach them.

Do some languages take longer for children to learn than others?

No, all human languages are acquired at a similar pace by children.

Do linguistic abilities steadily increase as a child grows older?

Yes, linguistic abilities develop steadily as a child grows older.

Is formal, careful speech grammatically more sophisticated than casual, everyday speech?

No, formal and casual speech are equally grammatically sophisticated.

Do cultures with greater technological sophistication tend to have grammatically richer languages?

No, technological sophistication does not correlate with grammatical complexity.

What is an example of a 'natural experiment' showing that language complexity is independent of technology?

The Highlanders of Papua New Guinea, who had stone-age technology but a highly complex language (Yimas).

How is language different from writing?

Language is part of human biology and universal, while writing is an invention and not universal.

What is prescriptive grammar?

Rules that prescribe how people should or ought to use language, often based on arbitrary standards.

What is an example of a prescriptive rule?

Double negation (e.g., 'he doesn't know nothing') is considered inappropriate and illogical.

What are some justifications for prescriptive grammar rules?

Established conventions, the belief that the old way is better, Latin influence, perceived logic, or authority ('because I said so').

What are the advantages of prescriptive grammar?

Preservation of older language forms and clarity/standardization for communication.

What is descriptive grammar?

Rules that describe how language is actually used by native speakers, based on observed patterns.

What is a grammatical sentence in descriptive grammar?

A sentence that expresses an idea in a natural, well-formed way according to native speakers.

What is linguistic competence?

The knowledge a speaker has in their mind that allows them to generate grammatical expressions of their language.

What is linguistic performance?

The actual language behavior a speaker displays, which can be affected by factors like memory, fatigue, or false starts.

What is tacit knowledge in language?

Rules that govern linguistic behavior but are not consciously known or easily stated by speakers.

What is conscious knowledge in language?

Knowledge that can be reflected on, slowed down, and explained to others.

What is a mental grammar?

A set of rules that generate the expressions of a speaker’s language.

What is a corpus in linguistics?

A large collection of texts, speeches, audio recordings, or videos used to study language performance.

What are grammaticality judgments?

Native speakers’ intuitions about the well-formedness of possible expressions in their language.

What is recursion in human language?

The ability to generate linguistic units that contain other linguistic units of the same kind.

What is structural ambiguity?

Sentences or words with two distinct structures and meanings.

What is the right-hand head rule in nominal compounds?

The head of a compound is always the noun on the right.

What is Noam Chomsky’s contribution to linguistics?

He emphasized that human language is creative, innovative, and free from stimulus control.

What is the nativist view of language acquisition?

Some (or all) knowledge of language is innate and independent of sensory experience.

What is Universal Grammar?

The idea that language involves innate universal principles and ideas.

What is the empiricist view of language acquisition?

All knowledge of language derives from sensory experience, and the mind is a blank slate at birth.

What is behaviorism in language learning?

The idea that learning is based on modifying behavioral responses through reinforcement or punishment.

What is connectionism?

A modern form of empiricism that models human cognitive processes using artificial neural networks.

What evidence supports nativism?

Universality, uniformity, rapidity, and consistency of stages in language development.

What is Specific Language Impairment (SLI)?

A developmental disorder that affects language without additional cognitive deficits.

What is Williams syndrome?

A developmental disorder causing broad cognitive deficits but leaving language intact.

What is a chatbot?

A computer program that simulates human conversation using text responses to user prompts.

What are Large Language Models (LLMs)?

AI systems that predict the next word in a sequence, used in chatbots and NLP.

What is Natural Language Processing (NLP)?

The branch of AI that deals with understanding and generating human language.

What is neural network probing?

Investigating what happens inside artificial neural networks to understand their processes.