8_Language Communication_W25

Verbal Communication

The act of producing meaningful sounds, involving language and cognitive processes.

Speech

The act of producing meaningful sounds in communication.

Speech Communities

Groups of people who share the same language or communities of practice.

Kinesics

Study of non-verbal or non-vocal communication, including body language and gestures.

Proxemics

Study of how different societies perceive and use space.

Paralanguage

Optional vocal features or silences that communicate meaning apart from language itself.

Sign Language

A form of communication using hand movements to convey messages.

Animal Communication Systems (ACS)

Systems of signals used by non-human animals pertaining to survival, mating, and social interactions.

Productivity/Openness

The ability to create an infinite range of understandable expressions from a finite set of rules in language.

Displacement

The ability of language to refer to events and issues beyond the immediate present.

Prevarication

The ability to lie or create nonsensical sentences that are grammatically correct.

Arbitrariness

The lack of a transparent distinction between a symbol's form and its meaning.

Duality of patterning

The ability to create meaning through different arrangements of phonemes and morphemes.

Linguistic Competence

Mastery of adult grammar, as defined by Noam Chomsky.

Communicative Competence

Mastery of socially and culturally appropriate speech rules, as defined by Dell Hymes.

Clever Hans Effect

The phenomenon where an animal appears to understand language or tasks due to cues given by the trainer.

Descriptive Linguistics

The study of patterns of speaking in actual speech, including rules of phonology and syntax.

Linguistic Relativity Principle

The idea that the nature of a language influences the habitual thought of its speakers.

Multilingualism

The use of more than one language by an individual or community.

Pidgin Languages

Languages that develop between speakers of different native languages, lacking native speakers.

Creole Languages

Languages that evolve from pidgins, incorporating vocabulary from the parent languages but with unique grammar.

Language Revitalization

Efforts to revive or maintain local languages that are in decline.

Language Extinction

The complete loss of a language when speakers abandon it in favor of another language.

Language Endangerment

The stage in language decline when there are fewer than 10,000 speakers.