LING 101 unit 1 intro

Linguistics

the scientific study of language and how it works, is acquired, changes, is used, and represented

native speakers

acquired language as a child in natural setting

properties of language

1. both creative and systematic in nature

2. both biological and social/cultural

3. not one system (parts working together)

4. There is variation

linguistic competence

speakers can recognize unfamiliar sentences through pieces, along with recognizing that some are unacceptable

phonetics

articulation and perception of speech sounds

phonology

the patterning of speech sounds

morphology

word formation syntax

syntax

sentence formation

semantics

interpretation of words and sentences

a grammar

an understanding of language rules/factors that lets us produce a language output that is understandable to others

regularization

tendency to drive out exceptions by replacing them with a form that fits a more general pattern

descriptive vs prescriptive grammar

descriptive = trying to explain language, prescriptive = trying to change language to fit right or wrongkno

knowledge of grammar is…

largely subconscious

language productivity

can produce and understand infinite number of setences with limited rules and sounds

critical period

when lang acquisition is biologically

social cultural aspect of human language

language development happens spontaneously when exposed to speech community

mental grammar

contains principles determining possibility but is largely subconscious, picked up unintentionally

systemic intuitions

even if never explicitly taught, pick up patterns of lang

do we speak a language or a dialect?

dialect

what is a dialect

a variety of language shared by a group of people

what is an accent

a speech feature that distinguishes a dialect, a way of pronouncing

linguistic variation

based on geography, social class, ethnicity, etc

lexical differences

different words for same object concept

syntactic differences

different structures of sentences

phonological differences

more than 1 way of producing same sound