language and mind ch 1 and 2

Phonetics

Study of production, perception of individual sounds

phonology

Study of workings of systems of sounds

Morphemes

Study of the composition of words

syntax

study of the grammar of words

semantics

study of the expression of meaning

pragmatics

study of meaning in context

language

• primary communication system of humans that can take different forms

  • language of speech

  • language as signs to communicate meaning

hocketts design features

features which are supposed to define human language

vocal-auditory channel

language is produced in the vocal tract and transmitted as sound, its perceived through the auditory channel

broadcast transmission and directional reception:

Language can be heard from many directions, but it is perceived as coming from one particular location

rapid fading

the sound produced by speech fades quickly

interchangeability

a user of a language can send and receive the same message

specialization

there are fixed associations between units of language and aspects of the world

arbitrariness

the meaningful associations between language and the world are arbitrary

Discreteness:

The units of language are separate and distinct from one another rather than being part of a continuous whole

Displacement:

Language can be used to communicate about things that are not present in time or space

Productivity:

Language can be used to say things that have never been said before, and yet are understandable to the receiver

traditional transmission

the specific language thats adopted by the user has to be learned by exposure to other users of that language; its precise details are not available through genetic transmission

Duality of patterning

Many meaningful units (words) are made by the combination of a small number of elements (sounds) into various sequences. For example, pat, tap, apt all use the same sound elements but can be combined in different ways to create many different words.

Prevarication

language can deliberately be used to make false statements

reflexiveness

language can be used to refer or describe itself

learnability

users of one language can learn to use another different language

Key features without argument:

semanticity

traditional transmission

arbitrariness

discreteness

productivity

duality of patterning

Recursion

• newer design feature

• is a special property of syntax

• recursive things can build on themselves over and over again
  “John said that Mary demanded that billy tell Alex that sally said to Ian that Joe had asked if Joey…”
  - most linguists believe that all languages have recursion

anti nativism

humans use language because it is an especially useful tool to use for practical and social reasons. The building blocks of language are only shared among animals, but only humans have put those building blocks to work as language
- we inherited cognitive skills allowed us to create and use language
- because our brains are good at using language, we just kept on using it
- 1970s
- more common to have an anti-nativist perspective now

certain skills that make language happen may be shared with other species, but humans had the right combination of genetic makeup to make and share language

nativists

believe that humans have genes for language
genetically encoded in the human brain
- much more recent evolution, and language itself was the evolution
- a gene that allowed some humans to use language was passed on
recent, not shared with other species

social building blocks

humans have a motivation to be social and cooperative
- not linked to a specific design feature
the intent to communicate, and the recognition of that intent in others

anti nativists v nativists

nativists and anti-nativists largely agree on the design features of language and the cognitive building blocks of language

• they disagree on:

  • what is shared with other animals

  • whether humans are genetically programmed for language

  • what humans are born knowing about language

universal grammar

nativist theory

kids are creating a mental grammar so early, its insane! they must have a part of their brain that is designed for language, and they are born with linguistic knowledge
they believe:
- infants are born knowing all the possible patterns of human language
- infants learn by identifying which patterns their language follows
- there is a set of universals which constraints all the possible patterns of human language
a child has all possible settings, and language acquisition is finding the right settings for language around them and repressing all other knowledge

• can help explain how fast language acquisition happens

• after 12-13 years, reaching native proficiency is almost impossible

• aka critical periods

mental grammar

rules of language: the mental grammar

• every user of a language knows a lot about how their own language works

  • which words can appear together in a sentence

  • what sequences could be words, and what sounds cant

  • how words combine in order to create meaning

  • the correct word order for sentences

  • know a lot of this by the end of childhood

challenges to UG

quality and quantity of children's input is better than previously thought

• lang-specific properties may come from other cognitive properties

• language specific properties are found in other animals

• apparent universals have counterexamples

• similar patterns may solve similar problems, and arise independently
  all of the evidence for UG are hard to prove, and never have been proven, so its important to think of other explanations

evidence for UG

deaf school in 70s— first gen students didn’t have a signed language, but developed one quickly

• nativists concluded that the development of their language supported the innateness hypothesis
  first cohort: nsl developed
  second cohort: took nsl and refined it

generalization: meaningless variation appears in a language and can then gain meaning

• age groups coverage within themselves but not so much across generations

• adults model, and kids innovate: a constant factor in every language = vertical transmission

  • ex: two generations ago most people distinguished cot- caught vowels— for millions of midwest Americans do not have this distinction

  • zero = none

• at the time, nativists thought it supported their view, but why did they not create the language at home?