Understanding Key Concepts in Linguistics
There is no intrinsic or logical connection between a sound form (signal) and its meaning. Whatever name a human language attributes to an object is purely arbitrary. Discreteness: Linguistic representations can be broken down into small discrete units that combine with each other in rule-governed ways. They are perceived categorically, not continuously. For example, English marks number with the plural morpheme /s/, which can be added to the end of any noun. The plural morpheme is perceived categorically, not continuously; we can’t express smaller or larger quantities by varying how loudly we pronounce the /s/. Displacement: This refers to the idea that humans can talk about things that are not physically present or that do not even exist. Speakers can talk about the past, the future, and can express hopes and dreams. Productivity: This refers to the idea that language users can create and understand novel utterances. Humans are able to produce an unlimited number of utterances. New idioms are created all the time, and the meaning of signals can vary depending on the context and situation. Cultural Transmission: While humans are born with innate language capabilities, language is learned after birth in a social setting. Children learn how to speak by interacting with experienced language users. Language and culture are woven together.
Reflexiveness: Humans can use language to talk about language. Prevarication: This is the ability to lie or deceive. When using language, humans can make false or meaningless statements. Linguistics is the scientific study of language in three elements: Objective: has nothing to do with our judgments; What is: it is about the reality of language; Descriptive: we describe what people say and have no claims about what they should say. Procedure: Look for minimal pairs. Found some? Done, two different phonemes. Not found any? Are the sounds in complementary distribution? Are the sounds similar? Look at the environments of the sounds. What determines the outcome?
How We Made Consonants:
- Bilabial: formed by narrowing the vocal tract by the lips.
- Labiodental: formed by narrowing the vocal tract by a combination of lips and teeth.
- Alveolar: formed by narrowing the vocal tract at the alveolar ridge.
- Dental: formed by narrowing the vocal tract between the teeth.
- Palatal/Alveopalatal: formed by the narrowing of the vocal tract between the alveolar ridge and the hard palate.
- Velar: formed by the narrowing of the vocal tract at the velum.
- Uvular: formed by the narrowing of the vocal tract at the uvula.
Stops: made by a complete obstruction of air. Affricates: made by briefly stopping the airflow and then releasing with friction. Nasals: made by the lowering of the velum and a complete closure of the vocal tract. Liquids: made by an obstruction that does not completely close the vocal tract or create friction. Glides: formed by a very slight closure of the vocal tract.
Word: is a minimal free form. Morphemes are the atoms of meaning identified by sound and meaning; they can’t be broken into smaller elements. VS words are not necessarily analyzable; some words are monomorphic, but others are complex and consist of more than one morpheme. Two Classes of Morphemes:
- Free morphemes: can stand alone (lexical: noun, verb, adjective; grammatical: preposition, conjunction).
- Bound morphemes: affixes (must be attached to other roots) / cran (hamburger). Example: more vs. -er.
Syntax is the study of sentence formation. Syllables: are made up of an obligatory vowel, optionally surrounded by consonants. Meaning theories:
- Reference: meaning of a word and its association with the object it refers to.
- Image Explanation: image in our mind for the word.
- Conceptual: concept/book/object triangle.
Different Types of Word Formation:
- Compounding: combine free + free to create a new lexeme.
- Derivation: affixes free + bound to create a new word meaning.
- Inflection: free + bound with no new meaning.
