What subsystem refers to the meaning behind the language?
Semantics
100
Elision, insertion, and assimilation are all types of:
Phonological change
100
What is the purpose of the sensorimotor stage?
To learn about one's surroundings by moving and using one's senses - to distinguish between oneself and one's environment.
100
Who was the primary proponent of behaviourism and one of the first childhood language theorists in the world?
BF Skinner
100
What makes written language different from spoken language?
Written language is more formal, more permanent, and more highly valued in society.
200
What are the five subsystems of language?
Phonetics and phonology, morphology and lexicology, syntax, semantics, discourse
200
There are three major types of semantic change. What are they?
Elevation, deterioration, and shift.
200
What are the similarities and differences between Genie and Helen Keller?
Both were feral children without language, but Helen was exposed to language during the critical period of acquisition and Genie was not, so Helen went on to become very articulate and Genie never fully acquired a first language.
200
What are the benefits of code-switching?
Helps build brain pathways (and could even prevent the onset of dementia!)
200
What are the three modes of speech?
Spoken, written, and signed
300
How many bound and free morphemes does the word 'incomparable' have?
Two bound, one free
300
What is a collocation?
Two words often heard together so that they make one common phrase, eg. player hater
300
What is the most deeply rooted element of human speech and what stage of language acquisition does it appear during?
Stress patterns and intonation; appears during babbling stage.
300
What is the physiological difference between learning a second language in childhood and adulthood?
Languages learned during the critical period of language acquisition are stored in the front cortex of the brain, while languages learned after the critical period are stored in different areas.
300
Human speech is characterized by arbitrariness, spontaneity, and displacement. What does this mean?
There is no innate connection between human words and their meanings. Humans initiate speech without needing a reward. Humans speak about things distinct from their immediate context.
400
What are the main prosodic features?
Pitch and intonation, stress, volume, tempo
400
What prosodic feature indicates an interrogative in spoken language?
Rising intonation at the end of the sentence
400
How many words is in the lexicon of a typical child ages 12-18 months?
About 50
400
Explain Pinker's theory of human language origin
Pinker believes language evolved to allow for communication between hunter-gatherers, and is an instinct rather than an invention.
400
What is Standard English?
A dialect of English that involves specific rules and is currently the most highly valued form of English in our society.
500
What is semantically significant about the word "radical"?
It can be used to mean both 'innovative; departing from tradition' and also as a slang term for something cool.
Its denotation and connotation are distinct, because its connotation is in line with 1980s youth counterculture and a desire to reject societal norms.
500
Use three metalinguistic terms to describe this sentence, "Someone as ugly as you has never been seen by my eyes before."
Simple, declarative, passive.
500
Children learning pronunciation often leave out sounds or add sounds, especially when:
Tackling consonant clusters (groups of two or more consonant sounds in a word)
500
According to Aitchison, what language difficulties do children overcome in the 'packaging' stage?
Overgeneralisation and undergeneralisation
500
What did Ford Prefect from 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' find difficult to understand about humans?
How they use language to state the obvious, such as "You're very tall" or "It's a nice day!"