ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE
What is the main idea of the “bow-wow” theory?
Human language may have begun by imitating natural sounds.
What property allows humans to talk about the past, future, and things that are not present?
Displacement.
Which chimpanzee was taught a form of American Sign Language?
Washoe.
What is phonetics?
The general study of the characteristics of speech sounds.
What is the place of articulation of [p], [b], and [m]?
Bilabial.
What is onomatopoeia?
Words that imitate or resemble natural sounds, such as buzz, hiss, or cuckoo.
What does productivity mean in human language?
The ability to create and understand new expressions and sentences.
What did Washoe mean when she created the combination “water bird”?
A swan.
What does articulatory phonetics study?
How speech sounds are produced or articulated.
Which two parts of the mouth are used to produce [f] and [v]?
The upper teeth and the lower lip.
Why is it difficult to know exactly how human language originated?
Because there is no direct physical evidence or recordings of early human speech.
What is cultural transmission?
The process of learning a language from the culture and people around us.
What was special about Kanzi’s language learning?
He learned largely through exposure and observation instead of direct teaching.
What is the main physical difference between voiced and voiceless sounds?
Voiced sounds involve vocal-fold vibration, while voiceless sounds do not.
What is the place of articulation of [θ] in thin and [ð] in the?
Dental.
What does the “yo-he-ho” theory suggest about the origin of language?
Language may have developed from sounds people made while working together during physical activities.
What does arbitrariness mean in language?
There is usually no natural connection between the form of a word and its meaning.
Why was Viki unable to produce human speech clearly?
Non-human primates do not have a vocal tract suited to producing human speech sounds.
Is [z] voiced or voiceless? How can you test it?
Voiced. You can feel vibration in your throat when you pronounce it.
What is the place of articulation of [t], [d], [s], [z], and [n]?
Alveolar.
According to the genetic-source theory, what special ability may humans be born with?
An innate or genetically based capacity for language.
What is duality in human language?
Language works on two levels: individual sounds have no meaning, but combinations of those sounds can create meaningful words.
Can an animal repeating human words automatically be considered evidence that it understands human language?
No. Repeating or responding to words does not necessarily show understanding or full human-like language ability.
Why do linguists use a phonetic alphabet instead of relying only on English spelling?
Because English letters and speech sounds do not always correspond consistently.
Match these sounds with their places of articulation: [ʃ], [k], [h].
[ʃ] = Palatal
[k] = Velar
[h] = Glottal