Transcript Chapter 6, Language

Chapter 6, Language
Key Terms

arbitrary nature of language
The meanings attached to words in any
language are not based on a logical or rational
system but rather are arbitrary.

bound morpheme
A morpheme which can only convey meaning
when combined with another morpheme.

closed systems of communication
Communication systems that cannot create
new sounds or words by combining two or
more existing sounds or words.

code switching
The practice of using different languages or
forms of a language depending on the social
situation.

cultural emphasis of a language
The idea that the vocabulary in any language
tends to emphasize words that are adaptively
important in that culture.

cultural linguistics
A branch of anthropological linguistics that
examines how language influences culture
and how culture influences language.

descriptive linguistics
The branch of anthropological linguistics that
studies how languages are structured.

diachronic analysis
The analysis of sociocultural data through
time, rather than at a single point in time.

dialects
Regional or class variations of a language
that are sufficiently similar to be mutually
intelligible.

diglossia
The situation in which two forms of the same
language are spoken by people in the same
language community depending on the social
situation.

displacement
The ability that humans have to talk about
things that are remote in time and space.

free morphemes
Morphemes that appear in a language
without being attached to other morphemes.

grammar
The systematic ways that sounds are
combined in any given language to send and
receive meaningful utterances.

historical linguistics
The study of how languages change over
time.

language family
A grouping of related languages.

morphemes
The minimal linguistic forms (usually words)
that convey meaning.

morphology
The study of the rules governing how
morphemes are turned into words.

nonverbal communication
The various means by which humans send
and receive messages without using words
(for example, gestures, facial expressions,
and touching).

open systems of communication
Systems of communication that can create
new sounds or words by combining two or
more existing sounds or words.

phonemes
The smallest sound contrasts in a language
that distinguish meaning.

phonology
The study of a language’s sound system.

Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
The notion that a person’s language shapes
her or his perceptions and view of the world.

sociolinguistics
A branch of anthropological linguistics that
studies how language and culture are related
and how language is used in different social
contexts.

synchronic analysis
The analysis of cultural data at a single point
in time, rather than through time.

syntax
The linguistic rules, found in all languages,
that determine how phrases and sentences
are constructed.