DEFINING FEATURES OF LANGUAGE

• Language uses arbitrary symbols

• Language is generative

• Language permits displacement

• Phonology

• Morphology

• Rules of Syntax

• Semantics

• Pragmatics

• The smallest unit of sound that constitute speech.

• Approximately 40 phonemes in the English language.

• There are 26 vowels and consonants in the English alphabet but a greater number of phonemes, or basic sounds.

• These include the t and p in tip, which a psycholinguist would designate as the /t/ and /p/ phonemes.

• The o in go and the o in gone are different phonemes. They are spelled with the same letter, but they sound different.

• Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in language, and consist of a combination of phonemes.

• Morphemes are divided into Content Morphemes, which hold the basic meaning of a word, such as cat, and Function Morphemes, which are prefixes and suffixes, such as un-, dis-, -able, and –ing.

• Function morphemes add additional meaning to the word. An ed morpheme at the end of a regular verb places it in the past tense, as with add and added and subtract and subtracted. An ly morpheme at the end of an adjective often makes the word an adverb, as with strong and strongly and weak and weakly.

• Rules that specify how words are to be combined to form meaningful phrases and sentences.

(1)Fang Fred bit.(2)Fang bit Fred.(3)Fred bit Fang.

“The sten befted down the flotway.”

“Why you did come here today?”

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves,  And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun  The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:  Long time the manxome foe he sought --So rested he by the Tumtum tree,  And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,  The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,  And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through  The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!He left it dead, and with its head  He went galumphing back.

And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?  Come to my arms, my beamish boy!O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'  He chortled in his joy.

The Interaction Between Syntax & Semantics

“On tonight’s show, Dr. Ruth will discuss sex with Dick Cavett.”

“The police must stop drinking after midnight.”

“The young woman kissed her anxious date.”“The anxious date was kissed by the young woman.”

The smallest units of sound that make up every language

p in pansy; ng in sting

The smallest units that carry meaning; they are created by combining phonemes

Unthinkable = un*think*able (prefix = un, root word = think, suffix = able)

A system of rules (syntax and semantics) used to generate acceptable language that enables us to communicate with and understand others

A system of rules for putting words in order

A system of using words to create meaning

I enjoy my psychology class. Vs. I my class psychology enjoy.

I am happy. Vs.

Happy I am.

I went out on a limb for you. Vs.

Humans have several limbs.

• First Meaningful Words = About 1 Year of Age• Called a holophrase because a single word sometimes conveys an entire sentence’s

worth of meaning.• The Vocabulary Spurt/Language Explosion/Naming Explosion (18 Mo.)

– Fast-Mapping• Overextension• Underextension

• 18-24 Months of Age• “Daddy Eat” – “Kitty Go” – “Drink Milk”

– Overregularization• “I brushed my tooths.”• “She goed.”• “It runned away.”