ANT253H1 Lecture Notes - Critical Period Hypothesis, Universal Grammar, Eric Lenneberg
Document Summary
Relation btwn language and the world which we live in. Lingusitics= science that studies language, came about in 1800, before this is the physical sciences. There is speculation of science but not a scientific approach. *presents things through a sound or through a mark that tells us what it is, but whatever is there is not there. It allows us to evaluate future discourse. Sign system is something that stands for something else. Ie holds up 2 fingers- your brain is programmed to see these as signs as something standing for something else like victory. Ie sign red: if you associate something with red, colour becomes part of cognitive system. All languages have 5 things in common: a finite set of distinctive sounds used to make words and to convey various types of meaning. Its in the details ie jigsaw puzzles scattered into pieces. They have sounds, this is studied from phonology.
