PSYC 432 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Dog Bite, Home Sign, Animal Communication
Document Summary
Lecture 2: what we know about our language. Where does language live: in the community: communication, in the mind: words, rules, processes involved in speaking. Language is the result of a tacit, unconscious cognitive system (represents knowledge about linguistic units [words, sounds] and how to use them [grammar]) [e. g. , signed languages, homesign]: biological basis for language, language takes place in the mind not the mouth: 4) it"s specific to the human species. Animal communication systems: properties of human and animal communication. Arbitrariness: there is no resemblance b/t a symbol and its meaning. Discreteness: discrete signals combine to change meaning. Duality of patterning: meaningful symbols made up of non-meaningful units. Displacement: messages need not be tied to the immediate context. Productivity: the ability to say thing never heard before. Animals: no: acquisition of human language also poor. Language knowledge is unconscious: arbitrary signs. Word form is unrelated to its meaning.
