LIN100Y1 Lecture Notes - Universal Grammar

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6 Oct 2013
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What is language: a method of communication, uses speech, writing and signing, the human language is unique to our species. Over time we have adapted to use our breathing and eating organs for speaking. Uses arbitrary/unconnected signifiers (ie. the word dog has nothing to do with how the dog looks or behaves) Animal languages have only signifier-based vocabularies: cannot build complex expressions like humans can. Humans can add prepositions and suffixes to words to create new words. Using grammar guidelines, humans can create new sentences never seen before . Language creativity: humanity"s ability to produce new words and sentences is infinite, language creativity means that we can understand sentences we have never heard before, this ability is constrained by grammar (linguistic competence) Linguistic competence: the innate ability to use grammar and our innate sense of grammar. 4 sections of linguistic competence: phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic.

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