PSY100Y5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Language Acquisition Device, Benjamin Lee Whorf, Metalinguistic Awareness
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PSY100Y5 Full Course Notes
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A language consists of symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining those symbols, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages: first, it is symbolic. People use spoken sounds and written words to represent objects, actions, events, and ideas: second, language is semantic, or meaningful, third, language is generative. A limited number of symbols can be combined in an infinite variety of ways to generate an endless array of novel messages. Every day you create and comprehend sentences that you have never spoken or head before: fourth, language is structured. Rules govern the arrangement of words into phrases and sentences; some arrangements are acceptable and some are not: the structure of language i, phonemes the smallest speech units in a language that can be distinguished perceptually. English language is composed of about 40 phonemes, corresponding roughly to the26 letters to the alphabet plus several variations.
