COMD 2050 Chapter : Ch 2 Animals And Human Language
Document Summary
A means of communication: communicative signals vs. informative signals. Composed of symbols: symbols are organized according to rules. Language is productive: infinite number of messages (meaning) from basic elements (sounds, embedded clauses, animal communication has fixed reference. Language is used to think and talk about the language itself (reflexivity: humans are thus able to reflect. Users of language can send and receive messages (only bee workers can dance, many male bird species do all the singing) Users learn language from other users (cultural transmission) Users can learn other variants of the same language. Language changes across time due to its use. Symbols: symbols are arbitrary arbitrariness, language shows relationships between symbols (such as s-v) agreement. Suv: some iconicity exists: onomatopoeia, new symbols can be introduced into languages (i. e. , google and, no natural connection between words and their meaning, symbols can be broken down into smaller, meaningless parts . Are you mad, sweetie? no, i"m just tired duality.
