LING 1010 STUDY GUIDE+ QUESTIONS WITH
DETAILED VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS
common language misconceptions
-Some languages are more grammatically complex than others
-Parents and other caregivers teach young children their language
-Some languages take longer than others for children to learn
-Linguistic abilities steadily increase as a child grows older
-Formal, careful speech is grammatically more sophisticated than casual, everyday speech
-Cultures with greater technological sophistication tend to have grammatically richer languages
What are the two views of language?
1) language is an aspect of human biology, like a language organ similar to a heart or kidney (we
are all human, so we all have a heart and kidney)
2) language is not special among the things that are special to human beings
What do people believe with the second view of language, that it's not special to humans?
-Not only do we have language, but we are also very smart
-We have used our intelligence to think up many ideas and to design and build many things
-On this view, language is just another useful tool that people invented, much like a hammer or
an iphone
-On this view, you might expect to find correlations between the technology a culture has
developed and the structure and utility of their languages
Language definition
The knowledge you have that allows you to make meaningful connections
Speech definition
One mode of sharing language with others that involves broadcasting sound shaped by your
vocal tract
, Writing definition
Another mode of sharing language with others, involves making semi-permanent visual marks
that can be seen and interpreted at another time by another person who knows the writing
system, a cultural invention
CLASS 1 MAIN POINTS
-There is no correlation between the technological development of a culture and the
sophistication of its language
-All human cultures have language and all have always had it, as far as we know
-No human language is any more complex or sophisticated than another
-This suggests that language is an integral part of human biology and not just another
technology invented by humans
Prescriptive rules
A rule can be something that one person makes up to tell another person what they should or
ought to do. It prescribes a certain type of behavior, like "no chewing gum in the classroom", or
double negation is inappropriate and illogical
Descriptive rules
A rule can be observed regularity or systematic feature of the world, for example: Cats greet
trusted humans with an eye blink", could be called a rule of cat behavior.
Language can be studied descriptively, this involves faithfully observing how humans actually
use language, for example: "In English, the object follows the verb"
What is prescriptive grammar and it's features?
the creation of prescriptive rules for language. It's features are:
-It enforces standards for educated, written language, like "don't say ain't"
-It chooses sides on issues on which people may differ, like the "data is reliable"
-Is often conservative, resisting changes in spoken, colloquial language, like "me and Harry went
to the movies"
DETAILED VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS
common language misconceptions
-Some languages are more grammatically complex than others
-Parents and other caregivers teach young children their language
-Some languages take longer than others for children to learn
-Linguistic abilities steadily increase as a child grows older
-Formal, careful speech is grammatically more sophisticated than casual, everyday speech
-Cultures with greater technological sophistication tend to have grammatically richer languages
What are the two views of language?
1) language is an aspect of human biology, like a language organ similar to a heart or kidney (we
are all human, so we all have a heart and kidney)
2) language is not special among the things that are special to human beings
What do people believe with the second view of language, that it's not special to humans?
-Not only do we have language, but we are also very smart
-We have used our intelligence to think up many ideas and to design and build many things
-On this view, language is just another useful tool that people invented, much like a hammer or
an iphone
-On this view, you might expect to find correlations between the technology a culture has
developed and the structure and utility of their languages
Language definition
The knowledge you have that allows you to make meaningful connections
Speech definition
One mode of sharing language with others that involves broadcasting sound shaped by your
vocal tract
, Writing definition
Another mode of sharing language with others, involves making semi-permanent visual marks
that can be seen and interpreted at another time by another person who knows the writing
system, a cultural invention
CLASS 1 MAIN POINTS
-There is no correlation between the technological development of a culture and the
sophistication of its language
-All human cultures have language and all have always had it, as far as we know
-No human language is any more complex or sophisticated than another
-This suggests that language is an integral part of human biology and not just another
technology invented by humans
Prescriptive rules
A rule can be something that one person makes up to tell another person what they should or
ought to do. It prescribes a certain type of behavior, like "no chewing gum in the classroom", or
double negation is inappropriate and illogical
Descriptive rules
A rule can be observed regularity or systematic feature of the world, for example: Cats greet
trusted humans with an eye blink", could be called a rule of cat behavior.
Language can be studied descriptively, this involves faithfully observing how humans actually
use language, for example: "In English, the object follows the verb"
What is prescriptive grammar and it's features?
the creation of prescriptive rules for language. It's features are:
-It enforces standards for educated, written language, like "don't say ain't"
-It chooses sides on issues on which people may differ, like the "data is reliable"
-Is often conservative, resisting changes in spoken, colloquial language, like "me and Harry went
to the movies"
