ACS 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Thumb, Onomatopoeia, Coffee Preparation
12 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
ACS 106 - Week 2
Language
- Language is the frail bridge that we fling across the chasm of the inexpressible and the
incommunicable (Matisoff, 1979)
- Language is born out of the desire to do the impossible
- “links between sound [the most accessible elements] and meaning [the most elusive
elements]” (Harris, 1993)
- faulty because in ASL there is no sound to communicate meaning
- Language is a conventional system of signs that allows for the creative communication
of meaning *Curzan & Adams, 2009)
- Language = system( only needs one person), speech = event (usually requires two
people)
- Divine?
- Since language and writing go hand in hand, people assume that “their
god” speak their language, which may lead to cultural superiority
- it is unprecedented, but stopping at this idea halts the investigation of
where it actually came from and what it means
- (Language Origins) Natural?
- onomatopoeic words have many hidden relationships between sound
patterns and meaningful associations
- “bow wow” theory, “ooh ah” theory
- “bootstrapping” holding things up, used in quantitative methods and
website building
- The Bouba-Kiki effect
- two shapes one with harsh lines (kiki) - aspirated stops, one like a
blob (bouba) - non-aspirated stops
- Patterns of smooth versus harsh sounds
- There is more to the natural theory options of language
- we should not be content with one single thing, more is less
- Social?
- from group cooperation and for keeping secrets safe from outsiders
- Language is a modeling system that does not require social interaction
- Physical Adaptations?
- Humans have a lowered larynx as opposed to other species -- is
correlated with standing upright?, it’s the fourth leading cause of
accidental death, it’s dangerous to have because yall can choke
- But because of the larynx we have an extended pharynx that allows for a
wider resonating chamber for a wider variety of sounds, children are born
with a really high larynx
- Regions in our brain that are responsible for motor control of our hands
and opposable thumbs are directly and closely related to the fine motor
control of our lips, tongue and vocal apparatus (velum = nasal/non-nasal
sounds “mama”)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Language is the frail bridge that we fling across the chasm of the inexpressible and the incommunicable (matisoff, 1979) Language is born out of the desire to do the impossible. Links between sound [the most accessible elements] and meaning [the most elusive elements] (harris, 1993) faulty because in asl there is no sound to communicate meaning. Language is a conventional system of signs that allows for the creative communication of meaning *curzan & adams, 2009) Language = system( only needs one person), speech = event (usually requires two people) Onomatopoeic words have many hidden relationships between sound patterns and meaningful associations. Bootstrapping holding things up, used in quantitative methods and website building. The bouba-kiki effect two shapes one with harsh lines (kiki) - aspirated stops, one like a blob (bouba) - non-aspirated stops. There is more to the natural theory options of language. We should not be content with one single thing, more is less.
