LINGUIS 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Pragmatics, Linguistic Prescription, Linguistic Performance
Document Summary
Language makes us uniquely human no other species is comparable. Reflects one"s self identity and is indispensable for social interactions. Grammar is actually a more complex phenomenon than anything that could ever be taught in school, but nevertheless every human masters it. Some languages use north and south instead of left and right. Some aspects of language appear to be innate. There are more than 6k languages in the world but 90% of the population speaks only 10% of them. There are specific structures in your brain designed to process language. The language you speak affects whether or not you distinguish between certain sounds: some misconceptions about language. Rules in grammar textbooks are (cid:498)correct(cid:499) and should be followed. There are primitive languages that cannot express complex ideas effectively. Some people can pick up a language in a couple of weeks. Nouns can only be used to refer to people, places or things: underlying themes of linguistic study.
