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Ling 309
Language and power- study
90
Language - English
Undergraduate 2
06/01/2013

Additional Language - English Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
What is language?
Definition
“language is a system”
it is governed by rules
it is made up of grammars
Term
what defines a language can be influenced by factors that are:
Definition
Cultural, political, technical
Term
5 components of grammar:
Definition
generality, parity, universality, mutability, inaccessibility
Term
Grammar
Definition
the mental system that allows humans to form and interpret the sounds, words and sentences of their language.
Term
Linguistic Competence
Definition
the ability to produce and understand an unlimited number of utterances.
Includes the ability to recognize that certain utterances are not acceptable in one’s language
Term
Phonetics
Definition
the physical production and perception of sounds of speech
Term
Phonology
Definition
describes the way sounds function within a given language or across languages
Term
Morphology
Definition
the study of the structure of word forms
Term
Syntax
Definition
study of the rules, or "patterned relations" that govern how words are placed in a sentence (word order)
Term
semantics
Definition
study of meaning of (parts of) words, phrases, sentences, and texts
Term
prescriptive grammar
Definition
concept that there are rules which aim to ‘prescribe’ what is judged to be correct language use
Term
descriptive grammar
Definition
describes properties of observed language
no judgements of ‘correctness’ with respect to language usage
Term
Jargon
Definition
specialized words and expressions that are difficult to understand for people not part of the specialized group
Term
accent
Definition
differences in how people pronounce words, which vary systematically and very often on the basis of geography
effects of a speaker’s native language on a second (non-native) language
Term
Dialect
Definition
differences between speakers of the same language with respect to vocabulary choices, syntactic and morphological variants, as well as phonological and phonetic variations
e.g. British English, Canadian English, Southern American English, Australian English
Term
sociolinguistics
Definition
the study of how social factors (age, gender, ethnicity, class, etc.) affect the way that people use/view language
Term
sociolinguistic variables
Definition
Socioeconomic Class
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Regional (i.e. geographical)
Education
Term
Power
Definition
can change a language directly
Term
manufacture of consent
5 filters
Definition
creation and maintenance of a ‘common-sense’ ideology (Noam Chomsky)
5 filters are used when manufacturing consent through mass media (Edward Herman)
Term
Ideology
Definition
a set or pattern or beliefs
Term
media ownership
Definition
ideologies held by those owning mass media are reflected (and protected)
Term
Advertising income
Definition
ideologies of those paying for advertising are supported
Term
media source(where)
Definition
ideologies of large news agencies vs. those of smaller corporations
Term
audience response
Definition
do ideologies projected spark complaints or applause?
stories that produce strong reactions (e.g. outrage, horror, national pride) receive more focus
Term
avoid communism (and socialism)
Definition
....
Term
Jakobson
6 factors in a speech event:
Definition
medium/contact, message/content, code, context, addressee, addresser
Term
6 functions of language:
Definition
emotive; referential; conative; phatic; poetic; metalingual
Term
Ideology 2
Definition
marked*
hegemonic (dominant)*
in advertising
interpellation (way people are addressed and positions by ideologies)*
Term
signifier
Definition
label,sounds used to represent a concept
Term
signified
Definition
concept
Term
Ferdinand de Saussure
Definition
words are signs
sign = signifier + signified
Term
theory of signs
Definition
arbitrary connection between the signifier and the signified
onomatopoeic words also have an arbitrary connection between the signifier and signified
Term
Language is composed of Langue and parole
Definition
langue is the system and parole is how you use it
Term
life cycle of a new word or word-usage:
Definition
new word/usage starts as parole
other language users understand and adopt new word/usage
when new word/usage becomes established or recognized, then it has entered langue
Term
true synonyms
Definition
tend not to exist in language; there is usually a slight difference of meaning between two signs
Term
signs can be lost from the system due to taking on insulting connotations
Definition
Ex.niggardly
Term
diachronic
Definition
analysis of language over a period of time
e.g. meat OE ‘food’ > ModE ‘animal flesh’
Term
synchronic
Definition
analysis of language at a specific point in time; a ‘snapshot’ in time
e.g. badonkadonk current slang in North American English to refer to a curvaceous female buttocks
Term
Sapir-whorf hypothesis
Definition
the notion that the semantic structure of the language that a person speaks either determines or limits the ways in which they are able to form conceptions of the world in which they live
Term
language diversity
Definition
the way in which languages divide the world differently
languages differ in terms of the signs that can be used to describe the world
Term
Linguistic Determinism
Definition
the limits of language are the limits of the world
strong view – if there is not a sign for it, then a concept is unthinkable
this strong view has been falsified, since...
we can create new signs for new concepts
experiments on color show that people can recognize differences even if their language does not mark the differences
Term
linguistic relativism
Definition
our language influences the way we think
i.e. signs and structures of language can influence thought
weaker claim – languages “provide speakers with a systematic default bias in their habitual response tendencies.” (Lucy 2005:307)
based on our language, particular habits of thinking are formed
Term
syntagmatic axis
Definition
describes the order in which words are placed
Term
foreground
Definition
to draw attention to something
selection of an active or a passive sentence affects what is put in the foreground
Term
paradigmatic axis
Definition
describes the way words are chosen from among all possible choices and, as a consequence, can be said to be meaningful
Term
transitivity
Definition
whether a verb needs to take a direct object
transitive verbs need direct objects
e.g. like, wear, require, bump, feel
intransitive verbs do not need direct objects
e.g. sing, run, sit, jump, steal
Term
transitivity analysis
Definition
concerned with who does what to whom
Term
actor
Definition
– noun doing the action
Term
goal
Definition
noun having something done to it
Term
process
Definition
verb describing what is being done
Term
circumstance
Definition
other details regarding what is being done
Term
in passive sentences...
Definition
, an actor is not required
Term
politics
Definition
deals with decision-making and government
i.e. work associated with politicians
politicians making decisions on behalf of the public
government creation of laws for the public
refers to any social relationship which deals with power, governing and authority
Term
politics occur in any environment where relations of power are present
Definition
Places of work
Educational institutions
families
Term
rhetoric
Definition
the art of persuasion
Term
5-step process for speech making
(rhetoric)
Definition
invention/idea(ideology, what are you presenting)
Arrangement (how are you going to say it, what order)
Style (how is it are you going to say it)
Memory (what you will say so it stays in their mind)
Delivery (making it interesting)
Term
tools of persuasion
Definition
pronouns
metaphor
simile
rule of three
parallelism
contrastive pairs
Euphemism Used to make less offensive
Dyseuphemism say words like terrorist, not lightening the situation to get people fired up
Term
hidden meanings
Definition
politics occur in everyday situations, even those that we may not be aware of
e.g. vying for speaking time in a meeting (office, community, etc.) or within a family
Term
tools for hidden meaning
Definition
passive voice
presupposition
implicature
Term
presupposition
Definition
a background assumption embedded within a sentence or phrase
information taken for granted to be true regardless of whether the whole sentence is true
Term
Presuppostion (implicature can)
Definition
cannot be changed when the sentence is negated
Term
implicature
Definition
a meaning which can be extracted but is implicit rather than explicit
an utterance can imply a statement that is not necessarily a consequence of the utterance.
Term
pragmatics
Definition
the study of how language is used to communicate within its situational context.
Term
two basic rules of conversation (Grice's maxims)
Definition
take turns in conversation
cooperative principle
Term
cooperative principle
Definition
participants in a conversation are cooperating with each other
Maxim of Quality
Maxim of Quantity
Maxim of Relevance/Relation
Maxim of Manner
Term
maxim of quality
Definition
speakers' contributions ought to be true.
do not say what you believe to be false
do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence
No rumors
Term
maxim of quantity
Definition
speakers' contributions should be as informative as required; not saying either too little or too much.
make your contribution as informative as is required
do not make your contribution more informative than required
Term
maxim of relation/relevance
Definition
contributions should relate to the purposes of the exchange
be relevant
Term
maxim of manner
Definition
contributions should be perspicuous - in particular, they should be orderly and brief, avoiding obscurity and ambiguity.
avoid obscurity of expression
avoid ambiguity
be brief
be orderly
Term
flouting maxims
Definition
Breaking the rules(maxims) of conversation
Term
political correctness
Definition
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Term
address forms
Definition
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Term
conversational dominance
Definition
????
Term
mass media
Definition
refers to the same media message reaching a mass of people
television
radio
printed press

may be subject to censorship and other restrictions
Term
new media
Definition
refers to the use of digital technology to connect to people around the world and to allow for social engagement
increasingly characterized by user-generated content
blogs, vlogs, chat rooms, message boards, social networking sites, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.
Term
mediated communication
Definition
an intervening source that exists between speakers/authors and audience members (e.g. newspaper, tv, etc)
Term
things to consider when the news is being reported
Definition
implications of word choice
transitivity and active/passive voice
Term
degrees of prescence
Definition
deals with the fact that different aspects of an event can be foregrounded, backgrounded, omitted, or presupposed
Term
ideological square (van dijk)
Definition
consists of an ‘us’ group and a ‘them’ group with the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ acts of each statement being variously emphasized or mitigated
Term
dominant discourse
Definition
there are always competing discourses or ways of speaking about any issue, but one usually arises as the....
Term
new media voices
Definition
primarily news broadcasters speak “the standard variety of the official language with a recognizably middle-class accent
Term
choices made regarding presentation of the news are related to power and language attitudes
Definition
broadcasters seem to have more authority when using standard language variety
Term
power/knowledge
Definition
term coined by Michel Foucault refers to the indivisible relationship between power and knowledge
term suggests that having knowledge is powerful and the belief that what is said by those in power is more likely to be knowledgeable and truthful
reflects the idea that the powerful are always those who speak and write in the proper way
Term
register
Definition
the way that language can systematically vary according to the situation in which it is used
linguistic variation that occurs according to the context of use
Term
characteristics of different registers
Definition
sentence structure
pronunciation
vocabulary
Term
3 aspects of register
Definition
tenor field mode
Term
field
Definition
the topic or subject matter of the discourse
Term
tenor
Definition
the style and level of formality resulting from a specific situation
Term
mode
Definition
the medium of communication (e.g. speech, written, visual, combination)
Term
mode
Definition
the medium of communication (e.g. speech, written, visual, combination)
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