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CHAPTER 2: ANIMALS AND HUMAN LANGUAGE -
Communicative signals: giving information intentionally, saying sth -
Informative signals: giving in4 unintentionally – behaviors, outfits, accent
 So, when we talk about distinctions between human language and animal
communication, we are considering both in terms of their potential for intentional communication. I.
Properties of human language 1. Reflexivity -
Using the language to think and talk about language itself
“I wish he wouldn’t use so many technical terms”
*Other creatures cannot reflect on their coomunication messages 2. Displacement -
Humans can talk about things and events not present in the immediate environment -
Bee communication has an extremely limited property of displacement -
Other creatures communicate about things happening here and now
3. Productivity/Creativity/Open-endedness -
Humans can continually create new expressions and novel utterances -
Other creatures have fixed reference
E.g: chillax, freegan, hellacious, stan () 4. Arbitrariness -
Human language: no natural connection between a linguistic form and its meaning -
Onomatopoeic words: less arbitrary connection -
Animal language: clear connection between messages and signals consisting
of a fixed and limited set of vocal and gestural forms - 5. Cultural transmission -
Human language is acquired in culture -
Humans in isolation produce no instinctive language -
Animal language: a set of specific signals
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Birds in isolation can produce songs 6. Duality/Double articulation -
Human language: combining individual sounds (sound level) to produce
words (meaning level) – n,I,b -> bin, nib -
Animal language: fixed forms that cannot be broken down or combined – woof -> foow? II.
Chimpanzee and spoken language 1. Gua&Viki -
Gua: Could understand but could not say -
Viki: Could produce simple words with poor articulation III.
Chimpanzee and sign language 1. Warshoe, Sarah, and Lana - Warshoe: o
could learn and use signs for more than a hundred words o
Could combine these signs to produce sentences o Could invent novel forms - Sarah and Lana: o
Could use symbols to communicate o Could produce sentences o
Could understand complex structures - Kanzi o
Could use over 250 forms of lang o
Could understand spoken language like a two-and-a-half-year-old human child “Using language”
A type of communication system observed in a variety of different situations
Broad sense: interaction using a symbol system
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Unlike humans, animals cannot develop a highly complex system of sounds and structures *Study questions Exercise:
2 What is the difference between a communication system with productivity and one with fixed reference?
 With productivity property, human can create new utterances and
expressions to describe new objects and events. While, in animal
communication system, they have a finite source to express and do not have
the capability to invent new expressions
3 Why is reflexivity considered to be a special property of human language?
 The way we think in the language, not appearing in the animal language
4 What kind of evidence is used to support the idea that language is culturally transmitted?
 If a Korean child grows up in an American family in the USA, that child will
speak English. His appearance and Asian features do not contribute to the language development
5 Which English words was Viki reported to be able to say?
6 What property did Washoe’s language seem to have when she used an expression
such as “water bird” to refer to a swan?  Productivity
7 How did the Gardners try to show that Washoe was not simply repeating signs made by interacting humans?
 Without the clue and human presence, Washoe can even combine and
produce sentences. Some of them even are Washoe’s invention, thus
indicating that her communication system has potential for productivity
8 If Sarah could use a gray plastic shape to convey the meaning of the word red,
which property does her “language” seem to have?
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 Since there is no natural connection between the “grey” plastic shape with
the word “red”, there’ no reason explaining why she pick red, it seems that
her language has a property of arbitrariness
9 What was the name of the “language” that Lana learned?
10 What was considered to be the key element in Kanzi’s language learning?
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn PHONETICS -
Definition: the general study of the characteristics of speech sounds A. Starting 1. Main interests:
+ Articulatory phonetics: study of how sounds are made o Consonants and vowels
Consonants: created with a obstruction of the airflow Vowels: do not
*How to describe consonants: Voicing Place of articulation Manner of articulation /b/ voiced Bilabial Stops
+ Acoustic phonetics: physical properties of speech as sound waves in the air
+ Auditory phonetics (or perceptual phonetics), which deals with the
perception, via the ear, of speech sounds
2. Voiced vs voiceless distinction
Voiced: When the vocal folds are spread apart, the air from the
lungs passes between them with no obstruction, producing voiceless sounds.
Voiceless: When the vocal folds are drawn together, the air
from the lungs repeatedly pushes them apart as it passes
through, with a vibration effect, producing voiced sounds
B. Place of articulation
1. Definiton: Where the constriction of airflow takes place 2. Types a. Bilabial - made with 2 lips /p/, /b/, /m/
b. Labiodental – upper teeth and lower lip come together /f/, /v/
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c. interdental – tongue between upper and lower teeth / θ/, / ð/
d. alveolar – tongue at or near the ridge behind the upper front teeth t, d, s
e. palatals – front hard palate or roof of the mouth [ ] ʃ , [ ] ʒ , [j]
f. Velars – at velum (vom mieng mem) or soft palate /k/, /g/
g. Glottal – at glottis or the space between the vocal folds /h/ C. Manner of articulation 1. Stop/ Plosive -
block airflow, let it go abruptly - t, p, k, b, d, g 2. Fricative -
almost block airflow, let it escape through a narrow gap - [f], [θ], [s], [ ] ʃ , [h] 3. Affricates
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combine a brief stop with a fricative 4. Nasals -
Air through nasal cavity 5. Liquids -
Air can pass on one or both sides of the tongue 6. Glides - Free airflow
7. Glottal stop and flap (extra) - “bottle” /bo / ʔ *Exercise Back – Bat, bad, bag Pie – Bye - Voiceless/Velars/Stops - Voiceless/bilabial/stops - Voiceless/Alveolar/stops - Voiced/bilabial/stops Hat – hack, had, have Door – Core - Voiceless/Alveolar/stops - Voiced/alveolar/stops - Voiceless/velars/stops - Voiceless/velars/stops Fat – Fad Van – fan - Voiceless/Alveolar/stops - Voiced/labiodental/fricative - Voiced/alveolar/stops -
Voiceless/labiodental/fricative Gate – Date Sign – fine - Voiced/velars/stops - Voiceless/alveolar/fricative - Vocied/alveolar/stops -
Voiceless/labiodental/fricative Live – Give, sieve, shiv Zoo – shoe
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn - Voiced/dental/fricative - Voiceless/Palatal/fricative
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn VOWELS I. Features - Constriction of air flow -
Voiced (height; part/backness; lip posture; tense/lax (length))
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn 1. Short vowels 2. Long vowels
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn PATTERN OF SOUND
Phonology is essentially the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language.
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn WORD FORMATION 1. Etymology -
The study of the origin and history of a word -
There are many different ways in which new words are created a. Examples: - Sandwich
“1762, said to be a reference to John Montagu (1718-1792), 4th Earl of
Sandwich, who was said to be an inveterate gambler who ate slices of cold
meat between bread at the gaming table during marathon sessions rather
than rising for a proper meal (this account of the origin dates to 1770).” - Salary
“Orginated from the salt” - Clue - Gossip
“Godfather -> Pregnant women (talking a lot)” - January
“Janus: a Roman God” - Coinage
Coin (v): invent a new word Aspirin: đau đầu
Google, Nylon -> use without changing the words
Fahrenheit: physicist Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (name of people)
Ebola: disease (díriver in Africa) bilabial labiodental dental alveola Post-alveolar Hard velar r palatal Plosive P, b T, d Fricative F,v Th,đ S, z Sh, dg Affricate Tch, tdg Nasal M N ng Liquid w l approxziman j t
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bilabial labiodenta dental alveolar Post- palatals velar glottal l alveolar Stop B,p T, d K,g Fricative F,v Th, đ S,z Sh, dg h Affricate Tch, tdg Nasal M N ng Liquid l r Approximan w j t
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn SEMANTICS
Meaning: Associative and Conceptual
Semantic analysis: Semantic features, semantic roles, lexcial relations VD for semantic features
“gấu” [+động vật], [+màu nâu], [+chi]
star [+bright(ness)], [+in the sky] child: young, cry VD for semantic roles Agent: Mary sang a song
Theme/Patient: Mary ate chocolate
Location: The boy is on the chair
Experiencer: Mary feels sad Source: from Chicago Goal: to New Orleans Location: in the box 1/ Mary saw a fly on the wall. Agent theme location
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn Lexical relation - Synonymity o True synonyms o
Partial synonyms (thin, slim; fun, funny) - Antonymity o
Gradable antonyms (opposites along a scale)  Smaller, bigger
 My car isn’t old doesn’t have to mean My car is new. o
Non-gradable antonyms/ reversives (direct opposites, one is the reverse action of the other)
 My grandparents aren’t alive does indeed mean My
grandparents are dead => Using “negative tests”
 => Không cái này, thì cái kia o Reversives
 while undress can be treated as the opposite of dress, it does not
mean “not dress.” It actually means “do the reverse of dress.”
Antonyms of this type are called reversives. Other examples are
enter/exit, pack/unpack, lengthen/shorten, raise/lower, tie/untie. - Hyponymy o
When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another,
the relationship is described as hyponymy
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Examples are the pairs: animal/horse, insect/ant, flower/rose. o
Flower is hypernym, rose is hyponym o - Homophony o
When two or more different (written) forms have the same pronunciation o Example: flour, flower - Homography o
Same letter, but pronounced differently o
Record (bản ghi) – record (thu lại) - Homonymy o
Bank (ngân hàng), bank (bờ sông) - Polysemy o
When we encounter two or more words with the same form and
related meanings, we have what is technically known as polysemy.
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Neck: body part or bottle parts – common: a thing connects head and the body - Metonymy (hoán dụ) o
Container: I drink all of the water. Thay vì nói cái bên trong, nói cái
bên ngoài nhưng người ta vẫn hiểu o
Representative-symbol relationship: the White House -> presidents,
pigeons -> peace, heart -> love; lend a hand, keep an eye on o
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1/ Synonymy: Two or more words with very closely related meanings are synonyms 2/ Antonymy: Two forms with opposite meanings are called antonyms.
3/ Hyponymy: When the meaning of one form is included in the meaning of another, the
relationship is described as hyponymy (animal/horse); superordinate, co-hyponyms
5/ Homophony When two or more different (written) forms have the same pronunciation, they
are described as homophones: sew/so, pail/pale
6/Homonymy We use the term homonyms when one form (written or spoken) has two or more
unrelated meanings, as in these examples: bat (flying creature) – bat (used in sports)
7/ When we encounter two or more words with the same form and related meanings, we have
what is technically known as polysemy: foot (of a person, of a bed, of a mountain), mouth (part of a face, a cave, a river)
8/ homography : record (v) – record (v), same letter, pronounced differently
9/ Metonymy: That close connection can be based on a container–contents relation
(bottle/water, can/juice), a whole–part relation (car/wheels, house/roof) or a representative–
symbol relationship (king/crown, the President/the White House). Using one of these words to
refer to the other is an example of metonymy
(Person, spatial, temporal deixis) There are different kinds of context. There is obviously the
physical context, which can be the location “out there” where we encounter words and phrases
(e.g. the word BANK on a wall of a building is understood as a financial institution). There is also
the linguistic context, also known as co-text.
Expressions such as tomorrow and here are technically known as deictic (/da k ɪ t k ɪ /) expressions,
We have to define reference as an act by which a speaker (or writer) uses language to enable a
listener (or reader) to identify something (tên v t ậ -> ngư i
ờ ). He is Mr. Kawasky (brand car)
An inference is additional information used by the listener to create a connection between what
is said and what must be meant. I have a pair of Calvin Klein (tên ngư i ờ -> v t ậ )
In this type of referential relationship, the second (or subsequent) referring expression is an
example of anaphora (“referring back”). The first mention is called the antecedent
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It suddenly appeared on the path a little ahead of me, staring in my direction and sniffing the
air. An enormous grizzly bear was checking me out. => Cataphora
pragmatics is the study of “invisible” meaning, or how we recognize what is meant even when it is not actually said or written.
pragmatic markers and they can be used to mark a speaker’s attitude to the listener or to what
is being said. (you know, well, I mean)
What a speaker (or writer) assumes is true or known by a listener (or reader) can be described as a presupposition.
If you say something that represents a threat to another person’s self-image, that is called a face-threatening act.
Whenever you say something that lessens the possible threat to another’s face, it can be described as a face-saving act.
a face-saving act that emphasizes a person’s negative face will show concern about imposition (I’m sorry to bother you
A face-saving act that emphasizes a person’s positive face will show solidarity and draw attention to a
common goal (The same thing happened to me …; Let’s do this together …)
We use the term speech act to describe an action that involves language such as “requesting,”
“commanding,” “questioning” or “informing.”
Whenever one of the structures in Table 10.2 is used to perform a function other than the one listed
beside it on the same line, the result is an indirect speech act
Can you pass the salt? – Struc: interrogative, function: request SEMANTICS
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x45a5la – vothimaivy21@hcmussh.edu.vn DISCOURSE ANALYSIS -
Cohesion: the formal ties and connections that exist within texts -
Coherence: The key to the concept of coherence (“everything fitting together well”) is not
something that exists in the words or structures of discourse, like cohesion, but something that
exists in people. It is people who “make sense” of what they read and hear.
E/g: My family has 4 people: my dad, my mom, my sis, and me. My dad is a
doctor. He works at a hospital. *Co-operative principles 4 Maxims: - Quantity maxim - Quality maxim o To the best of my knowledge,.. - Manner maxim - Relation maxim o Not to change the subject o
Would you like to hang out with me? – I have a boyfriend (Implicature) B. Background knowledge - Schema
I am going to the supermarket (hình ảnh liên quan)
-Script (những sự kiện, hđ diễn ra liên quan tới cái mình đang nói)
I am having dinner at a restaurant C/ Turn-taking - Use body language
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