https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yLXNzDUH58&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtP5mp25nStsuDzk2blncJDW&index=2&ab_channel=CrashCourse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxyo83cQjhI&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtP5mp25nStsuDzk2blncJDW&index=15&ab_channel=CrashCourse

Intro to Languages

• There's about 7000 existing languages now in 2020

• examples of languages that doesn't belong to any family: Basque, Ainu

• Language is...

  used to comminucate.

  • sign : a discrete unit of meaning

  • convection : a set of agreed upon norm

  unique to human beings.

  hierarchically organized.

  uses arbitrary signs.

  genetic (the inateness hypothesis).

  produced and perceived through different modalities (聽覺、視覺、觸覺等等).

• Human are genetically endowed for them (喉嚨空間變大，自由度變高)

Design feature

common features shared by all human languages (not by chance!)

• User

  Specialized : specialized for communication

  Interchangeable : send/receive message

  Feedback-sensitive : user could monitor/adjust if needed

  Interactive : learn by interacting

• Message

  Meaningful : language specifies meaningProductive : can create new meassge

  Displacement : the content isn't limited by time/space

• Code

  Discrete : consists of smaller parts

  Arbitrary : no built-in(intrinsic) connection between signal & meaning

  Hierarchical : small units are combined to form larger units (sounds⇒words)

• Signal

  Modality-specific : uses airway (hands-free)

  One-to-many broadcast

  Directinal reception : the (single) source could be identified

  Rapid fading : disappear soon after produced

Some features only limited to human :

1. displacement
2. prevarication (lie, but now we know that some animals can do this too)
3. learnabitily
4. reflectiveness (able to talk about languages by languages)
5. productivity

Language vs. dialect?

"A language is a dialect with an army and navy."