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property of language
property of human language
| Term | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Arbitrariness | A property of language describing the fact that there is no natural connection between a linguistic form and its meaning. | The word 'dog' does not have any properties that are related to the object it describes. |
| Reflexivity | A special property of human language that allows language to be used to think and talk about language itself. | We can use language to talk about language. For example a parent might ask a child to speak in a softer voice. |
| Displacement | A property of human language that allows users to talk about things and events not present in the immediate environment. | A boy might tell his friends about a movie he watched the day before. |
| Productivity | A property of language that allows users to create new expressions. | Speakers can come up with new words for products or actions (e.g. a search engine called "Google") |
| Duality | A property of language whereby linguistic forms have two simultaneous levels of sound production and meaning. | English is made up of words which are made up of combinations of 44 phonemes. There is no meaning for a specific phoneme. |
| Cultural transmission | The process whereby knowledge of a language is passed from one generation to the next. | Babies learn the language that their caregivers speak. |
Created by:
Roudaina
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