First exam checklist and review

Topics covered in the first test (total worth 15 points, or 15 % of the final grade):

MODELS OF THE SIGN, ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE, WRITING SYSTEMS, READING

BRAIN, SIGN LANGUAGES

1. MODELS OF THE SIGN (notions and practice assignments)

SIGN/ SIGNIFICATION / LINGUISTIC SIGN

SAUSSURIAN (DYADIC) MODEL OF THE SIGN: signifier and signified, linguistic

arbitrariness and its exceptions, value of the sign

PEIRCEAN (TRIADIC) MODEL OF THE SIGN (representamen, object, interpretant)

DENOTATIVE /CONNOTATIVE MEANING – referent vs. its associations (cheap has a

negative connotative meaning, inexpensive does not, Hollywood as an area has only denotative
meaning, and Hollywood as glitz and glamour has connotative meaning)

ICON: a signform that has
the capacity to represent
based on its perceived
physical resemblance to its
object, similarity, likeness
Highly ‘motivated’ (non
arbitrary)
e.g.
INDEX: a signform that has
the capacity to represent
based on a direct (genuine)
physical connection with its
object – it comes from or is
caused by the object in some
way – contiguity.
Non arbitrary, motivated –
indicating, pointing
e.g.
SYMBOL: a signform that has
the capacity to represent based
only on social convention – we
say so!  It refers by virtue of a
law, habit, disposition, or general
rule
Arbitrary, unmotivated
e.g.
Practice assignments:
1. What is the signifier and signified in the sign “clink”, as in They clinked glasses. Is this sign
arbitrary or non-arbitrary?
2. What is the signifier and signified in the sign “bread”, as in I like rye bread. Is this sign
arbitrary or non-arbitrary?
3. What is the difference between dyadic and triadic models of the sign?
4. Analyze the sign “building” in Peircean terms.
5. Is a photograph / a painting / a street sign for parking (letter P) an iconic, symbolic, or
indexical sign?
6. What is the difference in the values of the English sign “machine” and Russian sign
“машина”?
7. What are the denotative and connotative meanings of the words expensive, overpriced, costly,
precious?

2. ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE (notions and practice assignments)

Design features of language

1 Vocal auditory channel Make sounds with mouth/ throat/breath etc.

(vocalizations), that are received by ears (hearing)

2 Broadcast transmission Those who receive the signal can identify direction of
source

3 Rapid fading Signal lasts for a short period of time

Interchangeability Any human can learn and reproduce any possible

4 linguistic message
Female and male ducks have different messages
 Total feedback Each communicator is consciously aware of all the
5 signs they produce – we can ‘observe’ then and change
them as we communicate

Specialization The only function of linguistic signs is to

6 communicate, not a by-product or accidental feature

Semanticity The sign has a particular meaning – focus of reference

7 Unlike indexicals – e.g. dog’s panting
Arbitrariness Relative – random – no necessary correlation between
8 sign and meaning.
Any word except onomatopoeia
Discreteness Non-continuous, individual signs, distinguishable
9 Pin bin

Being able to talk about something that is not there

10 Displacement
Who else has this?

Past / future etc

Speakers can produce NEW signs, open system,

11 Productivity creativity (the opposite is fixed reference in a closed
system – one sign, one meaning, no new signs).
Traditional transmission/ We are born with linguistic ability, we can learn a
12 Cultural transmission particular language (s) and pass it down to future
generations.

Genetic vs learnt
Duality of patterning Each unit of language (morphemes) is composed of
13 two levels: sounds, and meaning

There are a limited number of sounds in any one

language, which we combine in different ways to
create units of meaning.
Act
Tack
Cat

1. What features of communication are mostly found in human languages?

2. Where else, besides human communication, can we find displacement?
 3. Which design feature of language is illustrated by the fact that a) spoken languages have
a finite number of meaningless sounds that can be combined to produce an infinite
number of meaningful words? b) that there is no connection between the meaning of the
word “tree” and its sound? c) that we can talk about our plans for the future? d) that we
can combine English nouns in the process called “compounding” to get new words (fire-
figher, ice-cream, up-to-date)?

3. WRITING SYSTEMS (notions and practice assignments)

Why did writing systems develop? What

design feature of spoken languages do they
overcome?
Partial writing system Is mathematical notation a full or partial writing system?

Full writing system Is Ancient Egyptian alphabet a full or partial writing

system?

Phoneme Are aspirated [kʰ] and non-aspirated [k] distinct phonemes

in Russian?

Syllable (what syllable structure does your What syllable structures can English have?
language have? CV, CVC, CCV etc.)
Duality principle - use of symbols for How does Chinese illustrate duality principle?
sounds and for non-phonetic information
(provide your example)
Rebus principle - the use of existing Provide an example of writing system that incorporates
symbols, such as pictograms, purely for their rebus principle
sounds regardless of their meaning, to
represent new words
Pictographs (example)
Alphabet – writing system based on letters
which represent individual sounds (example)

Syllabary – writing system based on

syllabograms – symbols representing
syllables (example)

Logographic script – writing system based

on logograms – symbols representing words
(example)
 4. READING BRAIN (notions and practice assignments)

 What is the difference in the cerebral activity when perceiving meaningless vs.
meaningful symbols?
 What is cuneiform?
 What kind of writing system is Sumerian cuneiform?
 What is the difference in the cerebral activity of English vs. Chinese readers?
 What is Rosetta stone and what inscriptions did it contain?

5. SIGN LANGUAGES (notions and practice assignments)

1. What are the five parameters of the sign in sign languages?

2. Are American Sign Language and British Sign Language mutually intelligible?

3. What are the common features of sign languages?

4. What is topic – comment structure?

5. What is the function of the closing signal?

6. Are sign languages full-fledged languages with a lexicon and grammar?

7. Is the grammar of spoken English similar to the grammar of American sign language?

6. ICONICITY IN SPOKEN AND SIGNED LANGUAGES

8. Lexical iconicity and grammatical iconicity in spoken languages – examples

9. Lexical iconicity and grammatical iconicity in sign languages – examples
10. Arbitrary and iconic signs in sign languages – provide examples
11. Types of iconicity in sign languages – shape-for-shape, movement of articulators for
movement of referents, shape of articulators path for shape of referent, size-for-size,
location in signing space for location in mental space, number of articulators for number
of referents, temporal ordering of signing for temporal sequence of events