WK10 L2: Design Features

• What is a key feature of all languages?

  All languages are communication systems
• What distinguishes language from other forms of communication?

  Not all communication is language
• Who introduced the design features of language?

  Charles Hockett
• In what year were Hockett's design features first introduced?

  1960
• How many design features did Hockett initially propose?

  13 features
• How many design features are considered by Hockett now?

  16 features
• What is the purpose of Hockett's design features?

  To identify what makes human language unique
• What is one implication of Hockett's design features?

  They help understand the evolution of human language
• Are Hockett's design features exclusive to human language?

  No, they can apply to other species
• What is the purpose of the waggle dance of honeybees?

  To communicate information about food sources
• What information does the waggle dance convey?

  Location, distance, and abundance of food
• What type of cues do honeybees use to convey information about food type?

  Olfactory cues
• How can honeybees disrupt each other's dance?

  As a warning signal
• What does the design feature of rapid fading mean?

  Communication signals are temporary and disappear quickly
• What is a consequence of rapid fading in spoken language?

  Spoken language must be repeated to be retained
• What does dependence on immediate perception imply?

  Listeners must hear sounds as they occur
• What does displacement in language allow for?

  Communication about things not present
• What does openness in language refer to?

  Language can refer to new things
• What does arbitrariness in language mean?

  There is no inherent connection between signal and meaning
• Give an example of arbitrariness in language.

  The word "cat" has no inherent meaning
• How many design features did Hockett cover in the material?

  Four design features
• What is sound symbolism?

  When speech sounds systematically convey meaning
• What did Köhler's experiments involve?

  Associating "baluma" and "takete" with shapes
• What did Davis's study find about sound symbolism?

  Children associated sounds similarly across cultures
• What did Bremner et al. (2012) discover about sound symbolism?

  Non-English-speaking adults showed similar associations
• What did Maurer et al. (2006) compare in their study?

  Preferences of 2.5-year-olds and adults for shapes
• What consonants are associated with sharp shapes?

  [p], [t], [k]
• What consonants are associated with round shapes?

  [l], [m], [n], [b]
• What vowels are associated with small objects?

  Close and front vowels (e.g., /i/)
• What vowels are associated with large objects?

  Open and back vowels (e.g., /a/)
• What are the five explanations of sound symbolism reviewed by Sidhu & Pexman (2018)?

  1. Learned statistical co-occurrence between sound and referent
  2. Shared/analogous properties between sound and referent
  3. Neural coding: shared neural responses between sound and referent
  4. Evolved associations: biologically fixed by evolution
  5. Chance association or conventional sound symbolism
• What defines a language?

  A language is a communication system
• How do languages differ from other forms of communication?

  Not all communication qualifies as language
• What are key features of languages?

  Some features apply to other communication forms
• Who introduced the design features of language?

  Charles Hockett
• When were Hockett's design features first introduced?

  In 1960
• How many design features did Hockett initially propose?

  13 features
• How many design features are considered now?

  16 features
• What is the purpose of Hockett's design features?

  To identify what makes human language unique
• What is one application of Hockett's design features?

  To understand the evolution of human language