1. English 306A; Harris Language 1. Humans’ accommodations for language 2. Some characteristics of language

2. English 306A; Harris Mammals Distinctive traits include Lactation Mammalian “isolation cry” Neoteny Middle ear Larynx

3. English 306A; Harris Larynx Functions Controls airflow Phonates

4. English 306A; Harris Glottis Air flow Phonation

5. English 306A; Harris Glottis Air flow Phonation

6. English 306A; Harris Larynx, tongue, Heimlich Apes, australopithecus, babies Tongue rooted in mouth Larynx behind mouth Can breathe and swallow at the same time Adult homo erecti + Tongue rooted in throat Larynx in throat Cannot breathe and swallow at the same time

7. English 306A; Harris Lower tongue root + larynx = Consonants and vowels (big flappy lips help too) Syllables Patterns of rhythm and modulation

8. English 306A; Harris Lower tongue root + larynx = Speech

9. English 306A; Harris Oh, and one more thing

10. English 306A; Harris Oh, and one more thing A brain

11. English 306A; Harris Oh, and one more thing A brain Motor cortex

12. English 306A; Harris Oh, and one more thing A brain Motor cortex Auditory cortex

13. English 306A; Harris Oh, and one more thing A brain Motor cortex Language areas Auditory cortex

14. English 306A; Harris Oh, and one more thing Auditory cortex Broca’s area (Language) Wernicke’s area (Language) Motor cortex

15. English 306A; Harris Auditory cortex Tuned to language Highly sensitive in the 5,000 - 20,000 Hz range Discriminates phoneme boundaries

16. English 306A; Harris Motor cortex

17. English 306A; Harris Language properties Parity Universality Mutability Tacitness Displacement Duality Productivity (creativity)

18. English 306A; Harris Parity All languages are equal.

19. English 306A; Harris Universality All grammars share some basic properties. Words Nouns Verbs Sentences Assertions Questions Semantic roles Agents Patients Locations

20. English 306A; Harris Mutability Languages change.  cool  neat  groovy  far-out  radical  cool 

21. English 306A; Harris Tacitness A great deal of grammatical knowledge is tacit knowledge. [p] vs [p h ] vs [p ¬ ]

22. English 306A; Harris Charles Hockett’s ‘Design Features’ There is...a sense in which [productivity], displacement, and duality...can be regarded as the crucial, or nuclear, or central properties of human language.

23. English 306A; Harris Displacement Messages can refer to things remote in time and space, or both, from the site of the communication.

24. English 306A; Harris Duality of patterning At every level: elements and combinatorics Sounds combine into syllables and morphemes Morphemes combine into words Words combine into phrases and sentences Sentences combine into turns or paragraphs Turns combine into conversations Paragraphs combine into texts

25. English 306A; Harris Elements + combinatorics = Productivity (creativity) New vocables New words New sentences New meanings

26. English 306A; Harris Elements + combinatorics = Language

27. English 306A; Harris Wired for language Humans are specially built for language Anatomically Throat, mouth, lips Ear Motor, auditory cortex Language areas Conceptually Displacement Duality of patterning Productivity

28. English 306A; Harris Language has special properties General Parity Mutability Universality Tacitness Conceptual Displacement Duality of patterning Elements and combinatorics Productivity

29. English 306A; Harris Any questions? General Parity Mutability Universality Tacitness Conceptual Displacement Duality of patterning Elements and combinatorics Productivity