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What Is Special About Language

It discusses Noam Chomsky's view that language is an arbitrary collection of objects and words, and Leonard Bloomfield's view that language is made up of sentences. It also mentions that learning a second language is more difficult due to external influences from one's native language. Finally, it briefly discusses Ferdinand de Saussure's concept of linguistic signs having both a signifier and signified, and the importance of social context for language.

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38 views

What Is Special About Language

It discusses Noam Chomsky's view that language is an arbitrary collection of objects and words, and Leonard Bloomfield's view that language is made up of sentences. It also mentions that learning a second language is more difficult due to external influences from one's native language. Finally, it briefly discusses Ferdinand de Saussure's concept of linguistic signs having both a signifier and signified, and the importance of social context for language.

Uploaded by

Pc Chs
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Escuela de Posgrado Universidad Nacional de Educacin Enrique Guzmn y Valle - La Cantuta MASTERS PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

LINGUISTICS APPLIED TO THE TEACHING OF FOREING LANGUAGE

Student: Major: Topic: Semester: Teacher:

Paulo Cesar Chiri Saravia Teaching English as a Foreign Language What is special about language? 2013-I Rogil Sanchez Quintana

What is special about language?


In this talk Chomsky say nothing is special about language and he add language is just some arbitrary collection of objects he means language is just a collection of words arbitrary. Every object has a name chosen arbitrarily. For example the object that is represented by word tree does not have relation with the word tree. Language can differ arbitrarily from one other. Leonard Bloomfield added language is a collection of all the sentences that can be spoken. Then he said when you study a second language you study externalization I think he means when you study a second language it is more difficult to learn because of your mother tongue therefore learning a second language is external because it is not acquired (internal) that is the reason which most of students of second language do not speak fluently. Later he said words are sounds with meaning it is like Ferdinand Saussure said about linguistic sign it is formed by significant (sounds) and significant (the meaning of the word). Social context is crucial it means a linguistic sign (words) without a social context may be ambiguous so every speech act needs a context. Chomsky mentioned the computational cognitive science: after a long behaviorist psychology domain is consolidating a new approach known as cognitive psychology whose representation clearer is information processing based on an analogy between the functioning of the human mind and digital computers. Cognitive science is responsible of the explanation of the functioning of the human mind from several scientific views making an analogy between information processing that is capable of performing a computer. Chomsky is a relevant figure to cognitive psychology.

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