An Introdction to Language.docVIP

Chapter 1 arbitrary Describes the property of language, including sign language, whereby there is no natural or intrinsic relationship between the way a word is pronounced (or signed) and its meaning. descriptive grammar A linguist’s description or model of the mental grammar, including the units, structures, and rules. An explicit statement of what speakers know about their language. Cf. prescriptive grammar, teaching grammar. grammar The mental representation of a speaker’s linguistic competence; what a speaker knows about a language, including its phonology, morphology, syntax, se