What aspects of language can be meaningful?
SOUNDS
Individual sounds (“phonemes”) — can change the meaning of the word
Ex:
can vs. cat
ran vs. run
ser vs. ver
Syllable stress — can change word’s part of speech
Ex:
permit (noun) vs. permit (verb)
record (noun) vs. record (verb)
Tone — use of pitch (high, low, rising, falling) to differentiate word meaning or features
of a sentence
WORDS or PARTS OF WORDS
Parts of words (“morphemes”) — can represent subject, verb, tense, or other parts of
sentence
Ex:
nilipiga – “I hit”
ulipiga – “you hit”
walipiga – “they hit”
Prefixes & suffixes — specific class of morphemes; can change part of speech, tense,
etc. of single word
Ex:
walks
Ex. 2: believe (verb)
walked
believable (adj)
walking
unbelievable (adj)
unbelievably (adverb)
WORD ORDER (“syntax”)
Ex:
House painted student a the. vs. A student painted the house.
I should go to the store. vs. Should I go to the store?
Can I help him with something? vs. Kann ich ihm mit etwas helfen?
CONTEXT is also important. We will discuss this in more detail throughout the class.