LI1001 Introduction to language
Lesson 1: The uniqueness of human language
Discuss the following statements:
 The human language is just like any other animal signaling system
 Without language we could hardly have created the world we know.
 Many animal signaling systems are far more interesting than originally
thought.
 Most signaling systems are based on the principle of one sound one meaning
 Human conversation is utterly random.
In pairs, answer the questions.
1. Speech sounds. What are they?
2. Cats meow: What sounds do other animals make?
Animal
crickets
pigs
birds
dogs
mice
sheep
Sound
Animal
lamb
cows
cuckoos
ducks
snakes
bees
Sound
3. Do all sounds constitute signaling systems?
4. How many different individual (meaningless) sounds can you produce?
5. Phonetics is the study of phonemes. How many phonemes are there in English?
6. How many phonemes are there in Greece?
7. Phonemes and spelling system. Which one is most trustworthy?
8. Duality of patterning. Why is it significant? Do mice swap stories about their close
encounters with cats? Can honeybees “talk” about the past or the future?
Design Features of Language
Duality of patterning
In animal or human
signaling systems?
displacement
Open-endedness
Stimulus-freedom
Stimulus-bound
Vocal tract
trachea
epiglottis
Arbitrariness
iconicity
onomatopoeia
phonaesthesia
The vocal cord
oesophagus
pharynx
Read the following and say whether they are an example of one of the terms
above:

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If you say /min/ in English it means “mean”, in French “coalmine” in Greek “don’t”, in
Welsh “edge”, in Basque “pain”.
How did you like your trip to Canada?
Do you like my dress? // God, Julia! My dog’s blanket would look better than this.
Luxemburg has invaded New Zealand.
Swine, pig, γουρούνι. They all mean one thing.
What does Kukurruku mean in Basque?
Homework:
Write a short essay discussing the following: “Could A non-human animal learn a
human language if it had the chance?” (400-600 words)