The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (81 page)

finite-state device.
A device that can produce or recognize ordered sequences of behavior (like sentences), by selecting an output item (like a word) from a list, going to some other list and selecting an item from it, and so on, possibly looping back to earlier lists. I have used the term
chaining device
instead.

function word.
See
content word.

gender.
A set of mutually exclusive kinds into which a language categorizes its nouns and pronouns. In many languages, the genders of pronouns correspond to the sexes (
he
versus
she
), and the genders of nouns are determined by their sounds (words ending in
o
are one gender, words ending in
o
are the other) or are simply put in two or three arbitrary lists. In other languages, gender can correspond to human versus nonhuman, animate versus inanimate, long versus round versus flat, and other distinctions.

gene.
(1) A stretch (or set of stretches) of DNA that carries the information necessary for building one kind of protein molecule. (2) A stretch of DNA that is long enough to survive intact across many generations of sexual recombination. (3) A stretch of DNA that, in comparison with alternative stretches that could sit at that location on the chromosome, contributes to the specification of some trait of the organism (e.g., “a gene for blue eyes”).

generative grammar.
See
grammar.

generative linguistics.
The school of linguistics, associated with Noam Chomsky, that tries to discover the generative grammars of languages and the universal grammar underlying them.

gerund.
The noun formed out of a verb by adding -
ing: his incessant
HUMMING
.

grammar.
A
generative grammar
is a set of rules that determines the form and meaning of words and sentences in a particular language as it is spoken in some community.
A mental grammar
is the hypothetical generative grammar stored unconsciously in a person’s brain. Neither should be confused with a
prescriptive
or
stylistic
grammar taught in school and explained in style manuals, the guidelines for how one “ought” to speak in a prestige or written dialect.

gyrus.
The outward, visible portion of a wrinkle of the brain. The plural is
gyri
.

head.
The single word in a phrase, or single morpheme in a word, that determines the meaning and properties of the whole:
the
MAN
in the pinstriped suit; ruby-throated humming
BIRD
.

indirect object.
In a dative construction with two objects, the first one, referring to the recipient or beneficiary:
Bake
ME
a cake; Give
THE DOG
a bone
.

Indo-European.
The group of language families that includes most of the languages of Europe, southwestern Asia, and northern India; thought to be descended from a language, Proto-Indo-European, which was spoken by a prehistoric people.

induction.
Uncertain or probabilistic inference (as opposed to deduction), especially a generalization from instances: “This raven is black; that raven is black; therefore all ravens are black.”

infinitive.
The generic form of a verb, lacking tense:
He tried
TO LEAVE
; She may
LEAVE
.

INFL.
In post- 1970s Chomskyan theory, a syntactic category comprising the auxiliary elements and tense inflections, which serves as the head of the sentence.

inflecting language.
A language, like Latin, Russian, Warlpiri, or ASL, that relies heavily on inflectional morphology to convey information, as opposed to an
isolating language
like Chinese that leaves the forms of words alone and orders the words within phrases and sentences to convey information. English does both, but is considered more isolating than inflecting.

inflectional morphology.
The modification of the form of a word to fit its role in the sentence, usually by adding an
inflection:
I conquer
ED
; I’m think
ING
; Speed kills; two turtle dove
S
.

intonation.
The melody or pitch contour of speech.

intransitive.
A verb that may appear without an object:
We
DINED
; She
THOUGHT
that he was single
; as opposed to a
transitive verb,
that may appear with one:
He
DEVOURED
the steak; I
TOLD
him to go
.

inversion.
Flipping the position of the subject and the auxiliary:
I am blue
Am I blue?; What you will do
What will you do?

irregular.
A word with an idiosyncratic inflected form instead of the one usually created by a rule of grammar:
brought
(not
bringed
);
mice
(not
mouses
); as opposed to
regular
words, which simply obey the rule (
walk + -ed
walked, rat + -s
rats
).

isolating language.
See
inflecting language.

larynx.
The valve near the top of the windpipe, used to seal the lungs during exertion and to produce voiced sounds. Its parts include the vocal cords inside and the Adam’s apple in front.

lexical entry.
The information about a particular word (its sound, meaning, syntactic category, and special restrictions) stored in a person’s mental dictionary.

lexicon.
A dictionary, especially the “mental dictionary” consisting of a person’s intuitive knowledge of words and their meanings.

linguist.
A scholar or scientist who studies how languages work. Does not refer here to a person who speaks many languages.

listeme.
An uncommon but useful term corresponding to one of the senses of “word,” it refers to an element of language that must be memorized because its sound or meaning does not conform to some general rule. All word roots, irregular forms, and idioms are listemes.

main verb.
A verb that is not the auxiliary:
I might
STUDY
Latin; He is
COMPLAINING
again
.

Markov model.
A finite-state device that, when faced with a choice between two or more lists, chooses among them according to prespecified probabilities (for example, a .7 chance of going to List A, a .3 chance of going to list B).

mentalese.
The hypothetical “language of thought,” or representation of concepts and propositions in the brain in which ideas, including the meanings of words and sentences, are couched.

modal.
A kind of auxiliary:
can, should, could, will, ought, might
.

modality.
Whether a clause is a statement, question, negation, or imperative; another way of referring to some of the distinctions relevant to mood.

modifier.
See
adjunct.

mood.
Whether a sentence is a statement (
HE GOES
), imperative (
GO
!
), or subjunctive (
It is important
THAT HE GO
).

morphemes.
The smallest meaningful pieces into which words can be cut:
un-micro-wave-abil-ity
.

morphology.
The component of grammar that builds words out of pieces (morphemes).

movement.
The principal kind of transformational rule in Chomsky’s theory, it moves a phrase from its customary position in deep structure to some other, unfilled position, leaving behind a “trace”:
Do you want what
What do you want
(trace).