Title Midterm Prep.pdf ✅

Chapter 1 - Introduction Knowledge of language Code and system - When two or more people communicate, they use a system called code - Multilinguals have more than one code. They switch back and forth between the codes - The system is grammar Prescriptive and descriptive grammar - not easy to write grammar => knowledge that people have of the language they speak is extremely hard to describe Prescriptive grammar: outline the standard language and how it should be spoken (the grammar is learned in books Descriptive grammar: describe, analyze, and explain how people actually speak their languages Ex: few/less distinction - Few: used with count nouns - Less: used with non-count nouns - US grocery stores: ten items or less - There were less students presents today than yesterday Prescriptive grammar rules = prohibitions DO NOT split an infinitive DO NOT end a sentence with a preposition DO NOT use double modals Descriptive grammar = All the knowledge that a native speaker knows about his/her language which enables him/her to speak and understand it - Ann and Sally don’t know nothing - She be there => focus of linguistic: not prescriptive rules but the rules inside the heads of speakers which constitute their knowledge of how to speak the language - Communication among people who speak the same language is possible because they share same knowledge (what to say/ not to say, what is part of language/ what is not) Competence and performance Competence What speakers know about their language (knowing) Performance What they do with their language (using)