Topic 1:

Question 1

What is language?

Answer 1

• a tool and system of communication
• a complex rule-governed system of discrete linguistic segments
• a meaning-making entity (Semiotics)
• an expression of identity (Byram, 2006)
• a representation of thought (Sapir, 1916)

Question 2

What is semiotics?

Question 3

Chomsky / Foucalt debate (1971): What did Chomsky believe?

Answer 3

That language functions as a cognitive system, much like a computer, allowing humans to create and comprehend an infinite range of sentences. Language is a tool for thought, not just for social interaction. MENTAL COMPUTATION AND BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURES

Question 4

Chomsky / Foucalt debate (1971): What did Foucalt believe?

Answer 4

It’s not innate, but rather a way to construct and regulate knowledge within systems of power. He was concerned about how discourse shapes what is possible to know and say in a given historical moment. DISCOURSE, HISTORY, AND POWER